> **来源：[研报客](https://pc.yanbaoke.cn)** # Aream & Co. # Video Game Market Update Q4 2025 # Disclaimer This report is provided for general information and discussion purposes only and is intended solely for subscribers. It does not constitute a financial promotion, investment advice, or a recommendation to engage in any investment activity. The content reflects the views of the authors at the time of publication and may be subject to change without notice. Nothing in this report should be construed as an offer, invitation, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments or to engage in investment activity, as defined by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). This presentation is intended solely for the use of the recipient and may not be distributed to any other company or person without the prior written consent of Aream & Co. Aream & Co. is a shared trading name with Aream Group LLP, Aream Advisors LLC and Aream Advisors GmbH. Aream Group LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales, Registered Number: OC426365, Registered Office Address: 1 Cavendish Place, London, England, W1G 0QF, United Kingdom. Aream Group LLP (FRN 839407) is an an Appointed Representative of Sentinel Regulatory Services Ltd (FRN 1007903) which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Aream Advisors LLC is a US regulated Broker Dealer CRD#318177 and is registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Aream Advisors GmbH operates in the European Union as a Tied Agent of NFS Netfonds Financial Services GmbH (NFS). NFS is authorized and regulated by the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin). # Aream & # Co. # global, independent investment bank specialized in gaming and interactive entertainment # COMPANY SNAPSHOT 105+ M&A AND FINANCING TRANSACTIONS $38bn+ TRANSACTION VALUE 23 GAMING BANKERS # WORLDWIDE COVERAGE LONDON SAN FRANCISCO BERLIN SINGAPORE # OUR STRENGTH Passionate about Video Games and our craft – core deal team together for 12+ years Deep institutional knowledge of the sector, current market trends and strategic capital allocation among buyer universe Broad transaction experience across PC, console, mobile and the wider gaming ecosystem Unparalleled relationships with strategic acquirers and financial investors interested in the sector Expert execution underpinned by our heritage in global financial institutions and constant market participation # Aream & transaction activity in 2025 Co. TRANSACTIONS ADVISED BY AREAM & CO. IN 2025 C Investment from impact46 $53+ million November 2025 Blackstone Debt financing to dream August 2025 APPLOVIN Apps Business Sale to tripledot $800 million July 2025 GRACKSHELL Sale of selected assets to everplay July 2025 V VIRTUOS Acquisition of PIPELUDORHS TUDIES MTG Acquisition of PLARILUM up to $820 million February 2025 Easybrain Sale to MINICLIP $1.2 billion January 2025 Lessmore. Sale to MINICLIP January 2025 8 GAMING TRANSACTIONS $4bn+ TRANSACTION VALUE # Aream & # Co. # advising on deals across the globe # AMERICAS # UK # EUROPE # TÜRKIYE & MENA # Executive Summary Aream & Co. # Q4-25 executive summary # GAMING MARKET ENVIRONMENT PC gaming on Steam maintained its double-digit growth trajectory $(+20\%$ YoY) with a balanced mix between established franchises like Battlefield 6, and breakout new titles such as Arc Raiders - Console revenue expanded $+13\%$ YoY, driven by robust third-party content performance (Sony and Nintendo) and sustained momentum from the Nintendo Switch 2 launch - Mobile gaming IAP spend remained stable at \(20.7bn, driven by monetization depth rather than install growth. Asian and Turkish publishers significantly outperformed the broader market Roblox payouts grew $41 \%$ YoY to $\$ 1.3$ bn LTM, highlighting the growing importance of UGC # DEALMAKING ACTIVITY - M&A volume grew $34 \%$ YoY (39 deals) signaling sustained appetite for strategic consolidation. However, transaction value was significantly lower at $0.5 \mathrm{bn} \times$ 4.9bn in Q4-24 - Asian publishers continue to be active acquirers as they expand their product and geographic