News Mash-Up - Week # 32

Top News Items

• • Bandai Namco reported its financial figures for Q2 2022. The company reported a 55% increase in year-on-year sales, with a total of 11.4 million units of four different games sold. This contrasts with last year when they sold 10 million copies across 14 games. Net sales for Bandai Namco were up by 22% year-on-year at $1.62 billion, and operating profit was up 64% at $334 million.

  • In their Q2 2022 financials, Square Enix reported that its sales decreased by 15% to $553 million, but that profit increased 45% to $136 million. Its MMO segment generated $104 million, a 21% increase year-on-year, which can be largely attributed to Final Fantasy XIV. Square Enix recently sold western studios such as Crystal Dynamics and Eidos, a move that was "driven by concerns that the titles cannibalised sales of the rest of the group."

  • A gaming software company, AppLovin proposed to buy Unity Software for $17.5 billion. AppLovin is a global technology platform that gives mobile developers integrated solutions to help grow their businesses and their apps. The acquisition has been rejected by Unity. In Q2 2022, Unity reported a revenue of $297 million, up 9% year-on-year, but continued to see a net loss with -$204 million in Q2 2022, up from a $148 million loss during the same time last year. Unity recently signed a three-year deal worth billions (actual price undisclosed) with CACI, a company that specializes in defense.

  • On August 10, Nintendo hosted a Splatoon 3 Nintendo Direct showcasing the game and features to look forward to. Nintendo will release the new multiplayer action game Splatoon 3 on September 9 for the Nintendo Switch. The showcase highlighted new weapons and maps.

  • THQ Nordic Digital showcased a 50-minute video that promoted 11 games and showcased a dozen more.

  • Pac-Man will be adapted into a live-action movie. Bandai Namco will team up with Wayfarer Studios.

  • Three weeks after release, MultiVersus already has 10 million players. This comes three weeks after the release of the game, on July 19 for the beta version, and July 26 for the version released to the public.

  • EA has decided to keep the controversial loot boxes in FIFA 23’s Ultimate Team mode. This comes after the UK government recently made an announcement with the decision not to regulate loot boxes in games.

  • Apex Legends’ new season has hit an all-time Steam peak player count. It reached over 500,000 concurrent players – a fist in Steam history.

  • Microsoft has accused Sony of paying game developers to stay away from subscription services like Game Pass. This comes after Sony’s previous statements condemning the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, notably Call of Duty, by Microsoft.
    
    
    
    
    

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Week commencing Monday 8 August 2022