Rosanne Banez Elkington

📰 Sony has crushed the launches of Helldivers and Shadow of Erdtree but shut down Concord after two weeks. Valve launched Deadlock without a landing page and has kept its organization under 400 employees for most of its history. Roblox posted 80M DAU and 17B hours of engagement in Q2 2024 and plans to open a marketplace to sell avatar bundles. Microsoft has completed the acquisition of Activision Blizzard King, sold Tango Softworks, and is raising prices on Game Pass. These platforms -- and platforms in the sense that they are marketplaces and suppliers beyond hardware -- have shown resilience and excellence in asymmetric growth and scalability and have an inordinate impact on how the rest of the industry behaves. But what industry diagnostics are exhorting Sony, Microsoft, Valve, and Roblox to build and move against their strategies? More importantly, will it work, and if not, where are the gaps? Ben Feder, Managing Partner at TIRTA Ventures, and Ken Wee, ex-CSO of Activision Blizzard, share their strategic expertise. 🔊 We discuss: Macro trends over the past 3-4 years in the games business. Competition. Entrants. Suppliers. Customers. Substitutes. We like Porter's 5 Forces. 5️⃣ 👊 Microsoft Sony Valve Roblox Deep dives. What are their long-term strategies and are they positioned for success? What notable decisions have these companies made across staffing, investments, acquisitions, divestments, game launches, and partnerships? What would we do differently? That and more! Listen to the full episode on Naavik's Spotify, Apple, or YouTube in the comments.

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I mean, I get it. Spend years and millions to build a major franchise installment and end up being an "also ran" behind the most anticipated release in recent memory. It's wicked risky. Almost unbearably so. That being said, if everyone is holding their breath then it feels like the stakes get too high. Rockstar can't deliver anything less than slam dunk. And anyone who's planning to publish in 2025 needs to consider a "GTA" contingency which could be wincingly-expensive-to-completely-not-feasible depending on how hard you'd have to pivot. So who's more under the gun, do we think? Rockstar/T2, or everyone whose studio needs to publish in 2025? Pressure to deliver, or pressure to respond? https://lnkd.in/gVkGNgFe

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Match3 is not the best game economy. I know some who would say it’s not even economy! Also, digital board games are just video games with terrible UX. Listen to the episode for more on these hot takes from me and the fellas.

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Dear Stretch Network Partners, Please allow me to inform you about additional changes that will take place in the global network on July 8. 🍀 All Heads-up tables will be removed 🍀 Badugi cash tables will be removed 🍀 Sonic cash tables will become 6-max 🍀 The minimum buy-in for Sonic Omaha cash tables will be 20 BB 🍀 Sonic Omaha 7 card cash tables will be added These changes apply only to cash tables and only to our Global Network. In your local networks, you decide your product strategy, but we would be happy to assist you in managing your local networks as well. If you need our help, please contact us. The above-mentioned changes are part of the new strategy for the Stretch Network Global Network, which prioritizes the comfort of novice players and casual traffic to maintain the proper balance of our ecosystem between amateurs and professionals. Caring for the ecosystem of the Global Network is our priority. The changes we are implementing now and will continue to implement will significantly improve the user experience for your players, extend their LTV, ARPU, and, of course, Revenue.

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Calling Investors: Invest in the original Xbox “Duke” controller… I am working with a new gaming peripherals company set to take the world by storm and they are looking for investors to join the team. Founded by Duke Schnepf, son of gaming visionary, and Xbox founder, Brett Schnepf, backed by multiple founding fathers of the Xbox, this company is pushing the boundaries of the gaming peripherals sector. Their journey began with Brett Schnepf, a luminary whose contributions to gaming history are etched in stone. As a founding member of the Xbox console team, Brett's design prowess shaped modern gaming, with iconic creations like the Sidewinder PC controller and the legendary Duke controller. Today, Duke Schnepf carries forth his father's legacy. Upside and a half! In late 2024, a major streaming platform will release a series chronicling the founding of a pioneering gaming console (can you guess which one) and the launch of Duke's ground-breaking products, offering an intimate look at the visionary minds behind this revolution. Looking for investments of $10K, $20K, $50K, $100K, $250, $500K, and $1M. Higher investments with equity shares are available for discussion. We foresee full returns and profits delivered within 1 year. If you're interested in being part of this exciting journey, please get in touch to set up a call ASAP. #Gaming #InvestmentOpportunity #Innovation #GamingPeripherals #TechInvestments #gamedev #investors #angelinvestors #gameinvestor #PEinvestment #AngelInvestment

