M&A and Investment

On May 8, a new crime simulator, Cash Cleaner Simulator, was released on Steam by the indie studio Mind Control Games. The game, which focuses on money laundering, caught the attention of gamers, and by the end of its debut week, its sales exceeded 100,000 copies

Catalis Group sold its subsidiary, the British publisher Curve Games, to the Indian technology company Nazara Technologies. The latter's portfolio includes games like Human Fall Flat, The Ascent, and For The King

Studio 42, a mobile development company, has secured $3.6 million in seed funding. The round was led by Play Ventures and saw contributions from GEM Capital and Arcadia Gaming Partners.

The amount he intends to invest over the next 12-24 months

Brightika, a publisher known for its mobile gaming endeavors, is branching out into PC and console markets, backed by a $3 million investment.

Gun Interactive, the developer of the asymmetric multiplayer horror game The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, is set to conclude its work on the title. The game will cease receiving any new content or support beyond May 2025

Spilled! is a relaxing game where players control a small boat to clean up the world's oceans of spilled oil and various types of trash. It was created by a developer named Lente, who dropped out of school two years ago and has since been living on a similar boat. According to her, the game's release has been successful.

Turkish-based mobile developer Fuse Games has secured a $7 million investment. The funding round was led by venture capital firm Griffin Gaming Partners, with contributions from Lakestar, NFX Capital, and Actera.

NCSOFT has decided to support emptyvessel, a studio founded last year by veterans from id Software, Naughty Dog, Activision Blizzard, and several other renowned teams. It recently became a strategic investor in the studio.

The French JRPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took 12 days to surpass 2 million copies sold. This was announced by the studio Sandfall Interactive on the game's official X account

NCsoft has undertaken a "strategic equity investment" in Empty Vessel, a studio located in Texas.

Valnet, the owner of The Gamer and Game Rant, has acquired Polygon, a website focusing on video games and pop culture. Following the acquisition, several veteran staff members have announced their departures, either due to being laid off or opting to leave.

After the release of Jason Schreier's book on the history of Blizzard, we once again pondered how many studios have been founded by alumni from this renowned company. It turns out that their number has surpassed 50 — with about half of them ceasing to exist for various reasons. We will discuss most of them

Capcom announced updated sales figures for the Resident Evil 4 remake. They reported that since its release on March 24, 2023, the game has sold over 10 million copies

At the close of spring, the fourth session of the "Gaming Industry" business conference will open its doors. This time, it will be in one of the largest cities in the Far East of Russia. Approximately 300 participants are expected at the event. We are sharing the first details

Blue Ocean Games has announced the launch of a new venture fund, securing $30 million to support independent game developers.

Motorsport Games, the developer of Le Mans Ultimate, has received an investment of $2.5 million, with virtual reality firm Pimax leading the funding round.

At the "Gaming Industry" conference, there was a presentation and review of independent developers' games — the Indie Pitch. Young teams showcased their games to experts from the Agency for Creative Industries (ACI) and the Indie GO Fund.

Agonalea Games, a mobile development company located in Buenos Aires, has secured $2 million in seed funding with support from Mika Games.

The mobile puzzle game Merge Mansion, where players need to tidy up an old mansion and unravel family secrets, continues to generate substantial income for its creators. Studio Metacore announced that the game has already earned over 600 million dollars

What could publishers do to better support indie developers? This question was posed by Inverse journalists to the winners of The Game Developers Choice Awards 2025. According to one of the executives at Playstack, publishers need to start taking a more straightforward approach to allocating funds for games

Krafton has purchased a majority interest in the Indian gaming company Nautilus Mobile for $14 million.

At the end of March, the indie studio Kylyk Games, consisting of three people, released their first game, Urban Jungle, on Steam. The game designer of the project, Kyunnay Vinokurova, shared its initial performance metrics on LinkedIn

Kameha Ventures, a venture capital firm, has introduced a €25 million ($27 million) investment fund aimed at fostering game development in Europe.

The South Korean company KRAFTON has acquired another subsidiary studio. It has gained control over the Indian team Nautilus Mobile, known for the series of mobile cricket simulators Real Cricket.

