Q2’24 Gaming Deals Report
Download PDFJul, 2024 Gradual Recovery
Q2’24 Gaming Deals Report
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Quarterly YoY Performance
Steady increase in deal activity vs. previous “hangover” year
3
Executive Summary
Note: some transactions do not disclose deal value but are counted for the total number of deals (e.g., Zephyr Mobile, FuturLab)
(*) closed transactions only (excl. announced, e.g., $2.8B Keywords Studios acquisition)
PRIVATE INVESTMENTS
(in $B)
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS*
(in $B)
PUBLIC OFFERINGS
(in $B)
Q2’24 in a Nutshell
Most notable transactions
4
Executive Summary
PRIVATE INVESTMENTS
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
PUBLIC OFFERINGS
Note: (*) deal announced in Q1’24 and officially closed in Q2’24
Private Investments
Setting up new quarterly investment benchmark: $1B across 116 rounds
PRIVATE INVESTMENTS:
Corporate, VC & PE
(in $B)
Executive Summary
5
“‘COVID” ACCELERATION
POST-PANDEMIC GROWTH
“HANGOVER”
STABILIZATION
Note: some transactions do not disclose deal value but are counted for the total number of deals
Mergers & Acquisitions
G
radual recovery: Growing deal volume amidst fewer big announcements
“‘COVID” ACCELERATION
POST-PANDEMIC GROWTH
“HANGOVER”
STABILIZATION
Executive Summary
6
Note: some transactions do not disclose deal value but are counted for the total number of deals
M&As:
Control & Minority
(in $B)
Public Offerings
Listing activity remains muted; few PIPE & Fixed Income announcements
7
Executive Summary
Note: some transactions do not disclose deal value but are counted for the total number of deals
PUBLIC OFFERINGS:
Listing, PIPE & FI
(in $B)
PEAK OF PUBLIC LISTING & SHARE ISSUE ACTIVITY
MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY & GAMING STOCKS TURBULENCE
Gaming
Deals with Targets represented
by video game publishers and/or developers
EARLY-STAGE VC:
Gaming Studios
(in $M)
VC Early-stage Gaming
Navigating new quarterly fundraising norms
9
Gaming
Note: some transactions do not disclose deal value but are counted for the total number of deals
“COVID” ACCELERATION
POST-PANDEMIC GROWTH
ESTABLISHING A NEW FUNDRAISING NORM
(stable Seed and volatile Series A)
VC
&
PE Late-stage Gaming
Continued sluggish deal-making activity
10
Gaming
Note: some transactions do not disclose deal value but are counted for the total number of deals
“COVID” ACCELERATION
CONTINUED MARKET HEADWINDS
POST-PANDEMIC GROWTH
LATE-STAGE VC & PE:
Gaming Studios
(in $M)
VC Funds:
Ranked by Number of Deals
Most Active Early-stage Gaming VC Funds
LTM activity in Seed & Series A rounds
11
Gaming
Note: (*) weighted average ranking system (see p. 18); (**) based on investments in Gaming and Platform&Tech
VC Funds:
Ranked by Deals Value (in $M)
Corporate Gaming
CVC increases co-investment activity with gaming VCs
12
Gaming
Note: some transactions do not disclose deal value but are counted for the total number of deals
CORPORATE VC:
Gaming Studios
(in $M)
“COVID” ACCELERATION
“HANGOVER” FOLLOWED BY STABILIZATION &
INCREASING CO-INVESTMENT ROUNDS WITH VCs
POST-PANDEMIC GROWTH
Gaming Investments Q2’24
Closed VC & Corporate deals by targets geo
Gaming
13
Gaming Market Update
Deals with targets represented by video game publishers and
developers on PC, Console, or Mobile platforms
Top-6 Releases by Gross Sales in Q2’24
Steam full-game sales show continued growth (+27% YoY in Q2’24)
driven by a strong AA/Indie catalog
15
Gaming
Note: (1) total gross revenue from game sales (excluding microtransactions)
Source:
VG Insights
Steam gross full game revenue
1
and peak online users activity (in $B)
26-Apr-24
3.1m units
$77m sales
16-May-24
1.2m units
$55m sales
30-Apr-24
1.4m units
$40m sales
6-May-24
1.3m units
$30m sales
18-Apr-24
0.9m units
$25m sales
Early Access
PC version
Early Access
Early Access
Early Access
21-June-24
0.5m units
$20m sales
new DLC
16
Mobile gaming market in Q2’24
Asia: the primary source of hit titles
Gaming
Mobile Market: IAP Revenue* (in $B)
Note: (*) total revenue from in-app purchases across mobile games genres;
Source:
AppMagic
Top-6 New Releases by IAP Net Revenue in Q2’24
19-May-24
5.4m installs
$227m Revenue
Dashboard
Dungeon &
Fighter: Origin
“COVID” ACCELERATION
POST-PANDEMIC
GROWTH
POST ”COVID” HANGOVER; IDFA
CHALLENGES
STABILIZATION
17-May-24
10.8m installs
$61m Revenue
Dashboard
Wuthering
Waves
29-May-24
36.3m installs
$25m Revenue
Dashboard
Squad Busters
14-May-24
1.6m installs
$12m Revenue
Dashboard
Journey to the West:
Brush Painted
Westward
15-May-24
0.9m installs
$35m Revenue
Dashboard
Gakuen
Idolmaster
10-Jun-24
1.2m installs
$23m Revenue
Dashboard
Three Kingdoms:
Strategize the
World
Action RPG
Idol Simulator
Action RPG
4
X Strategy
Team Battler
Brawl
Benefits and Special Terms from AWS,
AppsFlyer, Unity, etc.