footprint, as evidenced by NCSoft's announcement of Indygo Group acquisition ( $104m) and Kakao Games' buyout of its remaining stake in Kakao VX ($ 114m) - Ongoing strategic interest in development tools and tech continued with SUD's acquisition of the Cocos game engine for $72m # CAPITAL MARKETS - $1.7bn of capital markets financing in Q4, anchored by the closing of Tencent's$ 1.25bn investment (PIPE) in Ubisoft and Azerion's senior bond issuance (~ $0.3bn). The quarter also saw the notable public listing of Coffee Stain, debuting at a$ 0.6bn market capitalization - Growth in quarterly private capital fundraising to \(0.9bn (+29% YoY) across 102 deals (+10% YoY), suggesting a recovery in investor appetite Investments mostly flowing into gaming tech (including AI) and mobile gaming studios in Türkiye # M&A volume holds steady while financing activity gains momentum # Dealmaking activity in Q4-25 PUBLIC OFFERINGS PRIVATE INVESTMENTS # Deal value concentrates in gaming tech and mobile studios # Most notable gaming transactions in Q4-25 MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS PUBLIC OFFERINGS PRIVATE INVESTMENTS investgame # Market transitions to steady growth # Mobile advertising accelerates market expansion as traditional spend stabilizes GLOBALVIDEOGAMESOFTWAREREVENUEBYTYPE ($BN) # Mobile Aream & Co. # Mobile IAP spend stabilizes as monetization efficiency improves # IAP spend posts modest gains $(+1\% \mathrm{YoY})$ despite download volumes hitting multi-year lows GLOBAL MOBILE GAMING CONSUMER SPEND (GROSS IAP REVENUE)1 SensorTower TOP-GROWING PUBLISHERS IN U.S. # Barriers to entry intensify as new mobile titles struggle to gain traction # Legacy titles capture most of spend as new game releases drop to historic lows MOBILE GAMES RELEASES ON APP STORE SensorTower # OF NEW MOBILE GAMES WITH 5K+ U.S. LIFETIME INSTALLS MOBILE IAP REVENUE CONCENTRATION SensorTower % OF TOTAL MOBILE IAP REVENUE BY YEAR SINCE RELEASE # Established titles build lasting competitive moats # 70% of top-20 grossing games are 4+ years old, proving live-service resilience TOP-20 GROSSING\(^1\) IAP MOBILE GAMES WORLDWIDE IN 2025 (\(BN) SensorTower # Gaming remains an attractive segment within the mobile ecosystem # Gaming secures a top-5 position for both engagement and monetization growth in 2025 TOP-5 DAU GROWING CATEGORIES SensorTower %YoY DAILY ACTIVE USERS' GROWTH (2025 vs. 2024) TOP-5 IAP NET REVENUE GROWING CATEGORIES SensorTower %YoY IAP NET REVENUE GROWTH (2025 vs. 2024) # Asian publishers lead mobile gaming growth # Publisher HQ countries ranked by Revenue and MAU ANNUAL GROSS IAP REVENUE BY PUBLISHER HQ ANNUAL COMBINED AVG. MAU BY PUBLISHER HQ # Rewarded apps emerge as a scalable high-growth UA channel # Publishers leverage rewarded engagement as a proven alternative to traditional ad networks MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS OF SELECTED REWARDED PLATFORMS # Consumer apps adopt gaming playbook to unlock strong growth Case study: rapid expansion of the $\$ 9$ bn interactive micro- drama video market GLOBAL IAP NET REVENUE OF MICRO-DRAMAPPS ($M) GROWING INTEREST TOWARDS EMERGING NICHE <table><tr><td colspan="3">Gaming studios pivoting to new entertainment formats, leveraging F2P best practices</td></tr><tr><td>STUDIO</td><td>MOBILE GAMES</td><td>MICRO-DRAMA APPS</td></tr><tr><td>CRAZYMAPLE</td><td>Chapters (2017) LT IAP revenue: $515m</td><td>ReelShort (2022) LT IAP revenue: $962m</td></tr><tr><td>STORYMATRIX</td><td>GoStory (2022)</td><td>DramaBox (2023) LT IAP revenue: $847m</td></tr></table> <table><tr><td colspan="4">Gaming-focused VCs are proactively deploying capital into new forms of entertainment</td></tr><tr><td>COMPANY</td><td>APP</td><td>LEAD INVESTORS</td><td>DESCRIPTION</td></tr><tr><td>GAMMATIME</td><td></td><td>vgames pitango</td><td>• Premium micro-drama streaming platform • Raised $14m Seed round in Oct-2025</td></tr><tr><td>KUKU FM</td><td></td><td>GraniteAsia</td><td>• Micro-drama video platform for Indian market • Part of $85M Series C round in Oct-2025</td></tr></table> <table><tr><td colspan="4">Large strategies backing emerging