Yuan Gao

🔜📍Games Growth Summit 3 is coming up in 2 weeks from today!! We are delighted to announce that Joe H. from Airship Interactive is returning to the investor journey panel. We have an unbelievable line up for our attendees on the 7th June. ▶️Expert panels include ⏺️Latest themes in the listed games space, Public sector investment trends Private investment activity. ⏺️This year will see a lot of new companies getting launched, and most of them will need guidance on a business level. Which option is right for you to get the support you need to grow. ⏺️How do you know when is the right time to open and close a games studio? ⏺️How to drive commercial success when working with influencer and celebrity partners: what to avoid and how to win. ⏺️Building a sustainable development model through External Development, for any size of studio. ⏺️The Story of nDreams- From a small independent studio to the world’s biggest VR developer and publisher, hear the co-founders’ account of their long road to success. 🔔Grab a ticket here - https://lnkd.in/g5mdFep7

9

I recently created a section on my site, called One Pagers – https://lnkd.in/eR9EbsKB The idea is to capture big and important areas of my life into one page. I’ve kicked things off with a one pager on How to Invest – https://lnkd.in/eKjpCa-v This has been a ten + year journey for me, with many twists and turns. I’ve finally settled on something straight forward, which will help me achieve my long term financial goals. And importantly, is right for me. I’m not saying this is the only way to invest, or that it will work for you. But, I do think it’s a pretty solid medium risk strategy for how most people might want to think about investing for the future. And in any case, it’s not a bad place to start thinking from. P.S. A gigantic thanks to my friend Paraskevas Avraam. He has been a HUGE help in evolving my own thinking on investing, and helped me become more self aware of my tolerance for risk over the last ten years or so. P.P.S The next one pager I will write will be bringing together my stance for how to train and exercise. Watch this space.

5

2 Comments

If you're into strategy games and follow game developments, you'll love this. Manor Lords is a strategy based PC game (city building, large scale battles etc.) and is getting a LOT of love online. Why? - because it has been (up to a point) developed by a single developer using Unreal Engine over 7 years. The game has just launched and has over 66K members on its subreddit already. The developer Gregg 'Slavic Magic' Styczeń launched a trailer of the game in 2020 originally aiming for around 14,000 wishlists on steam. Manor Lords surpassed all expectations by becoming the most wish-listed game on Steam, captivating the hearts of over 3 million gamers worldwide. For those who grew up playing classics like Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, and Sim City, Manor Lords' trailer is a visual feast that shouldn't be missed. This project serves as a fascinating case study on indie game development, showcasing the power of community engagement and community-driven product success. Cheers to innovation and passion in the gaming world!

33

1 Comment

🗝️Unlock the secrets to brand success in Minecraft! 🚀 Ever wondered how to captivate millions in a virtual world? Our latest blog reveals powerful insights and strategies to make your brand shine in Minecraft🏰 Don't miss out on this game-changing opportunity🎮 Discover how to measure and maximize your impact today!🌟 Is your brand ready to conquer the gaming universe?🌐 Read now: https://lnkd.in/e5FMqZtV Want to learn more about Minecraft for brands? Follow me Melvin Hedlund on LinkedIn #minecraft #ugc #blog #advertising #brandexperience #marketing

2

A little blog post I wrote on how we do flexible working at Netspeak Games - always keen to hear what other companies do! Comment in the thread below 👇 https://lnkd.in/eJY8FXwd #flexibleworking #gamesindustry #blog

31

Tell me who should advise me on Business Development & Sales for games (B2B)! Every time Gamebreaking Studios grows, we have to evolve the way we work, and we’re at a point now where I’d love to start growing our advisory support network. The first area I think we could use some sage advice is in the realm of business development + sales specifically for our unique industry in games. If you know somebody who has been playing that game for a decade or more, who gives sage advice, and who loves helping small/growing companies I’d love to meet them.