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Roblox's Q1 earnings report indicates steady revenue growth, which reached $801.3 million, a 22% increase year-over-year, and Daily Active Users (DAUs), now at 77.7 million, up 17% from last year. These figures highlight Roblox's solid performance and strategic use of brand partnerships, enhancing platform engagement and appeal. The platform's success in engaging younger audiences, particularly Gen Z and the emerging Gen Alpha, is noteworthy. These generations are increasingly making Roblox a hub for social interaction, creativity, and entertainment, facilitated by robust brand collaborations that resonate with their preferences and digital habits. Roblox's continuous efforts to connect with key demographic groups across the globe through a diverse and dynamic content strategy drive its growth and position it as a significant force in shaping digital culture and engagement strategies in the tech space. By staying at the forefront of these trends, Roblox is not just a platform but a leader, setting the pace for others to follow. #Roblox #GenZ #GenAlpha #BrandPartnerships #DigitalEngagement https://lnkd.in/eDe5tf5b

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🎣 The fastest growing game on Roblox right now - "Fisch" The growth is mind-blowing: - October 5th launch: 2,000 concurrent players - 44 days later: 271,834 peak concurrent players - 157 Million visits - 18.9 minute average session time - 87.9% player like ratio (with no incentives!) At this rate, hitting 500,000 concurrent players during December peak season isn't just possible - it's looking probable 📈 What makes a fishing game explode like this? Simple game design executed perfectly. Over 400,000 different fish variations to discover, customizable boats, enchanted rods, rare baits - all creating that "just one more cast" feeling. Every catch could be that ultra-rare fish that has the Discord buzzing. The developer Nate (supported by DoBig Studios) has mastered the art of retention. Regular code drops, constant communication, rapid bug fixes, and swift action against cheaters. The live ops standard is incredible. Here's what's really interesting - Fisch is breaking out of the traditional Roblox bubble already, which is incredibly rare. Following the summer phenomenon of Dress to Impress bringing new audiences to Roblox, Fisch is now attracting non-Roblox content creators and streamers in waves. The power of simple, well-executed game design combined with exceptional community management is creating something special here. This isn't just about catching fish - it's about building a community that spans beyond Roblox's traditional boundaries.

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Horrible news today about layoffs at Traega Entertainment, with 19 employees being laid off. Game Director Tony Mann shared their details here, if you are in the market for some amazing talent: https://lnkd.in/eJDgas_5 To those affected, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 8 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,800 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/eYdxANFM 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #traega

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Inc.-redibly happy 😉 to share an amazing achievement from our team at Gamefam - We’re on the #Inc5000 list as the fastest-growing media company of 2024! When we started our journey in 2019, we knew two things: 1. Roblox was the future of media  2. Through outstanding work and a service-oriented culture we could become the top partner to brands looking to enter the #metaverse space 🔮 Our crystal ball was in peak working order…  Today, with 11,000,000+ daily visits for 2,600,000M+ hours a day of gameplay in our network, we have one of the  biggest portfolios on Roblox and Fortnite including: - Sonic Speed Simulator - #1 Roblox IP-based game of all-time  - Barbie Dreamhouse Tycoon - #6 Roblox IP-based game of all time  - Car Dealership Tycoon - #1 Roblox driving game of all-time  - Saweetie Super Bowl LVII Concert - #1 rated Roblox concert of all-time  - War Tycoon - #1 military game on Roblox today - Nickmas & Super Bowl LVIII Campaign - #1 brand event on Roblox   - Talk To Me Activation - 1st-ever brand integration in a Fortnite Creative game  - Obby But You’re On A Bike HD - hit UEFN non-shooter game that has hosted events for Inside Out 2 and Samsung And we’ve had the chance to work with incredible partners at SEGA, Paramount, Mattel, Inc., The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and so many others.  We’re living our dream and our passion everyday - it can be very challenging, but nothing could be more rewarding! When we win a distinction like this it’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment to reflect on all our team has accomplished together.  Thank you to my teammates and co-leaders, and to our partners at Roblox, Epic Games, and beyond for the opportunity to do great work with great people. And thank you Inc. Magazine for the honor and recognition!  #Media #Innovation #Digital #Technology #Tech #Startups #Founders #Growth #Management #Marketing #Advertising #Gaming #VideoGames

