Risk, returns & timeframes illustration
1 min read
August 31, 2022
by
Regan Pearson

Have we reached peak game? 🎮

As people swap consoles and gadgets for freedom and fresh air, gaming’s got a new nemesis: real life. And gaming’s biggest names haven’t been levelling up. Not good news for Playstation fans either, as the price tag for consoles is set to soar, inflation to blame.
Risk, returns & timeframes illustration
1 min read
August 31, 2022
by
Regan Pearson

Have we reached peak game? 🎮

As people swap consoles and gadgets for freedom and fresh air, gaming’s got a new nemesis: real life. And gaming’s biggest names haven’t been levelling up. Not good news for Playstation fans either, as the price tag for consoles is set to soar, inflation to blame.
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Unlimited screen time and endless button mashing helped many of us blast our way through the pandemic. But now that restaurants, theatres and gyms are back in business, there are signs we’ve hit pause on the controllers for a bit of fresh air and sunshine. ☀️ According to Streamlabs, the number of hours broadcast on Amazon’s (AMZN) game streaming platform Twitch levelled down 11% in the June quarter vs the start of the year. That’s a trend that’s been bugging some of the biggest names in gaming.

Console makers Sony (SONY – ADR) and Microsoft (MSFT) both became Fall Guys in their most recent quarterly earnings, with gaming sales dipping 2% and 7% respectively. Soaring inflation has also pushed Sony to hike the price of their PlayStation 5 console. So Santa’s already exhausted helpers might have to put in for even more overtime this Christmas. 🦌

Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), which publishes Grand Theft Auto and NBA 2K23, may have also disappointed investors - when their share price dropped 4% after they missed profit estimates - and warned they were seeing weakness in mobile gaming. That’s especially awkward because it comes just months after Take-Two splashed US$12.7 billion on mobile games maker Zynga. 💸 Not even ROBLOX (RBLX) has been able to resuscitate peak gaming, with average daily active users dropping in the June quarter.

Still, the industry isn’t taking their foot off the boost button. Gaming engine Unity Software (U), which last year swallowed up Weta Digital, is set to be gobbled up themselves through a merger with Israeli software publisher ironSource (IS). Meanwhile, Weta Workshop (Weta Digital’s cousin-once-removed) has entered into a new agreement with Take-Two to publish a game set in the Middle-earth universe. Grand Theft Auto Hobbiton anyone? 🧝‍♀️

Regan Pearson
Finance writer
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We’re not financial advisors and Hatch news is for your information only. However dazzling our writing, none of it is a recommendation to invest in any of the companies or funds mentioned. If you want support before making any investment decisions, consider seeking financial advice from a licensed provider. We’ve done our best to ensure all information is current when we pushed ‘publish’ on this article. And of course, with investing, your money isn’t guaranteed to grow and there’s always a risk you might lose money.

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