Best Rated Game of 2024
And the Pricy PlayStation 5 Pro.
Hi, Tibi here, hope you're having a great day! ??
Welcome to the #34 FREE edition of the Game Vibe Weekly Newsletter!
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This newsletter is created out of passion for video games and industry news. The intention is to share weekly trends, business insights and top performing games, all in a nice format, and build a vibrant community together.
Happy reading!
?? Vibe of the Day
Let's start the day with a song. I searched "astro" for obvious reasons on Youtube and this is what I found. ??
I like that the video is a version of Beat Saber meets Candy Crush. ??
Let's listen to something new and different, right?
Feeling the vibes? ??
?? Highlights
?? Interesting
?? Everyone is talking about the new PS5 Pro console! Sony just dropped a surprise tech showcase for the PS5 Pro for a Nov. 7th release, boasting specs like a GPU with 67% more compute units and 45% faster rendering, all for a price of $699! Will you buy it?
?? The new iPhone 16 will have a 30% boost in gaming performance, letting you enjoy AAA titles like Assassin's Creed Mirage without breaking a sweat. Still, we all know from previous editions how premium AAA games sold on mobile.
?? SAG-AFTRA just scored a win by sealing the first AI protection deal on 80 video games with Lightspeed L.A., letting actors work on games even during the ongoing strike.
?? Dr Disrespect is making a comeback to streaming after admitting to inappropriate chats with a minor, humorously preempting the inevitable jokes about his past with a cheeky tweet.
?? Microsoft is laying off 650 employees in its Xbox division, marking the third round of job cuts this year as it tries to streamline operations after its $69 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition.
?? Ex-SCEE president Chris Deering suggests laid-off game developers can "drive an Uber" or "go to the beach for a year" while waiting for the industry to bounce back, as over 11,500 have lost their jobs this year alone.
?? Raccoon Logic's co-founder, Alex Hutchinson , argues for a return to premium game sales, saying, "Let people own the game they bought" instead of nickel-and-diming players with microtransactions, aiming to revive the joy of simply buying a game without strings attached. What do you think on that?
?? Epic, EA, and Roblox are in hot water with the EU for allegedly tricking players into overspending, with kids averaging €39 a month on in-game purchases.
?? Are you aware of the Digital Markets Act? It's shaking things up for mobile game developers, giving them a shot at more freedom and potentially boosting their revenue through direct-to-consumer strategies.
?? The Game UI Database experienced a two-week slowdown, likened to a DDoS attack, due to relentless scraping by OpenAI, raising questions about fairness and legality.
?? Nearly 2,000 fans have humorously signed a petition titled We Were All Busy That Week - Please Release Concord Again, hoping to revive the game after its disastrous two-week launch.
?? There are currently 14,162 job openings in the gaming industry worldwide, with 86% of them not offering remote work, as stated by Amir Satvat in his mapping of open video games jobs.
?? Unity finally ditched the dreaded Runtime Fee after a year of backlash, reverting to a subscription model with price hikes for Pro (8%) and Enterprise (25%) tiers starting 2025. Don't worry, for Unity Personal it will remain free if you make up to $200,000 in revenue and funding.
? South Korea passes law requiring overseas gaming companies to designate local agents to protect users and comply with regulations.
?? The Gulf gaming market is booming, with over 33 million players and total spending expected to hit $3.2 billion by 2028, making Arabic localization a must for developers.
?? The first Steam account, AbacusAvenger, just celebrated its 21st birthday, together with 319,000 other accounts hitting the same milestone. How many games do you think they have in their library? ??
?? James Earl Jones, the legendary voice behind Darth Vader and Mufasa, passed away at 93, leaving a void in the hearts of fans and a rich legacy in the entertainment industry. We love you! ?
?? Game to Wishlist
At gamescom I met a ton of cool people and one of them is Cristian-Daniel D. , Marketing Director at Amber . He told me that they are working on their own PC game, so I was very curious about this.
?? The game is called R.I.S.E. and it's a sci-fi survival with intense combat & strategy. It's like Vampire Survivors meets Helldivers, with the theme of Running Man, as they put it. It seems fun and has it's own unique look to it.
Glad to have met you, Cristian and good luck with your launch!
You can wishlist the game here on Steam, if you like it. It will help them a lot!
And you can even try out the demo, for free! Have fun!
They are adding constant updates with new features, content and gameplay improvements together with UI/UX. So keep an eye on it, as it will grow!
?? This is not an Ad, but if any of you want to collaborate on that, give me a shout my dear game maker friends!
?? Mobile
??? In August, shopping apps thrived on iOS with downloads jumping from 168.17 million to 174.3 million, while Android took a slight dip from 307.34 million to 299.1 million. Meanwhile, Roblox ruled engagement with a whopping 37 million daily active users on iOS and 98 million on Android. Check out more in the Apptica report.
