Hi, my name is Kenny Liu, and I work in Revenue Strategy at Riot Games. Each week I compile a gaming industry insights newsletter that I share with other Rioters, including Riot’s senior leadership. This edition is the public version that I publish broadly every week as well. Opinions are mine.
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Kliu's Corner: Project Stream
Google's game streaming service, Project Stream, makes Assassin’s Creed Odyssey playable in Chrome
Four main topics to consider: technology, developers, gamers, and competitors
Technology: Will it work?
Given that 25 Mbps is the minimum, for many developed urban areas bandwidth should not be an issue
Though a bit dated, Akamai's Q1 2017 State of the Internet Connectivity Report provides an interesting snapshot
The greater unknown is latency, a harder and more expensive problem to solve, but it only really affects real-time and especially real-time multiplayer games
Developers: Will they join Google?
First- and second-party console developers would not
Real-time multiplayer game developers may not, depending on the aforementioned latency issue
Additionally, whatever developers that do join Google's platform would also want to do it because they can achieve an incrementally positive financial outcome on top of their normal sales strategy
Gamers: Will they sign up?
~75% of an average AAA game's sale is estimated to still come via physical goods
Related: 66% of console and 29% of PC players still prefer physical games over digital
Though existing core gamers may continue to choose ownership over subscription, streaming's greatest market potential may lie in the hands of gamers-to-be without the wherewithal to invest in high-end gaming hardware
How to successfully tap into this hidden market opportunity without cannibalizing existing game sales will be the key revenue optimization to solve (e.g., subscription access opens 1 year after launch)
Competitors: What will they do?
If both the tech works and there exists compelling content, then gamers will adopt streaming
However, I do think Google is a bit more challenged to win this market than, for example, Nintendo or Sony, who already have great exclusive content at their fingertips
For all these above reasons, if game streaming takes off, East Asia could be the region that sees the earliest mass adoption due to its high population density (and subsequently great IT infrastructure) and strategic location in Nintendo and Sony's backyard
Hopefully, Google's Project Stream announcement will compel these and other play-makers to accelerate their streaming R&D as well
PC/Console
Blizzard co-founder, CEO and President Mike Morhaime steps down after 27 years
WSJ: Nintendo Plans New Version of Switch Next Year
With >90mm MAU, Microsoft explains why there won't be a 'Minecraft 2'
The future of GOG: mod support, Steam rivalry and problematic tweets
How EVE Online has evolved in the era of F2P