players in the space</td></tr><tr><td>COMPANY</td><td>APP</td><td>STRATEGIC</td><td>DESCRIPTION</td></tr><tr><td>HOLYWATER</td><td>FOX ENTERPRIENT</td><td></td><td>• Equity stake acquired in Oct-2025 • Committed to 200+ vertical short-drama titles</td></tr><tr><td>Spoon Labs VIGLOO</td><td>KRAFTON</td><td></td><td>• Strategic investment in Sep-2024 • KRW 120B (~$86–90M), largest non-gaming bet</td></tr></table> # PC & Console # PC gaming sustains double-digit revenue growth +20% YoY LTM growth driven by a strong mix of franchise and new IP releases STEAM GROSS REVENUE & PEAK ONLINE USER ACTIVITY STEAM TOP-GROSSING REleases Q4-25² # Established PC titles hold majority of playtime, while new releases gain ground amid a growing catalogue OF NEW GAMES RELEASED ON STEAM PLAYTIME CONCENTRATION RATIO BY RELEASE YEAR # Indie success stories are becoming more common, accounting for over $25\%$ of Steam revenue in 2025 SELECT RECENT INDIE HITS ON STEAM INDIE GAMES GROSS REVENUE ON STEAM ($BN) # Growing Chinese player base fuels Steam expansion # Chinese users doubled over five years, significantly outpacing other languages MOST POPULAR LANGUAGES ON STEAM % SHARE OF DEFAULT CLIENT'S LANGUAGE BY HALF-YEAR AVERAGE PEAK CONCURRENT USERS ON STEAM (M) CAGR 2020 - 2025: 20% Chinese | 11% English | 10% Total # US and European developer hubs fuel PC market expansion # Developer HQ countries by Steam gross revenue in 2025 GROSS REVENUE BY DEVELOPER HQ STEAM TOP GROSSING RELEASES BY DEVELOPERS ALINEA ANALYTICS # Consoles demonstrate sustained double-digit growth # Nintendo hardware momentum and Sony software revenue strength drive $+13\%$ sector growth CAGR Q3-22 - Q3-25: 13% SONY | 15% MSFT | 12% NTDO MAJOR CONSOLE PLATFORMS: QUARTERLY GAMING DIVISION REVENUE (\$BN) EARNINGS NOTES H1 FY25 G&NS revenue increased $10\%$ YoY, driven by stronger third-party software and higher network services (PSN/PS Plus) engagement Q1 FY26 Gaming revenue decreased $2 \%$ YoY, driven by decline in Xbox hardware revenue ( $29 \%$ YoY), partially offset by $1 \%$ YoY growth in content and services Nintendo H1 FY26 revenue increased $119 \%$ YoY, driven by June launch of the Switch 2 and strong sale of first- party titles TOP-GROSSING REleases Q4-25² # User-Generated Content # Streaming platforms maintained consistent engagement levels # The mix of fresh IPs and franchises sustains streaming as market stabilizes HOURS STREAMED ON MAJOR UGC PLATFORMS $^{1}$ (BN) TWITCH TOP STREAMING GAMING EXPERIENCES IN 2025 # UGC platforms see record engagement levels # Roblox expanding user base presents monetization upside when benchmarked against Steam CONCURRENT USERS ON MAJOR PLATFORMS (M) PAYOUT DISTRIBUTION AMONG MAJOR PLATFORMS² # Transaction activity in the UGC space has gained momentum Largest UGC investments & acquisitions in 2025 investgame SELECT INVESTMENTS SELECT ACQUISITIONS # Mergers & Acquisitions # M&A activity pivots to smaller targets # Quarterly activity incl. both minority & majority stake transactions RECENT ACTIVITY $0.5bn Q4-2025 DEAL VALUE LOWEST QUARTERLY DEAL VALUE IN 2025 39 OF DEALS IN Q4-2025 +34% GROWTH VS. Q4-2024 investgame # $\$ 100$ M+ gaming M&A transaction volume at pre- pandemic levels # M&A activity across game developers & publishers GAMING CONTENT CONTROL M&A DEALS (UPFRONT VALUATION > $100M$ ) BY CLOSING DATE # Buyers target scaled gaming publishers with established IPs # M&A activity across game developers & publishers GAMING CONTENT CONTROL M&A DEALS (UPFRONT VALUATION > $100M$ ) BY CLOSING DATE # Transactions involving public entities have dominated recent M&A # Largest gaming acquisitions in 2025 investgame IndyGo # $142m⁴ 1.7x 7.0x Dec-25 (announced) CORE GAMING Siyata \$160m 2.0x n/a Oct-25 SILVER LAKE AFFINITY PARTNERS $55.0bn 7.4x 21.2x Sep-25 (announced) dream CVC Equity Blackstone Debt APPLOVING GAMING APPS tripledot $800m 0.6x n/a Jul-25 DIVERSIFIED SONY $464m5 deal value) 1.9x 10.4x Jul-25 MOBILE NIANTIC GAMES SCOPELY SAVVY GAMES GROUP MOBILE PLARILUM MTG \$620m 1.0x 4.5x Feb-25 MOBILE Easybrain MINICLIP PLAY GAMES \$1.2bn 3.8x 9.3x Jan-25 Aream & Co. Source:InvestGame