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Mere days after I wrote about how "prediction and betting markets incentivize corruption, cheating and fraud. As such they are inherently parasitical" and how the industry fails to recognize the substantial, associated badwill risks, we get this:

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Short version: Steam says we don't own games, we just purchase a license and it can all be taken away. GoG was right, so they made a cheeky response. And we knew all this, as gamers, but we didn't really have it spelled out so clearly. Does it affect you personally? Your game? Your game purchasing habits? #Gamesdev #Steam #GoG #GameOwnership #GameNews #News #GamesIndustry

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As reported by VGC today, "Square Enix is set to make an unconfirmed number of layoffs as part of its ongoing company restructuring... According to people who were in attendance, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu said that both the company’s American and European arms would be hit with layoffs, which will happen over the course of the next month. The scale of the layoffs wasn’t shared, but staff were told that people working in publishing, IT, and Square Enix’s Collective indie games division would be predominantly affected. Those affected will be informed this week, staff were told. In the UK, employees will enter into a one-month consultancy period, as per local employment law, while US-based staff could leave their roles before June. Following the internal meetings on Monday, many of Square Enix’s main Slack channels were locked, VGC was told" https://lnkd.in/eaTMend9 I am so sorry to hear this news. If you want to prepare yourself in case you become affected by these cuts, or if you indeed become affected by these cuts this week, our community has three resource "homes" built to help you: HOME 1 - 🔗 AMIRSATVAT.COM: Our hub offering 15 resources to help you find work, including a fully updated design. - 🔗 Games Org Support Posts: Find a template at AMIRSATVAT.COM (Category 4, Resource 10). If you can provide information from your team (with their consent), I’ll help edit and disseminate the final product, reaching 100,000+ people. These posts are highly effective in increasing visibility and we have done 97 of them. HOME 2 - 🔗 Please visit discord.gg/amirsatvat to join our Discord, a live extension of our community resources. With nearly 2,800 members, we are in an open-join phase. HOME 3 - 🔗 LinkedIn: Our community here includes nearly 87,000 members, with 1-3 daily posts offering support and career assistance in the games industry. To our broader community, your involvement makes a difference. Here’s how you can help: - Spread the word: Reshares and comments on this post amplify the visibility of these resources. - Offer support: Utilize the 13 ways listed on AMIRSATVAT.COM under "How You Can Help" to assist, or simply lend an ear or advice on our Discord server. - Join our movement: Volunteer with us at AMIRSATVAT.COM to support our colleagues in the games industry. Our network has facilitated over 1,800 jobs and 33,000 coaching conversations to date and has been visited by over 3,000,000 gamers lifetime. We're committed to providing daily encouragement and support during these challenging times. We will never stop fighting for you!

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This videographic reveals some mindblowing and terrifying data: 1) Since 1986 (that's almost 40 years), the games industry has enjoyed double-digit, YOY revenue growth. This is why the games industry is now bigger than the movie and music industries combined. We've done this while delivering content on new devices every 5 years and totally new platforms every 10. 2) This is *also* why the dip at the end is so scary, and why I'm so obsessed with where the industry will find its next $100B in revenue: https://lnkd.in/gGBpk2U4 #videogames #gamesindustry #infographics Visual Capitalist

