Karol Severin

Quick take: Xbox’s future is cross-platform, PlayStation’s is cross-entertainment

Blog post by Karol Severin

30 Jul 2020

If Fortnite showed us anything, it’s that the future of entertainment is about monetising fandom – not just consumption and access to content. Games are perfectly positioned to help monetise fandom…

How games continue to drive a cultural shift

Blog post by Karol Severin

24 Jul 2020

The strides gaming has made in recent years regarding its cultural relevance are hard to ignore. Twenty years ago, consumers defined their cultural image through the music they listened to, the clothes…

The hidden value of esports audiences

Blog post by Karol Severin

20 Jul 2020

Esports video viewers are becoming more interesting to brands and media companies. Increasingly more focus is now put on accurately valuing esports audiences. Gamers (and even more so, esports viewers)…

Sony buys stake in Epic Games: Small equity, large impact

Blog post by Karol Severin

13 Jul 2020

Sony has made a strategic investment of $250 million to acquire a minority stake in Epic Games. According to Venture Beat, Sony will own 1.4% of the company, valuing Epic Games at $17.86 billion. While…

Quick Take: Amazon’s pull-back of Crucible is a setback, but don’t sign it off just yet

Blog post by Karol Severin

6 Jul 2020

Amazon has decided to pull the release of its game, Crucible, back to beta following feedback from early users. Much of the games community is taking jabs at Amazon about its lack of gaming DNA and deeming…

Ninja’s next move crucial, as Apple Rejects Facebook Gaming App

Blog post by Karol Severin

24 Jun 2020

For the lack of better word, times are about get crazy for the mid-to-top tier end of games streamers and creators as the content wars heat up, so here are some observations and hopefully some useful pro…

Recovery Economics
Outlook for Music, Games, Video & Sports

Report by Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin and Alistair Taylor

19 Jun 2020

MIDiA analysts present in this webinar report how the entertainment industries can plan not to simply bounce back, but to rebuild their value propositions and supply chains to adjust to the realities of…

Media Companies Divesting From Games Is A Double-Edged Sword

Blog post by Karol Severin

17 Jun 2020

Just a couple of weeks ago MIDiA Research wrote about Endeavor selling off its Epic Games stake. Now it has emerged that AT&T is looking to sell off Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment (WBIE), the…

What PlayStation 5 Tells Us About Sony's Trajectory

Blog post by Karol Severin

12 Jun 2020

PlayStation put on an impressive showcase of 20+ upcoming titles, culminating in presenting the design of its new console, PlayStation 5, due to launch later this year. Though no launch date, price or…

Recovery Economics
Games Sees Temporary Bounce but Should Prepare For Decline

Report by Karol Severin

11 Jun 2020

The 20,000 Foot View: The effects of the coronavirus-induced crisis unfolded in multiple stages, each with its own characteristics. During the early outbreak and strict lockdowns, games engagement benefited…

Recovery Economics |Bounce Forward not Back
Webinar slides

Cover image for Recovery Economics |Bounce Forward not Back

Report by Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin and Keith Jopling

11 Jun 2020

Free Report

MIDiA analysts present in this webinar how the entertainment industries can plan not to simply bounce back, but to rebuild their value propositions and supply chains to adjust to the realities of the new…

Dealing with Crises During The Crisis Is a Part Of New Normal

Blog post by Karol Severin

2 Jun 2020

Sony, EA, and Activision were among companies to postpone marketing events and product release efforts in light of the current protests against police brutality and racism in the United States. The current…

PlayStation Now and Xbox Game Pass Increase Subscribers, But Recovery Will Favour Disruptors

Blog post by Karol Severin

22 May 2020

Both PlayStation (PS) and Xbox have recently announced significant increases in their games streaming service user bases. Xbox Game Pass now has 10 million subscribers and PlayStation now has 2.2 million…

Recovery Economics
Post-Lockdown Innovation

Report by Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor and Keith Jopling

20 May 2020

The 20,000 Foot View: COVID-19 social distancing measures caused unprecedented dislocation to the entertainment economy. With a recession now a question of ‘how bad’ rather than ‘if’, entertainment…

Endeavor, Epic Games and the Future Of Digital Entertainment Venues

Blog post by Karol Severin

15 May 2020

Just a couple of months ago Endeavor was on its journey of building a true cross-entertainment conglomerate. Endeavor recognised a long time ago the synergies which can be achieved from cross-entertainment…

Recovery Economics
Music, Games, Live Streams and the Future of Concerts

Report by Mark Mulligan, Karol Severin and Keith Jopling

11 May 2020

The 20,000 Foot View: In April 2020 Travis Scott’s Fortnite event pulled in 27 million players. While this was happening, the global artist community was scrambling to plug the income and engagement…

The ‘Covid Bounce’ In Games Can Cloud Judgement About What Lies Ahead

Blog post by Karol Severin

1 May 2020

Compared to most, the games industry has benefited from the Covid-19 outbreak and related lockdowns. For a lot of games companies, engagement has increased and so have revenues, albeit just partially.…

COVID-19
Impact on Entertainment Demand and Behaviours

Report by Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor, Keith Jopling and Hanna Kahlert

24 Apr 2020

Free Report

The 20,000 Foot View: COVID-19 is having a clear and direct impact on the entertainment and media industries, driven by investor uncertainty – resulting in plummeting share prices – and restrictions…

Watch Out, Twitch, YouTube and Apple Arcade: Facebook Gaming Is Coming For Your Market Share

Blog post by Karol Severin

21 Apr 2020

Facebook has launched a new app, Facebook Gaming, currently available on Google Play. Though the company has been in games for years, this is a major development in its games-related strategy as…

The Gaming Boom Is Driven by Different Genders In Different Age Groups

Blog post by Karol Severin

16 Apr 2020

We know that we are experiencing a spike in games engagement during this crisis. 21% of adult consumers in the US say they’ve spent more time playing games online ‘in the last two weeks’ (fielded…