Gaming

Thunderbite broadens its distributional footprint via ITP

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

F2P leader enters into a strategic collaboration with Inside The Pocket’s leading agnostic platform to grow its global scope

Thunderbite, a leading free-to-play (F2P) games provider, has entered into a strategic partnership with Inside The Pocket (ITP) the pre-eminent free-to-play aggregation platform, to broaden its distributional scope.

The deal sees Thunderbite deliver its comprehensive F2P product portfolio to a new network of operators via the ITP platform, an industry-first aggregation model for the free-to-play sector. In turn, Thunderbite’s array of sports and non-sports content will help diversify ITP’s offering and deliver varied gamification options which track player proclivities across igaming with other games that reside outside F2P’s traditional sports-betting domain.

ITP’s ground-breaking marketplace now affords a host of innovative suppliers a simple route to market which, in turn, offers worldwide operators a wealth of value-creation opportunities across a broad spectrum of content from one seamless integration.

Thunderbite already offers in excess of 25 games across 30 countries and in 25 languages (via multilingual API) in Europe and the Americas. In fact, over the past 12 months, the F2P supplier has rolled out around 10 new games.

More broadly, Thunderbite allows its partners to launch a wide range of F2P prediction, jackpot and more hyper-casual game formats with seamless speed across any language or territory.

It’s the latest tactical move from Thunderbite after a series of key alliances which have seen the F2P-games expert deepen its offering by providing real-time rewards and incentives based on specific campaign triggers, allowing Thunderbite to drive player engagement via highly personalised communications with cross-sell capacity across both acquisition and retention strategies.

ITP’s proven international scope and flair for localization promises to drive diversified fan engagement around targeted free-to-play games. Thanks to its open-aggregation approach, Inside The Pocket already offers the broadest and best-curated mix of games available, with one platform integration acting as a gateway to virtually unlimited content.

ITP provides the most modular and democratised strategic F2P platform around, assembling the best minds and models for a new era in fan engagement, localized to specific global markets. When you’re signed up individually to one or more developers, you can end up with a set of expensive integrations or all your eggs in one basket. Instead, ITP’s open-aggregation platform takes the sting out of such outmoded deals by providing the requisite flexibility for maturing markets.

Inside The Pocket’s technical know-how sets it apart in the crucial F2P domains of game development, player management and, above all, multi-level data. Its dashboards provide clients with the full picture on player activity, thanks to aggregated cross-network player data (e.g. from individual customer journeys to in-play data, and other shared insights on player segments).

John Smith, Co-Founder at Thunderbite, said: “ITP’s simple-yet-transformative pitch of ‘one single integration unlocking the gateway to the entire F2P marketplace’ positively delineates them for operators. And regardless of Thunderbite’s relentless recent growth, you should never rest on your laurels in this industry. That is why this third-party collaboration with an aggregator as well-positioned and unique as ITP made such strategic sense.

“Operators worldwide can now effortlessly expand their portfolio through ITP, with this sports betting content aggregation platform affording easy access to the best products on the market, featuring F2P and other agile content solutions. So, we can’t wait to expand our worldwide footprint and observe how our localised games perform in diverse territories which, in some instances, represent new ground for us.”

Hussain Naqi, Founder and CEO of Inside The Pocket, said: “This collaboration is the absolute embodiment of mutually beneficial. For ITP, it provides us with more fantastic content and engagement tools for our burgeoning book or customers. While, for Thunderbite’s sales and outreach teams, we make their jobs easier, streamlining the process and its efficacy by removing impediments to the decision-making process.

“Further, this this partnership has deepened and diversified our offering to broaden ITP’s scope into igaming and wider non-sports content. As markets crystallise and new regulations coalesce, the best and most flexible portfolio will always prevail. And this partnership is an excellent way of framing and delivering these strong products to the end user. It’s all about the agility this offers for both of our customers and future prospects.

