The tech sector may have all sorts of doom and gloom, but the constant rise of video games, a hybrid of technology and entertainment, continues.
Who watched HBO’s post-apocalyptic drama? Last of Us — a fascinating zombie-themed series closely based on PlayStation games — will find gaming as a cultural and narrative form steadily and truly on the rise.
Ask teenagers which one they prefer. Watch Netflix or play video games while chatting online with friends and other gamers. There’s a good chance the game will nod.
Overall, games are currently estimated to be worth €200 billion annually, of which around €35 billion is spent on content creation.
The results of Dublin-based multinational Keywords Studios, which now employs 12,000 people in studios around the world, including Leopardstown HQ, underscore that games, and content creation in particular, are immune to market whims. increase. The broader tech sector is catching cold.
Keywords is a video game technology and creative services provider. As such, he operates on a €12 billion portion of the overall video market, with content creation outsourced to other studios. Keywords CEO Bertrand Bodson outlined on this week’s earnings call that the company is now the market leader with his 6% share of the market.
“It gives us a sense of the opportunities we’re chasing,” he told analysts.
Its strong performance saw revenue grow 35% to €691 million in 2022 and profit before tax increased 42% to €68 million. The strong performance is reflected in the company’s share price in London, where the company is listed. By the beginning of this month, he had increased by more than 30% in 12 months. It has fallen slightly over the past few days as the market as a whole has been horrified, but is still up more than 19%.
“I think it’s safe to say that we have achieved excellent results heading into 2022,” Bodson said in an upbeat briefing.
But it was the company’s CFO, Jon Hauck, who hinted at the potential for Keywords and other strong players in the video game space during the call.
He sees the world of entertainment evolve into a hybrid of old school TV and movies, with live social media and chat. All of this is built on a platform that is increasingly subject to the relatively quiet but constant gaming revolution.
“We are looking to build expertise in other areas, particularly areas such as social media and influencer marketing, both of which are areas of increasing interest for the industry,” said Hauck. I’m here.
“And with more and more crossovers between IPs, the gaming and M&A worlds in marketing are converging. Last of Us and Hogwarts Legacy Two recent examples,” he said.
Keywords continues to see “increasing convergence at the customer level” in the media and entertainment space, noting that “the increasing use of game engine technology to deliver film and television content is increasing.” I’m also witnessing that there is.
The key word in this regard, he said, is to “evaluate opportunities.”
like a zombie in Last of Usgamers will come – and they’ll happily feast on anyone showing weaknesses elsewhere in the sector.