On April 16, as part of the "Gaming Industry" conference, there will be a presentation and review of games by independent developers — the Indie Pitch. During this event, young teams will present their games to experts from the Creative Industries Agency (CIA) and the Indie GO Fund

CD Projekt has released its financial report for the full year ended December 31, 2024. Despite the lack of new releases and revenue drop, the company’s position remains strong — with The Witcher 4 in full production and an unannounced game from Scopely in plans.

Last week, Sensor Tower announced its acquisition of Video Game Insights to expand into console and PC games data. The question is, what could be the consequences of consolidation in the gaming analytics sector? Here’s our deep dive into Sensor Tower’s M&A strategy and the potential risks it poses to the market.

Last week, Sensor Tower announced its acquisition of the Video Game Insights platform with the aim of enhancing its product with data on console and PC games. This raises the question: what are the implications of consolidation in the gaming analytics sector? Today, we will take an in-depth look at the objectives of Sensor Tower's M&A strategy and the potential risks for the market

Newzoo analyzed data from 4,600 titles and assessed the visibility situation for games on Steam. In short, relying solely on the platform's internal tools to attract users is not advisable

The consolidation in the gaming analytics market continues. Sensor Tower announced the acquisition of the platform Video Game Insights (VG Insights)

It is no secret that Final Fantasy XVI failed to meet Square Enix’s expectations. New data on its life-to-date sales indicates that the game has a weak tail, confirming previous concerns about its commercial performance.

Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, has agreed to an acquisition by Scopely, a subsidiary of Savvy Games Group.

The mobile PvP strategy game Ludus: Merge Arena continues to increase its revenue. Its monthly income recently approached $3 million

Scopely is ready for its new megadeal by announcing the acquisition of Niantic’s entire video game business. The company will now own global hits like Pokémon Go and Pikmin Bloom.

Last month, indie team Crackshell released a sequel to its successful roguelite Heroes of Hammerwatch. Here’s some fresh data on the game’s sales and its performance on Steam.

The mobile game developer and publisher Good Job Games has secured its first investments. The company received $23 million, which it plans to use for further business development.

Tilting Point has announced a $150 million initiative focused on User Acquisition to support developers in expanding their games and apps.

On March 6, 2025, a new cooperative adventure from Hazelight Studios, Split Fiction, was released for PC and consoles. On Steam, the game is doing exceptionally well. It debuted with an "overwhelmingly positive" rating, garnering 97% positive reviews

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has committed $21 million to support game development in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden

Last month, AppLovin announced its decision to sell its video game studios to focus on its ad business. New details have now emerged about the deal and the buyer of the company’s assets.

Miniclip has made a new acquisition. It has acquired a small German studio called Lessmore, which develops mobile games.

Tencent has boosted its investment in Kadokawa, the parent company of FromSoftware, by adding 1.11% to its stake, resulting in a total ownership of 7.97%

A new fund has emerged in the gaming market, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. According to the information, Tripledot Studios co-founder Akin Babayigit has launched Arcadia Gaming Advisors, a fund that will support mobile game developers

Capcom has announced the first major milestone for Monster Hunter Wilds. Here’s how its launch sales compare to previous installments in the series and other games in the publisher’s portfolio.

Chinese giant Tencent has purchased an additional 1.11% of shares in the Japanese media conglomerate Kadokawa, which owns the studio FromSoftware, according to the Nikkei newspaper, citing Tencent's reports.

Laton Ventures has led a pre-seed funding round for Surpass Games, resulting in $1.5 million in raised capital.

Reports suggest that Niantic, the developer behind Pokémon Go, is contemplating the sale of its video game portfolio to Scopely, a subsidiary of Savvy Games Group.

Liquid Swords is a Swedish studio founded in 2020 by Christofer Sundberg, the co-founder of Avalanche Studios and the creator of Just Cause. Recently, the studio has begun layoffs

It looks like a legal dispute between Nexon and Ironmace Games has finally been settled. The Dark and Darker developer will have to pay monetary compensation to the South Korean publisher.