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Hello readers,
When Singapore went into a “circuit breaker” earlier this year to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, I had a brief and intense affair with a puzzle game called Best Fiends. I spent hours on the app, and it helped me pass time when I was cooped up at home.
Mobile games have seen a surge in downloads as a result of the pandemic, but they’ve been a lucrative venture for years. It’s no surprise then that Alibaba, better known for its success as an ecommerce titan, is making a pretty determined attempt at entering the space.
Today we look at,
- Alibaba’s latest shot at online games
- A fintech company that’s focused on women
- Other newsy highlights such as Tencent’s newest investment into a former executive’s startup and Beamstart’s digital accelerator
PREMIUM SUMMARY
Alibaba’s gaming ambition
Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, once famously said that he’d rather “starve to death than live on games.” But the pull of the lucrative gaming market has proven too hard to resist, and Alibaba has the potential to be a serious contender in the space.
- Going into games: Gaming is a strategic vertical for tech companies in China, being a key way to generate additional revenue from a large audience. The business is also arguably easier to scale abroad, due to lower cultural and language barriers compared to other entertainment verticals such as video and music streaming.
- A new approach: Alibaba’s first foray into games was in 2014, but it struggled to crack the gaming market due to its focus on distribution. In 2017, it acquired game developer Ejoy, bringing the firm into its Lingxi Games unit. The company began focusing on developing its own titles, leading to its first big breakthrough in September 2019 when its Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition mobile game became a smash hit in China. This was followed closely by the success of Three Kingdoms: Fantasy Land in June this year.
- The road ahead: The online gaming industry can still be thought of as an equal playing field when compared to other entertainment verticals, and Alibaba’s recent success – which has been fuelled by heavy acquisitions and promotion efforts – is no accident. The company’s next challenge is to produce a string of big hits and crack the challenge of distribution, which is currently dominated by archrival Tencent.
Read more: Alibaba takes another shot at online games: genius move or a bad call?
STARTUP SPOTLIGHT
Ladies first
Making a pitch that gets you funding
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