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Multi-bagger in the Making
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WBdisciple
Elite |
25-Jun-2024 10:21
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If i rem correctly...Winking Studios also participated in this game: Tencent&rsquo s new blockbuster game exceeds US$270 million in 30 days
&lsquo Dungeon & Fighter Mobile&rsquo is off to a hot start in China
Tencent Holdings&rsquo Dungeon & Fighter Mobile more than doubled the sales of longstanding Chinese best-seller Honor of Kings in its first month, according to independent research, suggesting the online entertainment leader may have finally found a marquee franchise to replace aging titles.
The Nexon-produced title brought in US$270 million on iOS in the 30 days after its launch on May 21, taking the top spot in both downloads and revenue in the country, data released by industry tracker Sensor Tower on Monday (Jun 24) showed. The performance, which exceeded analyst expectations, marked the biggest debut of the year for Tencent and is widely seen as the best candidate to generate recurring revenue like Honor of Kings, long China&rsquo s most lucrative title.
Tencent hastened the release of DnF Mobile to May after positive feedback in testing, touting the game as a blockbuster that would rekindle growth in its key domestic games division. After Sensor Tower&rsquo s report on Monday, Niko Partners analyst Xiaofeng Zeng revised up his estimate for DnF Mobile&rsquo s 2024 gross revenue to between 15 billion yuan (S$2.8 billion) and 18 billion yuan. Even at roughly US$1 billion, DnF Mobile would contribute approximately 5 per cent of Tencent&rsquo s domestic game sales this year.
The games publisher has aggressively marketed the action role-playing title. A-list Chinese actor Dilraba Dilmurat serves as brand ambassador for DnF Mobile, while players who invite their WeChat contacts to join can earn cash prizes. At one point, Tencent even inserted animated ads for the game into every WeChat conversation that included mentions of its title or even words like &ldquo warrior.&rdquo
Released internationally years earlier, DnF Mobile&rsquo s China launch was held up due to a pause in Beijing&rsquo s approval of new game releases, though the delay appears to have done little to dent its appeal in the world&rsquo s biggest games market.
The initial success of the title in China has spurred Tencent to begin rethinking traditional models. On Thursday, Tencent made a surprise move to pull DnF Mobile off Android app stores operated by Chinese smartphone makers including Huawei Technologies and Oppo, citing unspecified &ldquo adjustments&rdquo in their collaborations.
Tencent execs have long expressed frustration over the up-to-50 per cent cut those app stores take from in-game purchases. With DnF Mobile, they decided to take a stand, people familiar with the matter said.
Tencent decided to pull the app and let users download the game directly from its own sources, avoiding the commission by bypassing the middlemen, the people said, asking not to be named as the details are not public.
&ldquo Tencent&rsquo s DnF Mobile, an action-type mobile game, outranked long-reigning rival games in that category such as Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile during the bulk of its first month since its May 21 launch, signs that the robust performance will persist for the rest of the year,&rdquo Nathan Naidu, BI analyst said.
&ldquo This positions Tencent well to grow domestic games revenue slightly faster in 2024 vs 2023&rsquo s pace and sets Nexon up for a 19 per cent annual growth in mobile-game game revenue from 2023 to 2026.&rdquo
Tencent has instead relied heavily on WeChat and fee-free third-party stores like TapTap to distribute DnF Mobile.
Brokerages including Citi welcomed the move as positive for Tencent&rsquo s margins and its online entertainment business.
&ldquo DnF is the top-grossing game and it faces no pressure&rdquo from cutting ties with Chinese Android stores, Dash Huang, founder of TapTap operator XD, wrote in a post on X last week.
Still, DnF Mobile will face rising competition this summer. Up-and-coming studio Mihoyo is slated to release its own action title Zenless Zone Zero on Jul 4. It features similar hack-and-slash combat, setting it in an anime theme that may appeal to a broader audience.
