Despite steady growth in revenues and solid performances from its Naraka: Bladepoint and Identity V titles, NetEase stock dropped 11% as it missed analysts' profit expectations after the release of the quarterly report.
This is in tune with worries over the domestic Chinese market following less than stellar performances from Baidu and Meituan.

- NetEase brought World of Warcraft back to China with players looking forward to the return of Blizzard's game portfolio.

- Identity V continued its strong performance, hitting record-high DAUs in July and August, consecutively.

- Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game hit the top 3 on iOS grossing charts soon after launch in China, and topped the iOS download chart.

https://ir.netease.com/news-releases/news-release-details/netease-announces-second-quarter-2024-unaudited-financial

Black Myth: Wukong has now become the 2nd most played game on Steam ever, unseating Palworld, but from review analysis it looks like the vast majority of players are Chinese. It'll be interesting to see if it manages to breakthrough to a wider international audience over time or if it stays in the regional blockbuster category due to cultural barriers or even pure difficulty. Would love to hear what my network thinks - vote in comments:

China fires official related to “management measures for online games” draft.

- Feng Shixin had oversight of China's video game regulator.
- He was fired last week after the botched crackdown on video games in December.
- The proposed restrictions on the sector sparked a massive sell-off in gaming stocks.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-gaming-stocks-climb-report-regulatory-official-removed-2024-01-03/

Recap https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/12/22/business/chinese-tech-giants-shares-plunge-online-gaming-ban-intl-hnk/index.html

Reuters

China's gaming stocks climb on report regulatory official removed

Chinese gaming stocks rose on Wednesday to outperform a weak broader market, after Reuters reported China removed a gaming regulatory official.

New gaming regulations in China - what happened last week.

I didn’t post anything regarding the draft because was skeptical about it,
last week heavily affected China tech stock price and every single non-Asia related media wrote an article, which created Info chaos with Tencent diving up to 15% and NetEase 25%.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/12/22/business/chinese-tech-giants-shares-plunge-online-gaming-ban-intl-hnk/index.html

So what’s going on?

On December 22nd, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) of China released the draft for soliciting opinions on the "Management Measures for Online Games" to the public.

The relevant person in charge of the NPPA stated that the draft is based on the goal of safeguarding and promoting the prosperous and healthy development of the online gaming industry.
It provides clear provisions on issues such as the admission of online game operators and includes a specialized chapter on "guarantees and incentives" with a series of encouraging measures. Additionally, it sets regulations for the protection of minors and consumer rights.

During the drafting process of the solicitation draft, various methods were employed to gather opinions from relevant departments, industry associations, enterprises, and other stakeholders. The person in charge mentioned that soliciting public opinions on departmental regulations is a process of gathering broader feedback and improving regulatory provisions.

The NPPA will carefully study the concerns and opinions raised by various parties regarding the draft. They will continue to listen to the opinions of relevant departments, enterprises, users, and other stakeholders to further revise and improve the draft.

Conclusion - no new regulations YET, especially after such media exposure and financial loss.

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NLv9J036USWJPOFrew0ctw

CNN

New draft rules targeting in-game spending wipe billions from China’s tech giants

Shares of several Chinese tech giants tanked in Hong Kong, after Beijing unveiled a new set of regulations to restrict online spending in the gaming industry as part of its wider crackdown.

MyGamez has received €1.5 million in a private financing round.

- The investment round included participation from Supercell co-founder Mikko Kodisoja, Small Giant Games co-founder Timo Soininen, Reworks co-founder Ilkka Teppo and ex-Riot China head of operations Daniel Wang.

- MyGamez was founded in 2013 Charles Chiang (COO) and Mikael Leinonen (CEO).

- Its services include co-publishing mobile games in China, assisting with regulatory approvals, and working with acquisition platforms.

- The firm aims to expand its publishing operations in the Chinese mobile game market.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/mygamez-closes-15m-in-new-funding-round

GamesIndustry.biz

MyGamez closes €1.5m in new funding round

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox MyGamez has received €1.5 million in a pri…

Unity layoffs

- Shut the Singapore office and 13 other locations.

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/unity-software-to-cut-265-jobs-shut-singapore-office-and-13-other-locations

The Straits Times

Unity Software to cut 265 jobs, shut Singapore office and 13 other locations

The company makes a software toolkit used by many video game developers, including the maker of Pokemon Go. Read more at straitstimes.com.

ByteDance to wind down Nuverse in full retreat from gaming

The Chinese technology firm has no plan to return to the $185 billion global video games market, said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is not public.

- TikTok maker to tell staff on Monday.
- Will ask staff to stop working on unreleased games.
- To look for ways to divest from launched titles.
- Will not affect casual gaming brand Ohayoo or TikTok's games.
- Performance of Nuverse has been patchy since its 2019 formation.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/bytedance-wind-down-gaming-brand-nuverse-full-retreat-gaming-sources-2023-11-27/

Reuters

ByteDance says to restructure Nuverse in retreat from gaming business

TikTok maker ByteDance plans to wind down its Nuverse gaming brand and retreat from mainstream video games, four people familiar with the matter said.

China's ByteDance to overhaul VR arm Pico as global demand declines.

- Pico to cut jobs with 'hundreds' of staff to be affected.

- ByteDance has pared back efforts to develop Pico brand.

- Multiple senior managers have left Pico this year.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-bytedance-overhaul-vr-arm-pico-global-demand-declines-sources-2023-11-07/

Reuters

China's ByteDance to overhaul VR arm Pico as global demand declines -sources

ByteDance's virtual reality (VR) arm Pico will cut jobs and undertake its biggest overhaul since it was acquired by the TikTok maker two years ago as global demand for VR headsets weakens, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Niko Partners SEA-6 Market Report

The SEA-6 Games Market Reports are a comprehensive guide informing you on the latest developments in the video games market and esports industry across six notable Southeast Asia markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam

Key Insights:

- Niko Partners projects the SEA-6 PC and mobile game market will generate $5.8 billion in 2023, reaching $7.2 billion in 2027.

- Games revenue continues to be dominated by the mobile games sector, with 66.4% of the region’s games revenue coming from mobile in 2023 and the share is expected to increase to almost 70% in 2027.

- Singapore shows a particular growth for its mobile games’ revenue, surpassing more populous countries including Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam.

- Indonesia and Thailand market made up almost half of the SEA-6 games revenue.

- Indonesia and Vietnam are 63% of gamers, with Indonesia leading in gamer growth.

- Indonesia and Singapore are the fastest growing in revenue up 9.9% and 8.2% YoY.

- Esports remains a major driver for gaming in the region. Esports’ inclusion as a medal sport in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, saw teams from SEA-6 countries’ all vying for the esports medals, with Thailand and Malaysia among the highest earners of esports medals in the event. SEA-6 esports market is estimated to generate $78.6 million in 2023.

- Increased government support in SEA-6 to strengthen the local games industry and ecosystem through various initiatives, fundings, and regulatory updates.

- SEA-6 sees continuous investments from global game companies, with new offices openings, collaborations, and gamers community outreach mark the importance of the region to the video game industry.

https://nikopartners.com/sea6-games-market-reports/

Niko Partners

SEA-6 Games Market Reports

What you’ll learn from these reports: Southeast Asia is emerging as one of the fastest growing regions within the global video game industry landscape. The region offers major opportunities for game developers and publishers, hardware and device makers…