Nordic Game is a video game developer conference and trade show held annually in Malmö, Sweden. The conference hosts lectures from the computer gaming industry and serves as a company-dating venue where developers and marketers meet.

Next event is coming up, NG20 is November 25th-27th. You can register online here.

Also check out the new podcast of Oliver, listen here to his first one.

This week in Episode 41 I have the remaining parts of the interview with Ivan Filletti of MaltaGaming and Timothy Bendt of Tamatem Games. Both are the seconds parts of conversations I had earlier this month. Ivan is telling why gaming studios should land in Malta and Timothy is giving us a look inside his publishing company that is focussing on the Middle East.

The episode 39 and episode 40 have both first parts of their interviews. I got realy some interesting feedback on Malta and MENA. One fun example is that Pascal Claryssebecame more convinced to bring his studio Big Karma to Malta.

News & Insights

I have as now every Sunday a Weekly Game News Recap. 

This week we had also other news;

If you want to read more news around gaming, then visit our News and Insights section.

GamingMalta

GamingMalta is an independent non-profit foundation set up by the Government of Malta and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

Tasked with the remit of promoting Malta as a centre of excellence in the digital and remote gaming sector globally, it is also responsible for liaising with the local relevant authorities to improve Malta’s attractiveness as a jurisdiction and enhance the ecosystem surrounding the gaming industry.

GamingMalta primarily aims to: Promote Malta as the world’s premier online gaming jurisdiction and a centre of excellence and raise Malta’s profile as a quality jurisdiction for the licensing and regulation of gaming companies, both locally and internationally.

Ivan Filletti is the Chief Operations Officer for the Gaming Malta Foundation. Prior to joining GamingMalta, Ivan was CEO for advertising agency, TBWA/ANG across both Malta and Greece.

Tamatem Games

Tamatem is the leading mobile games publisher in the MENA market. Tamatem’s HQ is in Amman, Jordan.

The company works hand-in-hand with international studios and developers, to localize and make their games culturally relevant for the Arab gamer. They are entirely focused on serving Arab smartphone users with games tailored for the language and culture of the region.

Timothy Bendt is Chief Growth Officer of Tamatem Games.

If you want to listen to more episodes of our games podcast, then click here for all episodes.

The games podcast is back, a small break and re-energyzed. Look and feel of the site has changed, better hosting, fresh new logo, new intro and outr music. So I hope you like it!

Today two territories; India and the MENA. I have chat with Tim and Rahul are talking about the regions, their companies and lots about gaming what you should know.

Cris Reed is talking about Joe Rogan and his opinion about gaming & addiction. Check out what Cris what writing on linkedin!

Also I did start to work with Sergei and Anton on their project InvestGame.net. They keep track of all financials in and around gaming. Do check out the site if you want more financial information.

This episode you can listen on spotify here and youtube here!

So more information about the gaming companies that are featured in today's episode.

Games24x7

Founded by New York University alumni Trivikraman Thampy and Bhavin Pandya in 2006, Games24x7 is one of India’s leading gaming companies with a full-stack portfolio of Skill Games and Casual Games including RummyCircle and My11Circle. 

Backed by the marquee firm Tiger Global and a host of investment entities from the US, Games24x7 continues to expand its stronghold in the Indian gaming industry, while diversifying and investing in other technology opportunities and expanding its gaming business to the international gaming markets. With a 450 strong team, Games24x7 has offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Miami. 

By leveraging technology, product innovation, data science, and experience, Games24x7 aims to become a 21st-century scientific gaming company: built out of India for the world.

Visit www.games24x7.com for more information.

Tamatem Games

Tamatem is the leading mobile games publisher in the MENA market. Tamatem’s HQ is in Amman, Jordan.

The company works hand-in-hand with international studios and developers, to localize and make their games culturally relevant for the Arab gamer. They are entirely focused on serving Arab smartphone users with games tailored for the language and culture of the region.

Their experience is in localization, user acquisition, distribution, cross-promotion, monetization, community, support and whales management can help get your game on the top of charts, increase revenue and ensure its success in the Arabic market. Whether you are looking to publish a newly successful international game or trying to revive an old hit title, Tamatem is your best partner in the MENA region.

Next week remaining parts of these interviews. If you want to listen to more episodes of our games podcast, then click here for all episodes.

GamingMalta, Malta and Gaming, have you heard about it? Well, today an interesting talk with Ivan Filletti, who is representing his government Malta. Lots of us do know the island because of Igaming, but there is so much more. Besides being a wonderful island to relax during your holiday’s, they are working on a gaming eco-system.

