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Opera buys owner of GameMaker and starts a Gaming division

Published

5 years ago

January 22, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Opera, the browser developer and consumer internet brand, announced its acquisition of YoYo Games, creator of the world’s leading 2D game engine, GameMaker Studio 2, for approximately $10 million. The tuck-in acquisition represents the second building block in the foundation of Opera Gaming, a new division within Opera with global ambitions and follows the creation and rapid growth of Opera’s innovative Opera GX browser, the world’s first browser built specifically for gamers.

Krystian Kolondra, EVP Browsers at Opera, said: “With Opera GX, Opera had adapted its proven, innovative browser tech platform to dramatically expand its footprint in gaming. We’re at the brink of a shift, when more and more people start not only playing, but also creating and publishing games. GameMaker Studio2 is best-in-class game development software, and lowers the barrier to entry for anyone to start making their games and offer them across a wide range of web-supported platforms, from PCs, to, mobile iOS/Android devices, to consoles.

Annette De Freitas, Head of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Opera Gaming, added: “Gaming is a growth area for Opera and the acquisition of YoYo Games reflects significant, sustained momentum across both of our businesses over the past year. Our new Opera GX browser hit 7 million MAUs in December, 2020, up 350% year over year, while YoYo Games’ GameMaker engine achieved 400K new registered creators in 2020. We’re tremendously excited by the opportunities the combination creates not only for our combined users, but also for the expansion of Opera’s gaming community.”

Stuart Poole, GM at YoYo Games who will remain with the business alongside technical lead Russell Kay stated, “For over twenty years, the vision behind the GameMaker engine was to not just create more games, but expand development within and beyond the game studio. We think the transaction with Opera – whose products are known, trusted and used worldwide by millions of people every month- represents a massive opportunity to accelerate fulfilment of that founding vision, during a period of exceptional growth for both companies.”

“We are very excited to start working with the team at YoYo Games,” said Krystian Kolondra, EVP Browsers at Opera. “We see the Game Maker Studio platform as being an ideal acquisition to complement our global ambitions in gaming, and to help drive awareness and traffic to our Opera GX gaming browser.”

Opera GX, YoYo Games and GameMaker will unite under Opera Gaming, focusing on innovating across the gaming, game development, and browser experience. “We look forward to further growing Opera GX and driving the growth of GameMaker as part of a broader ecosystem, making it more accessible to novice users and developing it into the world’s leading 2D game engine used by commercial studios,” continued Krystian Kolondra. “Opera Gaming will be focusing on accelerating the growth of this emerging ecosystem, combining the 7+ million highly engaged gamers using Opera GX with millions of GameMaker creators. We are also thrilled to continue realizing synergies between YoYo Games’ products and Opera GX.”

GameMakerStudio is an integrated game development software, performance-tuned 2/2.5D engine that fuels many games, including multi-million hits like Risk of Rain, Undertale, or Hyper Light Drifter on an extensive range of mainstream platforms. Starting to build games with Game Maker Studio requires little to zero coding skills. Due to its extensive functionalities and ease of use Game Maker Studio lowers the barriers to entry and empowers a variety of creative people to make their games come alive and share them with the world.

Kolondra explained further: “Performance is essential to even 2D gaming, and sustaining that performance across mobile devices and laptops as well as variable bandwidth and connectivity requires thinking outside of traditional application silos. The line between building good games and good browsers has been eroding for years – with gaming interactivity across internet connections ramping up and browsers growing more multi-function and sophisticated. Traditionally the two types of technology compete for hardware and bandwidth resources. But as Opera GX proved, there was a better way to address that competition and improve the experience across both functionalities. YoYo Games’ team, development expertise and studio relationships lay the groundwork for turning the Opera GX vertical into a new kind of horizontal. This horizontal opportunity is why we’re building Opera Gaming and its infrastructure – so that we can further integrate gaming and browsing in ways beneficial to both in terms of not only monetization, but also experience.”

