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Personalization, Play-To-Earn and the (obligatory) Metaverse

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AdInMo’s 2022 predictions starting with good riddance IDFA; hello personalized advertising relationships that respect privacy.

In-game advertising platform AdInMo’s CEO and Co-founder Kristan Rivers takes a look at three trends shaping the year ahead for mobile gaming.

Personalized advertising experiences will prevail: Consumers, who were already irritated with invasive ads that track them across apps and websites, are realizing their attention is worth a lot more than the value they’ve been receiving from the free-to-play model.

In a recent Harris Poll, 57% of Gen Zs stated they disliked the current barrage of targeted ads so much that they had curtailed social media consumption or completely stopped using certain platforms.

Consumers will demand that their attention is properly valued or else will simply vote with their eyeballs and move on.

As we inch closer to a cookie-less world, the content-creator/consumer/advertiser relationship will be enhanced by a value-based paradigm. Relevant engagements based on first and zero-party data, complemented by user choice and transparency will create personalized brand experiences and sustain the ‘free content’ ecosystem beyond cookies/IDFA/AAID et al.

Play-to-earn games will be the new hyper-casual: Last year saw games like Axie Infinity propel the play-to-earn revolution. It’s both a fascinating short-term fad and a possible new economy, with immediate downsides as well as long-term upsides.

What gamer doesn’t love the idea of getting paid to play games? The downside is: grinding is inherently not fun.

Like the early of days hyper-casual games, play-to-earn games will go through a heyday of rapid growth with a lot of crap games churned out in 2022. There will be a lot of losers and a few winners, but by the end of this year the genre will become meaningful and probably the best mainstream enabler for NFTs.

The Metaverse will be mobile and enhance the real world: Only a fraction of the world’s population will ever have an Oculus or PSVR headset that will allow them to “Snow Crash” into the metaverse; but pretty much every single person over the age of 12 has an AR-capable device in their back pocket.

Apple has been a game-changer for mobile gaming since 2007 and I have a bet with our CTO, which for accountability purposes I will share here as well: Within 18 – 24 months Apple will win the metaverse hardware game by releasing an AR device, probably some form of glasses (although I would not be surprised if it was instead based on AirPods headphones), and within six months that device will outsell every AR and VR device – from Oculus to PSVR to HoloLens – sold up to that point.

Time will tell.

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South Africa’s Top Gamers Crowned at 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Grand Finals at Canal Walk

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Massive wins, standout talent and a showdown wrapped up five months of fierce competition across the country.

After months of qualifiers and regional heats at eight Hyprop malls across South Africa, the MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience reached its electrifying conclusion at Canal Walk Shopping Centre. With hundreds of spectators and players packing the gaming arena, the national finals brought the heat and crowned South Africa’s best in EAFC 25™, Beat Saber, Call of Duty and more.

In the EAFC National Final, Hamza Moosa (17) from Sandton, proved why he’s one of the country’s most exciting young talents. A professional esports player for Goliath Gaming, Moosa outplayed the competition to take top honours. A familiar name on the international stage, he recently represented South Africa at the Esports World Cup qualifier in Saudi Arabia. Hamza left the MTN SHIFT Gaming national finals with prize money of R25000.

Beat Saber fans saw a fast-paced, high-score battle won by Michael Prange (17) from Pretoria and Garsfontein High School. Ranked #2 nationally, Prange is also a two-time Beat Saber World Cup competitor and has helped shape South Africa’s competitive VR rhythm community through coaching, mentorship, and global participation. As the 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Beat Saber national champion, Michael won a Gaming PC valued at R50000.

In the schools division, Ridhaa April, 15, from Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs, took the EAFC title. A prodigious talent who’s been competing since the age of 12, Ridhaa plays professionally for Goliath Gaming and already holds multiple top finishes, including 1st place at the 2025 ASL.

In the Rocket League school tournament, Curro took top spot, followed by Edgemead High in second place.

Meanwhile, Call of Duty Mobile closed out the finals with serious intensity as returning champions Nixuh held onto their title. The dominant team of Magicz (Raees Ismail), Adnaan (Adnaan Bhamjee), Raz (Rahil Bux) and Enigma (Jameen Essa) walked away with a R30 000 cash prize.

“The atmosphere at this year’s finals was absolutely electric,” said Vanessa Herbst, Marketing Manager at Canal Walk Shopping Centre. “The level of skill on display was unreal, and the crowd brought their energy every day. The bar has been set very high for the 2026 edition.”