“As a market leader in the dynamic, evolving F2P vertical, Thunderbite was a logical choice as an ITP partner. They deliver a myriad of F2P games for assorted operators, from traditional jackpot and attainable-prize games for retention and responsible play, right through to light-touch and casual games. ITP’s multifaceted assets are already revenue-generating for our operators, so we’re thrilled with the early international reception from our growing global association of betting partners.

“We’re perfectly placed to leverage this opportunity because we can diversify content, leverage consumer data and segment it for our partners as the evolving landscape unfolds, particularly in the crystallising North American space. Harte Hanks, the world’s leading consumer-data provider, also affords us unique consumer insights that will allow us to hyper-segment our audience communication over time – from this summer’s sporting jamboree to the T20 World Cup cricket and the World Cup 2022 football later this year.”

Gaming

Midjiwan opens Stockholm’s first co-working space for game developers

Published

23 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia, today announces the opening of Game Town, Stockholm’s first coworking space for game developers.

In addition to being a new home for Midjiwan, Game Town will also serve as a base for Toppluva AB, the makers of Grand Mountain Adventure; Warm Kitten AB, the developers behind Justin Wack and the Big Time Hack; Gro Play AB, a studio creating educational games; and Dataspelsbranschen, Sweden’s trade association for video game companies. More game development companies are expected to join over the next few months.

The Swedish games industry, including subsidiaries abroad, generated SEK 86.5 billion (USD $7.9 billion) in 2022, according to a Dataspelsbranschen report. Gaming is a strong growth industry, accounting for over 4 percent of Sweden’s total service exports. Game Town will become a creative, innovative, and social meeting place, further solidifying Stockholm as a key games industry hub with industry meetups, mixers, and game showcases hosted for indie and AAA developers.

Södermalm, the Stockholm island where Game Town is located, has one of the highest concentrations of game developers. The nearby areas constitute a cluster for companies within game development, housing among others Paradox, DICE, Fatshark, and Epic Games.

Christian Lövstedt, General Manager at Midjiwan, commented:

“Game Town will become a professional and playful environment for smaller game studios that want to work and develop among other developers. We’re looking to create a community of people who share our same passion for gaming and game development. Game Town will bring together indie developers and freelancers to create an open and welcoming place for the entire industry to gather.”

Per Strömbäck, Chairman of Dataspelsbranschen.

“Within a kilometer radius of Södermalm, there are at least 3,000 game developers, making it perhaps the most densely populated place for game developers in the world. Here, games are created for billions of players worldwide. Perhaps there is something in the Earth’s magnetic field that makes local games particularly good? Game Town will be located right in the middle of this hub, so it is only right that our own office should be right here.”

The post Midjiwan opens Stockholm’s first co-working space for game developers appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Gaming

Metaverse Studio Karta Reaches Huge Milestone with New Game Beat Builder

Published

2 days ago

April 16, 2024

Alan Campbell

metaverse-studio-karta-reaches-huge-milestone-with-new-game-beat-builder

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Karta pushes the boundaries of music game innovation with Built Builder on Fortnite – reaching 100k players

Beat Builder is Fortnite’s first-ever build-based rhythm game
Karta partners with NoCopyrightSounds for the game’s music library
Two new big songs just added: Royalty by Egzod & Maestro Chives and Invincible by Deaf Kev

Karta, an award-winning metaverse studio pioneering the world of in-game experiential marketing, continues to push the boundaries of music game innovation as its latest project, Beat Builder, reaches 100,000 players.

Beat Builder is an interactive music rhythm game where players put down walls, ramps, floors and cones to the beat of the music. Centred on building a core Fortnite gameplay feature used in its very popular Battle Royal, Beat Builder is the first-ever build-based rhythm game on the platform. As well as being a music-filled experience played for fun, the game is also used as a practice tool for players to improve their game-playing skills on Fortnite.

