Justin Waldron

We did a deepdive episode on Wechat minigames with Lemon Choi, who runs a Minigames blog and is an expert on the matter 😎. Some of the facts and numbers that he shared are mind-blowing 😱. The expected MAU of the minigame market will exceed 500 Million 🕹 users in China this year, with an average daily play session of 60 minutes per day per user. These minigames are produced very fast (2-3 months) by small teams from 5-30 people, with the development cost around $140K per 1 minigame 😱. There are multiple dominant genres (nearly all of them being RPGs) that are prevalent in the market, with Loot Box RPG (Nobody's Adventure Chop- Chop 🐷 ) being the biggest genre per revenue share with around 30% of the whole market. This specific sub-genre has also a big impact on design iteration of other genres as seen in the episode. The new promising genre that Lemon showed us is 2D Arcade Idle + 4X (you can see the game "Fingertips Warriors" in the screenshots). Yeah you heard it right, imagine your typical Dreamdale or My Perfect Hotel with a 4X metagame on top 🤑. This game is already making millions in the top 10 charts of Wechat minigames. Thanks again Lemon for coming on the podcast and sharing a lot of insights and valuable knowledge 👍. Join us as we talk about all of this with Matej 🦩 & Felix 😎. 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ewgiTr4e 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eD_HK2Hi 🗣 Join the discussion in our Slack channel: https://lnkd.in/eZXJ2Une #mobilegames #gamedevelopment #gamedesign #games #gameindustry #China #RPG #userexperience #minigames #wechat

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Leading the Way in GameFi Trust and Performance with VPLAY In the fast-paced world of GameFi, trust is everything. As gamers explore the blockchain gaming and play-to-earn (P2E) models, having a reliable platform is crucial. That’s where VPLAY comes in, our commitment to offering an ecosystem that prioritizes security, fairness, and transparency. Building a Foundation of Trust As GameFi grows, so do security, fairness, and transparency. VPLAY started has a clear goal: to create a GameFi insights platform that gamers can genuinely trust. Commitment to Secure Gaming VPLAY helps you steer clear of high-risk environments. This proactive approach means you can game confidently, knowing your rewards and data are secure. More to be revealed soon! Promoting Fair Play Fairness is a core value at VPLAY. We’re committed to creating an environment where everyone has an equal shot at success. Transparency: The Key to Trust Our commitment to transparency is further evident in our Initial Utility phase, which includes DAO capabilities for governance. This allows you to have a say in the platform’s development and management, fostering a strong sense of community and shared ownership. The journey with VPLAY is just beginning. With features like the GameFi Browse Category, helping you find high-reward games, and our subscription and node operator programs offering extra benefits and rewards, we’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in GameFi. Our focus on safety, fairness, and transparency isn’t just about meeting standards—it’s about setting them. VPLAY aims to create a GameFi ecosystem where trust is the norm, allowing you to game with confidence and excitement. Best,

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"Atlus is one of our most successful acquisition deals to date," says Sega Sammy as Metaphor: ReFantazio posts strong sales. Sega Sammy Holdings highlighted the success of Metaphor: ReFantazio and Sonic X Shadow Generations during a Q2 FY2025 earnings Q&A. Atlus, developer of Metaphor: ReFantazio and the Persona series, was praised as one of Sega’s “most successful M&A deals to date.” Acquired in 2013 for about ~$140m, Atlus has benefited from Sega’s global publishing reach, enabling broader multi-platform launches. “By joining forces with Sega, they have gained the capability to expand their targets,” said Sega Sammy, crediting the partnership and Metaphor’s high quality for its strong debut. Sega picking up Atlus has been pretty good for me. Just getting their games on more platforms has been a huge boon. With so many RPGs becoming less RPG and more action, Atlus is one of the only studios consistently putting out great classic-styled JRPGs with good production values. Atlus was also a great acquisition for Sega from a consumer perspective because it meant Sega could work with Atlus to expand to the ever-growing PC market. Sega made some really great decisions, particulary with Metaphor, and I'm glad to see those decisions paying off. - Going multiplatform from the start - Putting out a great demo that let you experience almost an entire in game cycle without time constraints All of that made possible because they trusted that the game was really strong. I hope this leads to more demos like this. Certainly up there for game of the year, and with Infinite Wealth, glad to see Sega supporting their top studios to do their thing.

