Michail Katkoff

EA Announces Agreement to be Acquired by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners for $55 Billion. This is your daily reminder that game franchises are worth billions. EA shareholders will receive $210 per share, a 25% premium over its pre-deal price, and once the transaction closes in fiscal 2027, EA will no longer trade on public markets. This is one of the biggest moves in gaming history, comparable in scale to Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition. EA is one of the five major Western publishers, sitting on franchises like Battlefield, Apex Legends, The Sims, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and a portfolio of sports games that generate billions annually. Going private could allow EA to operate without quarterly shareholder pressure, but the deal is financed partly with $20 billion in debt, which means cost-cutting is inevitable. Layoffs, studio closures, and selling off dormant IP are all realistic outcomes. This acquisition is also part of a bigger Saudi strategy. PIF has spent years diversifying away from oil, investing in esports, Formula 1, and now one of the most profitable gaming companies in the world. It signals how seriously Gulf states see gaming as a future growth industry and a cultural tool. From a consumer standpoint, this could go in two directions: If the consortium truly wants to grow EA rather than strip it for parts, it could mean reviving neglected franchises and experimenting with new IP without the quarterly earnings pressure. On the other hand, private equity deals often focus on generating value quickly, which could mean more microtransactions, subscription pushes, and a further narrowing of EA’s focus to guaranteed earners like EA Sports FC and Battlefield. One of the most recognizable names in gaming has been taken off the public market and placed under the control of foreign investors. It is the clearest sign yet that video games are no longer just a niche hobby but a major asset class that nations, sovereign funds, and global financiers are willing to spend tens of billions to control.

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Esports betting is entering the age of data. Seven years ago, I left Genius Sports after launching the first In-play betting service in the regulated market and establishing esports as new betting category across many operators without access to official data (the asset category did not exist back then). The goal for GRID esports was simple: solve the data challenges in a digital sport to unlock its full potential for the entire ecosystem - and do so at scale in an environment that is ever-evolving and in a business model that aligns incentives across the entire value chain. It is a great challenge that Chris King, Mikael Westerling, Thomas Warburton and I set out to solve, one that still captivates me every day. Today's announcement marks an inflection point in executing our vision and solves a core challenge that existed in esports to date: the fragmentation of data sources. At GRID esports we perceive this as being a major milestone for the entire industry. Uncertainty regarding access to or availability of data has been a massive inhibitor to innovation and investment into the space. For the first time in esports, a powerful data foundation now exists through a combination of scalable technology and strong partnerships with rights holders. If you ever considered entering the space or taking your product to the next level, this is your sign to do so. I want to thank our amazing partners Riot Games, ESL FACEIT Group - EFG, BLAST , Ubisoft, and many more who back this vision with their trust in the GRID data platform and see the potential of it for esports as a whole. P.S.: When I say data, I mean proper, officially sourced, real-time, hyper-granular data from the server. We take no shortcuts :-) #esports #data #ontheGRID #betting #livedata

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🚨 VOODOO just proved something fascinating about mobile gamers: we'll pay 2.5x more for the same thing if you condition us gradually enough Epic Plane Evolution raised its 10-gem pack from $1.99 to $4.99 Not a typo   💎 Same gems. Same game. Bigger ticket The result? Revenue growth 📈 What are we missing? This isn't about Epic Plane Evolution. It's about industry-wide pricing evolution 🧠 Publishers are systematically moving the "comfortable spend" threshold upward What feels expensive today will feel normal in 6 months - just like $9.99 battle passes did 2 years ago The Pattern We are Seeing: 👀 • ⏰ Limited play mechanics create scarcity • 📊 Gradual price increases test resistance • 💎 "Premium" positioning justifies higher costs • 🔄 Players adapt to new pricing reality ⚡ Why This Matters:  Every studio is testing new pricing boundaries The question isn't "what will players pay?" It's "What can we train them to accept?" 🌍 The Bigger Picture:  We're witnessing the death of the $0.99 mobile game   The new baseline is being written right now, and most developers don't realize they're part of this shift 💡 My Take: Publishers who understand this pricing evolution will dominate Those who stick to "traditional" mobile pricing will be left behind AppMagic's Q2 report shows this is happening across the top 10 hybrid casual games - Epic Plane Evolution isn't alone in this pricing experiment The data reveals a coordinated market shift most people are missing 📊 What's your take? Are we evolving pricing to match game value, or conditioning players for unsustainable costs? 🤔 Thanks to AppMagic's Q2 report for this and other insights: https://lnkd.in/dWAmR4mM 

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NEWZOO Global Gaming Report for 2025 $188.8 billion in 2025 revenues. 3.6B players. Console leads the way in growth. Currently, the gaming market is steady yet strategic—console is the fastest-growing platform, PC gains traction in Asia, and mobile growth is slowing in mature markets. China and the US account for 50% of global consumer spending. Key Takeaways: 1. The global games market is expected to generate $188.8B in 2025 (+3.4% YoY). Mobile remains the largest segment ($103B, 55% share, +2.9% YoY). Console will reach $45.9B (+5.5% YoY), buoyed by the Switch 2 launch and higher pricing, while PC grows steadily to $39.9B (+2.5% YoY), led by China and Japan. China ($49.8B) and the U.S. ($49.6B) together account for half of all consumer spending. APAC generates $87.6B (46% share), while MENA (+7.5% YoY) and LATAM (+6.4% YoY) are the fastest-growing regions. 2. The global player base will reach 3.6 billion (+4.4% year over year), representing over 60% of the online population. Mobile devices lead with 3 billion players (83%), followed by PC with 936 million and consoles with 645 million. The APAC region accounts for 1.9 billion players (53% of the total), while the MENA region experiences the fastest growth at +6.8% year-over-year. The growth is shifting from acquiring new users to increasing engagement, with Gen Alpha driving multi-device play and older generations gradually phasing out. 3. Looking ahead, the market is expected to reach $206.5B by 2028 with a 3.0% CAGR. Console is projected to be the fastest-growing segment (+4.7% CAGR), boosted by GTA VI in 2026 and new consoles in 2027. PC adoption is expected to increase its player base to over one billion, while mobile growth (+2.2% CAGR) continues at a slower rate. https://lnkd.in/gs82v6hM).

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Unity isn’t chasing AppLovin's mediation crown. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. For years, AppLovin has been the Apex Predator. MAX + AXON created a feedback loop few could touch. Every bid, every impression, every outcome, all pulled into one model. Many think Unity has to win mediation to matter. They’re wrong. Mediation is leverage. Not the finish line. The real bar isn’t dethroning AppLovin. It's proving you can compound your own loop long enough to endure. Unity is circling from a different angle. 👉 Ad Quality is a Trojan horse into MAX's creative data. 👉 IronSource & LevelPlay will feed their data to Vector. 👉 The engine's IAP data will provide unique insight. And 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 even behavioral data. Two different strategies are now colliding: 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻: Control mediation, dominate auctions with scale and fees. 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆: Aggregate the signals AppLovin has, from IAA to creative, then supercharge it with IAP data only they have. One controls the auction. The other sits inside the game. Where it goes from here? That’s the real question. One data empire. One data rebellion. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴.

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