Author: EuropeanGaming.eu

Rising Lords by Argonwood, a game studio based in Cologne, Germany has won the weekly voting on Game Development World Championship Fan Favourite category for the Strategy Games Week. Rising Lords is now available on Steam.

“Rising Lords is a medieval turn-based strategy game with card and board game elements. Send your serfs to fight and die in your name… or let them prosper, and use them to your advantage! ” Argonwood describes Rising Lords.

Argonwood Studio moves on to the next round of voting in the Fan Favourite category of the GDWC – Game Development World Championship and will meet other Weekly Vote winners in a battle for the crown at the end of the GDWC 2020 season.

2nd place was taken by Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator by Broken Arms Games from Italy: “Hundred Days – Winemaking Simulator will put you in charge of managing a small and abandoned winery: from selecting the types of vine you want to grow, to naming your final product, every decision of the challenging business of winemaking will be in your hands. ”

3rd place went to The Unexpected Quest by rionix from Russia: “Adventure game with strategy and management elements in a medieval fantasy setting – drawing inspiration from classics such as Warcraft 3 and The Settlers. Embark on quests, hunt down treasures and manage your resources as you build, battle, cast magic and brew potions to bring order to the world.”

The GDWC team sends congratulations to the winning team and big thanks to all Nominees and voters. The weekly votes take place each week, from Monday to Saturday and there are always six new exciting games to check out and vote for. This week’s vote is already live on the event website at thegdwc.com.

This week’s voting theme is Couch Gaming and the nominees are:
– From the Shadows by Team Spooky, France
– Grid Fight – Mask of the Goddess by Playtra Games, United Kingdom
– JUMPALA by Yokereba, USA
– Perfectly Perilous Provisions by Cat&Tonic Studios, Japan
– Toasterball by Les Crafteurs, France
– Wreckout by Huey Games, United Kingdom

Online Casino and Bookmaker Betzest expand their offering in a new partnership with leading casino provider Iron Dog Studio.

The agreement will give Betzest players opportunity to access to Iron Dog Studio full range games portfolio most popular branded slots, including The Curious Cabinet, Pirate Kingdom MegaWays, Neon Jungle, Si Xiang, Rainbow Wilds, Viking Wilds, Blood Queen, Wai Kiki, Cherry Blast, Cosmic Crystals, Gifts Ostara, Moirai Blaze, Paint, Treasure of Horus and many more.

After adding to its portfolio MGA license, many key payment methods and Top online casino providers Betzest now offers a great selection of casino games to ensure amazing entertainment, user experience and adrenaline to their players. This is another significant step in Betzest rapid expansion. The company is looking forward to announcing more partnerships with other leading providers lined up for the end of Q4, 2020.

Marius Filip, Founder/CMO at Betzest, said: “We are excited to conclude another partnership with the leading casino provider Iron Dog Studio. We are pleased to welcome them to the Betzest family and look forward to working with them closely for many years. We trust that their high quality, innovative and entertaining games will play an important part in making Betzest this year’s leading casino operator. The online casino industry in Latam and International markets continues to grow quickly. Therefore, our goal is to straighten our Casino vertical and modernize the player experience in these regions, through innovative gameplay.
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The move makes GameByte the only social publisher in the world to own every step of the consumer journey.

The GameByte shop will stock over 1000 products including video games, next-gen consoles and gaming accessories

A proprietary e-commerce platform will provide media buyers with total transparency and insight

84% of GameByte’s surveyed followers* said they want to buy with GameByte

Manchester-based GameByte, the gaming brand owned by global social agency and publishing house, Social Chain, is venturing into e-commerce with the launch of The GameByte shop.

On November 9, GameByte’s audience of more than 6 million gamers will be introduced to over 1000 products including merchandise, gaming accessories, hardware, next-gen consoles and games. The shop will act as an extension of the GameByte website GameByte.com, which hosts its gaming news coverage and features.

Gaming enthusiasts will be able to buy directly from the store or purchase through social by simply clicking on one of GameByte’s Facebook videos, which average more than 25 million views every month.

GameByte’s mantra, ‘by gamers for gamers’, takes centre stage in the creation and launch of the shop, which was ideated based on a survey put to its audience that saw 84% of GameByte’s audience express a desire to buy with GameByte.

GameByte’s head, Rich White, said: “This isn’t just the next generation of GameByte, it’s the next gen of games media. Though it’s never been done before, we’re in the perfect position to launch a gaming e-commerce platform. We know our audience inside-out.”

The same survey found that one-third of gamers discover new brands on social media, emphasising the role that GameByte’s social following will play in the success of the shop.

Four-year-old GameByte has grown until this point by creating fan-centric original content and coverage for household gaming brands like Frontier and Logitech. In a first for games media, the GameByte brand will now become the client, using its tried-and-tested content strategy to market its own products as well as that of its clients.

