At Naavik, we produce so much content that it’s tough to keep up with everything. So today we’re hitting the pause button to resurface our best content of 2024 so far.
Deep Dives
- New Horizons in Habit Building Gamification (by Eva Grillova)
- The 4X Evolution of Century Games (by Niek Tuerlings)
- The State of UGC Games (by David Taylor)
Naavik Digest
- Annapurna and Hollywood’s New Love Affair with Gaming (by Carson Taylor)
- AppLovin: From Loved to Unloved to Loved Again (by Anonymous)
- Has Monopoly Go Peaked? KPIs Uncovered! (by Miikka Ahonen)
- Is Discord Ready for Its Next Act? (by Matt Dion)
- Mobile Game Genres: Winners and Losers (by Jordan Phang)
- Moon Active Is Quietly Dominating Casual Mobile F2P (by Harshal Karvande)
- Solving Roblox’s Immersive Ads Problem (by David Taylor)
- The 5 Most Anticipated Web3 Games of 2024 (by Devin Becker)
- The Past, Present, & Future of Music Games (by Carson Taylor)
- The State of the FPS Market (by Jordan Phang)
Naavik Gaming Podcast
- Between the Lines: Eastern Europe’s Gaming Market (Maria Kochmola and Arseny Lebedev, with Alexandra Takei)
- Century Games: How a Top 20 Mobile Publisher Found Success on Roblox (Xiang Shen, with David Taylor)
- Fortnite Creative Origins (Birdo and Zak Phelps, with David Taylor)
- Game: Once Upon Now In Hollywood (Roy Lee, with Alexandra Takei)
- Nexon’s CEO on Leaving a Legacy, Fostering Talent, & AI in Games (Owen Mahoney, with Aaron Bush)
- P2E is Dead? Long Live P2E! With Pixels.xyz (Luke Barwikowski, with Niko Vuori)
- The Bleeding Edge: Building Games on Discord, ChatGPT, and Beyond (Sebastian Park, with Aaron Bush)
- The Past, Present & Future of Live Service Games (Stewart Chisam, with Devin Becker)
- The State of Gaming VC in 2024 (Moritz Baier-Lentz, with Aaron Bush)
- TikTok: Gaming’s New Discovery Platform (Rema Vasan and Assaf Sagy, with Alexandra Takei)
None of this would be possible if not for our amazing audience, partners, and talented contributors, so big thanks to all you!
As always, if you have any feedback or requests for future topics, don’t hesitate to let us know by responding to this email.
A Word from Our Sponsor: LIGHTSPEED GAMING
Partnering with Extraordinary Founders in Gaming & Interactive Media
Lightspeed is a globally leading venture capital firm across the U.S., Europe, and Asia with over $29 billion under management. Over the past 20 years, Lightspeed has partnered with hundreds of exceptional entrepreneurs and helped build companies to achieve 200+ IPOs and acquisitions.
With its dedicated gaming practice, "Lightspeed Gaming," the firm invests from an over $6.5 billion pool of early and growth-stage capital — by far the largest set of funds in the sector. Lightspeed's team combines deep gaming, consumer, and enterprise technology expertise with a global multistage investment platform and a culture that truly puts founders first.
Focus areas are game studios (PC, console, mobile), interactive media platforms (social, UGC, distribution, streaming), and related technologies (AI/ML, 3D, engines, game development, AR/VR).
Selected investments include Epic Games, Inworld AI, Gardens, and The Believer Company — as well as designers and producers who led the creation of titles like Fortnite, Call of Duty, League of Legends, Wild Rift, Apex Legends, Overwatch, Valorant, StarCraft II, and Warcraft III.
Content Worth Consuming
What could go right with Mitch Lasky (The Fourth Curtain): “You may know not the name of our guest Mitch Lasky, but you absolutely know his work. He created Activision’s third-party business and basically kicked off mobile gaming. As a VC he played a key role in the creation of Riot, Discord, Twitter and a dozen other hit businesses. Longtime partner at Benchmark Capital he’s now an owner of the LAFC soccer team. We talk the role of venture capital, marketing takeovers and more this week!”
The six stages of player rationality (gamedeveloper.com): “Have you ever heard of the "2/3 Game"? A large group of people is told to guess a number between 0 and 100 and write it on a piece of paper. No talking; no looking at other people's guesses. The people are then told that their papers will handed in, and the average of the guesses will be calculated. A prize will be given to the person whose guess is closest to 2/3 of this average. The 2/3 game has been researched a lot, and I run it in my classes all the time. The winning guess is always the same. Can you predict what it is? Hint below; spoiler after that.”
Game On: Marc Andreessen & Andrew Chen talk creative computers (a16z podcast): “The gaming industry stands as a pioneer of cutting-edge technologies, ushering in innovations like GPUs, virtual and augmented reality, physics engines, and immersive multiplayer experiences. In this episode, a16z cofounder Marc Andreessen and Andrew Chen, General Partner at a16z Games, dig into why a16z was compelled to establish a dedicated games fund. They explore the origins of tech pessimism, effective engagement with government in tech, its significance for the gaming community, the ongoing AI revolution, and even what Marc himself would build today if he didn't have his hands full.”
Why I founded a company at the ‘worst’ time of the industry? (Rise and Play podcast): “Is that a crazy idea to start a new game company in 2024?! We are resuming the podcast in May, tackling the multiple challenges of building a new company/studio and surviving in 2024. We kick off this new season, with the journey of Sophie Vo, founder of Rise and Play and first-time CEO of a game company.”
Secrets to Sustainable Success on Roblox with Andrew Rose, CPO at Voldex (Deconstructor of Fun): “Andrew Rose, the Chief Product Officer of Voldex, shares his journey and experiences in the Roblox game development space. Voldex, a company that acquires and scales Roblox games, has seen success by applying traditional free-to-play game development strategies in the unique ecosystem of Roblox.”
Our Gamification Consulting Services
Today, we’re highlighting our gamification consulting services! Applying game mechanics to all sorts of applications has proven to boost retention, engagement, and revenue — but doing it right can be harder than it seems. More specifically, Naavik offers constructive gamification deconstructions, gamification workshops, and ongoing flexible support. Here is what one of our clients had to say.
“I highly recommend Naavik's two-day workshop on gaming mechanics. Their AMA provided valuable insights on the fundamentals of gaming mechanics, and the hands-on session was very engaging. The knowledge gained from this workshop has helped our team think more intentionally about how we leverage gaming mechanics for growth at Grammarly.”
- Shane Fontane, Senior Manager of Growth Design, Grammarly
If you’d like to learn more, reach out here! Also check out our expanded consulting service portfolio here.