Game Development Financing
Marketing Budgets for Scale
PATHFINDER: KINGMAKER
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Genre: CRPG | Re-Launch: June 2024
BLASTBRIGADE
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo
Switch | Genre: 2D Metroidvania | Re-Launch: June 2024
MANDRAGORA
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox X/S
Genre: 2.5D action-RPG | Launch: 2024
17
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contact@knightspeak.com
Our portfolio:
STARSHIP TROOPERS: EXTERMINATION
Platform: PS5, Xbox X/S
Genre: Co-Op FPS | Launch: October 11, 2024
NIKODERIKO — The Magical World
Platform: PS5, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC
Genre: Adventure Platformer | Launch: 2024
UA Powerhouse with Deep
Expertise
Esports
18
Appendix
Methodology & Glossary
The private data contained in this report
is based on information from sources
believed to be reliable, but we can’t
guarantee accuracy and completeness.
Sources include public media, our business
partners, and market insights.
InvestGame tracks closed transactions
(unless otherwise noted) in the Video Games
industry, with target companies having core
business operations related to the Video
Games market. We do not track pure
gambling, betting, and non-gaming
blockchain
/
web3 companies.
Late-stage VC
Corporate
Early-stage VC
Fixed income
IPO, SPAC
PIPE, other
Deal Types Overview
Control
Minority
— Control M&As
—
mergers and acquisitions
resulting in the change of control
(50%+ ownership)
— Minority M&As
—
sale of a minority stake
in the business
— Early-stage VC
—
pre-Seed, Seed,
and Series A rounds with a lead VC fund
— Late-stage VC
—
Series B, Series C,
and later-lettered venture rounds
— Corporate Investments
—
investments
with a lead investor being a strategic/CVCs
— IPOs
—
the process of a company going
public, including IPOs, SPACs, and direct
listings
— PIPE, other
—
private investment in public
equity, direct share issue, and other
transactions with publicly traded stock
— Fixed income
—
debt-related instrument
with fixed payments and interest payments
Deal Type Terms Glossary
Target’s Sector Overview
Hardware
Other
Cash-related
PC
&
Console
Multiplatform
Mobile
Outsourcing
VR/AR
Platform
Tech
VR/AR
Blockchain-powered
The information, opinions, estimates,
and forecasts contained herein
are as of the date hereof and are subject
to change. We seek to update our
research as appropriate.
Gaming
Platform
& Tech
Other
M&As
Private
Investments
Public
Offerings
VC Ratings Calculation
Typically, funds do not publicly disclose
their individual participation in financing
rounds. Therefore, we do not track the exact
investment amounts by each fund; instead,
we consider the entire round size
in our ranking calculations. Our priority lies in
the total number and value of the deals
a fund participates in while also emphasizing
the value and count of deals where the fund
takes a leading role.
Our historical datasets undergo ongoing
revisions to integrate newly gathered data
and updates from our partners.
This report is intended for general information
purposes only and is educational in nature;
it is not a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell
any financial instruments or to participate
in any particular trading strategy. Nothing
in this
document constitutes a personal
recommendation, or a piece of legal
or professional advice.
You agree not to copy, revise, amend, or create
a derivative work, provide it to any third party,
or commercially exploit any InvestGame
research. You shall not reproduce data in any
form or by any means without the prior written
consent of InvestGame.
We would love to thank our dear friends
at
MY.GAMES
for supporting this report.
Please note that this support did not affect
the integrity or fairness of the data and
analysis.
Digest
Patreon
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Disclaimer
Appendix
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