Next to that, I have the second part of my interview with Eitan Reisel. He started a games fund Vgames. Interesting enough I was already able to talk to some people and mention his new initiative. It was refreshing to listen to an investor that talks with so much passion about our beloved games industry, and actualy understands it. 

Malta And Gaming; Home Of Gaming Excellence

GamingMalta is an independent non-profit foundation set up by the Government of Malta and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

Tasked with the remit of promoting Malta as a centre of excellence in the digital and remote gaming sector globally, it is also responsible for liaising with the local relevant authorities to improve Malta’s attractiveness as a jurisdiction and enhance the ecosystem surrounding the gaming industry.

GamingMalta primarily aims to: Promote Malta as the world’s premier online gaming jurisdiction and a centre of excellence and raise Malta’s profile as a quality jurisdiction for the licensing and regulation of gaming companies, both locally and internationally.

Ivan Filletti is the Chief Operations Officer for the Gaming Malta Foundation. Prior to joining GamingMalta, Ivan was CEO for advertising agency, TBWA/ANG across both Malta and Greece.

He was instrumental in leading his agency to winning major new business accounts including Bank of Valletta and servicing blue chip clients such as McDonald’s, Nissan and Mr Green. During his tenure, the agency gained international recognition for a McDonald’s Quality campaign and Nissan brand positioning for Malta.

He has also held senior marketing roles in the private sector focusing on beverage and retail specifically with Simonds Farsons Cisk pls, Malta’s largest brewer.

Vgames, a new games fund;

People used to think of games as the “future of entertainment,” but the future is here! Games already are a major part of the global entertainment industry. VGames is the venture fund for game entrepreneurs. Having worked with some of the youngest and most mature developers, they have a deep understanding of what it takes to build a great game. They are passionate about games, and about supporting companies as they grow to become global leaders.

In episode 39 the second part of my talk to Eitan Reisel. If you want to listen to the first part, then click here.

In 2013, Eitan founded the Google Games team based out of Tel Aviv, working with the largest publishers globally to build the right tools and services to support game companies. Eitan worked closely with CEOs on building the right organization for scale, data driven models and moving the needle in terms of the value Google provides to game publishers, regardless of size. Now he wants to help game founders with investments.

More episodes of PodcastGameConsultant.com, you can find here!

VGames.vc is a new games investment firm in the games industry. VGames is founded to support early stage game founders trying to turn their dreams into reality. 

In this episode I am talking to Eitan Reisel about his new games fund, how is looking at the games industry, how he is finding new potentials investments, which platforms or segment of the industry, deal terms etc.

Vgames.vc

People used to think of games as the “future of entertainment,” but the future is here! Games already are a major part of the global entertainment industry. VGames is the venture fund for game entrepreneurs. Having worked with some of the youngest and most mature developers, they have a deep understanding of what it takes to build a great game. They are passionate about games, and about supporting companies as they grow to become global leaders.

In episode 38 I am talking to Eitan Reisel. In 2013, Eitan founded the Google Games team based out of Tel Aviv, working with the largest publishers globally to build the right tools and services to support game companies. Eitan worked closely with CEOs on building the right organization for scale, data driven models and moving the needle in terms of the value Google provides to game publishers, regardless of size.

Also the second part of the interview with Robby Yung, CEO Animoca Brands. We dive in deeper on how blockchain can be a service for the gaming industry.

Robby started several businesses in China and Hong Kong, including those in mobile telecoms and software applications, cable television, internet services, outdoor advertising, and publishing. He has raised many rounds of private and institutional venture capital for these businesses as well as done four IPO’s, several trade sales, follow on financings, and lots of M&A. I would say he is super experienced.

Blockchain-enabled games

Animoca Brands develops blockchain-enabled games, which facilitates a genuine form of digital ownership of in-game content and collectables in its games. The digitised approach allows players to maintain ownership features across games and platforms, compared to the traditional game industry, where content is owned by the developer/publisher and rented by the player.

Blockchain and games is a topic that I have come across many times in the last years. Many people talk about it and it is said, it is a game-changer. 

In this episode I wanted to learn more how blockchain can work for game developers. A company that is quite often in the news, when it is about blockchain and games is Animoca Brands. So who better could I talk to then the CEO himself; Robby Yung.