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"Kenn's the guy you bring in to un#%$& the craziest $%#&." This was the referral message that got me my interview at Crunchyroll back in 2015. It wasn't just a referral - it was a championing of me that I'll never forget (thanks, Jeff Pineda - I still owe you for that). We spent a lot of time today in the Game Industry Coffee Chat discussing the value of referrals. It's a common subject as we push the idea that it's by far the most effective way to get into the game industry, with vets sharing story after story of how we got in based on who we knew (and who they knew). Whenever I see stories of folks who sent out some X-hundred resumes over the course of a few months without any response, I find myself wondering what else they're doing besides just clicking on application-after-application, uploading the same generic resume. I think of my own job hunt in 2023 and look at the spreadsheet I used to track those applications and realize that my experience was seeing more than 30% callback rates. The difference of course isn't that I have a super amazing resume format or that I just have experience that's THAT much better - some of the folks having the most trouble are in many ways even more experienced than I am, having worked on bigger games or more titles. No, the difference to me looking through this spreadsheet from back then is obvious to me - I had internal direct referrals for me on more than 80% of the jobs I applied to back then. In fact, the actual role I ended up landing here at Daybreak wasn't even one I applied for - it was a direct ask to the recruiter from the EP on the team at the time (hi James!). Years earlier, James and I had spoken about potentially having me come to work with him at Microsoft and while that didn't end up materializing, we'd maintained our connection since. In fact, even while the market was melting down and I was dealing with personal tragedies in my life at that time, once you accounted for the time I took out due to those issues, I realized that my experience in the job hunt wasn't actually all THAT different from other years. More competitive, slightly longer search - but that could have just as easily been accounted for due to the level of position I was looking for compared against earlier years. It's referrals that made the difference for me. But not all referrals are the same. Knowing someone who is willing to go above for you is FAR better than just someone willing to pass your name along or give you a referring link. Find your champions. Be a champion for others. #GameIndustry #Referrals #WorkSmarterNotHarder #TodayYouTomorrowMe

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During my time at Zynga from 2011-13, cross-promotion on Facebook was a key competitive advantage that basically ensured the successful launch of new games. However, as players shifted to mobile, that advantage significantly diminished. Squad Busters’ impressive 8.8M downloads and $1.1M in revenue on launch day—Supercell’s highest-ever—make me wonder if cross-promotion is back. Despite post-launch retention challenges, Squad Busters attracted 40 million sign-ups in just five weeks. Join us for a Growth Marketing roundtable discussion on Squad Busters’ launch success and hear expert insights from industry leaders Jen Donahoe and Gavin Leung as we explore Supercell’s strategies. Key topics include: • The impact of big-budget ad campaigns • The successful preregistration drive • Launch day results Date: Thursday, September 5th, 2024 (tomorrow) Time: 9 - 10 AM PST Type: Open to anyone Sign-Up Here: https://lnkd.in/gg9Y9CGu

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🌟 Exciting Partnership Opportunity for Roblox Developers! 🌟 At Senior Studios, we specialize in the integration of brands in gaming, and we're looking for Roblox games to partner with! If you're behind a Roblox game with an active player base, we want to integrate our client brands into your games for limited-time campaigns. We've had the privilege of working with iconic brands like Opera GX, creating memorable, engaging experiences that captivate audiences worldwide in #Minecraft. Now, we want to bring that expertise and excitement to the Roblox community. 🚀 What We Offer: 1. Monetization Opportunities: Open new revenue streams through limited-time brand campaigns in your game. 2. Collaborative Efforts: Our team ensures the integration respects your game's integrity and enhances the player experience, our approach is always community-first. We're excited about the potential of #Roblox to create engaging, branded content that players will love. If you're interested in exploring what a partnership could look like, let's connect! 🔗 Reach out directly or drop a comment below to start the conversation. Shares are much appreciated! #Roblox #RobloxDev #RobloxDeveloper #RobloxStudio #BrandPartnership #RobloxGame

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How do I hire the best C and VP level candidates in Games & Entertainment? How do I get positions that pay million dollar plus salaries? Find the answers on the latest Deconstructor of Fun podcast (link in comment below) where I share my experiences of having led on some of the top searches in the world of Technology, Entertainment and Games. Was delightful to speak with Michail Katkoff, thank you for having Mission One on the show. We love the entertainment sector and hope this contribution helps companies make better hiring decisions, and individuals get the jobs that they want. Would love to hear feedback (what you agreed with, disagreed with, would like to hear more on etc), feel free to comment or DM me. #games #executive #hiring #entertainment #growth #csuite #podcasts

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