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tedlim
Veteran |
20-Jun-2024 09:08
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Looking forward to more updates on their AIM-london dual listing...Keywords Studios is valued at around PE of more than 100x over there, market valuations are definitely much more richer over there. | ||||
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WBdisciple
Elite |
19-Jun-2024 20:55
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Nintendo surprises fans by announcing new &lsquo Zelda&rsquo game NINTENDO surprised fans on Tuesday (Jun 18) by announcing a new chapter in its 40-year-old Zelda saga, one of the Japanese video game giant&rsquo s biggest cash-cows. During an event broadcast on the Web, the firm said The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom would be scheduled for release on the Switch console on Sep 26. Eiji Aonuma, producer of the Zelda series, said on the webcast that fans would be able to play as Princess Zelda herself rather than the elf-like warrior Link &ndash a first for an official entry into the game&rsquo s cannon. &ldquo This time around Link has vanished and it&rsquo s up to Princess Zelda to step into the protagonist&rsquo s role,&rdquo Aonuma said in comments which were dubbed into English on the webcast. Each new chapter of Zelda is eagerly awaited by fans &ndash the franchise has racked up well over 140 million sales since it began in 1986. Last year&rsquo s edition, Tears of the Kingdom, sold 10 million copies in just three days, Nintendo said. The firm showed on its webcast some gameplay from the new title, revealing cartoon-style graphics similar to its 2019 title Link&rsquo s Awakening rather than the sleek realism of last year&rsquo s entry. The saga is credited with helping to forge &ldquo open world&rdquo games where the player is free to roam in virtual landscapes &ndash an idea what was later taken up by games from Grand Theft Auto to Skyrim. |
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tedlim
Veteran |
13-Jun-2024 10:42
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Looks like upside train is slowing moving off.. | ||||
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WBdisciple
Elite |
11-Jun-2024 09:30
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Issue of piracy is a small thing for gaming...bcos most of the games are free to play and the real money for the game developers is from in-game purchases...
Tencent Dungeon and Fighter generates $140 million in first week in China
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tedlim
Veteran |
11-Jun-2024 09:27
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AI to &lsquo transform&rsquo gaming but costly, Ubisoft CEO tells AFP GENERATIVE AI will profoundly change how video games are created and played, but its capital costs are a serious hurdle, the CEO of French gaming giant Ubisoft told AFP on Monday. Speaking at a Los Angeles event showcasing upcoming releases, Yves Guillemot said generative AI, or Gen AI, could make open-world games like Ubisoft&rsquo s blockbuster Assassin&rsquo s Creed franchise feel even &ldquo more alive.&rdquo Among the games previewed at the event were hotly anticipated Star Wars Outlaws, based in the universe of the iconic film series, and Assassin&rsquo s Creed Shadows, which transports the historical fiction franchise to feudal Japan. &ldquo What we see with Gen AI is the possibility for those worlds - those action adventure open worlds - to be a lot more interactive and more alive,&rdquo he said. &ldquo When I say alive... if you meet a non-playing character, you can speak with that person and you can have a relationship with that person.&rdquo He described generative AI, in which trained computer programs create everything from text to videos in seconds on simple prompts, as &ldquo something that will transform our games.&rdquo But with a heavy demand on computer processing and resources to train the models, &ldquo the only problem is how much it will cost,&rdquo Guillemot said. Ever since the explosion of the generative frenzy with the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, eyes have been on the ways the technology could change the video game industry. After a massive boom during the coronavirus pandemic, the video gaming industry has been on the back foot, with a wave of layoffs and cost-cuts at the biggest companies. The sector has also been struggling with the dominance of franchise titles, such as Call of Duty or Fortnite, which has made it harder for new titles to emerge. Star Wars Outlaws will be released on August 30, while Assassin&rsquo s Creed Shadows is slated for a Nov 12 debut. Shift to the cloud &ldquo What we miss in the industry at the moment is big innovations. We need genAI, we need cloud, to help us to bring really new experiences,&rdquo Guillemot said. Cloud gaming, which has rapidly gained traction in the industry, allows users to stream and play high-quality games without the need for expensive hardware or dedicated gaming consoles. Proponents of cloud gaming say the shift could foster a more vibrant and connected gaming community as it breaks users away from relying on one console ecosystem, such as the Xbox or Sony&rsquo s PlayStation. Guillemot welcomed moves by Apple and other device makers to juice up their hardware with more powerful chips, which could take gaming&rsquo s increasing computing needs out of the cloud and onto the device itself. Adding AI chips to hardware such as the iPhone or laptop &ldquo will mean more intelligence in our games&rdquo and could also ease up on the needs and cost of cloud computing. &ldquo AI is coming,&rdquo Guillemot said. &ldquo We know it can be mass market. The problem is the adoption takes time and we still have the cost issue.&rdquo |
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Alignment
Elite |
10-Jun-2024 23:03
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How are they going to crack down on piracy in Vietnam? No protection available there at all.