Robby started several businesses in China and Hong Kong, including those in mobile telecoms and software applications, cable television, internet services, outdoor advertising, and publishing. He has raised many rounds of private and institutional venture capital for these businesses as well as done four IPO's, several trade sales, follow on financings, and lots of M&A. I would say he is super experienced.

What is Animoca Brands?

Animoca Brands leverages gamification, blockchain, and artificial intelligence technologies to develop and publish a broad portfolio of mobile products including games such as The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes as well as products based on popular intellectual properties such as Formula 1, Garfield, Snoopy, Thomas & Friends, Ever After High and Doraemon. Animoca Brands’ portfolio of blockchain investments and partnerships includes Lucid Sight, Dapper Labs (creators of CryptoKitties), WAX, Harmony, and Decentraland. The Company is based in Hong Kong, Canada, Finland, and Argentina.

Blockchain-enabled games

Animoca Brands develops blockchain-enabled games, which facilitates a genuine form of digital ownership of in-game content and collectables in its games. The digitised approach allows players to maintain ownership features across games and platforms, compared to the traditional game industry, where content is owned by the developer/publisher and rented by the player.

The mission of Animoca;

They leverage their unique capabilities to develop compelling consumer applications with focus on:

It was a very learningful interview for myself and I do hope for my listeners too. In this article I did link to Robby's linkedin and to the corporate website. So if you want to learn more, feel free to reach out to either Robby or the company. The interview is done in two parts, since it was quite long. two times 25 minutes. So Episode 38, which will be released next week, will have part two!

A little later then normal. But episode 36 of my games podcast beholds interesting interviews about a new indie games fund, plitch.com and cheats for esports and Cris talking about FaZe Clan and more.

Several top executives behind FaZe Clan are leaving to start a competing organization called XSET

Since its founding in 2010, FaZe Clan has grown from a team of Call of Duty players to a multipronged media company, encompassing influencer marketing, content production, talent management and e-commerce. Lee Trink, its chief executive, has described FaZe as the Dallas Cowboys meets Supreme meets MTV.

Cris is talking in his item Reed thinks about FaZe Clan.

The Iterative Indie Games Fund

The game industry is growing by leaps and bounds. In 2020 alone, estimates place the market size at US$159.3 billion with a 9.3% CAGR.

According to data available on Steam, the median lifetime revenue per game is US$220,000 and the mean lifetime revenue is $2,669,000 (i.e. the tail is fat). These are extremely healthy profit margins considering the lower development cost of indie games.

I had a quick talk with Matthew Quek about the fund and their vision.

The Iterative Indie Games Fund provides non-diluting project-based investments into each game studio we incubate.

Investment is then first recouped when the game is launched and once the initial investment has been made back, revenue share begins with a 50/50 split.

Using Dustforce as an example, Iterative Indie Games Fund would have invested $100,000 into the development of the game.

Once the game is completed and launched, the first $100,000 of revenue would go back to the fund. Subsequent profit would be split between the game studio and the fund, resulting in a first-year profit of $284,245.

Applying a revenue curve based on historical data, we get an estimate for the total lifetime revenue for the game of $ 1,215,436. This is a whopping 316.26% IRR for the Fund.

Megadev.info / Plitchcom

For those who have known MegaDev before, PLITCH will be a kind of the MegaTrainer 2.0. The company is doubling down on a successful, reliable product, giving it a new, sleek, modern, technologically powerful and most importantly more-than-ever user focussed redo.

PLITCH sets out to become the ultimate platform and community for PC game customization, while never letting down it’s core purpose: A reliable all-in-one game assistant boasting with tens of thousands of individually programmed, quality tested and always up-to-date cheat codes for single player.

Rob is taking us through his offering!

About PodcastGameConsultant.com;

Reinout is a games investor and strategic business consultant specializing in the games industry. Reinout established his credentials through his own successful investments, start-ups, consulting and (advisory) board positions that led through time to strong bonds with key stakeholders in this fast paced industry.

Esports be like! A full episode where I get to talk to Darcy of Torgue Esports. Actualy it is part 2 of our talk earlier this month. First part was in Episode 34. Next to that I am talking to  Semih of Blocksport.io, who is in the Hype Program of Borja, who I talked to in Episode 32. Blocksport supports (e)sport clubs, streamers, influencers, federation and leagues with a dedicated white-label mobile app. Furtheron I had a chat with Rob from MegaDev, who tells with great passion about cheats and how esport pro's can become better, train etc. His new training (software) platform Plitch will be all about that, and for us of course, the ones that thought we were so good at gaming but still like a challenge.

Paul is taking us through a week of gaming. Interesting news, views and insights.

Torque Esports is focused on accelerating new, live, immersive esports and interactive gaming experiences for consumers through its partnerships with traditional and emerging media companies and providing online interactive technology platforms and monetization services.  I had an amazing insightful talk with Darcy Lorincz, who is the COO of Torque Esports. Torque Esports will be under the umbrella of Engine Media, together with Winview and Frankly.

If you would like to see a company presentation, then click here for more information!

And a new game podcast item, gaming news and his take on it; Paul Thind! Every week his take on the world of gaming.

Up to now, Torque's combined companies have clients comprising more than 1,200 television, print and radio brands including CNN, ESPN, Discovery/Eurosport, Fox, Vice, Newsweek and Cumulus; dozens of gaming and technology companies including EA, Activision, Blizzard, Take2Interactive, Microsoft, Google, Twitch and Ubisoft; and have connectivity into hundreds of millions of homes around the world through their content, distribution and technology.

Torque Esports brands and businesses include UMG, Stream Hatchet, Eden Games, IDEAS + CARS, The-Race.com, WTF1 and Allinsports. Newly add-on Frankly provides a complete suite of online content and monetization solutions, Another interesting asset is WinView.tv,a Silicon Valley-based company, a pioneer in mobile gaming and interactive second screen viewing and the owner of a portfolio of foundational patents in the field of interactive media.

As said earlier, Torque Esports will be under the umbrella of Engine Media. Engine Media is focused on accelerating new, live, immersive esports and interactive gaming experiences for consumers through its partnerships with traditional and emerging media companies.

When I did some research this describtion came up; "Engine Media will be devoted to pulling in revenue for sports, esports, and news content with a set of businesses covering the esports sector, gaming-related to live sports events, content management, and streaming services. There will also be a focus on data-driven advertising and intellectual property as it pushes out smartphone cash and skill games."

The company trades publicly under the ticker symbol (TSX-V: GAME) (OTCQB: MLLLF).  Engine Media will generate revenue through a combination of 1) direct-to-consumer and subscription fees; streaming technology and data SaaS-based offerings, 2) programmatic advertising and sponsorships, 3) as well as intellectual property licensing fees. 

Soon, latest early september, the company will make its move to the Nasdaq. So keep following the news of this hyper-interesting company.

If you want to hear more episodes of this games podcast, then tune in. We are on all the games podcasts platforms!

Today I am talking to Niklas Hatje of GameBuddy. He is talking about game streaming and his company. Interactive and entertaining esports is his motto. I talked about GameBuddy before in the podcast, meaning they are still on my radar!

Team based challenges, where you are not only striving for victory but also live challenges, power to the fans, who can vote for which challenge the streamer has to engage with and to which fans are being monetized.

Fans can buy additional votes and challenges to support their favorite streamers

Influence the gameplay of your favorite streamer!

Streaming is awesome! But streaming alone is broken according to GameBuddy. It lacks a way to directly interact with the streamer. As a viewer you either find yourself in an empty chat or in a chat that is completely overloaded.

“GameBuddy live” challenges change that. By choosing challenges for your streamer directly on Twitch you can let him/her know what to do next in the game. The best part is: You and the streamer get points that rank you in a leaderboard and that helps your streamer to unlock prizes for you. The more points, the better the prizes. How does that work?

VOTES ARE CASTED IN TWITCH EXTENSION

Each viewer can vote for the next live challenges in our Twitch Extension and has one vote. By using Twitch Bits viewers can buy additional votes. Shortly after each voting, the most voted challenge is played by the teams.

ONE GAME - MANY CHALLENGES

Each live challenge averages a length of 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the game. There are many different challenges possible, that guarantee variety, funny moments and completely new strategies to win.

LIVE DATA TRACKING

To ensure that challenges are fitting and being validated in a live context, each player has an application installed that tracts ingame data.

Furtheron I challenged Niklas with some topics on Mixer’s shutdown, Twitch’s suspension policy on abuse and hate and some insights for the future. But also second screen, broadcasters tried, gaming did it!

Lastly I did also a sanity check. Is my son abnormal with 3 screens? NO, he is not, thank god! He just started on Twitch and has 2 followers. Obviously he wants 10mio followers. Who knows, but for now he is playing because it is fun, he can talk to friends and listen to music. Oh, and he does his homework!

Loved the interview and impressed with GameBuddy, do check out their platform GameBuddy.gg.