Hyper-Casual Trend Digest #18

#freeplay #hypercasualdigest #marketing #trends

May 22, 2024

Hi everyone! So many things happened last month, and we’re excited to share all the updates with you in this new edition of Trend Digest!

HYPER NEWS 🗞

🔗 Gaming startups are getting investor attention once again

Gaming funding rebounds with $265 million invested globally in Q1, signaling renewed investor confidence. Major investments by firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Bitkraft Ventures, alongside significant funding rounds for gaming startups, indicate a resurgence in the industry.

🔗 LinkedIn launches gaming: 3 logic puzzles aimed at extending time spent on its networking platform

LinkedIn is officially launching three new games—Queens, Crossclimb, and Pinpoint—to increase user engagement. These games offer puzzles and trivia challenges similar to popular word and logic games. With an aim to foster closer connections among users, LinkedIn sees these games as a way to expand its engagement beyond professional networking.

🔗Gaming social platform Discord set to embrace ads for revenue boost

Discord is set to introduce ads on its platform as it seeks to diversify its revenue streams through advertising. These ads will appear as part of Discord’s ‘Sponsored Quest’ system, where users can complete in-game tasks while their friends watch. The ads will be targeted based on users’ age, gameplay, and location.

🔗 It’s bad day for TikTok as both the US and EU clamp down

ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, faces mounting challenges in both the US and the EU. In the US, a new bill mandates ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American company within nine months or face a national ban, citing concerns over data privacy. Meanwhile, in the EU, TikTok’s Lite rewards program is at risk of a ban due to concerns about its addictive nature, especially among children.

🔗 ByteDance profits reportedly rise 60%, surpassing Chinese competitor Tencent

ByteDance experienced a remarkable surge in profits in China, surpassing competitors like Tencent and Alibaba. Despite a pullback from gaming ventures, ByteDance’s profits rose by approximately 60% in 2023, with revenues soaring from $80 billion to $120 billion year-on-year. This success, primarily driven by TikTok’s expansion, underscores ByteDance’s strategic shift towards its core business and away from gaming.

🔗10 years in the making, retro game emulator Delta is now No. 1 on the iOS charts

The recently launched Delta game emulator, capitalizing on Apple’s relaxed App Store regulations, has become the top download in 35 countries.

What’s new in Apple’s lawsuits?

🔗Apple fights back and denies violating US court order on alternative payments

🔗EU ruling gives Apple six months to bring iPadOS into line with DMA demands

And some fresh stats for you 👀 :

– New Livewire report finds gaming is no.1 entertainment channel of choice for gen alpha, gen z and millennial generations.

– 72% of women play video games with half of female players being payers

– The UK video games market continues on a strong path of growth, reaching a value of £7.82 billion in 2023.

HYPER TRENDS 📱

Time for movies and TV series

Let’s start with the movie everyone’s buzzing about on TikTok: Challengers! Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor star in not just a tennis story, but something much bigger. If you don’t believe it, just check out the #challengers tag on TikTok. Trust us, you’ll be impressed 🙂

The Fall Guy is a movie about a down-and-out stuntman who must find the missing star of his ex-girlfriend’s blockbuster film. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.

Guy Ritchie’s new movie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, is based on recently declassified files from the British War Department and inspired by true events. This action-comedy tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials.

Abigail, a horror story about a 12-year-old ballerina, might not have the highest viewer ratings, but it definitely deserves attention. It’s one of the few movies on our list with good box office results.

Trends on YouTube, TikTok, Imgur, etc.

The most remarkable trend last month was all about the solar eclipse. From the anticipation in March to the flood of videos and memes in April, it captured everyone’s attention. Here are some of them for you.

mangotheorangek | hatsoncats | megankayphotography

This trend focuses on various types of arguments.

david_jung_05 | diesnatalisy | hevercastle

This ironic trend about annoying situations is a parody, a classic move by Gen Z, often used to critique other very sensitive and melancholic TikTok trends.