Karol Severin | MIDiA Research

Are the ongoing layoffs in games indicative of a wider issue in the games industry?

Karol Severin

6 Oct 2023

The layoffs wildfire that struck the games industry at the start of 2023 does not seem to be stopping - the most recent being Epic Games last week. Firstly, on a personal level, it has been really sad...

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How you play matters
Profiling solo, team, and couch players

Karol Severin

September 2023

This report presents MIDiA’s consumer survey data, zooming in on players of specific gamer types. Data includes age, gender, income, time spent across entertainment, money spent on and inside games,...

Unity’s pricing is a symptom, not the cause of tougher times ahead for the games industry

Karol Severin

14 Sep 2023

Unity

game developers

consolidation

Earlier this week, Unity announced that from 2024 it will start charging developers for the number of downloads / installs of their games. Developers unsurprisingly threw their proverbial toys out of the...

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For Sony's games division, add-on content is the one to watch

Karol Severin

16 Aug 2023

Sony

in-game monetisation

Games

Sony reported its Q1 FY2023 results last week. The Gaming & Network Services (G&NS) segment was up 27.8% on last year. At the same time, however, operating income was down 6.83%. This segment had...

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Competing in the live service games sector is about to get really difficult

Karol Severin

25 Jul 2023

report

live service games

saturated landscape

With the advent of in-game purchases, live service games have gradually become an important fuel of the games industry’s growth. Their sheer success and the appeal of the business model have understandably...

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Tipping point
The coming consolidation of live service games

Karol Severin and Perry Gresham

July 2023

ariana grande

Call of Duty

FIFA

The games industry has become addicted to the promise of lower risk and better ROI from live service games. As a result, there has been a flurry of live service titles released over the last 10 years....

Microsoft’s big win against the FTC

Karol Severin

13 Jul 2023

Microsoft

m&a

Activision Blizzard

Microsoft has won its case against the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction to halt or terminate the deal. There is still an ongoing antitrust case by the FTC against Microsoft, but now the acquisition...

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Games publishers are gradually losing their mojo

Karol Severin

5 Jul 2023

games publishers

games industry

Games

Similarly to music labels, games publishers 20 years ago had a bona fide hit-making capability. For music, this was the combination of funding, marketing, and an exclusive network to ‘make things happen’...

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Quick Take: Are Wizards of the Coast about to unlock the wider collector market?

Karol Severin

12 Jun 2023

Collectibles

trading cards

collectors

Wizards of the Coast (Wizards), the creator of the trading card game Magic: The Gathering (MTG ), have recently dropped an MTG card set partnered with The Lord of the Rings . Expanding from players to...

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NetEase’s expansion to the West is in full swing

Karol Severin

2 Jun 2023

Netease

acquisitions

expansion

Since the beginning of 2023, NetEase has been rapidly announcing new studios, averaging one per month. These have either been established internally, or acquired. - It acquired SkyBox Labs (Canadian games...

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What Project Q tells us about Sony’s strategic thinking?

Karol Severin

25 May 2023

Project Q

Sony

Playstation

During Sony’s Showcase event last night, Sony unveiled Project Q – a handheld gaming device. It will come to the market later this year, though Sony did not specify the exact date or price yet. Project...

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Amazon bringing physical product shopping into games is a prime example of monetising fandom

Karol Severin

12 May 2023

Amazon

in-game monetisation

e-commerce

Earlier this week, Amazon announced an initiative called Amazon Anywhere . It enables mobile games to offer consumers the ability to purchase physical products (e.g., toys and merchandise) directly inside...

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Games purchasing by format
Brick and mortar is not dead

Cover image for Games purchasing by format

Karol Severin

May 2023

Games

Audience Insight

This report presents a Q1 2023 snapshot of US gamers who bought at least one game within a six-month period (between October 2022 and March 2023). This is broken down by physical versus digital format...

CMA blocking Microsoft from acquiring Activision raises more questions than answers

Karol Severin

27 Apr 2023

Microsoft

m&a

Activision

UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) just announced that it “ prevented Microsoft’s proposed purchase of Activision over concerns the deal would alter the future of the fast-growing cloud...

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Quick take: Can Rovio give Sega wings in mobile and live services?

Karol Severin

20 Apr 2023

acquisition

rovio

sega

Sega is acquiring Rovio, and from my perspective, this deal makes sense for both sides. We are experiencing another step in the games industry’s wider consolidation journey, as cross-platform (i.e.,...

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Profiling Steam users
A valuable gamer niche

Karol Severin

April 2023

YouTube

Amazon

Netflix

For two decades now, Steam has been one of the go-to digital game distributors, particularly for computer gamers and developers. Yet, its weekly active audience does not quite reflect a fully representative...

Four themes that affect you, no matter what kind of games company you are

Karol Severin

23 Mar 2023

distribution

gamers

cost of living

Even without the disruptive events of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the cost-of-living crisis, navigating the constantly evolving business dynamics in the games industry has...

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Rebooting video fandom
Games as a video streaming genre

Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Perry Gresham, Sam Griffin and Ben Woods

March 2023

Apple

Apple TV

Netflix

With gamers being mainstream, video streaming services and their content offerings can benefit by increasing focus on the preferences of gamers. Crucially, this enables subscription video on demand (SVOD)...

The Witcher
Netflix’s appeal to gamer fandom

Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Perry Gresham, Sam Griffin and Ben Woods

March 2023

Video

Games

Read the case study …

Has IOC missed the point with its esports initiative?

Karol Severin

3 Mar 2023

Olympics

IOC

esports

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced details of the Olympic Esports Series 2023, a global virtual and simulated sports competition created by the IOC. Amateur and professional players...

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