Connect with us
European Gaming Congress 2024

Gaming

Ultra Unveils First-Ever Tradable Digital Video Game Redefining Ownership of Gaming Content

Published

on

ultra-unveils-first-ever-tradable-digital-video-game-redefining-ownership-of-gaming-content
Reading Time: 2 minutes

 

Ultra, a complete PC gaming hub created by AAA talent from companies like Ubisoft, Playstation and Nintendo, announced the launch of the world’s very first tradable digital video game. This groundbreaking development empowers gamers to resell video gaming content to fellow enthusiasts, redefining the essence of digital ownership in the gaming ecosystem.

The cornerstone of this transformative shift is Ultra’s proprietary blockchain technology, which seamlessly integrates gamers, game developers and publishers into a fairer, more sustainable paradigm where all can benefit. Embracing this technological innovation and forever securing its status as the world’s first tradable game is indie title Josh Journey: Darkness Totems from Provincia Studio. Users now gain the unprecedented ability to not only purchase but also resell captivating digital gaming content among themselves, heralding a new era in video game distribution. Ultra’s recent independent survey of 2000 PC gamers – the full findings of which are set to be released in January 2024 – showed that the vast majority (64%) of PC games are already bought at a discount or in a bundle, or downloaded for free.

This technological leap addresses an unspoken reality within digital entertainment: the absence of true ownership for users over the content they buy. Currently, the purchase of a PC game or any other digital content merely grants users an individual license to access and enjoy the material, a privilege susceptible to removal at any given moment. By representing all of the game licenses on its platform as digital tokens – “tokenizing” them – Ultra is introducing what could be a decisive shift toward granting users genuine ownership rights, revolutionising the status quo governing digital content transactions.

Advertisement
European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

Nicolas Gilot, Co-CEO at Ultra, said: “For the majority of mainstream PC gamers, true ownership of their digital games isn’t a burning issue – until it is. Recent history has clearly shown that digital content in users’ libraries can be removed at short notice as platforms, companies and licensing agreements change. By tokenizing the games on Ultra and providing developers with the option to make their titles tradable, we hope to unlock new revenue streams and community engagement features for developers of all types of PC game, while giving all users true ownership of their content – even if they don’t know they need it yet!”

Guilherme Araujo, Co-Founder of Provincia Studio, said: “We’re excited that Josh Journey will forever be the very first tradable title on Ultra Games! This is a great opportunity for us to understand more about this new business model for games and see how it can enhance existing revenue streams, and create new ones. Blockchain and tokenization are not familiar concepts to us but the enthusiasm of the Ultra community is enormous and we can’t wait to see them enjoy and share Josh Journey.”

While Ultra’s tradable game technology is available to every game on its next-gen PC store, it’s up to developers to decide whether to activate reselling of their titles and set rules such as minimum resale price and desired revenue split. Josh Journey: Darkness Totems, a beautifully hand drawn beat’em up game, is a traditional PC game with no blockchain elements, showing the potential of this technology for the mainstream games industry. Ultra Games has an extensive catalogue of games including web3 titles Phantom Galaxies, R3V3NGE and Aether: Trading Card Game, and much-loved PC games and gaming series such as Lords of the Fallen, The Walking Dead Definitive Series, WRC7, the Syberia series and the Beholder series. Ultra is powered by its custom-built layer 1 blockchain and native token, UOS.

Gaming

The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example

Published

on

the-mobile-gaming-market-is-growing-and-attracting-new-companies.-gamivo-is-the-latest-example
Reading Time: 3 minutes

 

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.

Advertisement
European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

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. It’s 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, it’s 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 there’s still space for further growth.

“There 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 don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.

One hobby, different habits

Advertisement
European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz Śmieżewski.

Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s 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 games’ 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.

“Mobile 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 don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.

Advertisement
European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

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. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.

“We 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,” describes Mateusz Śmieżewski.

“We 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,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.

Advertisement
European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)

The post The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Continue Reading

ADG

Arizona Department of Gaming Reports $43.9 Million in Tribal Gaming Contributions for the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2025

Published

on

arizona-department-of-gaming-reports-$43.9-million-in-tribal-gaming-contributions-for-the-first-quarter-of-fiscal-year-2025

The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) announced today $43,926,346 in tribal gaming contributions to the Arizona Benefits Fund for the first quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. This amount represents an
approximate 3.6 percent increase when compared to the same quarter of FY 2024.

The Arizona Benefits Fund receives 88 percent of tribal gaming contributions, providing significant dollars to support instructional improvement in schools, trauma and emergency care, tourism, and wildlife conservation throughout the state.

FY 2025 Qtr 1 Total: Tribal Gaming Contributions to the Arizona Benefits Fund.

“We are pleased to report yet another increase in the first quarter of the FY 2025, reflecting steady growth in the state’s tribal gaming industry,’ said Jackie Johnson, Director of ADG. “This growth highlights the continued strengtht
of the partnership between the state and our Arizona tribal partners. Notably, cumulative tribal contributions to the Instructional Improvement Fund have now surpassed $1 billion, demonstrating the significant and ongoing impact of tribal gaming on education and communities across Arizona.

Per the Arizona Tribal-State Gaming Compact, Tribes with casinos also contribute a percentage of their Class gross gaming revenue to cities, towns, and counties. Currently, there are 25 Class Il casinos in Arizona, which ADG
regulates in partnership with Arizona tribes. Since FY 2004, approximately $2.3 billion in cumulative contributions
have been received by the state and its cities, towns, and counties.

Advertisement
European Gaming Congress 2024 (Warsaw, Poland)
Continue Reading

Gaming

SPGA Announces Social Sweeps Game Sector Video Briefing

Published

on

spga-announces-social-sweeps-game-sector-video-briefing
The Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA) has released a video briefing designed to provide insight and information on the social sweeps gaming model. This briefing is designed to address the growing attention and interest in how the social casino with sweepstakes prizing functions and why millions of players across America enjoy this safe and legal form of entertainment.
This inaugural SPGA briefing features insights from Matt Kaufman, Managing Director, Digital & Interactive Gaming at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, and Jon Kaplowitz, CEO and Co-Founder of Clubs Poker. The discussion is moderated by prominent sports betting industry founder and investor Chris Grove.
Continue Reading

Trending

Get it on Google Play

Fresh slot games releases by the top brands of the industry. We provide you with the latest news straight from the entertainment industries.

The platform also hosts industry-relevant webinars, and provides detailed reports, making it a one-stop resource for anyone seeking information about operators, suppliers, regulators, and professional services in the European gaming market. The portal's primary goal is to keep its extensive reader base updated on the latest happenings, trends, and developments within the gaming and gambling sector, with an emphasis on the European market while also covering pertinent global news. It's an indispensable resource for gaming professionals, operators, and enthusiasts alike.

Contact us: [email protected]

Editorial / PR Submissions: [email protected]

Copyright © 2015 - 2024 - Recent Slot Releases is part of HIPTHER Agency. Registered in Romania under Proshirt SRL, Company number: 2134306, EU VAT ID: RO21343605. Office address: Blvd. 1 Decembrie 1918 nr.5, Targu Mures, Romania