Top 10 Digest Pieces
2023 was an outstanding year from the Naavik Digest team, and many of our top pieces highlight the year’s biggest news and most important emerging trends. Thank you, Digest team!
- Fortnite Creative Millionnaires, by David Taylor
- Blade Ball and How to Be Successful in UGC Games, by David Taylor
- Could Gift Cards Be Gold Mine for Games, by David Taylor
- EA And Take-Two Offer a Glimpse at Their Live Service Futures, by Carson Taylor
- NetEase’s Shifting Global Strategy, by Carson Taylor
- Fortnite Creative’s Long Road Ahead, by David Taylor
- Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Deal: A Complete Timeline, by Nick Statt
- How the Stars Aligned to Create the Success of Baldur’s Gate 3, by Harshal Karvande
- Esports Betting: A Path Forward or a Lost Cause?, by Max Lowenthal
- miHoYo’s Founding Journey, by Harshal Karvande
Top 10 Podcast Episodes
We sure talked your ears off in 2023, having published more than 120 episodes on the Naavik Gaming Podcast. It also seems like many of you were fascinated by web3 gaming, especially earlier in the year. A special thanks to our amazing hosts, panelists, and guests for keeping us informed and entertained!
- How Yuga Labs is Defining the Future of Web3 Gaming, hosted by Niko Vuori
- Alvaro Duarte: Voodoo’s Ongoing Evolution, hosted by Aaron Bush
- Bringing Web3 Games to Mobile, hosted by Niko Vuori
- Moritz Baier-Lentz: The State of Gaming VC, hosted by Aaron Bush
- Web3 Investing with Animoca Brands, hosted by Alexandra Takei
- Savvy Games Group’s Ambition, Strategy, and Future, hosted by Aaron Bush
- Inside Scopely: Monopoly Go, Stumble Guys, Savvy Games Group & The Future, hosted by Aaron Bush
- Web3 Predictions for 2023, hosted by Niko Vuori
- Understanding Web3 Player Behavior, hosted by Niko Vuori
- Nexon’s CEO on Leadership, Virtual Worlds, Innovation & Antifragility, hosted by Aaron Bush
Top 10 Deep Dives
These deep dives take enormous talent and commitment to put together, and it was a great year to both publish new essays and republish some older ones. A big thanks to our all-star writers and partners who made the entire industry smarter in 2023!
- The Evolution of Hybridcasual, by Niek Tuerlings
- How Honkai: Star Rail Reveals Cracks in the HoYoverse, by Harshal Karvande, Jordan Phang, & Abhimanyu Kumar
- How Strategy & Card Games are Surviving Post-IDFA, by Jordan Phang
- Gaming Marketplace Case Studies, by Tom Kinniburgh
- Brawl Stars: How Supercell Reimagined the MOBA, by Niek Tuerlings
- Redecor: Playtika’s Reverse Midas Touch, by Eva Grillova
- June’s Journey: The Quintessential Hidden Object Game, by Niek Tuerlings
- The Great Reset: Your 2023 Guide to Web3 Games, by Aaron Bush, Maxime Eyraud, Piers Kicks, Abhimanyu Kumar and Joe Lloyd
- Understanding the Rise of ACG Aesthetics in Gaming, by Maxime Eyraud
- Africa’s Mobile Gaming Market and Carry1st, by Abhimanyu Kumar
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In Other News
💸 Funding & Acquisitions:
- Addressable raises $6M for Web3 growth marketing
- Big publishers forced to innovate through M&A, says Daglow
📊 Business & Products:
- Gamesight publishes 2023 Games Industry Digital Marketing Spend Analysis
- Designing games that gamers can play for thousands of hours
- Never judge your player and other game design tips from Warren Spector
- PlayStation 5 Achieves Milestone of 50M Units Sold to Consumers
- Consumer spending on VR content dipped by 10% in 2023
- Newzoo maintains 2023 market value prediction at $184B
👾 Miscellaneous:
- Trinity Gaming India, Lenovo, Intel, and YouTube join forces to bolster the Indian creator economy
- Teen GTA VI hacker sentenced to life in a secure hospital
- Leadership changes under Microsoft as Bobby Kotick departure date confirmed
- Tilting Point, Hilfiger Ventures and Brandible prepare to launch AI fashion game
- KaiCenat, LoL, Diablo IV top Twitch 2023 charts