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For_The_Next_Leg
Master |
10-Jun-2024 21:57
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If you look at the projects the company is engaged in, many of them are " series" styled games where on a yearly basis - a new project is likely to be announced and the company will probably be employed again.
https://www.winkingworks.com/en-US/projects.html
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WBdisciple
Elite |
06-Jun-2024 09:03
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Japan aims to quadruple overseas market for anime, games https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-aims-quadruple-overseas-market-anime-games-4388126 TOKYO: Pop-culture powerhouse Japan wants to expand its overseas market for video games, manga and anime fourfold to US$130 billion in about a decade, the government has said. Japan, the birthplace of comic and cartoon epics such as Dragon Ball and game franchises from Super Mario to Final Fantasy, sees the creative industries as a driver for growth on par with steel and semiconductors. In its revised " Cool Japan" strategy released on Tuesday (Jan 4), the government said it aims to boost exports of these cultural assets to ¥ 20 trillion (nearly US$130 billion) by 2033. In 2022, Japan' s gaming, anime and manga sectors raked in ¥ 4.7 trillion (US$30 billion) from abroad - close to microchips exports at ¥ 5.7 trillion, government data shows. " In recent years, content like anime and manga has played an extremely important role in attracting bigger and bigger young audiences abroad, serving as their ' gateway' to Japan," the strategy document said. A pandemic-fuelled streaming boom helped boost the global profile of anime, including franchises like Demon Slayer which has had global box office hits. The burgeoning phenomenon of Vtubers - virtual animated YouTubers - playing video games is also helping to boost Japan' s international soft power, the strategy said. Combining these sectors' growth with related industries including fashion, cosmetics and inbound tourism, Japan is targeting an economic benefit of 50 trillion yen by 2033. The strategy also includes plans to stiffen a crackdown on piracy websites that illegally distribute anime and manga for free in languages including English and Vietnamese. " Strengthening measures against piracy websites is essential to expanding the global market," it said, warning that some of their advertising revenue can go to criminal syndicates. " Swift intergovernmental action is needed" to tackle this piracy " crisis" , it said. |
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For_The_Next_Leg
Master |
05-Jun-2024 22:41
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The gaming market is very big.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/indias-gaming-industry-powers-up/articleshow/108736801.cms?from=mdr
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WBdisciple
Elite |
05-Jun-2024 08:49
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In 2021, Virtuos (no. 2 in the world..while Winking is no. 4) sold minority stake to Barings Asia Private Equity for USD$150 million...valuing Virtuos at more than US$1 billion. https://www.virtuosgames.com/news/virtuos-secures-usd150-million-investment-from-bpea-to-accelerate-global-growth-and-fast-track-digitalization/ Winking mkt cap is now at S$70 million...do you think it will stay that way after its dual listing and execution of M& A strategy? |
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tedlim
Veteran |
04-Jun-2024 09:11
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2025 could very well be the best year in video games sales to date https://www.gamesindustry.biz/2025-could-very-well-be-the-best-year-in-video-games-sales-to-date-opinion It is beginning to look like 2025 is shaping up to be one of the biggest years in video games, if not the biggest. Let us start with the obvious: the release of GTA 6. When it comes to the most successful video entertainment products of all time, for many franchises like Star Wars, the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Avatar or maybe Mario come to mind. This is because there are numerous releases (sometimes multiple in a year) that keep these respective franchises alive in the minds of consumers. All have posted multi-billion dollar revenues. I would venture that by comparison to Grand Theft Auto these products pale into insignificance given the amount of investment needed to keep these franchises alive. The major difference for me is that Rockstar Games, with Take-Two publishing, have arguably made the most successful entertainment franchise ever with just three to five games since the release of GTA 3 back in 2001. The rolling snowball of ongoing revenue since the time of GTA 3 has become an avalanche of wealth by the time sales for GTA 5 have begun to recede. That avalanche of wealth is set to grow even larger with GTA 6. You do not need to go far to see evidence of this. When new films break the $1 billion barrier, it is often achieved after several weeks at the box office. For example, according to Elle Palmer' s article in The Verge, entitled The ten fastest movies to reach $1 billion at the box office, to date the fastest selling film was 2019' s Avengers: Endgame which passed the $1 billion mark by its fifth day in market. Momentum, passion and pent-up demand built by GTA 5 has already translated into huge expectation for GTA 6 By contrast GTA 5 made $1 billion in its first three days of release, beating Avengers: Endgame by two days. This achievement does not even take into accounting inflation. GTA 5 released in 2013 and using a US inflation calculator $1 billion in 2013 equates to $1.1 billion by 2019, an adjustment of an additional 10%. A glance at the GTA 5 Wikipedia' s article brings its success into scale. Within 24 hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto V generated more than US$815 million in worldwide revenue, equating to approximately 11.21 million copies sold for Take-Two Interactive. The numbers nearly doubled analysts' expectations for the title. Three days after its release, the game had surpassed one billion dollars in sales, making it the fastest-selling entertainment product in history. Six weeks after its release, Rockstar had shipped nearly 29 million copies of the game to retailers, exceeding the lifetime figures of GTA 4. Imagine, all that success was done back in 2013, two whole console generations ago. Back then the video game market looked very different to what it is today. A decade ago, the bulk of sales came from the physical format with all the constraints that comes from logistics and supply chain issues. Today, some new games favour digital distribution with more than half of day one sales coming from that format. Imagine now the success in sales that will come when we factor in digital full-game distribution, with instant purchases, the second GTA 6 becomes available. The only constraint will come on whether the PlayStation and Xbox online stores and Take Two and Rockstar servers can handle the worldwide demand. There is another factor as to why GTA 6 could make 2025 the biggest year in games and that is the long tail in sales. Unlike films, which experience a short life in the cinema of several weeks and then a possible second life with DVD and Blu Rays sales (and redemptions from streaming services), ever-green games such as GTA, Minecraft and Fortnite have continued to stay in the zeitgeist of gamers' attention without the need for " re-discovery." There has been a constant steady market for GTA 5 throughout its entire lifecycle. In the history of video games, no game has achieved this degree of success. The fact is GTA 5 has charted among the Top Ten games (except for certain weeks during Q4) consistently since release. This is a video game title which for the past decade has never left the top-selling video game charts in the Western hemisphere. When GTA 6 releases next year, it is still highly likely to feature as the top selling game in 2025, weeks, if not months, after release. Below is a chart of the ten best-selling games, by unit sales, for full paid games among fourteen countries tracked since 2018. The data comes from Video Games Europe' s Games Sales Data (operated by Sparkers) which captures both physical and digital sales from all major publishers (except for Nintendo which does not share their title digital sales): As expected, most of the games that chart in the Top Ten will be new titles. Some games chart for more than one year, like Red Dead Redemption 2, the FIFA titles and the Call of Duty titles but after year three (from release), these titles will drop out from the Top 10. The only other game, apart from GTA 5, that charted among the Top Ten past year three is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but even that game dropped out by its fourth year (2022). GTA 5 is the only game that has successfully charted among the Top Ten even among all the new contenders. Most interestingly of all GTA 5 did not chart below the fourth rank until last year, 2023. Although these sales are based on units as opposed to revenue, the scale of GTA 5' s success can only be described as phenomenal. As a consequence, I have heard many analysts make the humorous observation &ndash " at this rate, who doesn' t own GTA 5?" Unbelievably even when the product became " free" , sales shortly bounced back. As memory serves, GTA 5 almost broke Epic Game Servers when Epic gave away the title as part of its free giveaway campaign back in May 2020. To date, it is probably still their best-selling giveaway.A quick search online finds that the game has sold more than 185 million copies. It must have made Take Two and Rockstar Games countless billions in revenue. All that success came from a game that is over ten years old. That momentum, passion and pent-up demand built by GTA 5 has already translated into huge expectation for GTA 6. Gamers' and those who work in the industry knew when the first trailer for GTA 6 dropped on December 5, 2023, reception was going to be big. We now have the numbers to prove it. GamesIndustry.biz reported in their articles Grand Theft Auto 6 breaks YouTube records and GTA 6 reveal gains viewers faster than any game trailer in history. The trailer was viewed more times in its first 24 hours on YouTube than any other video game title on that platform. Over 100 million views in that first 24 hours and over 142 million views in the first week. If Nintendo sells over 17 million units for the Switch 2 in 2025 alone, it will have broken the record set by the Switch - an achievement that is both conceivable and within Nintendo' s means Following these numbers, it is not hard pressed to imagine that when GTA 6 releases next year it will be the fastest-selling game ever. If Take Two' s servers can handle the demand, I could envision the game breaking the $1 billion threshold in less than two days from release, possibly even on day one itself. 