Gaming
Market Leader mod.io Announces $26m Series A to Fuel UGC Growth in More Games
mod.io, the leading platform connecting game studios with community driven user-generated content (UGC), has secured US$26m in its latest round of investment. The funds will be used to further build upon a vision to evolve collaborative digital play, a passion shared by new investors, led by Tencent, who join LEGO Ventures, OIF Ventures and existing investors Makers Fund, Play Ventures, Sequoia Capital Indiaâs Surge and GameTech Ventures in the round.
Within an industry set to surpass $180b annually in 2021, popularity of UGC in video games continues to grow rapidly. mod.io predicts that by 2025, $1 in every $10 spent on video games will be spent on UGC, a 400 percent increase of estimated spend in 2021. UGC would then top $25b globally by 2025. Yet so much of the value modders create lives on the fringes â out of reach for most studios and players. By making mod support easy for studios to adopt and embed within their games and communities, mod.io enables and empowers the next generation of creator-driven economies.
âThe metaverse will be built with UGC as foundational components. Player-made content, hand in hand with professional content, made by game studios. Our goal at mod.io is to enable games to launch their own creator economy, providing studios with the building blocks wanted and needed by players,â said mod.io CEO and Co-Founder Scott Reismanis.
As digital play transitions into increasingly social play experiences, game studios are recognising the value and the engagement mods provide. The shift is driven by a growing community demand for deeper personalization, delivering breadth of content and creativity. By actively embracing UGC, studios are choosing to focus on nurturing a stronger relationship with their players.
Bo Wang, Corporate Vice President of Tencent Games said,
âAt Tencent, we believe that UGC drives innovation in gaming. Many of the largest video game genres today started out as UGC, or mods, built by enthusiasts on top of existing products. For over two decades, Scott and his team have been instrumental in supporting the growth of this community. As a stakeholder in the future of this industry, Tencent is proud to support mod.io on its path to unlock creativity across the gaming ecosystem.â
Rob Lowe, Managing Director of Digital Play, LEGO Ventures said,âThe awesome team at mod.io have created a UGC platform that allows any game to be rebuilt and adapted by the player. We believe this is a great example of the core LEGO idea applied to digital play, and we are extremely excited to support mod.io as they further expand the platform, community and range of games utilising this highly promising technology.â
âOur shared vision with our investors is to help game studios harness the power of their communitiesâ creativity. Securing this milestone investment helps us develop our existing platform, expand our team, and continue to provide the best modding service for developers, creators and players alike,â adds Reismanis.
Since its launch in 2019, mod.io has been used by more than 80 games including Deep Rock Galactic, Humankind and SnowRunner to grow their creator communities, pioneering the adoption of mods in games spanning PC, console, mobile and VR platforms. Each month, more than 20 million pieces of unique user-generated content are distributed using mod.io to over 3 million players. Annually, thatâs hundreds of millions of pieces of content, made by fans, shared with their community, and supported by the developer whose product continually evolves.
Game studios praise the role mod.io has played in helping to further a connection with their community. Over 500 mods have been downloaded 1.4 million times since Ghost Ship Gamesâ Deep Rock Galactic launched in-game mod support on Steam and Xbox in September 2021.
âCollaborating with mod.io has been a great experience, and we are very satisfied with the integration and player experience mod.io as a platform provides to the game. It also became clear to us that mod.io is working hard to constantly improve their platform, which shows significant promise for the future of the service,â said SĂžren Lundgaard, CEO Ghost Ship Studios, creators of Deep Rock Galactic.
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Fast facts about mod.io and UGC
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20 million pieces of user-generated content are distributed monthly using mod.io, to over 3 million players.
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In 2021, mod.io experienced 300% YoY growth with 177 million mods downloaded year to date.
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mod.io was the first to launch cross-platform mod support in SnowRunner, Skater XL, Space Engineers and TABS on Xbox and PlayStation as well as PC.
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mod.io supports more than 80 different games, across 11 platforms and stores.
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Gaming
Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions
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Gaming
Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game
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Nolimit City takes you back to the grind with its latest release, Outsourced: Slash Game. For those who thought their consumerist cravings were a safe indulgence, think again. Following in the footsteps of Outsourced, this new addition pulls back the curtain on the sweat and sacrifice lurking behind those everyday luxuriesâthis time with a dash of danger. Outsourced: Slash Game is the studioâs second venture into crash-style gameplay, the first being xCrashâą in Skate or Die â but this time itâs a standalone crash game!
In Slash Game, players have to make some cutthroat decisions as a laser traces the outline of their hand, increasing the multiplier with every pass. Players hit âstopâ to cash out, locking in the multiplier when they feel the timing is right. After which, they will be shown the potential winnings if they wouldnât have stopped. But hereâs the catch: if players hesitate a second too long and the laser slips, all the winnings are lost. A live scoreboard displays the Top Win, Top Miss and Last Round, so that players can keep track of their previous rounds.
Outsourced: Slash Game is not a familiar Nolimit City slot to some players but could cause some excitement with an increasing multiplier and a maximum payout of 1,500x the base bet. Outsourced: Slash Game, unlike Nolimit Cityâs high-volatility slots, is rated as âMedium Volatilityâ but donât let that fool you as it still includes the risk of losing your hand.
Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: âGet back to work, will you? Weâre bringing players back to the unrelenting factory floor of Outsourced with an all-new twist. Slash Game is a standalone take on our crash-style games, and itâs packed with plenty of heart-stopping moments (and maybe a few hand-stopping ones, too). Weâre thrilled with how it turned out and we hope that our fans will be too!â
âOutsourced: Slash Gameâ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on November 5th, 2024.
The post Nolimit City revisits the brutal factory life in Outsourced: Slash Game appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example
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Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.
Back on course
The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.
The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. Itâs nearly half of the entire gaming industry.
Billions of players
Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, itâs necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and thereâs still space for further growth.
âThere are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and donât require high-end devices,â explains Mateusz ĆmieĆŒewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.
One hobby, different habits
GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. âWe examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. Itâs essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You canât do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,â said Mateusz ĆmieĆŒewski.
Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. Itâs half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.
Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in gamesâ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.
âMobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.
Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players donât think of themselves as gamers,â clarifies Mateusz ĆmieĆŒewski.
Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.
Entering the mobile market
Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Letâs see how GAMIVO has coped with this.
âWe decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,â describes Mateusz ĆmieĆŒewski.
âWe dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,â concludes the GAMIVO CEO.
The post The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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