11

4 Comments

The latest Consumer Market Valuation Report published by Ukie was published a few days ago, and I only just managed to go through it. The report shows that 📈 The UK games market was worth £7.8 billion in 2023, a 4.4% increase compared to 2022's revised total of £7.5 billion 📈 Software sales were up 4.1% year-on-year, while hardware also grew 2.1% compared to 2022 However: 📈 Consoles led growth for hardware with a 12% increase 📉 PC showed an 11% decrease 📈 VR hardware sales also increased by 11% to £194 million 💴 Revenue from the “Broader Game Culture Sector”, a new vertical the UKIE created to encompass revenue from TV, film, soundtracks, books, and merchandise reached £418 million Source: https://lnkd.in/ggxPsdpe

6

I feel like my generation is going to go down as the one that understood what AI was, how it actually works, and refused to use it because of how terrible that is. I am so weary of every company thinking "lets cram 'AI' into everything!" AI image scaling - it errors a lot AI text summaries - because why should I read when I can just hope it didn't screw up AI smart edits - cause I don't know what I want to do, please get in the way! AI password storage and generation - if you don't see the security issue there I can't help you AI powered Emoji - <-[0w0]-> I'm good, I've been personalizing emoji longer than they've been a supported rich text feature ;-)

30

37 Comments

No squatch sightings last weekend...but wow...what a week since. A massively productive one for The Glitch (on all fronts), and apparently some other things happened around the industry as well...huh. Alright...let's-a-go: OMY@C 🤘 ⛏ - Metallica will be in Fortnite soon. The event is called "Metallica: Fuel Fire Fury," and it will kick off on June 22nd. The San Francisco band got on the Fortnite Festival stage yesterday - so if you're curious...hop on in there. RIP Cliff. RIP Eddie. 🍎 - Apple's WWDC was this week...and their formal entry into Ai was the big takeaway. "Apple Intelligence," was the name they landed on. Essentially, it's Ai integrated through every aspect of their various OS's...adding personal context to everything. My first reaction was...do I want that though? On one hand, this feels like the first real indication of where consumer Ai is headed...on the other: privacy? A big part of Apple's presentation of their Ai is "setting a brand-new standard for privacy in Ai." So...they're well aware of the line that's being crossed. Apple's 5-minute video overview (on their site) shows you how "Ai for the rest of us" will work...and it's easy to be cynical about it. A squirrel DJ...cool. Custom emoji's...neat. Still...you should watch it. When app devs finally start building for this though...look out. PREDICTION: iPhone 16 will be the best selling iPhone yet. The 6 sold 222M units total...71.5MM units in it's first 3 months...so we'll know by year's end how this crazy statement is trending. 📺 🎮 - Mike Verdu will soon be leaving his role as VP of Netflix Games (and starting a new role with the company). Speculation is rampant about what this means for the games unit. It's possible that it means...nothing at all. I'm still massively bullish on the gaming opportunity for Netflix. My personal opinion is that transmedia is the biggest, most exciting play here...but I've also heard there are internal headwinds on that. 🤷‍♂️ 🍷 ⛵ - I'm not going to Cannes...again. Maybe some day. I'll drink rosé and look important at home...again. I'm not bitter. 📺 🎮 - Follow Friday: Two nerds with a webcam...that you absolutely should be following if you're in the games business: 1) Chris Melissinos (Principal Evangelist for Amazon Web Services (AWS) - Video interviews with games industry legends, deep retro dives, and discussions on the top news. 2) Alexander Seropian (Founder/CEO of Look North World) - Host of "The Fourth Curtain," is always a headliner event. 📺 - Palm Royale (Apple+). Kristen Wiig as a social climber in 1960's south Florida. So good. Save a grasshopper for me. 🎵 - Spotify's "Daylist" - pull the throttle back a bit with your list names though. "90's Indie Twee Friday Afternoon," might be accurate...but it's embarrassing. 🎮 - It's been 2 weeks since I picked up Hogwarts Legacy and Vampire Survivors...haven't started either yet. THAT's how busy it's been.

43

8 Comments

Nice piece of insight from our friends at Bryter today on the power of content creators in gaming (also, thanks for not gating it Jenny McBean- we like you even more!) https://lnkd.in/exzK3D5u This dovetails nicely with our recent insight report into how gamers discover games and social media, which won hands down. What I also like about the Bryter report is the illustration of how gamers progress through different channels in their game discovery journey. If you've not read our 2024 Game Discoverability report yet (also ungated), then take a look as a companion piece to this: https://lnkd.in/efh4tDj3

20

1 Comment

In the games business it is sometimes all too easy to become inwardly focused...we are after all, an exciting, evolving industry with highs & lows aplenty... To do that to the exclusion of all else however is foolhardy. There is a whole world of innovation out there, particularly the broader world of "tech". Whether we take inspiration from new business models or utilise emerging technologies, there is value in looking further afield. Equally....there are major misconceptions about gaming from the tech industry leaders I speak to. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and not getting the right advice can lead to spurious conclusions & expensive failures (Google Stadia anyone?) Lets be clear GAMING IS NOT A SUBSET OF TECH It is a highly *creative* endeavour, with a clear focus on *fun* for the consumer This means both the makers & consumers of the product have a very different mindset those who'd build a more general tech-based business. The issues are not insurmountable though...tech and gaming may not be siblings, but they are cousins. With the right advice on market dynamics, opportunity identification and strategic execution, tech companies CAN win in the gaming world. They just need the right guide. I'll be at London Tech week.

