The gaming industry is attracting big investments, with notable funds from firms like a16z and Amazon leading the charge. The shift from single-sale titles to subscription models reveals a new era of monetization. The podcast dives into the metaverse, discussing its potential and how it contrasts with the individual ownership of NFTs. The challenges faced by independent developers are laid bare, alongside insights on the evolving dynamics of gaming and big tech, particularly with Google's recent move in the gaming space.
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Gaming Industry Growth
The gaming industry is experiencing massive growth, with global consumer spend reaching $175.8 billion.
Venture capital investments in gaming have surged, exceeding $5.9 billion in 2021.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Amazon's New World
Amazon launched its new game, "New World", receiving positive attention despite login issues.
This is a big deal for Amazon, which owns Twitch, after failed game launches like Crucible.
insights INSIGHT
Apple's Gaming Profits
Apple's operating profits from gaming exceeded those of major gaming companies combined, driven by the App Store's high margins.
Apple's success in gaming stems from its dominance in the mobile market.
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Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch's venture capital focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, the time of the week when we niche down to a single topic. Today? Gaming.
Natasha and Danny and Alex got together to discuss the gaming world from a few perspectives, including those of startups and the largest platform players in tech. Alex is a gamer. Danny is a board gamer. And Natasha isn't big on digital games. So, we had a good array of viewpoints. The goal of our episode was to understand why gaming is garnering more interest from Big Tech and startups alike, and how the business model and environment has evolved over the years.
It appears, by our read, that the gaming industry has evolved from single-sale titles to games with recurring incomes that studios have become venture-backable; this is testament to both business model evolution and general gaming popularity, as much as it is indicative of how much money it is possible to earn supporting the games industry as a tech shop as well.
Still, we wanted to spend a few minutes on the challenges that still await those trying to spin up a game overnight.
After we talked through the context and challenges, we riffed on the why! It includes just what a metaverse is, how NFTs can slot into the conversation, and more.
All we need now is a release date for Royal Court, Paradox.
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
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