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Algorand ($ALGO) is a high-performance blockchain offering fast, secure, and low-cost transactions. Key Features: - Smart Contracts - Tokenization via Algorand Standard Assets (ASA) - Low fees (0.001 Algo per transaction) Real-World Asset (RWA) Projects: - Tokenizing luxury items like watches and artifacts (e.g., Aconomy). - Supporting industries in RWA tokenization for improved liquidity and transparency. #mastermindalliancepublishinggroup #EvanWrekn #evanwrekncryptoinvestor #evanwreknsouthside #algorand #algo #cryptocurrency #cryptonews #djriskk #cryptobros

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Late Stage Gaming VCs: "We would be interested in companies generating $100M+ in annual revenue that are profitable." Early Stage Gaming VCs: "We would be interested in companies generating $100M+ in annual revenue that are profitable." #vctalk #joke

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According to Bilibili's recent data, in Q3 2024, they have achieved: - 348 million monthly active users and 107 million daily active users. - Users spend an average of 106 minutes per day. - The Gaming category has the most active users and the highest daily watch time across all categories. - Over 123 million gaming users spend 60 minutes per day, which is 4 to 7 times higher than other video platforms. - More than 20 million content creators contribute to gaming content, with strong growth in popular creators. No doubt that they continue to be the top choice for game promotion in China! #China #games #chinamarket

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How I'm managing 3 co-dev contracts: Business has been going well. Recently we signed 3 gaming contracts with vastly different requirements. 1. Adapting 2 styles together The 1st contract is an Asian art-style game that has to fit Western markets. We were tasked to make the game globally accessible. Using a Western-like art style, we are refining the game. 2. Scaling stage The 2nd contract is with a game that's got the green light. They want to take their game to the next level. 3. Requiring high-quality development The 3rd contract is with an existing client. Know, like and trust is already built. They need high calibre development, so we keep going. What I enjoy the most about the work we do at UGI: - Flexibility - Adaptability - Variety Because every contract is treated with care. Key to managing multiple projects is genuinely understanding. Understanding beyond the onboarding call. Constant pulse checks to ensure aligned visions. Wearing our adapt-hats to fit our client needs. Feeling stuck? A conversation may be all you need. PS. Curious, how often do you sync with your developers?

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𝗡𝗲𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 ^𝟮: 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 (𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱) Here is part 2 of a quick scope of the key blockchain infrastructure. 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬: ʙᴀꜱɪᴄ ᴇxᴘʟᴀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Where you hold your assets, both cryptocurrency and NFTs. ◦ Hot Wallets: Connected to the internet, allowing quick access to funds for transactions. They are convenient but more vulnerable to hacking. ◦ Cold Wallets: Offline storage options like hardware wallets or paper wallets, offering enhanced security for storing large amounts of cryptocurrency. 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠/𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞: ʙᴀꜱɪᴄ ᴇxᴘʟᴀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: The computers that power the blockchain. ◦ Specialized hardware used for mining (in PoW) or validating transactions (in PoS), including ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) and GPUs (Graphics Processing Units). 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐃𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐬): ʙᴀꜱɪᴄ ᴇxᴘʟᴀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Programs running on the blockchain. A key difference between Web2 and Web3 is control. In Web2 applications can be changed, in Web3 DApps can be written so they can’t. ◦ Applications that run on blockchain networks, leveraging smart contracts to provide services like finance (DeFi), gaming, and supply chain management without central intermediaries. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: ʙᴀꜱɪᴄ ᴇxᴘʟᴀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: "Things" working together. In blockchain, this can refer to various elements such as blockchains, decentralized applications (DApps), or video games collaborating or interacting with each other. ◦ Protocols and tools designed to enable different blockchains to communicate and interact with each other, facilitating cross-chain transactions and data exchange. Examples include Polkadot and Cosmos. ◦ Tools and platforms enabling different applications or video games to talk to each other like One Earth Rising’s Ownable Game Assets, or OGAs. 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬: ʙᴀꜱɪᴄ ᴇxᴘʟᴀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Access points that allow information from the real world to enter the blockchain. ◦ Services that provide external data to smart contracts, enabling them to interact with real-world information. Oracles are crucial for the functionality of many DApps. To read part 1: bit.ly/3LjeAje Photo credit DALL-E

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We have to be careful with doing this, because some of these aren't accurate enough, and others could end up being entirely misleading. Relation and reference are important when learning, but there is a reason why children pick up new languages quicker than adults: children will accept a word for what it is, whereas adults will try and translate it. It's more important to think about what needs to be learned first. For example, there's very little reason for someone to understand a network consensus model before learning why the network is there in the first place. Potentially, we can start with a token - this is for online membership. A wallet - its where you keep your membership. Personally, I don't believe the curve is as steep as we think. But with the majority of recent growth being around network and development infrastructure opposed to consumer applications, there will be a specific vibe to the language within the space which'll lead to the perception of inaccessibility.

