Gaming
Azerion successfully completes its business combination with EFIC1
Azerion Holding B.V., a high-growth, profitable, digital entertainment and media company, and European FinTech IPO Company 1 B.V. (“EFIC1”), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listed on Euronext Amsterdam, have successfully completed their business combination on 1 February 2022.
As part of the completion of the business combination, the legal form of the combined company has been converted into a limited company (naamloze vennootschap) and it has been renamed Azerion Group N.V. (“Azerion Group”). The first day of trading on Euronext Amsterdam under the new name of Azerion Group’s shares and warrants will be on 2 February 2022 (today) under the new ticker symbols AZRN and AZRNW, respectively.
The business combination received the support of EFIC1’s shareholders, with more than 95% of the votes cast at EFIC1’s extraordinary general meeting held on 31 January 2022 (the “EGM”) approving the business combination.
The completion of the business combination supports Azerion Group in its ambitions to become a global digital entertainment and media powerhouse. The business combination furthermore provides for a strong complementary partnership accelerating future value creation for all stakeholders through continued investments in Azerion Group’s growth, both organically and through M&A. Azerion Group expects this listing to create a new long-term supportive shareholder base, permit Azerion Group to incentivise the existing and future management team and senior staff and continue to attract high calibre individuals.
The business combination resulted in approximately €93 million of gross total primary cash proceeds, including approximately €70 million of funds from the EFIC1 escrow account (net of negative interest and after effectuation of the share repurchase arrangement) complemented by a sponsor and co investor commitment of €23.15 million. With the completion of the business combination, Azerion Group received approximately €56 million of net primary cash proceeds (net of transaction costs and expenses), which will be used to continue to pursue value-accretive acquisitions (with Azerion having a strong acquisition track record and a broad pipeline of potential targets), and to further invest in organic growth initiatives (such as new games and features, platform investments, etc.) as well as general corporate purposes.
Immediately after completion of the business combination and the related restructuring steps (including the cancellation of 31,228,299 ordinary shares that were repurchased by EFIC1 from its shareholders), the issued share capital of Azerion Group is as follows:
1
Public
Type of security #¹
Ordinary Shares (excl. treasury) 111,483,296
Ordinary Shares in treasury² 70,078,452
Total Ordinary Shares 181,561,748
Capital Shares 22
Conditional Special Shares 1,152,886
Warrants³ 12,736,605
Please see section 6.4. “Description of Securities” in the EFIC1 Shareholders Circular dated 13 December 2021 for a description of the classes of securities of Azerion Group.
1. Excluding any conditional and unconditional option rights and Founder Warrants existing at the date of this press release, which in aggregate entitle the holders to receive up to a maximum of 24,160,245 Ordinary Shares. 2. The Ordinary Shares in treasury can be used for acquisitions, exercise of warrants and option rights and other general funding purposes.
3. The outstanding Warrants listed on Euronext Amsterdam at the date of this press release entitle the holders to receive up to 12,736,605 Ordinary Shares.
Immediately after completion of the business combination, the ownership percentages of Ordinary Shares are as follows:
Shareholder % Ordinary Shares⁴
Principion Holding B.V.⁵ 74.3%⁶
Azerion former depositary receipt holders 7.5%
Azerion former stock appreciation rights holders 4.0%⁷
Former EFIC1 converted special shares holders 5.9%
Other Shareholders 8.3%
Total 100.0%
Based on Azerion Group’s information. Actual share ownership percentages and regulatory filings and notifications of ownership percentages may differ.
4. Excluding treasury shares as well as any conditional and unconditional option rights and Founder Warrants existing at the date of this press release, which in aggregate entitle the holders to receive up to a maximum of 24,160,245 Ordinary Shares.
5. An entity controlled by Azerion’s co-founders and co-CEOs.
6. Including shares held for settlement of future acquisition-related earn out and other obligations. 7. Excluding shares held for settlement of future acquisition-related earn out and other obligations.
Atilla Aytekin, co-founder and co-CEO of Azerion says: “Today marks an important step for Azerion, and we are excited to finally enter the public markets and continue to grow and advance our platform whilst raising our profile amongst our customer and partner groups and talented workforce globally. We are proud to achieve this important milestone, and we look forward to our next growth phase and future
2
Public
as a public company. I am grateful to the entire Azerion team for all their hard work, which has brought us to this pivotal moment, and for the dedicated support of our partner EFIC1.”
Martin Blessing, former Chief Executive Officer of EFIC1, adds: “The journey of our SPAC EFIC1 comes to a successful end while the exciting journey of Azerion as a listed company starts now. The whole EFIC1 team thanks its shareholders for their support. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Azerion over the long term and wish the company, its founders, employees and shareholders success as they continue their impressive growth story.”
To celebrate the completion of the business combination, the management team of Azerion Group will ring the opening bell at Euronext Amsterdam at 09.00 CET on 2 February 2022. A live stream of the event and replay can be accessed via this link.