? Netflix Games just hit a whopping 210 million downloads, with GTA games leading the charge at 36.6 million installs.
?? August saw Monopoly Go raking in a whopping $79.74 million, making it the 3rd top grossing mobile game, while Candy Crush Saga struggled with its lowest earnings in over two years at $71 million! The #1 is Honor of Kings with $122.82 million.
?? Roblox continues to dominate the mobile gaming scene, topping the download charts for August with a whopping 19 million installs, just edging out Subway Surfers by a mere million!
?? Japan's mobile gaming market took a hit in H1'24, with revenue plummeting 17% to $5.3 billion, thanks to a weak yen.
?? A new report from Sanlo reveals that 81% of mobile gamers know about web shops, and 25% prefer them for in-game purchases, showing a shift towards more direct and profitable sales for developers.
?? Marvel Snap is gearing up for a launch in China, with a beta already live, but no official release date just yet. And Balatro Mobile will launch on September 26 with a $9.99 price point.
?? Supercell's Squad Busters is gearing up for a crossover with Transformers, bringing transforming robots into the mix soon! Interesting IP choice.
??? Events
?? The Vision Pro Hackathon kicks off today with a $25K in cash and prizes up for grabs, with a local meetup lineup of NYC, SF, Paris and Montreal.
?? Get ready for 2 days of game business wisdom at the IndieGameBusiness? Sessions 2024, featuring free lectures from industry pros and a chance to network with 500-1,000 fellow game enthusiasts! The event takes place September 18 - 19. Enroll for free!
?? Willem Delventhal announced in his post that he launched an Early Stage Educational Incubator, called Indie Game Foundry that partners with you to start your very own studio and publish your first game. Check out their event! Congrast on the initiative!
?? MeetToMatch Tokyo Edition 2024 is set for September 26-29, bringing together Japanese and international game industry pros for a hybrid matchmaking experience during the biggest trade show in Japan! Are you going? Send me Goku souvenir. ??
?? Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2024 will highlight indie games with the Audience Choice Award in the Big Indie Zone, sponsored by Jam City, giving indie developers a chance to shine at the event!
?? Know any other cool events? Drop me a message and I can include them in the next edition.
?? PC & Console
?? Astro Bot has joined the elite club of legendary games with a Metacritic score of 94, making it the highest-rated game of 2024 so far! The game is about a robot who sets out to rescue his crewmates after their spaceship is wrecked by a mischievous alien. And oh, it's available on PS5 only.
?? China's gaming scene is booming, with Black Myth: Wukong selling over 18 million copies in just 2 weeks and it's not the only game from China to have an impact.
?? Concord is not the only live-service game to be shut down soon after launch, there's a whole list of other games that did the same, including Apex Legends: Mobile and Rumbleverse.
?? Roblox is letting developers sell games for real money later this year, devs keeping up to 70% of earnings, which could make creating games as lucrative as selling lemonade on a hot day.
?? Also, Roblox aims for 1 billion daily players and 10% of the $180 billion gaming market.
?? Space Marine 2 has already attracted 2 million players in just 5 days, making it the biggest launch for a Warhammer game ever!
?? At the same time with the PS5 Pro announcement, the legendary PS2, the best-selling console ever, joins Japan's tech hall of fame as the first console to be recognized for its impact on culture and society. How many games have you played on it?
? Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025 dominated the Japanese gaming market in August, selling 76,000 copies on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
?? Street Fighter 6 has officially sold over 4 million units worldwide, doubling its sales in just two months. It was released in in June 2023. Congrats to them!
?? W4 Games is rolling out console porting solutions for Godot developers as soon as October, making it easier than ever to bring your games to Xbox and Nintendo Switch!
?? Unreal Engine dominates both gaming and non-gaming sectors, with 63% usage overall and 51% in media & entertainment, while Unity lags behind at 16% in non-gaming industries.
?? Have you seen any other cool news? Drop me a message and I can include them in the next edition.
?? App of the Week
I'm exicted to announce that I'm presenting the first partenered feature on Game Vibe Weekly!
It's with Apptica and I like it!
Apptica is a mobile data intelligence tool that allows you to check the Ad gallery of creatives and all the relevant market trends on more than 10 million apps and games. It's similar to SensorTower.
What I am using it for?
Thanks to Ksenia Yurkina for providing me access to Apptica and play around with the tool and get a competitive advantage in a crowded space.
Contact her or Polina Baeva to find out more and get an offer on Apptica.
?? They even have a free trial with basic features, so try it out if you're curious. You might create the next best trending game using Apptica.
?? VR/AR
?? Ukrainian pilots are now using mixed reality flight simulators to cut F-16 training time from years to just 1 month.
