Gaming
Odeeo Raises $1M to Bring Non-Disruptive Audio Ads to Games
The $1 million pre-seed round was led by Play Ventures, the leading early-stage gaming VC, with participation from gaming founders and angel investors such as Eric Seufert (through his Mobile Dev Memo Syndicate) and Michail Katkoff (founder of ‘Deconstructor of Fun’ and Savage Game Studios). Odeeo aims to help publishers monetize better with non-intrusive audio ads that respect player experience and privacy.
The Tel-Aviv based company was founded earlier this year by CEO Amit Monheit and CPO Elad Stern, who met and worked together at mobile monetization platform IronSource, where they led business development and media.
Odeeo is an alumnus of IDCX Studio, a super-seed studio managed by Israeli VC firm AnD Ventures, Mixer Work & Lounge, and the IDC Alumni Association – securing their $1M pre-seed round under 6 months. “We are extremely proud of Amit & Elad”, says Ariel Cohen, Partner, AnD Ventures & IDCX Studio program lead. “Their laser-focused strategy and relentlessness in disrupting a large existing market are incredible!”
Odeeo offers advertisers a rare opportunity: to be among the first to connect with one-third of the globe’s population via non-disruptive, personalized audio messages in mobile games, the world’s fastest-growing entertainment medium. Its lightweight SDK has already been integrated with over 100 games, serving campaigns by Fortune 500 brands such as McDonald’s, CBS, and Progressive â and has a waitlist of over 200 additional game titles.
“Odeeo has made incredible progress this last year, with our product, our client waitlist, and our extraordinary team of top talents”, say the co-founders. “We are excited to now be backed by great value-add investors who will help us get to the next level even faster”. The company aims to shake up in-game advertising, a huge market that currently drives 25% of the $175.8 billion that the games industry is projected to generate in 2021.
Odeeo says existing options inhibit and disrupt gameplay in a way audio ads do not. “As gamers, we understand the frustration of seeing yet another pop-up in the midst of our session, and we also know that publishers are looking for better ways to monetize especially with CPM compression and degraded targeting current options offer. Odeeo is a Win-Win-Win solution for gamers, developers, and advertisers”, says CEO Amit.
In-game advertising is already a huge market, but Odeeo says its platform is differentiated by focusing on building a product that supports game advertising at scale. The $1 million funding will enable the team to accelerate client onboarding and development of its platform where advertisers can bid programmatically through traditional ad-buying platforms on IAB-recognized formats, using unique targeting capabilities.
Gaming
The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example
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.
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 ĆmieĆŒewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.
One hobby, different habits
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 ĆmieĆŒewski.
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 ĆmieĆŒewski.
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 ĆmieĆŒewski.
“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.
Gaming
AI Gives Horses for Courses True Meaning in ‘Owners Club’ Racing Game
Invincible GG, a groundbreaking competitive gaming platform and technology company, has outlined the latest AI developments of its interactive mobile horse racing game, Owners Club, which is set to provide a new injection of interest into the ancient sports of kings.
Following a successful game launch in Q3 2024 and activations at the Doncaster St. Leger and York Ebor festivals, thousands of Owners Club players have started to formulate an expansive game world that gives the masses the true feeling of horse ownership, breeding, and racing experiences.Â
Being founded on the latest in AI and Web3 technologies allows the game to evolve with more nuance over time, with the former being implemented to enhance usersâ strategic horse development and create developing traits and performance benefits that can lead to further self-training opportunities in-game.
Each horse has its own unique, nuanced genetics and racing traits. These can be trained via evolving in-game activityâwhich will include collaborative intelligence in future releases and passed on to future colts and fillies to create racing dynasties that will stand the test of time while also bringing in lucrative in-game winnings and potential syndicate stud earnings.
Further features include an AI-powered event simulation engine (instead of predetermined RNGs), and sophisticated algorithms that factor in horse health, jockey decisions, and environmental factors that ensure Owners Club races maintain tension and excitement throughout, just as racing fans in the real world would experience from the grandstand.
Jonathan Strause, Invincible GG CEO, said: âGamers of today want more than static, insular game worlds. Theyâre looking for immersive experiences in evolving ecosystems, multiplayer competition, and the feeling that theyâre fully integrated into the game. Owners Club is offering just that for both current racing enthusiasts and the next generation of racing fans.
âWith unrivaled AI integration into the theoretically unlimited stable of in-game horses, combined with back-end Web3 technology that empowers players to easily realize what true thoroughbred ownership and training feels like, Owners Club players can forge their own relationship with horse racing via the gamification of training, racing, and trading in the app, which can only help the future engagement of this ancient pastime.â
Owners Club will be showcased to its biggest live audience yet at the QIPCO British Champions Day on 19th October, 2024, with live races broadcasted as-live to screens around Ascot, with various prizes on offer for the winning owners.
Gaming
Evoplay introduces action-packed skill-based title Adrenaline Rush to wider operator network
Evoplay, the award-winning game development studio, is expanding the availability of its flagship 3D racing title Adrenaline Rush to all of its operator partners, following a successful exclusive release.
Adrenaline Rush combines the thrill of high-speed racing skill-based gaming mechanics, providing an immersive experience for players who enjoy a strategic and competitive edge in their gameplay. Players can engage in intense races where success is determined by both speed and skill, making it a standout title in Evoplayâs diverse portfolio.
Following its main global release on October 8th, Evoplay is set to launch two additional versions of the game, slot title Adrenaline Rush: Super Boost on October 22nd, and crash game Adrenaline Rush: XCrash on November 5th, creating an expanded offering that caters to a variety of player preferences.
Released initially as an exclusive, Adrenaline Rush has already garnered attention for its innovative mechanics and immersive gameplay, earning the Skill Games Supplier award at the prestigious EGR B2B Awards. With this wider release, Evoplayâs global operator network will now be able to offer the title to an even broader audience.
Ivan Kravchuk, CEO at Evoplay, said: âAdrenaline Rush is a one-of-a-kind experience that perfectly blends competitive racing with skill-based gaming. Since its launch, it has resonated strongly with players, and weâre thrilled to now offer this exciting title to all of our operator partners globally.â
âThe upcoming releases of the equally popular slot and crash versions will ensure that Adrenaline Rush remains a fan favourite across multiple formats.â
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