Gaming
Bidstack expands its portfolio of simulation games with Dovetail Games
Bidstack is pleased to announce the addition of three new and exclusive titles from Dovetail Games, the world-leading simulation entertainment company, to its portfolio of simulation titles.
The hyper-realistic simulation games, which are available across PC and Console, are played by millions of gamers in key markets including the UK, USA and Germany and bring digital hobbies to life for passionate enthusiasts in more than 100 countries around the globe.
The new partnership will see Bidstack deliver seamless branded experiences into these virtual environments and create a new revenue stream for Dovetail Games while respecting the player experience by maintaining the authenticity of their titles.
The three games Train Simulator 2022, Train Sim World 2 and Bassmaster Fishing 2022, are ideal environments to host non-intrusive in-game ads as they feature natural spaces and surfaces where players would expect to see advertising in their daily lives such as on train liveries, platform billboards and around competitive fishing competitions, reflecting the real-world experience.
Train Simulator 2022 (PC only, where the player interacts as the train) and Train Sim World 2 (available on PC and Console, where the player is the driver) are widely considered to be the ultimate hobby games for enthusiasts looking to take control of authentic, licensed locomotives on high-speed services, long freight hauls and even international real-world routes. The games are built on the Unreal Engine, offering incredible graphical fidelity and new levels of realism thanks to Dovetail’s proprietary SimuGraph® vehicle dynamics engine.
The third title added to Bidstack’s portfolio is Bassmaster Fishing 2022, which launched on October 28th 2021. The game brings the thrill of competitive big bass fishing to eight real-world venues including the Sabine River, Lake Ray Roberts and St. John’s River. Players can compete as 10 Elite Series professionals as they fight it out to achieve angling immortality and win the Bassmaster Classic. Also powered by the Unreal Engine, players are able to lose themselves in beautiful environments and the immersive world of Bassmaster Fishing
The new titles expand Bidstack’s simulation vertical following the recent partnership with Tangent Interactive and demonstrate the appetite from innovative publishers to take their in-game realism to a whole new level with thoughtful and immersive in-game advertising
Commenting on the new partnership Gemma Johnson-Brown, Chief Operating Officer at Dovetail Games, said “I am excited to bring this next level of authenticity to our games. Our players are passionate enthusiasts who enjoy spending their time in the worlds we have created and this partnership will bring real world brands into these worlds, adding another layer of detail into the simulation for us.”
Antoine Jullemier, Head of Supply at Bidstack added “These beautiful photo-realistic environments offer seamless placements for branding that enhance the gaming experience through the implementation of our technology. The opportunity to reach passionate enthusiasts through the Dovetail Games portfolio is an effective way for brands to extend their real-life sponsorships into the virtual realm.”
About Dovetail Games
Dovetail Games is an award-winning developer and publisher of market-leading simulation entertainment software, based in Kent, UK.
Dovetail Games craft digital hobbies for passionate enthusiasts and sell these in more than 100 countries across the globe. These hobbies come in the form of simulation experiences that faithfully recreate real world situations and put players at the heart of the action.
About Bidstack
Bidstack is the leading in-game advertising and video game monetisation platform. Their sophisticated technology allows brands to serve advertisements into natural spaces within video games whilst protecting the gaming experience.
These branded experiences can vary from trackside banners and cityscape billboards to pitchside LED boards, skins or any other contextually relevant spaces within the metaverse.
The company has more than 80 staff across five international locations and is a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Gaming
Mobile Games Index: Analysis of 95M Game Interactions Reveals Shifting Engagement Trends, Available Now
The anticipated fourth edition of the annual Mobile Games Index, powered by adjoe and Statista, is now available.
The latest report offers a clear look into the current state of the mobile gaming sector, analyzing the past 12 months of the first-party data from 95 million app interactions across 27 million users. The MGI 2024 reveals what people choose to play on their mobile devices, filling the gap in industry knowledge and enabling game developers and user acquisition specialists to benchmark their products and ultimately target the right audiences with the right content.
Moving forward, it is up to the industry decision-makers to analyze the findings and promptly adapt to the newly-emerged engagement trends from MGI 2024, effectively engaging desired audiences.
A Peek at Shifting Engagement Trends to Capitalize on
Based on predictions from Statista, the overarching trend in the market is its robust growth with a forecasted expansion from $166.1 billion in 2024 to $227 billion by 2028.
Remarkably, Card games are expected to grow the most dramatically at 13.8% a year, nearly doubling their global revenue by 2028. Judging from the engagement charts of MGI 2024, the main driver of growth in this category is Solitaire games. The audience is showing a clear preference for Solitaire – these games hold 7 out of 10 positions in the top list of card games worldwide by time spent with titles from MobilityWare, Gimica, Scopely, and Playvalve, among others.
What allows the market to show revenue growth is the positive changes in global daily time spent. After the dip in engagement highlighted by the last year’s Index, adjoe confirms that average daily sessions have rebounded to 21.5 minutes from 17.3 minutes reported last year, marking a 22% increase.
The most engaged demographic of mobile gamers globally is the 40-49 age group, which has experienced a remarkable 33% increase in daily gaming time, now at 23 minutes daily. The strategies targeted at older demographics over the past 12 months can be deemed successful. However, this has led to a loss of focus on engaging Gen-Z, which has shown only modest growth in time spent.
The MGI also reveals that women are outpacing men in daily gaming time across most genres – as reported for the 4th edition in a row. This consistent and high performance makes the female audience a continuously safer bet when it comes to user targeting.
Another continued trend is the dominance of top publishers such as Supercell, Garena, King, and Playrix, while there’s still space to occupy for smaller publishers. For instance, ForgeGames tops the engagement charts with their game Special Forces Group 2 – capturing over 43 minutes of average daily engagement.
