Karol Severin

YouTube plays catch up, adopting Twitch-style Sponsorships programme

Blog post by Karol Severin

22 Sep 2017

YouTube announced this week, (September 20 th ) that it is expanding its sponsorships programme, following successful testing. Sponsorships will allow viewers to purchase digital goods directly from creators’…

Going Beyond Sync
Mutually Beneficial Opportunities in Music And Games

Report by Karol Severin

21 Sep 2017

The 20,000 Foot View: There is a significant behavioural and demographic overlap between gamers and music consumers. An affinity for music, adoption of subscription services, attendance of live music…

Quick Take: Zynga Partners With Ferrari To Delight CSR2 Players

Blog post by Karol Severin

15 Sep 2017

Zynga’s CSR2 , a leading racing mobile game, has partnered up with Ferrari for a promotional in-game event to celebrate the 70 th anniversary of the iconic car brand. A mutually beneficial brand-building…

Thoughts On Rovio’s IPO – Can The Positive Traction Last?

Blog post by Karol Severin

7 Sep 2017

Rovio has announced it is preparing for an IPO. It would be listed on Nasdaq Helsinki and it plans to issue €30 million worth of shares. Rovio’s announcement highlighted the recent growth of its monthly…

How E-sports Could Fit Within The Olympic Framework

Blog post by Karol Severin

1 Sep 2017

The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said in an interview that while genres like sport simulators are still in the running to be considered for 2024, the Olympics have no…

Mobile App Discovery
Targeting Gamers With Word Of Mouth

Report by Karol Severin

31 Aug 2017

The 20,000 Foot View: App discovery has come a long way since the rise of mobile app stores. What were once relatively simple app marketplaces are evolving into more carefully curated experiences, in a…

GamesCom Takeaways – Gaming Has Become A Fully Fledged Cultural Movement

Blog post by Karol Severin

25 Aug 2017

As we descended upon Cologne to attend GamesCom 2017, various expectation scenarios were playing out in my head. It’s safe to say that the reality beat most of them. Having spent three days at this monster…

Rovio’s ‘Games-First’ Strategy Is Not Just About Games

Blog post by Karol Severin

17 Aug 2017

Rovio reported its Q2 results this week. Total revenue was €86.2 million, a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 94%. While the majority of Rovio’s revenue was driven by games (€61.3 million, 65% YoY increase),…

Super Evil Megacorp Pushes Mobile Gaming Boundaries

Blog post by Karol Severin

10 Aug 2017

The company most known for its multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) title Vainglory, has announced that it successfully raised $19 million to further expand its studio space. Besides its name, Super…

Quick Take: Zynga Swings To Profit in Q2

Blog post by Karol Severin

3 Aug 2017

Zynga is turning things around. Its Q2 2017 revenue and booking performance were the best in four years. The company’s revenue was $209.2 million, up from $181.7million in Q2 2016. What’s more, Zynga…

Game Consumer Segmentation
Aficionados Drive Adoption

Cover image for Game Consumer Segmentation

Report by Karol Severin

27 Jul 2017

The 20,000 Foot View: Barriers between the traditionally isolated PC, console and mobile games formats are gradually breaking down. This is happening on the device level (Nintendo Switch), title level…

Nintendo’s Results Beat Expectations

Blog post by Karol Severin

27 Jul 2017

Nintendo is going from strength to strength. According to its quarterly earnings results released yesterday, the company earned ¥154.1 billion, surpassing analysts’ median forecast of ¥136.5 billion.…

Zynga Teams Up With MGM To Create ‘Words With Friends’ Game Show

Blog post by Karol Severin

20 Jul 2017

MGM Television and Zynga have announced a collaboration to develop a new television game show based on Words With Friends , the world's most popular mobile word game. The show will also incorporate aspects…

Can Oculus’s planned $200 VR headset move the needle for VR in gaming?

Blog post by Karol Severin

14 Jul 2017

So far, VR hasn’t exactly taken off in they way many would have predicted 2 years ago. MIDiA Research consumer survey data reveals that just 4% of consumers own a VR headset (weighted average across…

How A Month With Spectacles Changed My Outlook On Snap’s Future

Blog post by Karol Severin

7 Jul 2017

When the SnapBot finally popped up in Berlin, I eagerly trekked to the location to see whether the product would change my existing opinions about the company’s future. It did. I made my way to the SnapBot…

Why The Time To Bet On Nostalgia Is Now

Blog post by Karol Severin

29 Jun 2017

Nintendo has captured the headlines over the past week with regards to bringing back its SNES consoles. Nintendo is not the only one betting on nostalgia. Within and outside of games, many companies have…

Daily Active Gamers: Diversity Is The Name Of The Game

Blog post by Karol Severin

22 Jun 2017

The Daily Active User (DAU) is a common engagement metric, often used in gauging companies’ performance and value. In gaming, DAUs vary markedly across mobile, PC, console and social. The differences…

What Switch’s Games Offering Tells Us About Nintendo’s Strategy

Blog post by Karol Severin

15 Jun 2017

Nintendo made a number of game title announcements in recent days and weeks. They include an array of game deployment models: an exclusive release of Arms; the first Pokemon-themed title Pokken Tournament;…

Mapping Daily Active Gamers Across Platforms
Diversity Is The Name Of The Game

Cover image for Mapping Daily Active Gamers Across Platforms

Report by Karol Severin

13 Jun 2017

20,000 Foot View: The Daily Active User (DAU) is a common engagement metric, often used in gauging companies’ performance and value. In gaming, DAUs vary markedly across mobile, PC, console and social.…

The App Store Wants To Become A Mobile Gamer Hangout Spot

Blog post by Karol Severin

8 Jun 2017

Apple has introduced a revamp of the App Store as a part of its upcoming iOS11 launch. The announcement reveals an array of changes and upgrades, all of which are ultimately geared towards increasing consumer…