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The use of stablecoins is growing, and it feels like a battle between USDT and national currencies is starting. This also shows that stablecoins will likely be used even more in the future. I wonder if USDC, with its reserves, will grow bigger, or if USDT will gain more users in places with fewer regulations like Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa, leading to clashes with local rules. Many tokenomics I’ve seen so far were just Ponzi-like systems, so I had a negative view of Web3 and tokenomics. But recently, I started thinking a new economic model could work if it includes: • Strong fiat payment traffic • Connection between L1 chains with native stablecoins and their TVL • dApps that use tokens well Are there any DeFi projects that make profits through fees, lending spreads, or rewards for loyal users? If yes, I’d love to explore partnerships. Happy New Year! https://lnkd.in/gbYeXm36

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SteamOS is expanding beyond Valve's hardware, starting with Lenovo’s Legion Go S. Why you should care: This appears to be an attempt to compete with incumbents through OS distribution, providing an alternative for gamers fatigued with the current state of affairs. Announced at CES 2025, the “Powered by SteamOS” Legion Go S will feature the same operating system designed for Steam Deck users, offering a smooth interface for gamers with large Steam libraries. Valve also confirmed a beta version of SteamOS will soon be available for other handheld gaming PCs, allowing users to download and test it themselves.

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🔥 Big news for Kaia! 🔥 While the KSL (Kaia Square Lounge) is happening right now in Korea (will be there next year promise 😁) , here’s another exciting update from our favorite chain destined to make an impact! 🚀 Kaia’s blockchain token, KLAY, has just been listed on HashKey Global, and with the Kaia mainnet now live, there are some fantastic rewards up for grabs. This is just the beginning of what’s to come. Curious about what makes Kaia a game-changer in the Web3 space? Dive into the full article to catch all the details and see why Kaia is one to watch! 👉 https://lnkd.in/gjAQM6jE #JBlaze #KaiaBlockchain #KLAY #Web3Innovation #HashKeyGlobal #Blockchain #GainingMomentum #ThinkGrowth

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This is Kwan Cheng, General Manager of Eggy Party at NetEase Games, at ChinaJoy 2024, explaining why they are investing so much in AI-UGC, and how the AI Emote Creator they recently integrated into their flagship game, Eggy Party, allows millions of players to generate custom avatar animations from videos, straight from the game. With this User-Generated Emote technology, Eggy Party players become creators, able to bring and share their identity in the game through custom animations and post amazing content on TikTok, showcasing their creations. This strategy helped NetEase capture hundreds of millions of views on social media and drive great levels of user acquisition! Want to have this technology in your game? 👉 Reach out to Kinetix! #UGC #AI

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💰 +3000 General Partners of +2000 non-US funds to start your 2025 fundraise with the right foot. We've bought & scraped thousands of datapoints to compile this handy list of General Partners from Non-US VCs: ✅ Fund Name ✅ General Partner Name ✅ Title ✅ Email ✅ Website ✅ Address ✅ Description Before shooting at every email of this list, remember, do your research and ALWAYS make a personalized interaction with each investor. They receive hundreds of cold emails each day, so make the effort to stand out from the crowd. If you know founders fundraising, mention them in the comments! Want access to the full list in xlsx format? 1. Drop a comment below! 👇 2. Add me if we're not already connected (this step is very important to be able to manage all requests) #fundraising #investorlist #venturecapital #startup #entrepreneurship #founders

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You are really missing out if you are not following the WeChat Minigames charts and the new games emerging from this platform in China 😱. (Such as the top grossing 2D Arcade Idle 4X game 😎 Fingertips Warriors) Not only that they currently represent more than 10% of overall Chinese game market revenue, these are no minigames at all in the end 😅, which is the biggest secret. They are basically fully fledged mobile games, just on the WeChat platform. With 500 Mil. MAU this is the ideal testing platform, where a lot of games begun their journey, before they are fully developed into Asian mobile juggernauts. I did another one of the deeper articles for PocketGamer.biz about all of the latest information about WeChat Minigames 😎. Thanks again Lemon for sharing so much info with us. The link to Lemon's best Minigames blog in China is at the end of the article 😁. #gamedev #gamedevelopment #gamedesign #gameindustry #mobilegames #mobilemarketing #mobileadvertising #userexperiencedesign #userexperience #gamedeveloper #games #gameart #midcore #RPG

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Exciting and this makes unbelievable sense! Xsolla is THE leading payment provider in games outside of the App Stores. They are fueling all this webstore growth on mobile already. They have over 150 payment types all over the world in markets that don't monetize with credit cards. They have all the money transfer licenses already. They can be a VERY competitive alternative to players like Moonpay but are in a position to bring blockchain to all their existing clientele of over 2,000 games serving 400m players. Also transaction fees is one of their biggest external costs. And if they bring their existing payments backend onto it, they will have huge volume with next to free USDC transactions around the world, even without web3. Crypto could be their biggest competitive threat, but instead it will be their future. And if they launch a token, it likely will moon. In part because it will have real utility to pay for nodes (which they will also likely sell) and existing volume.

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