The MTN SHIFT Gaming Experience is South Africa’s biggest mall-based gaming tournament, played over five months across Gauteng and the Western Cape. Regional heats were hosted at Rosebank Mall, Clearwater Mall, The Glen, Woodlands, Table Bay Mall, Somerset Mall and Capegate Shopping Centre, with the final week of competition culminating at Canal Walk. The tournament drew thousands of players across all skill levels, offering more than R250 000 in prizes and a platform to compete in front of live audiences.

“The SHIFT Gaming Experience is about bringing high-level competition into public spaces and giving players of all ages the opportunity to compete, connect and grow,” said Christie Stanbridge, Brand and Campaigns Marketing Manager at Hyprop. “From pros representing South Africa on global stages to young players discovering their potential, far more than being entertaining, this year highlighted gaming as a space for learning, discipline and community.”

With the 2025 tournament wrapped, planning is already underway for an even bigger return in 2026.

The post South Africa’s Top Gamers Crowned at 2025 MTN SHIFT Gaming Grand Finals at Canal Walk appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Bonus Bag feature

TaDa Gaming Delivers Highway Thrills in Chicken Dash

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Award-winning TaDa has taken a favourite joke and transformed it into an immersive and humorous crash release. Simple mechanics, personalised risk management controls and a max win of 20,659.1x are enhanced with slick graphics and a fearless chicken.

And with an expanding bonus bag that fell off the back of a lorry, it’s easy to see why this chicken is so determined to get to the other side.

Players begin by setting their preferred gameplay parameters. Three levels of Easy, Normal and Hard will dictate the level length or number of tiles the bird has to cross and the level max multiplier value.

Strong clear colours and polished visuals set the scene for the determined chicken to make it across the motorway. Beginning on the grass verge, players click to send the bird across the lanes one multiplier tile at a time against the oncoming traffic.

Each safe step will see a safety barrier land to protect the chicken but one false move and it’s game over and back to the grass verge.

Keeping players on high alert, the Chicken Dash feature can randomly trigger multiple times in a game. The appearance and squawking of the rooster starts the bonus feature which protects the chicken from traffic throughout and allows it to pass over two or three tiles in one go.

A Bonus Bag feature can also randomly trigger. Players must land the chicken on the tile where the bag dropped to collect the prize. And the higher the risk level, the higher the prize.

A clear UI and straightforward gameplay mean players can focus on getting the chicken across the road in one piece – and hopefully with the bonus prize – while enjoying Chicken Dash’s crisp graphics and sly details in this high volatility and amusing game.

Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “Chicken Dash is a hugely entertaining crash game that will have players laughing out loud. The cartoon graphics add to the experiential play and we promise no chickens were hurt in making of this game.”

The post TaDa Gaming Delivers Highway Thrills in Chicken Dash appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Cash Rain Event

TaDa Gaming Releases Cash Stack

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TaDa Gaming, a leading provider of innovative casino content, is redefining fast-play entertainment with the release of Cash Stack, an adrenaline-pumping crash game that puts timing, control and strategy directly in the player’s hands. With a max multiplier of 100x, Cash Stack delivers rapid gameplay, instant decisions and nonstop engagement.

Built for players who love simplicity and control, Cash Stack starts at a 1.01x multiplier, with the tension rising as players manually tap DROP to increase their payout potential. Every decision carries risk — one mistimed move and the round ends instantly. For those who dare, the game can soar up to 100x before the stack collapses.

The twist comes with the Cash Rain Event, a random in-game boost that can multiply winnings by 0.1x to 10x. Players must hit CASH OUT before the round ends to claim the bonus value, adding a thrilling layer of timing and anticipation. The result is a fast, skill-driven experience that rewards quick reactions and nerve.

Cash Stack embodies TaDa Gaming’s next step in the evolution of crash games — sleek visuals, simple mechanics and an emphasis on player control over automatic outcomes.

Sean Liu, Director of Product Management at TaDa Gaming, said: “Cash Stack takes the essence of crash gameplay and turns it into a true test of timing and instinct. Every round is a balance between greed and precision — do you cash out early or chase the big win? We’ve designed it to be fast, flexible, and highly engaging for players who want to feel in control.”

The post TaDa Gaming Releases Cash Stack appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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