To create the game’s eclectic music library, Karta has partnered with NoCopyrightSounds, a copyright-free record label and music platform. Focusing on drumstep, phonk and trap electronic music for now, with artists such as Twisted, if found, XTOM and Lost Sky, players interact with the stems of each song that have their own visual world to match the vibe. Karta aims to develop the game further, updating it with a plethora of new music and genres such as metal, K-pop and rock. The long-term aim of Beat Builder is to integrate artists into Fortnite to share their music with fans, with the game becoming a recognised platform for exploring new artists and music.

Reaching 100,000 players is a significant milestone for a new metaverse game with Beat Builder continuing to grow in popularity since its launch recently. To mark the milestone, Karta has updated the game with two of NCS biggest songs; Royalty by Egzod & Maestro Chives and Invincible by Deaf Kev and is already planning further extensions, partnerships and new seasons.

“We’re thrilled that Beat Builder has gotten off to such a great start,” the Chief Executive Officer for Karta, Erik Londre, said. “We wanted to create a rhythm game that felt 100% Fortnite native, where the music is connected to the platform’s core building gameplay. A rhythm game that makes you a better gamer is an idea that excites us a lot.”

“Beat Builder truly encapsulates what Karta is all about; innovative and forward-thinking design that combines incredible music with interactive gaming in one entertaining place,” the Chief Growth Officer for Karta, Tony Barnes, said. “Music’s presence in the metaverse is evolving and we think Beat Builder has the potential to become its own platform for artists and brands to authentically connect to a Fortnite audience through gameplay and new music. We can’t wait to develop it and see how it grows.”

Since launching in 2021, Karta has worked with brands such as Amazon Music, McDonald’s and Hugo Boss. As well as working with Spotify on its iconic global campaign, Spotify Wrapped, to gamify the listening habits of Spotify users and bring this into the metaverse. Through these partnerships, Karta is reshaping entertainment experiences in the metaverse and creating meaningful connections between brands and their audiences. In the past year, the London-based studio has also worked with global artists like Nicki Minaj for her Gag City experience in Roblox, K-pop giant Blackpink with its hugely popular Blackpink the Palace and Twice with its Twice Square, which has become the most successful persistent music experience on Roblox.

“We’re very happy to provide the music for Beat Builder, a brilliant new game that gives players the chance to interact with the music like never before,” the Brand Manager for NCS, Charlotte Lee, said. “It has the potential to become a go-to platform for music gaming and we’re proud to support it.”

Beat Builder is available now to explore on Fortnite. For more information, go to www. Karta. game.

The post Metaverse Studio Karta Reaches Huge Milestone with New Game Beat Builder appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

eSports

Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov is a New Virtus.pro Player

Published

3 days ago

April 15, 2024

Alan Campbell

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov (pictured), one of the most decorated and famous players in CS2, a Major champion and winner of the Intel Grand Slam, is moving to Virtus.pro.

“The arrival of star players always generates excitement within the club and among its fans,” the Chief Executive Officer for Virtus.pro, Nikolai Petrossian, said. “Denis is a well-known figure in the world of eSports with an impressive list of major victories and exceptional skill. Few players won both at Major and Intel Grand Slam events.

“Our CS2 roster is strong thanks to teamwork, a clearly defined playstyle and the individual talents of our players. Transferring players with outstanding skills to improve specific areas is a common practice in sports. I am confident that Denis joining will give a powerful boost to the team in the upcoming challenges in Dallas, London and beyond.

“Denis will replace Nikolay ‘mir’ Bityukov in the VP lineup. Nikolay has been a loyal and valuable member of our team and we express our gratitude for his contributions. Nikolay ‘mir’ Bityukov is open to offers from other teams.”

“Virtus.pro is a top team,” Sharipov said. “The core of the roster has won a Major not a while ago and all the players are in their prime and ready for victories right now. We share the same ambitions and goals. Besides, I’m also excited about the idea of playing with Jame as he’s one of the most unique IGLs in the game. Can’t wait to adapt to my new team and start doing what I came here for, winning trophies.”

Sharipov has dozens of victories at elite tournaments, including: