Key Takeaways

• Activision Blizzard, Zynga, Niantic, Roblox, Scopely, Sciplay, and Glu Mobile INC are examples of top ranked players in the mobile gaming landscape.
• On the other hand, Take-Two Interactive Software INC, Nintendo Co, Ubisoft Entertainment SA, Bioware, Valve Corporation, and Electronic Arts INC are some additional top-ranked players in the larger gaming market.
• Some partnerships formed with players in the gaming industry include those with payment systems, tech giants, and scientists.
• Pokemon Go is an example of an app that matches players to brick and mortar retailers.

Introduction

Key Players

• Market intelligence and advisory firm Mordor Intelligence identifies the following as the key players in the North American overall gaming industry: Activision Blizzard Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., Zynga Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Nintendo Co., Ltd., Ubisoft Entertainment SA, Sony Corporation, BioWare, and Valve Corporation
• On the other hand, App Annie, a US-based mobile data and analytics company, has been publishing annually a list of the most innovative and successful companies globally in the mobile apps category, including mobile gaming, entertainment, streaming, health & fitness, finance, photo & video, food & drink, shopping, and entertainment since 2012.

• Of the 52 top companies listed on App Annie's 2021 listing, 40 are primarily engaged in mobile games development.
• Based on multiple mentions across other resources corroborating App Annie's 2021 ranking, including Investing News and Game Designing Org, the following are some top-ranked mobile gaming companies based in the US: Activision Blizzard, Zynga, Niantic, Roblox, Scopely, Electronic Arts Inc, Sciplay, and Glu Mobile, Inc.

Mobile Gaming Key Players

(i) Activision Blizzard

• A link to the website can be found here. 
• Activision Blizzard is a video game company whose examples of popular games include Candy Crush™, Overwatch®, Call of Duty®, Hearthstone®, World of Warcraft®, and Diablo.

(ii) Zynga

• A link to the website can be found here. 

• Zynga offers mobile games as well as games on Facebook and its Zyngagames.com platform.

(iii) NianNiantictic

• A link to the website can be found here. 
• Niantic's products and games include Niantic Lightship, Pikmin Bloom, Pokémon GO, and Ingress Prime.

(iv) Roblox

• A link to the website can be found here.
• The company offers a platform for developing and playing games.

(v) Scopely

• A link to the website can be found here.
• The company has developed a range of games including Scrabble Go and Star Trek™ Fleet Command which can be found here. 

(vi) Sciplay

• A link to the website can be found here.
• The company offers various mobile games which can be found here. 

(vii) Glu Mobile, Inc.

• A link to the website can be found here.
• The company offers various mobile games which can be found here.  

Additional Overall Gaming Key Players

(i) Take-Two Interactive Software Inc

• A link to the website can be found here. 

• The company operates two major game development and publishing labels, including Rockstar Games and 2K. 

(ii) Nintendo Co

• A link to the website can be found here. 
• The company offers both gaming hardware, such as accessories and Nintendo Switch lineup, and various games, including mobile.

(iii) Ubisoft Entertainment SA

• A link to the website can be found here. 

• The company has developed a range of games, including Assassin's Creed, For Honor, Prince of Persia, Rayman, and Watch Dogs.

(iv) BioWare

• A link to the website can be found here. 

• The company develops a range of console, PC, and online role-playing games, with popular examples such as g Baldur's Gate™, Star Wars™: Knights of the Old Republic™, Mass Effect™, and Dragon Age™.

(v) Valve Corporation

• A link to the website can be found here. 
• The company develops, publishes, and distributes a range of video games as well as gaming hardware.

(vi) Electronic Arts Inc,

• A link to the website can be found here.

• The company offers a wide range of games run on various platforms including mobile, PC, play station5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch.

Gaming Company Partners

(i) Partnership With Payment Systems

• Real Luck Group Ltd, "Luckbox" announced its partnership with Skrill, ecoPayz, Trustly, and NETELLER, payment processing systems, in March 2021 to diversify the payment options available to players on its platforms, including Europe, the CIS region, and Latin America where esports betting is hugely popular.
• At the same time, Boyd Gaming Corp. partnered with Aristocrat Technologies to launch a digital wallet called BoydPay to offer players the flexibility of a cashless digital wallet as well as the ability to use third-party funding contenders such as Sightline payments.
• International Game Technology PLC also launched a cashless payment option called IGTPay in casinos to offer players digital payment solutions as well as make gaming payments seamless.