Advisers
Credit Suisse Bank (Europe), S.A. acted as capital markets adviser, Hogan Lovells International LLP acted as legal adviser and ABN AMRO Bank N.V acted as financial adviser to EFIC1.
N.M. Rothschild & Sons Limited acted as financial adviser, Stibbe N.V. acted as legal adviser, and Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG and Jefferies GmbH as capital markets advisers to Azerion.
ABN AMRO (acting in cooperation with ODDO BHF SCA), ING Bank N.V. and Pareto Securities AB acted as co-capital markets advisers to EFIC1, and Clifford Chance LLP acted as legal adviser to the capital markets advisers.
Liquidity Provider
As from 2 February 2022, Azerion Group will enter into a liquidity provider agreement pursuant to which ABN AMRO Bank N.V. will act as liquidity provider for the trade in listed shares of Azerion Group.
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Central Europe
Number of companies and employees in German games industry falls for first time in years
After years of growth, the number of companies and employees in the German games industry declined in 2025. This was announced today by game – The German Games Industry Association on the basis of data from gamesmap.de in cooperation with Goldmedia. According to the data, the number of companies in Germany that develop and/or publish games has dropped by 4 per cent within the past year, to 910. The boom in start-ups in the games sector, which was set in motion by the introduction of the German Federal Games Funding Programme in 2020, has now completely subsided. Last year’s figures already indicated a clear slowdown. This decline was due in particular to the consolidation of the global games market and the unreliable availability of games funding to date in Germany.
Three times since 2020, there have been months-long suspensions placed on funding applications. Despite the newly registered drop, the number of companies has risen by 46 per cent overall since the initial start of the games funding programme in 2020. Of the 910 present companies, 454 work exclusively in game development and 52 exclusively as publishers. The remaining 404 companies are active in both the development and publishing of games.
‘Last year was another very difficult one for the German games industry,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘Germany’s international competitiveness was further decreased by the ongoing flip-flopping of the games funding policy, which ran right into the consolidation wave that swept the global games sector. Fortunately, the new federal government has already taken the necessary steps to level the playing field for companies in this country. The future funding budget is to be increased and thus adjusted to actual needs, and applications can be submitted from August onwards. These are crucial growth impulses that are urgently needed. The additional funds will not only give companies more planning security, but also time to implement additional tax breaks for games, as set out in the coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD. The improved conditions will finally give games companies a boost, which will hopefully soon be reflected in more start-ups and the creation of new jobs.’
The number of employees at games companies in Germany has also declined over the last year. Whereas game developers and publishers employed 12,408 workers in 2024, the current figure stands at just 12,134 – a drop of 2 per cent. As with the number of companies, the employee numbers had previously shown strong growth since the introduction of the games funding programme at the federal level: a rise of 23 per cent from 2020 to 2024. The recent decline indicates that the current conditions for the games industry, which offer limited scope for planning due to the repeated funding application stoppages and significant current funding restrictions, are having an impact on the job market. A year ago, there were still more companies with ongoing projects that were internationally competitive thanks to funding at levels comparable to those in other countries – financing that had stabilised Germany’s game sector, despite the global consolidation wave and a lack of funding certainty for the industry here. The game industry secures a total of over 30,000 jobs in Germany. In addition to jobs in development and publishing, these include, for example, skilled professionals in educational institutions, the media and the public and commercial sectors.
About the data
The data is drawn from a survey carried out by Goldmedia on the basis of entries on gamesmap.de. It was conducted on behalf of game – The German Games Industry Association for the period ending on 12 May 2025.
The post Number of companies and employees in German games industry falls for first time in years appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
METABORA, a global casual game developer and blockchain project operator, has announced a strategic partnership with LINE NEXT Inc. Through this partnership, METABORA will distribute Web3 games via the LINE Messenger–based Dapp Portal, expanding its reach in the Web3 gaming space.
The Dapp Portal is a platform built on the KAIA ecosystem that offers Mini Dapps (decentralised applications) directly within the LINE Messenger app. Users can enjoy a variety of Mini Dapps—ranging from games to social features—without needing to install separate applications. Since its launch in January this year, the platform has garnered significant attention, surpassing 100 million cumulative users.
Through this new partnership, METABORA and LINE NEXT will work closely to accelerate the growth of the Mini Dapp’s gaming ecosystem. Leveraging its network of development partners and global experience in game development and publishing, METABORA will supply Web3 games to the Dapp Portal. LINE NEXT will expand accessibility to Web3 games and support marketing of these games through its platform.
As part of the collaboration, METABORA will also expand the utility of its BORA token within the LINE Messenger–based Mini Dapp ecosystem. The company plans to implement a payment infrastructure that enables users to purchase in-game items currently planned for upcoming titles to be released under the BORA brand. Additionally, METABORA will apply Gas Abstraction technology, allowing users to make in-app purchases with BORA without needing KAIA tokens to cover gas fees. This feature is expected to be fully implemented in the second half of the year.
By expanding the utility of the BORA token, METABORA aims to elevate its value beyond the confines of the BORA Chain, laying the groundwork for broader integration across the Web3 ecosystem.