?? Sharp and NTT Docomo just dropped their MiRZA AR glasses, weighing only 125g and priced at about $1,700, set to launch in fall 2024.
?? A new mod lets you experience Star Wars Outlaws in VR, making you feel like you’re dodging TIE fighters in your living room. Just watch out for the coffee table! ??
??? Podcasts
Any podcast lovers here? I got you!
?? Google's gaming lead Mariusz G?siewski reveals the hottest trends in mobile gaming, from booming regions to breakout genres in this PocketGamer.biz podcast. Enjoy!
?? Here's a great IndieGameBusiness? talk with Anna Moss where they discuss job hunting in the gaming industry and how to effectively communicate with recruiters in 2024. I guess this is a hot topic in this period. Hope it helps!
?? Business
?? Timbre Games , previously shut down by Sumo Group, has risen from the ashes like a phoenix and is now flying solo as an independent studio. Congrats to them!
?? Odeeo just scored a sweet $5 million investment to boost its in-game audio ads and expand into the US, with a whopping 260% rise in daily active users, now totaling over 15 million.
?? Huuuge Games' profits dropped 30.6% YoY, but their top casino games hit major milestones with $2 billion in lifetime revenue.
?? Smirk? is jumping into the game development arena, aiming to be the next 'TikTok of games' with plans to support various genres like shooters and racing while competing with HypeHype.
?? Lost Boys Interactive, known for its work on Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and Diablo 4, has announced another round of layoffs, impacting 139 employees.
?? Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is transferring all its gaming stocks to Savvy Games Group starting in 2025, aiming to boost its gaming presence in the Middle East.
?? After 17 years of nurturing over 130 developers, Dutch Game Garden is shutting down in January 2025 due to funding shifts.
?? Merge Games shuts down its Chelford office and lays off an unspecified number of staff as part of a consolidation strategy with parent company Maximum Entertainment.
?? New studio Mother Games just snagged $5 million in pre-seed funding to kick off their first mobile RPG, Le Zoo. Congrats to them!
?? A minority investor is pushing Ubisoft to go private and replace its CEO after shares plummeted over 50% in the past year, hitting a near 10-year low of €13.67 following the lukewarm launch of Star Wars Outlaws.
?? Nazara just dropped $2.2 million to snag a 15.86% stake in STAN (connecting gamers and supporting content creators), which has zoomed past 12 million downloads and gained over 2 million new users in just June 2024.
?? Magify, a live ops platform, just scored €1 million to level up their AI and expand to new realms.
?? PUBG maker Krafton splashes $89 million on Spoon Labs to make short K-dramas for your phone.
?? Cypher Games just scored $10 million in funding to launch their first match-3 game and shake up the mobile gaming scene from Turkey.
?? Cool Stuff
?? This week's best of Blender artists on BlenderNation reminded me of the classic cartoon Stop That Pigeon. I remember watching it when I was a kid in the 90s on Cartoon Network. Have you seen it? Check out the rest of the illustrations, they're beautiful!
?? Here's a goodie for you. Did you know that power progression is key to keeping players hooked and your game alive for years to come? Check out this article by Cameron McKellar.
?? Want to learn how to model a Star Destroyer in Blender in just 35 minutes? Try it with this beginner-friendly tutorial!
?? After 36 years of the original movie, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has grossed $110 million in its opening weekend, proving that nostalgia can still pack a punch at the box office! Have you seen it? I'm going this weekend. ??
?? Game 2 Play
My recommendation for this week is something medieval.
?? The Elder Scrolls: Castles is now live, and lets you build a dynasty where each real-life day equals a year in-game. It's a mix between Skyrim and Fallout Shelter. Interesting, right?
Try not to get your subjects too upset or they might plot your demise! ??
Have fun!
?? This is not an Ad, but if any of you want to collaborate on that, give me a shout my dear royal friends!
?? You're Awesome!
Wow, you've made it to the end!
I hope you found this newsletter fun and interesting!
Let me know what you think in the comments if you'd like, if not that's cool, thanks for reading!
Reach out if you’d like to collaborate on anything.
Have a great day! ??
Tibi
Thanks for the insights ??
Growth Partner for B2B & Service Providers | Scaling Revenue via Strategic Partnerships | Built Multiple 6-Figure Businesses ???? Husband, Father, Christian ? | ISTJ (Logistician) | Enneagram 8 (Challenger)
6 个月Wow, so much happening! I'm excited about the PS5 Pro release. What about you? ???
Leading Game Studio Of Eastern India ??
6 个月Tibi Goan??, this is packed with so much exciting news! ????
Helping talents succeed in games | Founder @PlayHire | Associate Professor @ISDE | Ex Overwatch Top 500 EU
6 个月I'm curious to observe how the community will take Unity decision to step back. Super interesting business case
Best rated game of 2024? We are coming for that spot sir!