2025 will also be the first full year of sales for the new Nintendo console (from here on referred to as the Switch 2). Similar to how GTA 6 will follow on the coat tails of GTA 5, the Switch 2 will follow on the tailwinds of the Switch. Sales for the Switch have been nothing short of magnificent. To date, worldwide sales for the console will have passed 133 million units, marking it among the top selling consoles of all time. Although we know next to nothing about the Switch 2 (at the time of writing), Nintendo will be completely aware that it is sitting on a golden egg that is ready to hatch, especially if it gets the pricing right and if the Switch 2 is backward compatible with the Switch (although I estimate that this will not be a deal breaker even if it is not). Nintendo, being Nintendo, is always tight lipped and will be in absolute control of the messaging, but investors are already anticipating a huge win for the company when details of the Switch 2 do come out. As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the share price is (at the time of writing) standing north of ¥ 7,900 (pictured right), around 40% higher compared to this time last year. Nintendo' s target for the Switch 2 will be to beat 15.05 million units during its fiscal year 2025 (ending March 2025) and 16.95 million units during its fiscal year 2026 (ending March 2026) because these numbers were the Switch hardware sales in its respective first two full fiscal years in market. If Nintendo sells over 17 million units for the Switch 2 in 2025 alone, it will have broken the record set by the Switch - an achievement that is both conceivable and within Nintendo' s means. Again, a lot will ride on price and availability. Nintendo has had form when sales of previous released hardware were limited due to their supply constraints (whether self-imposed or not), not lack of demand. If Nintendo can produce enough units to satisfy demand, there is no reason why the Switch 2 could not be the fastest selling console in history. If there is a possibility that the Switch 2 could be bundled with a new Mario Kart 9 title, it then does not take much imagination to guess what that perfect combination will do to sales. One only has to reflect that when the Switch launched in March 2017, US software unit sales for The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild outsold those for the console itself. Demand for the system was so high, that some people were buying software even before they owned the new hardware that ran it. That confidence level in Nintendo speaks volumes about brand awareness, especially given the Switch followed disappointing sales of the Wii U. 2024 is expected to be a great year in gaming, but for me 2025 is looking to be the best year ever in game sales Finally, there are rumours that both Sony and Microsoft could be looking to refresh their current generation of console with a mid-cycle refresh. These new consoles could make their way to consumers either late this year or in 2025. It would be in keeping with the trend set by the last generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The PS4 Pro released three years after the base unit became available and the Xbox One X released four years after that base unit came on the market. These dates would put any new console refresh for this generation ripe for a 2024/2025 window. Although sales for new models of existing consoles do not make huge waves like a brand new console, they do generate relevancy and consumer awareness, especially if the latest games incorporate the latest ray-tracing technology and can take advantage of their stronger capabilities. Yes sir, 2024 is expected to be a great year in gaming, but for me 2025 is looking to be the best year ever in video game sales. |
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WBdisciple
Elite |
03-Jun-2024 12:31
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outsourcing trends are gaining ground in the gaming industry and it shows the growth potential of Winking (hence Keywords Studios is getting acquired by EQT for 2.2 billion pounds..at PE valuation of ABOVE 100 times) PlayStation Wants To Cut Back On Costs By Outsourcing Sony is making some development changes. PlayStation keeps growing bigger and bigger, which is the cause with any video game company that keeps releasing really good or even just decent games. However, Sony is starting to think that outsourcing and allowing more co-development teams will actually benefit their company more by helping them cut back on funds. The CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment&rsquo s studio business group &ndash Hermen Hulst has been admitting &ldquo there has been preasure on the cost side&rdquo he said in reference to PlayStation according to GameSpot. Shared on Twitter was also how Hulst explained how the comapny is trying to combat all the rising costs that are going forward. Obviously everything in the world right now is costing a lot more. &ldquo We also have a very tight development strategy,&rdquo Hulst also said. &ldquo For every title, we have really rigorous review processes where we focus on the sustainability of our investments in these titles. We include areas such as looking at what can be outsourced, for example, to avoid too high peak resource on development teams because costs can be sticky. We&rsquo re looking at co-development options in areas where the costs per resource are maybe somewhat lower than the average or on the American west coast.&rdquo To get an example of how some of these video games have been costing Sony to make, the budgets of The Last of Us Part II and Horizon Forbidden West where $200 million, which is even more than a lot of movies get nowadays. Something else to note is PlayStation doesn&rsquo t release their games on PC the same day as they launch on console &ndash Spider-Man 2 is a good example of this as it still isn&rsquo t on PC. But that will not benefit them in making the extra money right away, especially wih the PS5 is not in everyone&rsquo s budget to afford buying. https://gameranx.com/updates/id/499982/article/playstation-wants-to-cut-back-on-costs-by-outsourcing/ |
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Joelton
Supreme |
01-Jun-2024 17:56
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Winking Studios: World&rsquo s 4th Largest Game Art Studio Powers Up for Growth
Gaming has significantly gained more popularity as a form of entertainment in the digital era. In 2023, the global gaming industry reached a staggering $396.2 billion, compared to the movie industry&rsquo s $283.5 billion and the music industry&rsquo s $69.2 billion.
