Investing in Video Games

The evolution of the video game industry is one that is constant and continues at a rapid pace. While video games have been a part of societies fabric for decades, the market had one that was seen as a niche and favoured more so by younger males. The preconception was shattered long ago as the smartphone industry saw massive growth and with it, a role in video gaming appealing to a larger audience.

Recently, a Golden Casino News study released showed that sixty percent of the global video game market is comprised from smaller mobile games. That does not mean that those larger development companies did not have a substantial impact in the last decade, far from it in fact. One NYC based developer, Take-Two Interactive, the owner of the brand 2K and Rockstar Games watched its stock price jump 29% in January of this year when compared to the same time last year. The company reported a 74% increase in revenue during the second quarter to a whopping $857.84 million. This is in part due to the success of its Grand Theft Auto franchise that the company released in 2013 and continues to perform above expectations.

A 2019 GlobalData report projected the video game market has the potential to hit $300 billion by 2025. The evidence supported is seen with the digital sports company theScore. It produced content for esports, social and web platforms and saw its shares skyrocket 145% in the last year. The company’s YouTube channel now has over 1,000,000 subscribers and is seen as a leader in the coverage of esports worldwide. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the company recorded that its videos were viewed a whopping 85 million, or an increase from the same time last year of 157%.

Another story that is emerging from 2019 is Enthusiast Gaming. While thescore is dedicated to esports, Enthusiast Gaming is 100% focused on the gaming industry and watched as its shares fell nearly 60% in the last year. The third quarter saw the company opting to merge with the thescore and create the world’s largest e-sports and gaming organization that is publicly traded. One thing is certain, and that is the video game industry is a solid performing industry for investors. The top two currently are the theScore and Enthusiast Gaming right, but either or, those who opt to invest will need to accept the risks that come with it compared to those companies that are more established in the video game industry.