The Insights Family, the global leader in kids, parents, and family market intelligence, launches their annual Future Forecast 2022 report, which predicts some of the key trends in the kids, parents and family universe to watch out for next year.

Predictions include:

The impact of the “flexible family” will see new opportunities in terms of the times of the week families can share experiences which is likely to further fuel the experience economy as the influence of kids is expected to grow across all family purchasing decisions.

Education to be reinvented and for the creation of school for the family, based on the growth of family-focused edutainment and education experiences.

Esport becomes the new family sport with more and more parents exploring this activity with kids.
According to the report, 20% of millennial parents globally state that playing video games is one of their favourite family activities – ranking as the number one hobby amongst families in the US. As parents are interacting more with the gaming industry, the study suggests that it is only a matter of time before esports becomes a family viewing experience also. In the same way that Traditional sports viewership unites the family unit, so too will esports in time.

When it comes to playing sports, parents are 70% more likely than kids to have influence over this activity. The same is true of attending live sporting events, although in this case the asymmetry in influence is even more pronounced towards parents, who are 93% more likely to influence this family activity. In the sporting world, parents are the key decision makers in the family unit.

But esport trend will be accelerated through kids’ influence in the household. We are even likely to see esports be handed up the generations, in contrast to traditional sports. The Insights Family’s previous data has shown that parents have significant influence over sports events, but recently we have seen that 74% of kids globally hold a lot of influence over video games in the household, according to parents. More parents are being exposed to the world of esports than ever before, and as such the industry must be prepared for an influx of new audiences to cater for.

More parents are being exposed to the world of esports than ever before, and as such the industry must be prepared for an influx of new audiences to cater for. As a result, we are likely to see the esports industry pivot in order to make their branding, marketing and partnerships reflect more of a family focus in the coming years.

Sarah Riding, Senior Research & Trend Director at The Insights Family comments,

“Increasingly, parents will recognise the appeal and legitimacy of esports as an activity worth spending time on, particularly as it moves increasingly into the family space. Whether this is passively through watching competitions or encouraging kids to spend more time pursuing their esports related talents”

Future Forecast 2022 is the fourth iteration of the coveted report, which has previously predicted the rise of Direct to Consumer (2017), Generation Speak (2018) and Co-Creation (2020).

The report which is inspired by the company’s extensive knowledge and insight of surveying more than 500,000 family members across 18 countries every year, has continued to track and monitor the impact of a number of key factors such as Covid, technology and the environment and how they are transforming the attitudes, behaviour and consumption of kids, parents and families around the world.

The complimentary 26 page Future Forecast report is available to download by visiting: get.theinsightsfamily.com/futureforecast

MGA Games, developer of localised slot games for global operators, launches the new casino slot game Fonsi Nieto Deluxe Racing Life. A new 5×3 reel production, MGA Games takes players on a journey full of adrenaline and luxury.

For the production of this slot game, the company has collaborated with Fonsi Nieto, the former motorcycle racer and current DJ and electronic music producer, who, lending his image to the game, also recorded the voice-over for the production. The result is a slot game where luxury and sporting style come together, forming an explosive combination.

Racing bikes, trophies and cups are the symbols featured in this game. The game also includes a special Expansion symbol, chosen at random to help the user win more prizes.

One of the resources that players love is the entertaining mini-games where players have fun and accumulate more prizes. Fonsi Nieto Deluxe Racing Life includes 3 dynamic mini-games with great graphic quality, which players access progressively. When a player gets three or more Bonus symbols, the mini-game selector screen appears. Accessing the screen several times unlocks the mini-games one after the other. The first is the Grand Prix mini-game in which 4 drivers get into their lanes and compete for a prize. The second mini-game is the legendary Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles, where, in each round, you advance through various cities until the exit sign appears. And finally, there is the Tokyo mini-game, with attractive neon lights and modern buildings, where players must select one of the three traffic lights that light up to win their prize.

The technical characteristics include the game’s high volatility and Free Spins offered to the player. The game also has 10 prize lines and Wild symbols. The Wild symbols move across the screen horizontally until they stop on the reels at random. These Wild symbols also substitute all the other symbols except the Bonus symbol. Obtaining 3 or more Wild symbols gives players 10 Free Spins which are added to other prizes won.

Using the latest mobile technology, the game works perfectly in all international markets and on all devices, thanks to its Triple View function. It also offers faster loading times, sequential loading and an improved user interface, with dynamic reel animation.

Fonsi Nieto Deluxe Racing Life was premiered today, December 6, in all online casinos of operators who form part of the MGA Games’ international partner network.

tiplay studio, a game development ecosystem dedicated to creating amazing games for the masses, today announced that it completed a Series A financing round.

The financing was led by Re-Pie. Lead investors in the round included Kerim Kotan and Saruhan Tan.

The funding will support hiring highly skilled personnel and recruiting talented teams to oFON, which will expand the product line and the digital footprint of the ecosystem. Funds will also be allocated towards improving technological and operational features of OnlineWorkSpace (OWS), a remote work platform developed by tiplay studio, in order to enhance remote, hybrid and physical work environments for internal studios and oFON teams.

“This is an important inflection point for tiplay studio” said Mehmet Umut Ermeç, CEO and Co-founder, tiplay studio. “On behalf of tiplay studio, I would like to thank my dear colleagues, my partners Ahmet Öney and Osman Tutum, our seed investors who have been supporting us from day one and all of the game enthusiasts who have been cheering for us. We are proud that so many distinguished investors have recognized the progress we’ve made and are supporting our vision to create the best game development ecosystem in the world. This investment will allow us to strengthen our studios and accelerator program operating in multiple genres and platforms – ultimately leading to amazing new games.”

“I am truly proud of tiplay studio and their valuation growth which is above 100x since their Seed, executing well beyond expectations to become a major regional ecosystem and a powerhouse of game development!” said Kerim Kotan, Senior Board Advisor and Investor, tiplay studio

Re-Pie General Manager Alim Telci stated that the gaming industry is an area where Turkey has a serious competitive advantage. He added: “We believe that tiplay studio will be a pioneer in the ecosystem with OWS, the platform they have developed for remote game development and oFON, the game studio accelerator program.“