13

5 Comments

Our 5 biggest struggles as a Glasgow based studio were: 1. Not being a London based studio 2. Limited local opportunities in our niche 3. Small local talent pool (voice actors) 4. Non local prospects wanted to work with a sound design partner on their street So here's what we did: 1. Persevered. And guess what? The world changed. The business landscape shifted. It turns out: 1. Not being a London based studio is now our biggest advantage 2. Now our local industry is growing and we can add tremendous value to it. 3. We cast our projects from all over the UK and beyond. Unbeatable casting service. 4. We only work with clients who focus on the creative and relationships. Not convenience. What areas have you or your studio struggled with? How have things changed?

69

16 Comments

For the academically inclined here on LinkedIn I'm wondering if you can help me... For me there seems to be a gap in how we train game designers to create games that can both be amazing player experiences and be solid business propositions. I think to deliver real value to players we need a solid ethical commercial approach deeply linked into an appreciation of play. I have a proposal for the structure for a Commercial Games Design Master's course I'd like to help set up and I'm interested in doing some lectures/research around the topic. What is the best way to kick something like that off? and which universities should I talk to? Any suggestions?

44

66 Comments

Saas Leaders Lounge enters the realms of Augmented and Virtual Reality. Mario Ramić, the founder of Takeaway Reality, discusses the company's creation and its vision for XR technology. AI Series - Ep.36: Visionary Realms. Featuring Mario Ramić - https://lnkd.in/e42q2cGD - Takeaways - Takeaway Reality was founded with the vision of changing the way humans interact with technology through XR. - The company is working on various XR projects, including educational experiences, gaming, AR for tourism, and market research. - The integration of AI in XR enhances the natural and personalized experiences in XR environments. - The balance between AI-driven creativity and human ingenuity is important, with humans being the editors and guides in the creative process. - The future of XR lies in the development of AR glasses and the widespread adoption of spatial computing. This episode is enlightening and entertaining, definitely not one to miss.

11

1 Comment

Does the⌚market and #Roblox have untapped potential? We think so! A study has found 41% of GenZ have come into possession of a luxury watch in the last 12 months. Over 1/3 feel watches are a better investment than gold, fine wine and property. The data also shows that since 2021, 54% of GenZ have increased their spending on luxury watches. Sotheby's estimated 30% of its sales in 2023 were from buyers aged 30 years or younger 🤯 Is now the time for #watchbrands to move into Roblox? Seems like there's a lot of potential there. What do you think? Comment below... Wolfpad Gaming Ltd is a gaming culture agency helping brands in their digital gaming journey on platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite and esports. DM me for more info or check out our website (click the 'visit my website' link on my profile above) 💪 #gaming #watches #genzmarketing

31

8 Comments

Thank you, Alban! Podcasters and hosts, here's why this matters: 1. **Real-time Updates:** With WebSub and Podping, your content is instantly notified when there's a new episode, ensuring your audience never misses a beat. 2. **Enhanced Visibility:** By leveraging these protocols, you boost your podcast's discoverability and reach, connecting with listeners faster and more efficiently. Embrace the future of podcasting and join us in adopting WebSub and Podping today! 🚀 #Podcasting #WebSub #Podping #Podcasters #TechTrends

10

1 Comment

Serious question: have you noticed that not many people speak about crypto and cryptocurrencies on LinkedIn as freely as they do on other platforms? It's an interesting observation, especially since many of us have likely met a large proportion of our network at crypto-related events. So why is there a stigma around discussing this topic on LinkedIn? Do you think there even is a stigma? I'd love to hear your thoughts and any reasons you might have. Let's start the conversation and see what insights we can uncover! #crypto #cryptocurrency #linkedin

4

4 Comments

Video game developers set to bounce? News covered here includes Investor's Champion's assessment of results and the outlook of several underperformers of recent years. With plenty of cleaning up having been done, they could offer decent recovery potential. Elsewhere, one of Investor's Champion fast-growing Stonking Small Caps continues to impress as does a lowly rated provider of power and data transmission products. (Premium) https://lnkd.in/eebxY5FT

4