Crypto hacks are now making the headlines on a regular basis, as illustrated by the $620 million heist of blockchain game Axie Infinity in March or last week’s $160 million hack of crypto market maker Wintermute. With criminal activity involving cryptocurrencies on track to reach a new record after the 2021 peak ($14 billion, up…
In line with recent press reports, Tencent has acquired a 49.9% stake in Ubisoft’s family holding company, Guillemot Brothers Ltd (which owns a 13% stake in Ubisoft), in a deal that values the French video game maker (a portfolio company) around EUR75-80 per share and reflects a premium around 80%. Tencent, which already owned directly…
With a market cap that is down more than $2 trillion from peak last year, the cryptocurrency correction is sending shockwaves across the whole ecosystem. Digital asset brokerage Voyager filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month, after Three Arrows Capital, the crypto hedge fund that saw its AUM go from $10 billion to zero, couldn’t…
The crypto community has just been shattered by the biggest crypto heist to date: 173,600 ethereum and 25.5 million USDC (a U.S. dollar pegged stablecoin), or an equivalent of $622 million, have been stolen on the Ronin network. This network is a so-called sidechain used to settle crypto transactions on Axie Infinity’s video gaming platform.…
If there’s one thing about the Metaverse that most experts and observers agree on, it’s that the digital world of the future is going to have massive requirements in terms of computing power, 3D modeling and standardization. A reference in high-performance computing, Nvidia now plans to tackle the two other challenges and become the go-to…
Take-Two, one of the largest positions in both our Gaming and Metaverse certificates, announced for the first time that its Rockstar studio is actively working on the next instalment in the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series and that it will share more information soon (probably a trailer and/or release date). For those who are not…
We have been arguing for more than one year that video gaming assets could attract significant M&A interest from Tech and social media giants and Microsoft’s reported takeover talks with Activision today clearly confirm our view. The deal, if confirmed, would mark a major step-up in Microsoft’s gaming M&A strategy after its purchase of Bethesda…
If Facebook’s long-term strategy was not yet clear enough for everyone, its recent name change to Meta unambiguously states the company’s objective to be a major actor in the buildout of Internet’s upcoming (r)evolution, which premises are already starting to be visible through different angles. From the gaming industry’s perspective, the Web’s next iteration will…
Ten days ago, Nike made the headlines when it announced NIKELAND, its own virtual space in Roblox modeled after its real-life headquarters. This move was followed by Adidas, which teased a collaboration with Sandbox, a blockchain-powered virtual world and followed up with a partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase. This sudden rush from large consumer brands to…
Major video games are gradually turning into Metaverse destinations offering to their vast user base a wide range of activities well beyond gaming and including notably social interactions, entertainment and shopping in a 3D world. Roblox, our second largest portfolio company, clearly stands ahead of the pack when it comes to building a Metaverse, as…