According to HTF Market Intelligence, the game outsourcing services sector is predicted to experience a mind-blowing CAGR of 31.9% between 2024 and 2030. This translates to a market size increase of a jaw-dropping US$32.2 billion by 2030.
This forecast highlights the immense potential and lucrative opportunities within the game outsourcing service sector.
Notably, it was recently reported that one of European largest PE conglomerate, EQT, is in advanced talks to takeover the world&rsquo s largest gaming services group, AIM-listed Keywords Studios, for S$3.8 billion.
With the skyrocketing demand for services outsourcing in the gaming industry, this is the perfect timing for the world&rsquo s 4th largest game art studio (Asia&rsquo s 3rd largest gaming art studio) &ndash Winking Studios to make their mark.
About Winking Studios Limited
Headquartered in Singapore and recently listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in November 2023, Winking Studios is one of the world&rsquo s largest game art outsourcing and game development studio.
With over 25 years of experience, the Group provides a complete of end-to-end art outsourcing and game development services across various platforms for the video games industry.
Winking Studios operates a network of eight studios strategically positioned in Nanjing, Shanghai, and Taipei. Their workforce of over 800 employees is heavily weighted towards talented designers and artists, allowing them to foster strong relationships with 21 of the top 25 game developers worldwide (such as Activision, NetEase Games, Nexon, NC Soft, Ubisoft, Tencent Games, Nintendo) over the past two decades, leveraging its reputation and connections to secure new projects.
On top of that, a notable strength of Winking Studios is its majority 59% ownership by Acer Group. This strategic shareholding brings about significant advantages due to Acer Gaming&rsquo s established industry relationships and strengthens Winking Studios&rsquo ability to deliver top-tier services to clients around the world.
Financial Performance
Winking Studios&rsquo revenue breakdown shown above demonstrates a balanced geographic distribution. While mainland China and Hong Kong contribute 41% of total revenue, the remaining revenue is spread relatively evenly across Taiwan, Korea, and the United States.
Next up, Winking Studios boasts a strong track record of revenue growth where it more than doubled from US$14.5 million in FY2020 to US$29.3 million in FY2023. This translates to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.4%.
This impressive growth coincides with a significant increase in their workforce, with the number of employees expanding from 354 to 652 during the same period (CAGR of 22.6%), mirroring the booming APAC game art outsourcing market, which has witnessed a CAGR of 23.0%.
It is worth noting that with more employees, their revenue has increased correspondingly and it is aligned with the Group&rsquo s business strategy to accelerate their expansion via M& A activities.
Winking Studios possesses a strong cash position thanks to a 171.1% increase in cash and cash equivalents, primarily fuelled by their recent IPO. This healthy financial standing is further bolstered by the growth in trade receivables reflecting increased business activities and rising contract assets due to revenue expansion.
Despite a modest 8.4% increase in liabilities, it&rsquo s important to note the company has no borrowings at all! This solid financial foundation positions Winking Studios well for future growth and the ability to pay dividends &ndash which they recently announced a special dividend of 0.5 Singapore cents for FY2023.
Growth Prospects
Looking ahead, Winking Studios is focusing on growth both organically and via opportunistic acquisitions.
For the former, they aim to further expand their talent pool and actively explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve operational efficiency.
As for the inorganic growth, Winking Studios has been actively pursuing its acquisition strategy since its IPO as illustrated below:
All these, combined with planned expansion and upgrades to regional offices and supporting infrastructure, will help Winking Studios capitalize on the projected CAGR of 14.4% for APAC game art outsourcing between 2023 and 2027 (as per a China Insights Consultancy report).
