Weekly News Digest #22

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TruFin / Playstack: Strategic Exit to Integrated Media Company

UK-based holding company TruFin (LSE: TRU) has conditionally agreed to sell its 84.5% stake in UK-based indie games publisher Playstack to VantageCo Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Integrated Media Company (IMC), a TPG private-equity vehicle investing across the digital landscape. The transaction values Playstack at an Enterprise Value of $168m (£125m) on a debt-free, cash-free basis. Net cash proceeds to TruFin are approximately $151m (£112.4m), incorporating the repayment of a $21m (£15.6m) intercompany loan, and are stated before a $2m (£1.5m) tax holdback. The deal was announced on May 21, 2026, and is subject to shareholder approval at a General Meeting on Jun 8, 2026, with completion expected on Jun 10, 2026. The transaction constitutes a fundamental change of business under AIM Rule 15, with a break fee of $7m (£5.2m) payable to the purchaser should shareholders not approve. Shareholders representing approximately 44.3% of the issued share capital have already committed support. 

TruFin originally acquired a controlling stake in Playstack in Sep’19, converting ~$4.5m (£3.5m) in outstanding loans into ordinary shares and injecting a further ~$1.9m (£1.5m) in cash, for a total consideration of ~$6.4m (£5.0m). According to TruFin CEO James van den Bergh, the transaction delivers a >4x MOIC and >28% IRR for TruFin shareholders. The reported returns likely reflect TruFin’s total capital invested in Playstack over the holding period, including subsequent funding rounds and shareholder loans, rather than the initial acquisition consideration alonePlaystack is a London-based indie games publisher operating across PC, console, and mobile. Founded in 2016 by Harvey Elliott and Jasper Smith, the company publishes titles across multiple genres, with a portfolio spanning action RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and card games.Balatro stands as the clear portfolio leader by both revenue and copies sold, with Abiotic Factor establishing itself as a strong second despite sharing the same launch year. Mortal Shell maintains a solid long-term contribution, while Raccoin, the most recent release, remains in early commercial stages.On mobile, Balatro has emerged as Playstack’s highest-grossing title, generating $21.5m in net revenue from 3.1 million copies sold. By contrast, Snipers vs Thieves remains the portfolio leader by downloads but generates materially lower revenue per install, while Survival City contributes modestly across both metrics. 

To strengthen its mobile publishing capabilities, Playstack acquired US-based mobile developer Magic Fuel Games in Jun’22, adding mobile IP and development capacity to the publishing platform. At the time of acquisition, Magic Fuel’s flagship project was Cityscapes: Sim Builder, which was then in development and subsequently launched exclusively on Apple Arcade in May 2023. Since then, Magic Fuel has maintained a relatively low public profile, with limited information available regarding new mobile releases or the studio’s contribution to Playstack’s broader portfolio.

Despite Playstack’s growing portfolio across PC, console, and mobile, Balatro remains the company’s primary value driver. The title leads the portfolio in both copies sold and revenue across PC & Console, and ranks as Playstack’s top-earning mobile title despite operating under a premium monetization model. Revenue was broadly flat from 2021 to 2023, then inflected sharply in 2024 following the release of Balatro and the Early Access launch of Abiotic Factor. Balatro emerged as the company’s breakout success, driving a significant step-change in revenue and profitability, while Abiotic Factor helped sustain momentum through its full release in Jul’25. Together, the two titles transformed Playstack’s financial profile, contributing to another year of strong growth in 2025, with revenue increasing ~27% YoY and EBITDA rising 21%, while EBITDA margins remained stable at approximately 24%-25%. 

For IMC, whose Fandom portfolio includes GameSpot and Metacritic, the acquisition of Playstack extends its gaming footprint from media and community into active publishing, adding a capital-efficient, high-margin content operation with a proven catalogue. We will continue to monitor IMC’s strategy for Playstack and the company’s publishing pipeline as it enters its next phase of growth.

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

UK-based private equity firm GoldenPeak has acquired a majority stake in UK-based media and entertainment intelligence company Ampere Analysis for an undisclosed sum. GoldenPeak, founded by Mark Williams, deployed the investment from its second fund, which launched in 2025. The investment represents Ampere Analysis’s first-ever institutional backing since the company’s founding. Ampere provides subscription data and analytics covering TV, streaming, gaming, and film to more than 200 clients across studios, broadcasters, and platform operators.

Ampere Analysis has acquired Poland-based streaming audience analytics firm PlumResearch for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2015 and based in Warsaw, PlumResearch operates its Showlabs platform across 75 markets, with clients including Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY), and Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD). Founder and CEO Lukasz Jeziorski will stay on following the acquisition. PlumResearch was previously backed by Tar Heel Capital Pathfinder.

Japan-based classic arcade game publisher HAMSTER Corporation has acquired all rights to the games and properties of Japan-based game developer Warashi Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Warashi, founded in 1995 and defunct since the early 2010s, developed titles for PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo handhelds, with its catalog including the shoot’em up Geki-Oh ShienRyu. Hamster plans to release Warashi’s titles worldwide through its Arcade Archives and Console Archives series. Geki-Oh ShienRyu launched on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 on May 28, 2026, as the first Console Archives release from the acquired catalog. The deal continues Hamster’s strategy of preserving classic Japanese game IP through rights acquisitions from legacy developers.