(ii) Partnership With Entertainment/Social Media Platforms

• TikTok announced its partnership with Zynga in November 2021 to launch an HTML5-based game exclusively on the platform, called Disco Loco 3D targeting emerging markets, where fast data plans are unaffordable or consumers have limited access to high-end phones. The game is aimed at testing TikTok users’ gaming appetite.
• Google, Netflix and Facebook have also had separate cloud-based gaming service launches.
• In the game, similar to Zynga’s 'High Heels' game, single-players run endlessly while collecting their own dance moves as they challenge friends, avoid obstacles, and collect medallions as they walk down a catwalk.
• Netflix, the world's leading streaming entertainment service also announced its partnership with RocketRide Games to add to its library of games. The company recently launched its mobile gaming library and does not yet include in-app purchases for its games.

(iii) Partnership With Tech Giants

• Sony and Microsoft announced their partnership in June 2020 to accelerate the rise of streaming gaming via Microsoft’s Project xCloud, a streaming gaming service, and Sony's PlayStation Now, which will be available on the PS5.
• The partnership means Sony will benefit from Microsoft's Azure data centers across the globe to provide its gamers with a higher-quality streaming experience.
• On the other hand, "Sony’s experience in streaming could ensure Microsoft’s Project xCloud avoids the same speed bumps that new entrants to the streaming gaming space have faced."
• Activision Blizzard has also partnered with Google, allowing their online games to run on Google Cloud servers.

(iv) Partnership With Researchers

• Take-Two Interactive also announced its partnership with scientists and researchers at Massively Multiplayer Online Science, McGill University, and The Microsetta Initiative at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
• The partnership led to the development of Borderlands Science, "a minigame within the first-person shooter role-playing game Borderlands 3, where solving puzzles in Borderlands Science earns players in-game rewards and currency — and helps researchers map the human gut microbiome."
• According to Attila Szantner, the CEO and co-founder of Massively Multiplayer Online Science, a platform that connects video game companies and researchers, "the success of Borderlands Science could serve as a catalyst for other game developers to explore partnerships with the scientific community." More scientists are expected to embrace gaming for help with their research.

C. Retail Gaming Product Offerings

(i) Pokémon Go

• Pokémon Go is a game owned by Niantic and was released on July 6, 2016.
• The game leverages augmented reality (AR) to mirror real world spaces, where users/gamers download the app and, as they travel around real world locations, collect incentives, such as promo codes, to be used for in-game purchases.
• Starbucks and Sprint are examples of retail companies that turned their stores to Pokestops, allowing the app to match gamers to their physical stores. Starbucks, for instance, shelled out 7,800 of its stores into Pokestops while Sprint also issued promo codes for its turned Pokestops which the gamers used for digital purchases.

(ii) Design Home

• Design Home is a game developed by Glu Mobile where gamers plan out their virtual apartments by sourcing digital couches, rugs, and plants in-game and have their virtual houses rated by other gamers.
• In September 2020, Glu Mobile launched a retail business known as Design Home Inspired, where the Design Home game app now matches gamers to the brick and mortar retail store to purchase real-world items that they interact with on the app when they decide to, e.g rugs and couches.
• In an email to Modern Retail, the executive vice president at Glu Mobile, Mark van Ryswyk, said, "We see Design Home as a platform for consumers to discover and engage with brands through creative play."

(iii) Target Mobile Gaming Programs

• Target has used mobile gaming as part of its marketing campaigns, seasonal events, or product launches. Examples include its 2013 Snack Bowl game and Pop It, a game developed in partnership with Purina.
• Target's 2013 Snack Bowl game was played for the Super Bowl alongside other brands, including M&M’s, M&M’s, Coca-Cola, and Reese’s where players earned points by passing snacks to party guests
• On the other hand, Pop It incorporated incentives, such as SMS coupons in the game, encouraging users to play. In the game, "players are challenged to press a button that resembles a pig’s nose as a dog treat makes its way down a conveyer belt. At the same time, players have to tap on items that are not dog treats before they hit the pig’s nose. Players compete to reach specific ranks with “Top Dog” as the highest score and “In The Dog House” as the lowest score. Once a game is completed, a call-to-action prompts consumers to text in the keyword POPPERS to Target’s short code — 827438 — to receive a $1 off coupon for Purina’s Beggin’ Party Poppers dog snacks. A mobile site with a bar code can then be scanned in-store, or iPhone users can save the coupon to Apple’s Passbook."

Research Strategy