Valuation
According to Bloomberg, Keywords Studios PLC (KWS LN) stands out as the undisputed leader in the game art outsourcing market with an extensive network spanning over 25 countries with more than 70 studios, employing a massive workforce of over 12,000 people worldwide.
Thus, this makes it the most relevant comparison for Winking Studios.
However, we also have other peers like Toei Animation Limited &ndash which I often recall as the anime-focused studio, Reallusion and Pole to Win Holdings.
With that in mind, when we compare their forward P/E ratio, we can see that Winking Studios is expected to be the cheapest among the 5 of them with a decent 27.7% expected earnings growth rate.
Conclusion
The video game industry is booming, and the demand for game art outsourcing is expected to rise alongside it.
This bodes well for Winking Studio&rsquo s future growth potential &ndash and KGI Securities and UOB Kay Hiay has recently initiated coverage with 47 cents and 35 cents target price respectively, reflecting their bullish sentiment.
Accelerating their growth plans ahead, the Group has announced a S$27 million share placement exercise and in addition, the Group has announced dual listing plans on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
With Keywords Studios being acquired by EQT at a valuation of S$3.8 billion (close to 100 times PE), it seems logical that Winking Studio is pursuing an AIM listing. It would also appear that their M& A playbook is similar to Keywords Studios.
In addition, Winking Studios has demonstrated a consistent record of profitability, complemented by a strong balance sheet and operates in a promising industry with a strong backer &ndash Acer Group.
If the team at Winking Studios execute their plans accordingly in the next few years, it looks like SGX may have a global, market-leading, billion-dollar market cap Company on its bourse.
That being said, investors should always conduct their own research and consider their risk tolerance before making investment decisions.
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WBdisciple
Elite |
31-May-2024 11:06
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Tencent' s New Hit Game DnF Mobile Earns $140M In First Week https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tencents-hit-game-dnf-mobile-183406573.html Tencent Holdings Ltd' s (OTC:TCEHY) blockbuster release Dungeon & Fighter Mobile has made a remarkable debut in China, raking in over $140 million in player spending during its first week. The impressive start cements its place as one of the most lucrative launches in the global gaming market, Bloomberg reported. Released on May 21, DnF Mobile has amassed $63 million on Apple Inc.' s (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store in China, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. It translates to over $140 million in total player spending across all mobile platforms, including Android stores, as estimated by gaming researcher Niko Partners. DnF Mobile' s Success is based on the popular franchise developed by Nexon Co., which has topped both download and grossing charts over the past week. With 2.6 million downloads on iPhones in China, the game' s popularity even led to a suspension shortly after launch due to server issues. Long-awaited Arrival in China follows a prolonged delay caused by Beijing' s crackdown on the internet industry, which included a halt on game approvals. DnF Mobile' s successful entry has provided a boost to Tencent, pushing its other hits like Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite down the charts, thereby securing the top three most profitable games in China last week. Future Investor Focus is now on whether Tencent can maintain the game' s initial success. The company leveraged aggressive marketing, including animated ads in WeChat, to ensure a fast launch. If sustained, DnF Mobile could generate over $1 billion in sales for Tencent this year, constituting about 5% of its domestic game sales. Comparative Performance shows that 2020' s Genshin Impact by Mihoyo garnered around $60 million globally in its first week, excluding third-party Android stores in China, as per Sensor Tower. Tencent' s Strategy includes ramping up new game launches following the pause in license approvals. During its annual games event, the company announced over a dozen upcoming titles, including the anticipated console game Black Myth: Wukong. |
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For_The_Next_Leg
Master |
30-May-2024 21:41
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Purchasing Pixeline productions will bring new revenue streams to the company. Not more from the gaming side but also into featured flim, TV and advertisement! Amazing!
