Nacon vs Frogwares, Genshin Impact, Valheim
Sales figures, studio buyouts, financial reports… if these topics interest you, you've come to the right place. Each week, we will come back to the economic news of video games in this section. On the program for this edition: layoffs at Hardsuit Labs, the remakes planned by Square Enix or the conflict between the revenues of Genshin Impact.
Left out of the Bloodlines 2 project, Hardsuit Labs would have laid off staff
On February 23, Paradox Interactive announced that Hardsuit Labs was dispossessed of the development of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. Two years after the announcement of the game, the production of the title is therefore entrusted to another team, whose identity has not been revealed. In the dedicated press release, Paradox indicated that the ambitions around the game had made it necessary to change the studio. Unfortunately, the consequences for the studio would be heavier than expected, as some ex-employees indicated that layoffs followed. Anna Webester, narrative designer, said for her part that the entire narrative team has been asked to pack their bags, along with other developers. As a reminder, in August and October, several developers left the studio, and the title is now expected for 2022.
Genshin Impact reportedly grossed more than $ 870 million on mobile
Launched on September 28, 2020, Genshin Impact is hugely successful and to say the least. Playable on a large number of media with progress tracking, the title takes the form of a free-to-play, which many players admit does not encourage players to spend money. Thanks to this balance, Genshin Impact has been able to attract a lot of players, who, in part, have put their hands in the wallet. Four days after its release, the title had generated $ 17 million, 60 in a week, and 245 after a month. According to Sensor Tower data, Genshin Impact is now approaching $ 900 million, with an estimate of $ 875 million generated on mobile. On iOS and Android, the title is now in third place of the games generating the most money, behind the unmistakable Honor of Kings and PUBG mobile. Sensor Tower mentions in particular $ 175 million generated per month on mobile thanks to microstransactions. The leading market for the title is none other than China ($ 253 million generated), followed by Japan (237 million), and
the United States (162 million).
Zynga s 'offers the developer of Torchlight III
Created in 2016, Echtra Games, studio behind Torchlight III is now owned by Zynga company behind many social games such as FarmVille, Chess with Friends or War of the Fallen . Led by Frank Gibeau, the company announced the takeover without disclosing the amount of the transaction. What we do know, however, is that no layoffs are planned, and that Echtra Games will work with NaturalMotion on the realization of a multi-platform RPG. If
the future of Torchlight III, which has abandoned its free-to-play aspect during development, is not mentioned, Frank Gibeau still commented on the news of the takeover: "Max (Schaefer) and his team at Echtra Games have created some of the most legendary game licenses ever created, and they are experts in action-RPGs as well as cross-platform development. I am delighted to welcome Echtra Games to the Zynga family. This acquisition will play a key role in the growth of our iconic licenses and brands, from mobile to PC to console, while helping to further expand Zynga's exploitable market. "
The founder of OVH will submit a takeover offer for Blade
According to our colleagues at Nextinpact, Blade, the company behind the Cloud Computing Shadow service, is not doing very well. Blade is currently under the protection of the Commercial Court, and is actively seeking a buyer. Victim of its success and its international deployment, Blade would no longer have funds to continue its development, while the new offers, previously on pre-order, are waiting to be delivered. In addition, the company would have missed its round table last December, and therefore would not have obtained a new fundraising. The quest for a buyer was confirmed a few days ago by Victor Grimoin, creative manager, who also explains that the situation will be clarified live very soon. The conditions for the takeover remain to be determined, but there is already a candidate in the person of Octave Klaba, CEO and founder of OVH. The latter indicated on Twitter that he would use his investment fund Jezby Ventures to submit a takeover offer, with the desire to develop a "European alternative to Office365 / G-Suite". According to him, the necessary sum would be between 30 and 35 million dollars. "Jezby has been working on this file for two months," he adds. For the moment, this is only a note of intent, and no procedure has officially been launched.
The conflict between Nacon and Frogwares is starting again
On March 1, Frogwares, developer of
The Sinking City, published a 9-minute video accusing Nacon of having hacked the game and modified the source code in order to publish the game on Steam on February 26, and of not having paid all sums due: "To be clear, this is a hack and when a hack aims to steal a product and generate money, it is called piracy or counterfeiting." The conflict has already been going on for several months, since a decision of the Paris Court of Appeal rendered in October 2020 ruled in favor of Nacon, who considered unlawful the breach of the contract between the two parties. The final decision, which concerns the obligation of Frogwares to provide a Steam version, must be made soon, but the studio obviously wanted to publicly expose its point of view, while making a complaint to Steam, which has also withdrawn the title of his shop. Nacon officially reacted on Wednesday March 3 with a long right of reply. The publisher indicates that it is legally the only legitimate distributor of the game on Steam, that all sums due have been paid, and that Frogwares has been preventing the game from being published on Steam for months. "Today, except in bad faith, Frogwares has no reason not to make the game available to Nacon on Steamé", declared Nacon in its press release.
My .Games presents a very positive financial report
Publisher of Conqueror's Blade, Dino Squad or Warface: Breakout, My.Games has just unveiled its results for the calendar year 2020, marked by the release of nine new titles. A report presented with a smile since My.Games announces to perform beyond its estimates with a growth of 30% over one year sliding, to 562 million dollars. For the French market, the publisher notices a 46% increase in revenue from PC games, while Conqueror's Blade achieved a turnover up 155%. Mobile spending also rose 34% while ad revenue jumped 61%. Of the 770 million claimed users, the majority are found in the United States, Germany and Japan. Vassily Magouryan, CEO, believes that My.Games has managed to quickly launch its growth based on its own ecosystem of games and services. However, mobile remains the main source of revenue for the company taking 73% of the total. Finally, note the performance of some titles: Warface now has 109 million players including 23 on Switch, while Grand Hotal Mania has been downloaded 7.7 million times and War Robots has attracted 184 million players.
In brief in industry news
Valheim's success continues to be confirmed, with 5 million copies sold
in one month. Seth Schiesel, a former reporter for the New York Times and Protocol, has been recruited as Director of Executive Communications by the
Microsoft Xbox team. Microsoft's takeover of Zenimax has been approved by the Security & Exchange Commisions (US). The decision of the European Union is still awaited. Motorsport Games recently bought 397Studio, a specialist in automotive simulation (NASCAR / eSport). New games, notably based on the 24 hours of Le Mans, are expected on PC and consoles. Blasphemous has been started by over a million players. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick believes the public is ready to accept the increase in the price of games. The Souls-Like Mortal Shell has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.
Other business news for the week of March 1:
Forever Entertainment and Square Enix have signed an agreement to produce Google Stadia remakes: missed goals, canceled projects ... new surveys published Hogwarts Legacy: After the controversy, the lead designer withdraws from development Valheim has now sold more than 5 million copies FIFA 21, Animal Crossing ... the best-selling games in France in 2020 unveiled Shadow: it's the crisis at Blade,
in search of a buyer Game sales in France: Week 7 - five out of five for the
Nintendo Switch PC sales on Steam: Week 8 - Valheim unbeatable
