Money

Tencent Acquires 49.9% Stake in Ubisoft Holding Company

Published

9 months ago

September 6, 2022

Anthony DiMoro

Tencent is again making it’s mark in the gaming world, purchasing 49.9% stake in Guillemot Brothers Limited, the holding company of Ubisoft, as well as a 5 percent voting stake in the company, according to Reuters.

Tencent already held a 4.5% stake in Ubisoft, but now moves to obtain more control as Ubisoft prepares it’s next slate of game releases. The deal stats that Tencent can reportedly raise its stake in Ubisoft up to 9.99%.

Ubisoft released the following statement:

“The expansion of the concert with Tencent further reinforces Ubisoft’s core shareholding around its founders and provides the company with the stability essential for its long-term development.” said Yves Guillemot, CEO and Co-Founder, Ubisoft.

“In a context where platforms and business models are converging, this transaction, which validates our strategy and highlights the strong intrinsic value of the assets we have built over the long term, is excellent news for our teams, gamers and shareholders. Tencent is a key shareholder partner for many of the industry’s leaders, who have created some of the most outstanding video games. This transaction reinforces our ability to create strong value over the coming years.”

“The team at Ubisoft has shown an impressive ability to consistently create world-class entertainment along with a diverse portfolio of brands that include some of the most successful franchises in the industry,” said Martin Lau, President of Tencent. “We are excited to expand our engagement with the founders, the Guillemot family, as Ubisoft continues to develop immersive game experiences, and to bring some of Ubisoft’s most well-known AAA franchises to mobile. This agreement also aligns with our philosophy to invest alongside creative founders with full confidence that they will lead their companies to new heights.”

Related Topics:Guillemot Brothers Limited Tencent Ubisoft

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Business

Epic Games Store Hits $820 Million in Player Spending During 2022

Published

2 months ago

March 22, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

Epic Games has officially released financial data related to it’s growing marketplace on PC, showing that $820 million was spent on the Epic Games Store during the 2022 year, and promised support for third-party subscription services and new ‘content hubs’ to help companies promote their titles.

According to the data:

The numbers

Total users of Epic Games Store PC: 230 million (up 19% year-on-year)
Epic cross-platform accounts: 732 million
Daily active users peak: 34.3 million
Monthly active users: 68 million (up 10%)

Total spending, incl. Epic’s games: $820 million (down 2%)
Spending on third-party games: $355 million (up 18%)
Free games claimed: 700 million
Number of new PC releases: 626
Total library of PC games: 1,548 (up 68%)

Epic Games stated on it’s blog that more PC games launched during the 2022 year than in any year prior.

Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto 5, Rocket League, Genshin Impact, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands were among the most popular titles related to player engagement and player spending, and Epic Games looks to deepen their focus in 2023 as they aim to improve the store launcher’s performance.

Epic Games also aims to add support for subscription services from third-party publishers and live service products by the end of the 2023 year, adding that they are also working on ‘content hubs’ which will be separate from product pages and will enable publishers to “share information with users in a robust editorial format.”

Market

Xbox Q2 Revenue Dips 13%, Game Pass Continues Growth

Published

4 months ago

January 25, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

Microsoft has reported declines in Xbox revenue during the three months ended December 31, 2022 with gaming revenues were down 13% and Xbox content and services revenues down 12%, but were offset by the growth of Xbox Game Pass.

The Xbox Game Pass subscription business has reported a record number of active players, reporting a record 120 million monthly active users across its gaming ecosystem.

Revenue: $52.7 billion (up 2% year-on-year)
Net income: $16.4 billion (down 12%)
Operating income: $20.4 billion (down 8%)

More Personal Computing (incl. Xbox) revenue: $14.2 million (down 19%)
Gaming revenue: Down 13%
Xbox content and services revenue: Down 12%
Xbox hardware revenue: Down 13%
Monthly active users (gaming): 120 million

The company said that a number of the declines were in line with expectations.

Business

NetEase Acquires SkyBox Labs

Published

5 months ago

January 9, 2023

Anthony DiMoro

NetEase Games has officially announced their acquisition of Canadian-based game developer SkyBox Labs, which was founded back in 2011 and has co-developed titles such as Halo Infinite, Minecraft, and Fallout 76.

Following the acquisition, SkyBox Labs will continue to operate independently under the supervision of its founders Shyang Kong, Derek MacNeil, and Steven Silvester, and will continue to co-create games alongside existing and new partners.

“We have built a team of talented individuals who are passionate and creative, and by joining NetEase Games, we will also be able to accelerate our plans to pursue new creative opportunities and enjoy access to world-class operational resources and the full breadth and depth of NetEase’s services so we can scale faster in Canada,” said Kong in an official statement.