http://www.pixel-line.com/service.php
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WBdisciple
Elite |
29-May-2024 11:50
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With Keywords Studios' strong investor following (at over 50 times PE) at London AIM market, Winking Studio (at about 13 times PE) is right to do a dual listing over there, where there is high chance for PE expansion. In addition, Winking has been pursuing M& A strategy similar to Keywords, so biz performance should also improve....exciting times ahead. DYODD.. |
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tedlim
Veteran |
29-May-2024 11:47
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UK gaming industry: winning friends https://www.ft.com/content/3bae6c74-dee6-4cc5-9b8b-fcd22d7b8382 Developers shore up their balance sheets after a difficult few years Pass the controller. London-listed video game services company Keywords Studios is weighing a £ 2.2bn offer that more than doubles its undisturbed share price. On Scotland&rsquo s east coast, Dundee, once famed for its production of jute, is styling itself as the gaming capital of Europe, replete with cluster effect and specialised university courses. Shares in Cambridge-based Frontier Developments, home of big budget games, such as Rollercoaster Tycoon, have more than doubled in the past two months. Britain&rsquo s $5.5bn gaming industry, which took off after the introduction of tax breaks in 2014, could use a change in fortunes. The boom sparked by Covid-19, which saw more players spend more time gaming and prompted a record re-rating in valuations, unwound sharply last year. Companies were left with bloated cost bases, designed to keep abreast of the 10-20 per cent annual growth rates of 2020 and 2021. They had other battles on their hands. Big shot titles, such as Gran Turismo 7, postponed by Covid, entered the market, pulling eyeballs away from less glitzy indie games. Microsoft and Sony cut contributions to developers from subscription deals. Result: investors took a bath as the flurry of turn-of-the-decade listings, and concomitant lofty growth expectations, started to look as fantasy-like as some of the games. Cash ran dry &mdash witness tinyBuild&rsquo s $12.3m fund raising in January &mdash and rich multiples shrank faster than Super Mario encountering an enemy. Hence, while that offer for Keywords looks rich at a prospective price/earnings ratio of 24 times, it basically unwinds the losses of the past 13 months or so. Still, as putative buyer EQT&rsquo s interest suggests, the plot lines are changing. First up, swingeing cost cuts. MIcrosoft&rsquo s gaming division is cutting 1,900 of its 22,000 staff Riot Games and Twitch arswingeing cost cuts. MIcrosoft&rsquo sywide, maybe a tenth of workers will be shed this year. Other steps are under way to shore up balance sheets. Frontier Developments this year sold the rights to hit game Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 to Atari for $7mn, lifting its cash position to £ 23.4mn at the end of March. Next, companies are reining in their ambitions and shrinking games pipelines. This is not as detrimental to earnings as it sounds: as in the music industry, back catalogues have a long shelf life. Patrick O&rsquo Donnell, analyst at Goodbody, reckons some 60 per cent of player engagement is in titles more than six years old. Besides, it still leaves ample footprints. Indie developer Team17, for example, bought Ireland-based StoryToys in 2021, bringing in the pre-schooler market. Others have diversified into educational games and simulated experiences, like train driving. Keywords itself occupies a more peripheral space it provides services to gaming companies, making it a useful proxy for the sector. Investors, fearing AI would eat its lunch, have been selling down the stock. That looks overdone, at least in the short term. The group&rsquo s long acquisition streak &mdash more than 65 since floating in 2013 of which 22 were bought for a total &euro 572m since the beginning of 2020 &mdash means it has legions of engineers and facilities in 26 countries. That leaves it ready to take on the work that pruned-down studios will now be more minded to outsource, such as translation, quality control and ensuring seamless play when users switch to a different device. Clearly, private equity sees value. EQT&rsquo s bid for Keywords is its fifth. Just a few months earlier Europe&rsquo s CVC Capital bought UK video games maker Jagex, home of the long-running RuneScape franchise, for about £ 910mn in a private equity flip. Game on. |
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Joelton
Supreme |
28-May-2024 10:56
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Quick snapshot of SGX-listed gaming services company, Winking Studios:
- One of world' s largest award-winning game art outsourcing studios and an established game development company: www.winkingworks.com
- More than 25 years of experience with over 700 employees including 600 designers and artists
- Serving a global base of prominent customers (21 of the 25 top gaming companies) with blue-chip customers, such as Tencent, Netease, SONY, among others
- Consistent record of profitability with good gross margins and net margins
- Proactive M& A activities since Nov 2023 IPO
- Strong global market prospects with gaming being an essential part of lifestyle and the advancements in mobile technology continue to encourage the industry' s robust growth
- Majority owned by Acer Gaming Inc., a subsidiary of Acer Incorporated
Winking Studios also recently announced two key initiatives:
- fund raising of S$27 million to accelerate their M& A roadmap
- dual-listing plans on AIM to unlock more value and business opportunities
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Alignment
Elite |
27-May-2024 23:25
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Saying Winking Studios and Keywords are peers is a bit of a stretch. Like the optimism though! | ||||
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