🕹️AI enters Steam

Happy Wednesday. People spend thousands of dollars to upgrade their sim racing setups, bringing racing wheels, pedals, and seats into their living room. Sony pulled an uno reverse during the CES presentation, showing off a car that can driven with a PlayStation controller. Let’s just hope the right trigger doesn’t get stuck.

— Tim Rhyne, Derek Neville

MAIN QUEST: Mobile Gamers Spent $1.5 Billion a Week in 2023

Data.ai released its “2024 State of Mobile” annual report. The report highlights all aspects of the global mobile market from how TikTok was the first non-gaming app to generate over $10 billion in spending to mobile gaming spending declining to $107 billion (-2% YoY). Here are more key takeaways:

Top Gross IAP Spend by Market:

• China* - $37.63 billion (-10.9% YoY)

• US - $24 billion (-0.3% YoY)

• Japan - $12.78 billion (-2.4% YoY)

• South Korea - $6.3 billion (+20% YoY)

Top Global Mobile Genres by Downloads:

• Hypercasual - 16.4 billion, 28% of all downloads, (-7.5% YoY)

• Simulation - 10.5 billion, 18% of all downloads, (+0.7% YoY)

• Action - 5.5 billion, 9% of all downloads, (-12.1% YoY)

Top Global Mobile Genres by IAP Spend:

• RPG - $24.5 billion (-3.8% YoY)

• Strategy - $10.7 billion (-11.7% YoY)

• Match - $10.2 billion (+16.3% YoY)

Additionally, while not true for the US, South Korean, and Japanese markets, the global data shows average downloads of past releases overtaking new releases and fewer overall new releases in 2023, suggesting a longer life cycle for mobile games.

Step back: The mobile genre has begun seeing more studios porting previous console and PC titles over to the space and charging full retail prices. While this may not overcome the substantial micro-transaction heavy market we know today, it can be a way for studios to open additional revenue lines on their known titles and develop protection from potential external threats such as government regulations.

_{*China is limited to iOS only.}

HUD

• 🤖 Valve has updated Steam policies around games containing AI-generated content, which will allow it to release most games using AI-generated content. Valve has updated the Content Survey that developers fill out to require them to disclose if the contains AI content, either pre-generated or live-generated. They are also releasing a new system for players to report illegal content in the live-generated games.

• 🟣 Twitch is cutting 35% of its workforce, resulting in 500 job losses. The layoffs are attributed to the company's efforts to build a more sustainable business, aligning the organization's size with its current scale and conservative growth predictions. Twitch recently shut down its operations in South Korea as part of its cost-saving strategy.

• 🗣️ SAG-AFTRA has reached a licensing agreement with AI voice company Replica Studios, which would allow actors to license their voice for video games and other interactive media projects using AI. The union claims the agreement ensures "fully informed consent and fair compensation," but many voice artists are claiming they did not agree to the deal and are feeling blindsided, finding out about it via Twitter.

MAJOR W

• 🧟 Season 2 of HBO’s The Last of Us has nailed down two more actors to join the cast. Kaitlyn Dever will play the role of Abby, and Young Mazino will play the role of Jesse. Dever has previously worked with TLOU Naughty Dog when she voiced Cassie in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

• 👷 Based on employees’ LinkedIn profiles, rumors now suggest that 343 Industries has been working on a new Halo project since 2022. Art Director Justin Dinges’ profile says he “worked on Halo’s next unannounced release” from 2022-2023.

F IN THE CHAT

• ⛏️ Mojang and Blackbird Interactive have ended development on Minecraft Legends, which received its final update today. The action strategy game was launched less than a year ago in April 2023 and will continue to offer PvP, co-op, and technical support to players.

• 🤦 COD: Warzone’s “Covert Exfil” feature is being met with backlash that it is taking the game further away from the Battle Royale genre and it is not even in the game yet.

CAREER CORNER

• Producer (Madden) - Electronic Arts (Orlando)

• Production Manager, Publishing - The Pokémon Company (Bellevue)

• Marketing Data Analyst - Ubisoft (Montreal)

HIVE MIND

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