Canada

Tonybet player in Canada claims $20,000 CAD golden World Cup card prize

Published

59 minutes ago

July 21, 2026

Wladimir P.

tonybet-player-in-canada-claims-$20,000-cad-golden-world-cup-card-prize

Tonybet says a player in Laurier-Station, Canada has claimed the “golden card” prize worth $20,000 CAD in the operator’s World Cup Card Collection. The announcement was made Tuesday 21st July 2026.

The World Cup collection featured 51 cards in total, including 48 digital cards representing participating World Cup nations, plus three unique prize cards in bronze, silver and gold. Tonybet said the bronze card—available during the group stage—was previously found by a customer in Saint-Colomban, Canada, while the silver card—available during the knockout rounds up to the quarter-finals—was won by a player in County Kildare, Ireland.

The golden card became available for the semi-final, third-place play-off and final, and has now been claimed, Tonybet said.

Tonybet Head of Product Kiryl Liudvikevich said: “You can plan a campaign down to the last detail, but you can’t plan what the World Cup brings.

“We designed the collection to evolve with the tournament, and every knockout round created new stories we couldn’t have predicted. Seeing players complete their collections and discovering who would uncover each prize was the most rewarding part of the campaign.

“I hope everyone enjoyed the experience for what it was meant to be: a fun addition to the tournament, played responsibly and always within their limits.”

Tonybet said the collection will remain open until 31 July for players who are still completing sets and spending coins, although all grand prizes have been awarded.

The post Tonybet player in Canada claims $20,000 CAD golden World Cup card prize appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Canada

Tonybet player in Canada claims $20,000 CAD golden World Cup card prize

Published

60 minutes ago

July 21, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

The golden card became available for the semi-final, third-place play-off and final, and has now been claimed, Tonybet said.

Tonybet Head of Product Kiryl Liudvikevich said: “You can plan a campaign down to the last detail, but you can’t plan what the World Cup brings.

“I hope everyone enjoyed the experience for what it was meant to be: a fun addition to the tournament, played responsibly and always within their limits.”

Tonybet said the collection will remain open until 31 July for players who are still completing sets and spending coins, although all grand prizes have been awarded.

The post Tonybet player in Canada claims $20,000 CAD golden World Cup card prize appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

AI

SCCG Management and Trivver Partner to Transform Gaming with AI-Powered Interactive Commerce

Published

60 minutes ago

July 21, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

sccg-management-and-trivver-partner-to-transform-gaming-with-ai-powered-interactive-commerce

SCCG Management has entered a strategic partnership with Trivver, Inc., a spatial AI technology company holding more than 165 global patents, to bring measurable AI-powered commerce experiences to gaming operators, casinos, sportsbooks, and entertainment brands.

SCCG Management, an advisory and consultancy firm serving publicly traded and privately held corporations across the global gaming, betting, and prediction markets sectors, today announced a new strategic partnership with Trivver, Inc., a spatial AI technology company based in Hideout, Utah. The partnership brings Trivver’s patented AI-powered Smart Objects into SCCG’s network of gaming operators, platform providers, and sports and entertainment brands.

Trivver holds more than 165 global patents covering spatial AI, immersive environment monetization, and viewability measurement, with technology that deploys across web, mobile, and smart glasses platforms without requiring an app download. Trivver enables gaming operators and brands to transform digital environments into measurable, interactive commerce experiences where every product, sponsorship, or promotion becomes intelligent, personalized, and directly shoppable. The company’s work includes a virtual banking experience built for JPMorgan Chase and, most recently, the June 11, 2026 launch of its PlayCanvas SDK on Google Cloud Marketplace, Trivver’s first commercial deployment of in-game advertising infrastructure, announced with supporting statements from Jack Buser, global director for Games, Strategic Industries at Google Cloud, and Will Eastcott, CEO and co-founder of PlayCanvas. The SDK lets developers building on the PlayCanvas engine deploy interactive in-world brand experiences inside browser-based games, personalized in real time using Google’s Gemini models, with Unreal Engine and Unity support in development. Its platform is designed to turn any product, brand asset, or advertising unit into an interactive 3D object inside an immersive environment, with built-in measurement of viewability and engagement aligned with IAB and MRC ad-measurement standards.