The insights continue in the MGI 2024, going granular to segment and visualize global mobile game engagement data from adjoe by genre, region, and demographic. At the same time, Statista’s extensive market research provides a macro-view of the current and future industry, offering figures for global downloads and revenues with forecasts extending to 2028.
Mobile Games Index 2024 Is Available in Open Access
The MGI 2024 goes deep below the surface of market data and creates a comprehensive snapshot of the mobile gaming industry today. Inside are
For developers and marketers, this report is the green light to benchmark performance against industry leaders and align their products with the rising expectations of mobile gamers. This comprehensive tool is now available for free to inform decision-making and help optimize strategies for short- and long-term actions.
Gaming
4Players and ODIN deliver cutting-edge voice chat for Gray Zone Warfare
The globally operating software company 4Players GmbH announces its partnership with MADFINGER Games, the developer behind the highly anticipated tactical first-person shooter Gray Zone Warfare. The collaboration aims to level up in-game communication by integrating 4Players’ next generation Voice Chat SDK, ODIN, into MADFINGER Games’ upcoming title.
MADFINGER Games’ goal is to create a complex and realistic gaming experience that allows players to embark on an adventure alone or in a team. To ensure excellent communication during tactical approaches, ODIN was the best choice for MADFINGER Games’ Technical Director Johanny Clerc-Renaud:
“Selecting ODIN as the voice chat in our upcoming title, Gray Zone Warfare, was a pivotal decision driven by both technical and business considerations. Technically, ODIN ticks a lot of our criteria with its support for spatial audio, a ready-to-deploy Unreal Engine 5 plugin and the ability to meet any player load thanks to their cloud hosting.
From a business perspective, the agility and openness of partnering with a company like 4Players meant we could work hand-in-hand to tailor the solution to our specific needs. This includes a seamless integration with Wwise, allowing us to modulate voice data for a more immersive and engaging player experience. Together, these factors made ODIN the undeniable choice for Gray Zone Warfare, enabling us to make our game even more memorable.”
By natively integrating ODIN Voice Chat into Unreal Engine 5, MADFINGER Games’ developers could focus on creating ultra-realistic game content instead of managing complex data sets. By leveraging ODIN’s scalable cloud hosting, MADFINGER Games can also ensure seamless service delivery to players worldwide, improving accessibility and the gaming experience.
With features such as real-time 3D spatial audio – including audio occlusion and ambient effects – for the global voice chat as well as full-volume radio communication, ODIN sets a new standard for multiplayer engagement and promotes immersive and crystal-clear interactions between players. This level of immersive communication not only enhances gameplay, but also strengthens the social fabric in the gaming community.
“ODIN represents the future of in-game communication. We combine cutting-edge technology with decades of expertise in the gaming industry to create a product that is fun and designed to improve gamers’ communication,” says Phillip Schuster, CEO at 4Players GmbH. “We are excited to be working with MADFINGER Games to further optimize the immersion of Gray Zone Warfare. The partnership highlights our shared goal of driving social interaction and creating a unique gaming experience.”With the release of Gray Zone Warfare for Early Access on 30th April 2024, players will experience unparalleled realistic gaming communication with ODIN.
Gaming
Phoenix Games acquires PopReach Games along with its impressive games portfolio and over 100 employees
Phoenix Games, a global gaming enterprise specializing in the acquisition and enhancement of game studios, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of PopReach Games, a live operations studio based in Bengaluru, India, from Ionik for a total aggregate purchase price of up to US$9.8 million, financed from cash reserves. Together with the studio, Phoenix takes over a broad portfolio of free-to-play games that boasts more than 420 million lifetime downloads.
This transaction substantially diversifies the Phoenix portfolio by including globally recognized IPs and beloved free-to-play titles on different platforms, such as Smurf’s Village, Smurf’s Magic Match, Gardens of Time, Kitchen Scramble games, Kingdoms of Camelot, and War of Nations as well as the Brain Training app Peak..
The acquisition of PopReach Games India strengthens Phoenix Games’ global presence and adds a dedicated workforce of more than 100 employees from the Indian studio.
“The acquisition of PopReach Games signifies a remarkable enhancement of our portfolio, introducing not just a team of 100 passionate professionals but also a suite of globally acclaimed IPs and games that continue to captivate millions,” states Klaas Kersting, CEO of Phoenix Games. “We look forward to elevating these games to new heights with our proprietary Uplift platform and exciting new game experiences that we can craft around them.
Echoing this sentiment, Jairaj NS, General Manager at PopReach Games India, shares, “I am excited about joining forces with the stellar team at Phoenix Games. This marks the beginning of an exciting journey we can’t wait to embark on with Phoenix as our new home. This is great news for all the stakeholders, especially for the millions of our loyal players across the globe. I am happy we have found a new ideal home for our globally acclaimed games. This partnership enables us to continue pouring our hearts and souls into creating unforgettable experiences for our players worldwide and create value for stakeholders.”
Ted Hastings, CEO of Ionik, adds: “It’s truly remarkable that we’ve discovered the perfect home for our former games division, PopReach Games India, with Phoenix Games, ensuring a promising and successful path ahead. This strategic move enables us to turn our full attention to our core responsibilities”.
Based in Karlsruhe, Germany, Phoenix Games boasts an impressive lineup of studios, including Upright Games, Sixteen Tons Entertainment, Well Played Games, Smileygamer, and the recent addition of Canadian developer Sad Panda Studios in November 2023.
Utilizing its proprietary Uplift platform, Phoenix Games enhances the financial performance and reach of the titles of acquired game studios, providing their expertise in user acquisition, ad monetization, and live operations to ensure an economic upswing.
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