The GameByte Shop will also act as ad inventory for clients, media buyers and affiliates, who will have the chance to tap into a market of an estimated 2.6 billion active gamers worldwide, a figure that is set to increase by 5% in 2021 to 2.725 billion.

While this is unprecedented in gaming, the move is reminiscent of the beauty brand Glossier’s strategy. Glossier first began as a publisher, Into The Gloss, and soon turned its editorial audience into paying customers, relying on their insight to create smash-hit products.

GameByte, of course, will benefit from the resources of parent company Social Chain, which will assist in content creation across editorial, social-first video and display ads, to promotional posts, performance marketing, driving traffic and customer acquisition.

Social Chain’s business development director, Sam Barrett, added: “We’re already a trusted source of gaming news and entertainment. Now with our proprietary e-commerce platform, we can provide a seamless purchase journey for both our community and for the world’s leading gaming companies, by owning every step involved to help them reach their customers.”

The shop is a natural next step for GameByte, but also hints at the upward trajectory that social commerce is on, with companies like Social Chain at the forefront. What’s more, it promises to demonstrate the power of community and social-first savvy in generating revenue for both the brand and its partners.

*These figures are based on a survey of 1,569 gamers from the GameByte community.

Financial summary

• Revenue amounted to €28.1 (Q3 2019: 23.0) million for the third quarter of 2020, an increase of 22%, and €70.8 (65.6) million for the period January to September

• Operating profit (EBIT) for the third quarter of 2020 was €6.5 (3.4) million, at a margin of 23.3% (14.9%), and €10.0 (8.6) million for the period January to September, at a margin of 14.2% (13.0%)

• Profit after tax amounted to €5.1 (2.3) million for the third quarter of 2020 and €6.8 (5.8) million for the period January to September

• Earnings per share for the third quarter of 2020 were €0.164 (0.075) and €0.220 (0.193) for the period January to September

• Cash flow from operating and investing activities (excluding working capital movements) amounted to €6.9 (2.6) million for the third quarter of 2020 and €8.2 (4.2) million for the period January to September

Key highlights

• Posted record quarterly performance with revenue up 22% year-on-year and operator turnover rising 62%, driven by the resumption of sports culminating in a busy September calendar

• Expanded partner network through the signing of major US operator Churchill Downs Incorporated and its BetAmerica sports betting brand

• Signed a long-term extension with LeoVegas Group, cementing the partnership and extending the agreement to cover additional brands

• Continued to deliver for partners with 17 launches throughout the quarter, including the online launch of Penn National Gaming’s Barstool Sportsbook in Pennsylvania

“The difference between Q2 and Q3 couldn’t have been starker and underlines the ability of the business to quickly and efficiently respond not only to the lockdown situation, but also ensuring resources were in place for when sports returned. It’s reassuring for our partners to experience the capability and inherent flexibility Kambi has to adapt and thrive under testing conditions and we are confident in our ability to handle any potential future impacts that may arise from the virus. It’s also been reassuring to see that, despite some heightened local restrictions, there’s been no impact on high-level sports.

Momentum gained late in Q2 carried through to Q3, with Kambi posting record quarterly revenue of €28.1m. Operator turnover was also up significantly to an all-time high, rising 62% year-on-year. The gradual return of sports drove greater volumes throughout the period, particularly during September, which produced 43% of the operator turnover for the quarter. This positive trend has continued into the start of Q4.

During the quarter, we were able to complete two important pieces of business. Firstly, we signed a new partner in Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI), a large US multi-state company and operator of the BetAmerica sportsbook brand. We are already live on-property with BetAmerica in two states and will launch online in the near future. CDI has already enjoyed digital success with its TwinSpires horserace wagering business and has the ambition to turn BetAmerica into a similar success story.

Secondly, the extension of our partnership with the LeoVegas Group. The agreement will see Kambi continue to provide our services to the LeoVegas Sport brand and carry on what has been an exciting journey so far. In addition, we will also provide our sportsbook to additional brands within the Group.

It was also another busy quarter in terms of launches, culminating in the much-anticipated launch of Penn National Gaming’s (PNG) proprietary Barstool Sportsbook app in Pennsylvania in mid-September, which has delivered promising early performance numbers. The app, 100% of which was developed in-house by PNG, is just the latest example of what’s possible when using Kambi’s empowering technology.

As we near the end of 2020, the cautious optimism of earlier in the year has been replaced with growing confidence, as we finish the year in great shape. Looking ahead, having successfully come through our toughest challenge, more exciting opportunities await us.”

You are invited to participate in a report presentation at 10.45 (CET) with Kambi Group plc’s CEO Kristian Nylén and CFO David Kenyon. The presentation will be held in English via a telephone conference and can also be accessed via an audiocast using the link below.

Kambi’s quarterly results podcast can be found here.