The Game Souk

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:- Tim Sweeney's "huge pivot" at Epic Games toward maximum AI acceleration, the Bloomberg report on Epic's delayed Disney project, and why we read it as a companywide push to use the AI tools Epic has already built- Unreal Engine 5.8's MCP plugin, which lets developers bring the AI model of their choice into the editor, and Unreal showing up everywhere from OpenAI's Astra model building worlds in the engine to Tesla's Cybercab- Eliza Jäppinen on agentic workflows that feel like running a team of 20 inside your computer, the untapped human potential AI could unlock, and why games that can be cloned in 24 hours put a premium on creativity and user acquisition- Keshav Holani on the Disney and Epic partnership, from Future Trash's Star Wars: Droid Tycoon passing 1.5 billion minutes played in its first month to the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run integration that carries rewards from Disney parks into Fortnite- Xbox Labs and the decompilation wave, including Mitchell Hynes's browser version of Halo: Combat Evolved with lobbies of up to 128 players and the ReSkate mod for EA's Skate, plus Miles Dorsey on why everything is becoming UGC- What still matters when anyone can build a game: IP, community, discovery, and the role Discord and YouTube play in moving audiences- Apple's Welcome Home launch with Apple HomeView and the Apple Home Collection built with LG and Schneider Electric, and Mike Edwards on why the real race in the smart home is for the trust and security layer- Anthropic's research on AI worms that could live in smart home devices, its investor day ahead of its IPO, and why sticky inflation puts more attention on how AI compute gets funded- A shout out to James Purell, in Brazil this week with his Roblox battle royale Killstreak

Produced by: Jacob Hollabaugh

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.

This week is a special episode of Game Souk as Lars Bengston, Chief Content Officer of HardScope, joins us eight days after the company's channel went live on YouTube. Founded by DraftKings cofounder Matt Kalish, HardScope is building a variety channel of original shows made with different creators, in the spirit of early MTV and Adult Swim. Lars walks through the model behind it: creators own 50% of the shows they make with the studio, and a commerce incubator pairs those shows with HardScope's own products so the business is less reliant on brand deals alone. He also explains why they are building it this way, from what he learned at Vice about backing unproven talent to the goal of creating a brand audiences choose rather than one the algorithm feeds them, with an early look at Love and Justice with Zach Justice and Unpacked with Matcrackz.

Lars stayed on as we explored some other topics, including:

- Why taste still decides what lasts as AI multiplies the amount of content being made

- The week of AI game mashups, from Mario in Elden Ring to Mario Kart meets Call of Duty, and the IP questions they raise

- Google's Playground and its Unity partnership through Unity Spark

- Roblox Build and Meta bringing AI made Horizon games into Facebook and Instagram

- Why a flood of AI made games could put a premium on longevity and live ops

Game Souk is live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond.

#GameSouk #HardScope #CreatorEconomy #YouTube #AIGaming #Roblox #Unity #UGC

Produced by: Jacob Hollabaugh

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:

• HardScope launches: DraftKings cofounder Matt Kalish's new media company and studio, where creators hold equity in the original IP they build, with series featuring N3on, Zach Justice, Matcrackz, and Bloody Osiris

• 20th Century Studios lands the film rights to Roblox hit 99 Nights in the Forest, with Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley writing and Sam Raimi producing, and James Purell on why the next big IP will come from UGC

• Miles Dorsey on why IP becomes a form of distribution when AI lets anyone build a game, and Xandros Capus on why creators matter more when everyone has the same tools

• Can GTA VI lift Roblox? Bloomberg's case around a mature rating and an $80 price, the GTA style games already on Roblox like Brookhaven, Jailbreak, and Da Hood, whether Fortnite's older audience feels the bigger pull, and why November 19 could be a rising tide for free to play

• Meta's $1,299 VR Glasses, the cinema and workspace pitch, and the search for real consumer behavior

• Why the Oura Ring works where other wearables haven't: health tracking, a slimmer design, and a status symbol for the health maxing era

• Oura postpones its IPO despite 5.7 million paid members, 94% of activations converting to paid memberships, and 85% twelve month retention, as Holtec cites an "unusual confluence of developments" and the 10 year Treasury yield hits its highest level since 2007

• The Anthropic IPO as the GTA moment for public markets, plus Kalshi, Polymarket, and perps drawing new participants

• Discord opens up its ad business with Ads Manager, and Keshav Holani breaks down Quests, Orbs, a 96% median completion rate, and Activities as a marketing toolkit for game developers

#GameSouk #HardScope #CreatorEconomy #Roblox #99NightsInTheForest #UGC #GTA6 #Fortnite #Meta #VR #Wearables #Oura #IPO #Anthropic #Discord #GameDev #GamingIndustry

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:

• Roblox expands Build, its prompt to game creation tool, after a New Zealand alpha where creators published about 9,000 games and 71% had never used Roblox Studio
• Fresh off OpenAI's GPT 6 Astra and Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 launches, James Purell tests whether a viral "one shot" anime fighting game on Roblox really came from a single prompt
• Show and tell: James demos Siege, a Call of Duty Zombies style Roblox game that Claude has been polishing for over 24 hours with a team of 12 specialized AI agents and AI generated 3D models from Nilo
• Will AI lower the barrier to entry while widening the skill gap between expert builders and newcomers, and what it means for AAA studios looking at Roblox
• Trend games versus games with depth: why Sell Lemons and Slime RNG left the top 25 while Murder Mystery 2, Adopt Me!, Rivals, and Jujutsu Shenanigans stay
• The AI tagging debate with Eliza Jäppinen, Miles Dorsey, and Xandros Capus: EU labeling rules, Italian brainrot, friendslop on Steam, and whether distribution becomes the real advantage
• Toy Story 5: The Great Toy Rescue lands in Fortnite, sending players from Bonnie's imagination across creator made islands to rescue six toys, plus Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro on technology
• Discord relaunches age verification, sorting over 90% of users automatically and adding five new options: credit card via k ID and Stripe, Apple App Store and Google Play age ranges, Google Wallet, and AgeKey
• Epic's Kids Web Services, World ID, and zero knowledge proofs as privacy focused paths forward, and why Apple and Google are resisting the role

Produced by: Jacob Hollabaugh

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:- Fresh off RDC 2026: Roblox Wallet will pay eligible US creators in USD every business day and let them buy back Robux at the DevEx rate, and we break down what faster payouts could mean for the velocity of money inside the Roblox economy- James Purell on what Wallet addresses beyond speed, from tax reporting and black market Robux trading to the end of the 30,000 Robux minimum and a new USD dashboard built for outside studios and their accountants- The creator numbers from RDC: top 10 creators averaged $65.7M over the 12 months ending June 30, top 100 averaged $10.8M, and top 1,000 averaged $1.4M, with about $1.7B paid out through DevExRoblox Everywhere, browser play, and standalone game apps, and whether the keynote push toward photorealism is what an older audience actually wants- Joost van Dreunen's analysis showing back catalog sales drove all of Steam's growth in the first half of 2026, and how Epic's free games program and Tim Sweeney's interoperability push, including Unity running inside Unreal Engine, fit the picture- Keshav Holani on new industry data: 35% of game founders say they skipped a hire because AI could do the work, and Niko Partners reports China's games market passed $50B for the first time- Mike Edwards maps the AI slowdown debate: Jakub Pachocki's "An Alien Mind" essay, Jacob Coxon's resignation from Anthropic, Dario Amodei's "We Must Pace the Frontier" backed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk, OpenAI's GPT 6 Astra, and pushback from David Sacks and President TrumpThe Clarity Act falls short of the 60 votes needed in the Senate despite 126 changes in the final Republican text, and what the SEC's proposed Regulation Crypto Assets means for builders in the meantimeProduced by: Jacob HollabaughDisclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:

• Broadcasting live from RDC in San Jose ahead of David Baszucki's opening keynote, with notes from a dinner with Roblox developers the night before

• OpenAI's Astra release and why sentiment on frontier models swung back so quickly, including what implied valuations did in a week and the 10,000 agent swarm behind OpenAI's claimed Navier Stokes result

• The Blender to Unreal Engine 5 pipeline: rapid prototyping, automated asset pipelines, world building, and whether plugging the full game development workflow together is a watershed moment

• The developer counterpoint on generative art: prototyping speed is a real win, but labeling, watermarking, and how audiences value entertainment made this way are open questions

• Does AI kill the engines or augment them? Why easier interoperability between Blender, Unreal, and Unity may answer the question investors ask most about Epic

• Tim Sweeney's long standing position that AI is a tool to embrace, and his warning about the cost of vilifying studios that use it

• The safety debate after an Anthropic alignment lead put the odds of AI killing all humans above 10% within a decade, plus the case that tail outcomes on both sides are extreme

• What Roblox developers actually said at RDC: games built in 15 minutes, why live ops iteration and community feedback still decide quality, and new pet weekends coming to Dress To Slay

#GameSouk #Roblox #RDC26 #AI #GameDev #UnrealEngine #OpenAI #UGC

Produced by: Jacob Hollabaugh

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:

• Meta agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion to settle teen social media addiction claims from 47 states, DC and US territories, ending a federal trial days before Mark Zuckerberg was set to testify. Florida and New Mexico opted out.
• The deal brings daily time caps, night mode, no school hour notifications and limits on like counts. Roughly $5.3 billion is contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting the same framework.
• Why age verification is the real story for gaming: Mike Edwards notes the settlement never names a mechanism for proof of age, unlike the EU, which requires photographic proof.
• Netflix is reportedly in talks with Peacock and Fox One about carrying rivals inside its app, per The New York Times. The panel argues Apple is the quiet winner, holding both the platform layer and the strongest content slate.
• Yahoo Sports reported it now takes 10 subscriptions and close to $1,000 to watch a full NFL season.
• With Sony ending PlayStation disc production in January 2028, Xbox used Gamescom to announce a disc to digital program for supported Xbox One and Series X|S titles, with Insider testing from August 31.
• AdHoc Studio, whose Dispatch won three BAFTAs and passed three million copies, opened preorders for physical editions and a three record vinyl soundtrack from Lost In Cult Records.
• Discord's Social SDK is now generally available on iOS and Android. Internal data across 15 plus PC titles shows a 31% lift in retention, up to 47% in session length and up to 57% in game launch days. Partners include Tencent, Scopely and Ninja Kiwi.
• Salesforce posted Agentforce ARR past $1.5 billion, up 240%, plus a $2.6 billion gain tied to its Anthropic stake, and unveiled Claudeforce. NVIDIA reported $96.2 billion in revenue and guided fiscal 2028 growth of 70%, with Jensen Huang saying the constraint is supply, not demand.

Produced by: Jacob Hollabaugh

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment.

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:

• The SEC proposes Regulation Crypto Assets, its first rulemaking for crypto offerings, with exemptions up to $5 million and $75 million and a safe harbor from investment contract status.
• A perfect storm for crypto: Bessent doubles the long end buyback cap to $4 billion, Bitcoin clears its 200 day moving average toward $70,000, and roughly $3 billion in shorts liquidate.
• Trump names Hyperliquid at the White House, saying the CFTC is working to bring the perps venue onshore, as Coinbase routes its markets into Base App at up to 50x leverage.
• Fortnite Chapter 7 Season 4 Override launches on a Gaming Legends theme, with Sonic headlining the Battle Pass alongside Tetris, Mega Man, and Persona 5, plus Roblox title 99 Nights in the Forest.
• Disney links Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run to a new Fortnite island, Smugglers Gambit, where riders who connect MyDisney and Epic accounts carry their in park performance into the game.
• Hot Toys becomes exclusive collectibles sponsor of the Fortnite Global Championship, and Mattel forms Mattel Game Studios to build on Roblox and Fortnite after buying out Mattel163.
• Ampere Analysis console data shows Roblox surging past Fortnite behind Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot, then declining after Q4, with Fortnite back to roughly 16 hours a month in July.
• Apple tells the district court it should charge 15% on link out purchases, while conceding the Ninth Circuit's necessary costs standard would put the number near zero.
• Meta's trial with 29 state attorneys general opens in Oakland, with youth gating implications the gaming industry is watching.
• Stripe agrees to buy OpenRouter for more than $7 billion while pursuing PayPal, and Anthropic posts Q2 revenue above $11.5 billion against OpenAI at $6.7 billion.

#GameSouk #Fortnite #Roblox #Crypto #Apple #AI

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:

• New UGC platforms arrive: PUBG, GTA, and Nexon build creator tools, but only Roblox and Fortnite pay on engagement and let studios sell digital items

• Why creators like KreekCraft stay loyal to the games that made them, and what that means for true platform power

• Epic vs Apple: Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denies Apple's stay and orders a proposed fee within 24 hours as the 5pm deadline looms

• Are movie theaters back? Gen Z moviegoing data, The Odyssey and Spider Man, and how theaters court younger crowds with pickleball, bocce, and axe throwing

• Paramount pledges 30 theatrical films a year if the Warner Bros deal closes, as a coalition of state AGs moves to block it

• Europe's new AI rules on watermarking and disclosure, and why labeling everything could backfire

• NVIDIA moves to mobilize over $500 billion for AI infrastructure, with Blackstone and others funding the build

• From CapEx to OpEx? Jensen Huang says in AI, compute is revenue, plus Anthropic IPO and Decart talk

#GameSouk #Roblox #Fortnite #UGC #EpicGames #Apple #MovieTheaters #GenZ #AI #NVIDIA #Anthropic

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.

Welcome to Game Souk, where we explore all aspects of the gaming world from tech, finance, culture, and beyond. Airs live every Thursday at 9am Eastern on X @daltonan. Topics covered in this episode:

• Roblox Q2 earnings: withdrawn full year guidance, DAUs down to 123 million from their 2025 peak, and the fallout from age verification and new safety changes
• Why investors and the community are both unhappy at the same time, and what that tension means for the platform
• Roblox tilting its algorithm toward AA and AAA games and rewarding day seven and day 28 retention: the "grow up" push and the native developer challenge
• Why celebrities and IP keep misreading Roblox economics, from bbno$ in +1 Speed Keyboard Escape to Bruno Mars in Steal a Brainrot, versus the paydays on Fortnite
• The wider UGC landscape: Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft, plus how Minecraft's Java and Bedrock show open and closed ecosystems side by side
• New entrants circling UGC: Grand Theft Auto and Krafton's new PUBG Playgrounds platform
• Xbox CEO Asha Sharma moving Mojang under her and pledging to make Minecraft a real creator platform
• Why UEFN and Unreal may be the more natural bridge for AA and AAA studios
• The blockbuster summer at the movies: Spider Man: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

Produced by: Jacob Hollabaugh

#GameSouk #Roblox #UGC #Fortnite #Minecraft #PUBG #Xbox #Gaming #SpiderMan #TheOdyssey

Disclaimer: This material is prepared by SIGNUM GROWTH (“SIGNUM”) and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast, research or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are as of the date on the front page, and may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by SIGNUM to be reliable, are not necessarily all inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by SIGNUM, its officers, employees or agents.

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. This material may contain ‘forward-looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any asset classes or any investment strategy nor shall any securities be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Private placement securities are speculative, illiquid, and carry a high degree of risk, including the loss of the entire investment. There are also key specific risks associated with any particular private securities offering.