In addition, METABORA and LINE NEXT plan to continue their collaboration by researching and developing infrastructure to support the use of stable coins such as USDT, further enhancing the Web3 gaming experience within the LINE ecosystem centered on the Dapp Portal.
Lim Youngjun, Co-CEO of METABORA, said: “We’re pleased to partner with LINE NEXT, a company making remarkable strides in the global Web3 gaming market with its vast user base. Through our strong network of development partners, we will carefully select and bring high-quality games to the Dapp Portal, working together to create a leading example of Web3 gaming reaching a mainstream audience.”
Kim Woosuk, CSO at LINE NEXT, said: “Through this partnership with METABORA, we look forward to creating a major success case for Mini Dapp. Moving forward, we will continue working closely together across multiple fronts, including enabling USDT stablecoin support to improve game onboarding and the overall user payment environment.”
The post METABORA Partners with LINE NEXT appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
Limited Run Games Achieves the Impossible: Announcing Pre-Orders for Standard and Collector Editions of DOOM(™) on the Super Nintendo™ Entertainment System!
Limited Run Games, a premium publisher of physical and digital games, announced today the opening of pre-orders for the long-awaited DOOM, arriving on physical cartridge for use with the Super Nintendo
Entertainment System!
To celebrate this remarkable release, Limited Run Games are also pleased to announce the opening of pre-orders for the SNES compatible Rumble Tech Controller, bringing vibration technology to SNES games for the very first time!
In a move that only Limited Run Games could have the audacity to pull off, the impossible became real, partnering with Bethesda Softworks to introduce a remarkable special edition of the classic game, some 30 years after the original DOOM first debuted for the SNES.
Headed up by legendary programming wizard Randal Linden, who first worked on DOOM for the SNES in 1995, this enhanced version is no mere re-release of the original. Determined to do justice to the iconic shooter which birthed the modern FPS, this new version expands upon the original with a host of new features, ‘impossible’ graphical tricks and engineering dark magic that will leave 16-bit gamers breathless with excitement!
Created utilizing an all-new, custom-made board, designed specifically for this project, Limited Run Games’ version of DOOM for the Super Nintendo, greatly enhances performance which SNES enthusiasts will scarcely believe possible. Limited Run Games have fully restored the entire DOOM experience, featuring all four episodes of DOOM including ‘Thy Flesh Consumed,’ which was originally introduced in 1995 as part of the updated PC release ‘The Ultimate DOOM’. There’s much more than that though, also included are levels that were missing from the original release due to technical limitations, with five new levels implemented including E1M6, E2M2, E2M5, E2M7 and E3M5, delivering a complete DOOM experience for the humble SNES for the very first time.
Limited Run Games ain’t done yet: In addition to the improved performance and restored levels, DOOM now proudly includes support for circle-strafe, monster re-spawning on Nightmare difficulty, an appearance by the dreaded translucent Spectre monster, full-motion video logos and so much more.
A release this special demands a new controller to take advantage of the enhanced features, and here, Limited Run Games have gone the extra mile. Pre-orders open on 7/11/25 for the SNES compatible Rumble Tech Controller (sold separately), an open-source gamepad which will feel familiar to fans of the original SNES controller but now comes complete with powerful dual vibration support! Naturally, this new version of DOOM includes rumble support, but Limited Run Games are showing love to the community, offering open-source support to developers and modders, allowing third parties to update their games to include rumble support or code new titles utilizing the feature!
Back to the game and players will take note of a new music player which has been included to relive the superb score of the game, high quality title and score-card screens added, and a Level Selection menu alongside a Level Code system, which allow gamers to tackle DOOM in the method of their choosing.
It’s DOOM that shouldn’t be possible, fusing old-school technology with state-of-the-art enhancements to deliver a thrilling new take on the iconic game.
Two versions of DOOM for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System will be available, with both open for pre-order on 7/11/25:
Doom Standard Edition – Super Nintendo Entertainment System – $99.99 MSRP
- Metallic Gunmetal Colored SNES Cart
- Instruction Booklet
- 12” x 16” Poster
- Retro SNES Box
Doom Collector’s Edition – Super Nintendo Entertainment System- $174.99 MSRP
- Exclusive Collector’s Edition SNES cartridge – Metallic-ink Gunmetal color with Blood Splatter print and Metal Plate Label
- Premium Embossed Foil Box
- Instruction Booklet
- 12” x 16” Poster
- Individually Numbered Certificate of Authenticity
- Limited to 666 copies
Pre-orders for Doom on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System go live on 7/11/25, but be quick, pre-orders close on 8/10/25. Visit Limited Run Games for more information.
The Limited Run Games SNES compatible Rumble Tech Controller will retail for an MSRP of $34.99 and will be open for pre-order on 7/11/25.
The post Limited Run Games Achieves the Impossible: Announcing Pre-Orders for Standard and Collector Editions of DOOM(™) on the Super Nintendo™ Entertainment System! appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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