Trivver’s environments can be launched through a URL, QR code, or link, with inventory swapped in seconds without changing the destination address, and each smart object carries its own engagement data on screen coverage and dwell time. That data layer is what SCCG sees as the differentiator for gaming and entertainment use cases: an operator or rights holder can measure exactly how an audience engages with a branded 3D object inside a live casino stream, a fan-engagement environment, or a venue activation, not just whether it was displayed.

Under the partnership, SCCG will provide Trivver with strategic and regulatory advisory across gaming verticals, commercial introductions to operators and platform partners across its network, support for Trivver’s expansion into new international markets, and introductions to potential strategic partners and acquirers. The engagement will prioritize verticals where Trivver’s technology has direct application, including live casino, fan engagement and sports entertainment, music, and automotive. The fit runs in both directions: Trivver’s own positioning for its Enterprise AI Commerce Platform names Gaming, Casinos & Sports Betting as one of ten target verticals the platform serves.

“Trivver is exactly the kind of category-defining technology partner our network looks for. They hold more than 165 global patents, they just launched their PlayCanvas SDK on Google Cloud Marketplace, and their own platform already names gaming, casinos, and sports betting as a core vertical. Live casino, fan engagement, and immersive entertainment all have unused digital real estate, and Trivver’s spatial AI is built to monetize exactly that space, with measurement built to IAB and MRC standards.”

Stephen Crystal, Founder and CEO, SCCG Management

SCCG will draw on its established network of more than 100 partners across sportsbook operators, iGaming platforms, content studios, live casino providers, and B2B technology vendors to identify and support introductions for Trivver, alongside representation at major international gaming events including G2E Las Vegas, ICE London, and SBC events.

“Gaming has become one of the world’s largest digital commerce platforms. Together with SCCG we’re giving operators, brands, and entertainment companies a new way to engage audiences through AI-powered experiences that can be measured, personalized, and monetized in real time.”

Joel LaMontagne, Chief Executive Officer, Trivver, Inc.

The partnership adds to SCCG’s growing roster of technology partners bringing new categories of immersive, measurable digital experiences into the gaming and entertainment industry, and reflects the continued convergence of physical and digital engagement across live casino, sports, music, and automotive audiences. SCCG will begin with a market assessment and gaming-vertical analysis of Trivver’s technology, followed by initial introductions to qualified operators and platform providers across its network, with distribution and advisory support continuing throughout the engagement.

About SCCG Management

SCCG Management is a global advisory firm with more than 33 years of experience connecting clients to strategic partners across the gambling industry. With an ecosystem of over 130 gaming-related partner companies, SCCG provides market representation, business development, capital introductions, and managed services to operators, technology providers, and brands worldwide. For more information, visit sccgmanagement.com.

About Trivver

Trivver, Inc. is a spatial AI technology company specializing in 3D smart object technology, immersive environment monetization, and augmented reality deployment across web, mobile, and smart glasses platforms. Trivver is the Enterprise AI Commerce Platform that enables organizations to create, deploy, measure, personalize, and monetize interactive experiences across web, mobile, gaming, smart TVs, and emerging wearable devices. The company holds more than 165 global patents, launched its PlayCanvas SDK on Google Cloud Marketplace in June 2026, and has worked with organizations including JPMorgan Chase. Trivver is led by Chief Executive Officer Joel LaMontagne. For more information, visit trivver.com.

The post SCCG Management and Trivver Partner to Transform Gaming with AI-Powered Interactive Commerce appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.