VENTURE FINANCING

US-based retro gaming hardware company ModRetro has raised $145.2m in equity from 41 investors, according to an SEC filing, with a first sale date of Mar 6, 2026. The offering had an initial target of $150m. ModRetro makes the Chromatic, a Game Boy-compatible handheld that runs original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges. The company previously raised $19.1m in equity from 21 investors, per a prior SEC filing, with a first sale date of Oct 29, 2024, and a minimum investment of $50,203, bringing total disclosed fundraising to approximately $164.3m.

US-based real-time AI infrastructure company Reactor has raised $59m in a Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from WndrCo, Amplify Partners, Sky9 Capital, and FPV Ventures. The company emerged from stealth simultaneously with the funding announcement on May 28, 2026. Founded in 2025, Reactor provides a unified SDK and API that enable developers to build real-time interactive applications powered by generative video and world-model environments, targeting media and entertainment, physical AI, and robotics. The company was co-founded by CEO Alberto Taiuti, previously CTO and co-founder of Luma AI, and CTO Bryce Schmidtchen, both of whom are former Apple Vision Pro technical leads. Jeffrey Katzenberg, Founding Partner of WndrCo, will join the company as a board observer.

Germany-based AI-powered game development studio welevel has raised an undisclosed sum in a Series A round, led by Transcend, with participation from BurdaGP and BITKRAFT Ventures. The investment marks BurdaGP’s inaugural deal since its launch in Jan’26 in partnership with TU Munich. welevel is developing SolidRiver, an open-world survival action RPG. The 20-person studio is targeting Early Access in early 2027. In Mar’25, welevel raised a $5.7m Seed round led by BITKRAFT Ventures.

US-based private equity firm Periscope Equity has made a strategic investment of undisclosed size in the US-based specialty payments platform Amusement Connect. The deal marks the first platform investment for Periscope’s third fund. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Kansas City, Amusement Connect serves 800+ customers across 3,000+ locations in the amusement industry. The business is led by co-founders Frank Licausi (CEO) and John Tarpley (CCO), along with President Tom Jayroe.

China-based AI game creation platform FunloomAI has raised an undisclosed sum, reportedly in the tens of millions of RMB, in a Pre-Series A round led by Qinglang Family Office, with Shanghai Angel Club participating. The company reached a post-money valuation of approximately $27.6m (RMB 200m). FunloomAI previously received backing from MiraclePlus and Shengda Group founder Chen Danian. The platform enables creators to build text-based RPGs with branching narratives and procedural content. Since launching its beta on Mar 15, 2026, FunloomAI has attracted 5,000+ creators and tens of thousands of players. Its debut title has gathered approximately 20,000 players, with an average daily spend of approximately $3.4 (RMB 25) per paying user. CEO Wu Tong previously held senior roles at Unity (NYSE: U), CTO Zhang Jihao is a former Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) engineer, and COO Zheng Junkai served as GM of Baidu Games, bringing over 20 years of experience in the games industry.

China-based trading card publisher CardChic has raised ~$1.4m (RMB ~10m) in an Angel round. Founded in 2025 in Hangzhou by Li Changlin, the company’s debut card set based on the A Chinese Odyssey IP sold out within seven days, generating tens of millions of RMB in GMV, and achieved PSA certification. CardChic has since signed the A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality IP. The company is developing a TCG game and an AI-driven collectibles product, with live-stream unboxing as its primary sales channel.

US-based PC & Console games developer Unlogic Games has raised $1.1m in early-stage investment. The studio is led by CEO Jonas da Cruz. Unlogic is developing its debut title, SteamDreams: Lab & Workshop, a 3D top-down workshop management game with crafting, business simulation, and an emergent narrative system. The funds are intended to cover both production and marketing for the first title.

PUBLIC OFFERINGS

Japan-based mobile games developer enish (TSE: 3667) has issued $1.84m (¥292.5m) in unsecured corporate bonds to EVO FUND, completing the transaction on May 27, 2026. Proceeds will fund new title development and ongoing operations. This is enish’s second bond issuance to EVO FUND. In May 2026, enish also raised approximately $409k (¥65m) through its 20th round of stock warrant exercises. For FY2025, enish reported approximately $14.5m (¥2.17B) in revenue, down 34.5% YoY, an operating loss of approximately $5.7m (¥856m), and a net loss of approximately $7.7m (¥1.15B), compared to a net loss of approximately $5.8m (¥882m) in FY2024.

FUNDRAISING

UAE-based investment firm Yolo Investments has launched Fund III, targeting a $250m raise. Fund III was authorized by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) on May 19, 2026. The fund will focus on Series A-C rounds in fintech, crypto, and gaming, with a global mandate and a concentration in MENA. Yolo’s thesis centers on the convergence of fintech, crypto, and gaming, backing entrepreneurs who move money. Fund II generated a 51.6% net IRR and 1.36x TVPI as of Dec 31, 2025. Deployment begins upon first close.