Notes: (1) Upfront enterprise value excl. earnout consideration; (2) Based on upfront enterprise value; (3) Core asset: Lihuhu Games; (4) Implied EV based on acquisition of $67\%$ for $\$ 104m$ and $\$ 14m$ cash holdings; (5) Minority M&A deal at $\$ 16bn$ enterprise value; (6) Incl. $\$ 20m$ deferred payment # Institutional investments in gaming at an all-time high # PE-backed transactions surge as institutional capital targets opportunities in gaming SPONSOR-BACKED GAMING TRANSACTIONS SELECT RECENT SPONSOR TRANSACTIONS investgame # M&A BUYOUTS (CONTROL) # GROWTH EQUITY (MINORITY) # Public Markets # Public capital raising normalizes in H2-25 following historic H1 surge RECENT ACTIVITY $1.7bn Q4-2025 DEAL VALUE (58%) GROWTH VS. Q4-2024 12 OF DEALS IN Q4-2025 (33%) GROWTH VS. Q4-2024 investgame # Major European publishers drive Q4-25 public market activity Largest public market transactions in 20251 investgame # Large-cap publishers continue to outperform # Diversified and PC/console publishers maintain a valuation premium DIVERSIFIED / LARGE-CAP PC/CONSOLE2 MOBILE-FIRST (ASIA) MOBILE-FIRST (WESTERN) # Wide performance dispersion within segments underscores company-specific execution quality ANNUAL SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE AS OF 31 $^{\text{ST}}$ DECEMBER 2025 # Diversified publishers sustain revenue growth while most mid-cap peers experience revenue headwinds regardless of platform REPORTED LTM REVENUE GROWTH AS OF Q3-25CY (LATEST REPORTED PERIOD) # Growth and Profitability drive premium valuations # Regression analysis: forward-looking valuation vs. growth + profitability # Large publishers are sitting on billions of deployable capital DIVERSIFIED / LARGE-CAP PC/CONSOLE MOBILE-FIRST (ASIA) MOBILE-FIRST (WESTERN) TOTAL CASH as of CY Q3-25 TOTAL DEBT as of CY Q3-25 DEBT / LTM EBITDA as of CY Q3-25 # Private Investments Aream & Co. # Gaming private investments facing continued pressure RECENT ACTIVITY $0.9bn DEAL VALUE IN Q4-2025 +29% CHANGE VS. Q4-2024 102 OF DEALS IN Q4-2025 LOWEST QUARTERLY DEAL VOLUME IN 2025 # Early-stage activity stabilizes at pre-pandemic baseline # VC-led early-stage rounds<sup>1</sup> RECENT ACTIVITY Pre-Seed & Seed $0.2bn DEAL VALUE IN Q4-2025 +9% CHANGE VS. Q4-2024 Series A2 $0.2bn DEAL VALUE IN Q4-2025 (32%) CHANGE VS. Q4-2024 investgame # Non-dilutive user acquisition financing goes mainstream # Maturing mobile gaming ecosystem fills the growth capital gap INSTITUTIONAL CAPITAL FOUNDATION GENERAL CATALYST In 2019, General Catalyst launched the Customer Value Fund Providing cohort-based UA financing - $5bn+ capital deployed across 60+ companies Select portfolio companies: grammarly finom LINGOKIDS ro kandi Fivetran travelperk SPECIALIZED USER ACQUISITION FINANCING PROVIDERS PvX Partners - Specialized lenders providing performance-linked UA capital for gaming / consumer apps Non-dilutive capital secured by user cohorts Other service providers: metica PLAN AGAMES TILTINGPOINT RAISE YOUR GAME TWELVE GAMING VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS ENTERING THE SPACE BITKRAFT vgames - Gaming VC funds launching own user acquisition financing services - Actively backing independent UA financing service providers Select examples: VC FUND PORTFOLIO COMPANIES PvX Partners metica # Largest transactions in gaming developers and publishers # Largest private investments in 2025 # investgame goodjob $\mathbf{\text{一}}$ ARROWHEAD MENLO VENTURES ANTHOS MOBILE Tencent腾讯 PC/CONSOLE \$83M SERIES A \$60M SEED $23M $80M LATE STAGE Jun-25 ILLION TORIES MOBILE $40M LATE STAGE Jul-25 GENERAL CATALYST MOBILE \$37M SERIES A SEED May-25 / Dec-25 KONG STUDIOS Atinum MOBILE \$36M SERIES C Jul-25 DISTINCT POSIBLITY STUDIOS BITKRAFT PC/CONSOLE \$31M SEED Jul-25 grand Balderton. capital MOBILE $30M SERIES A Jan-25 Cypher PL AY RAINE MOBILE $30M SERIES A Oct-25 $25M Goodwater MOBILE SERIES A Jun-25 # Largest investments in the gaming ecosystem # Largest private investments in 2025 # investgame MagicLeap PIF gill AR HEADSETS $205M CORPORATE Oct-25 general intuition khosla ventures GENERAL CATALYST AI TECH $134M SEED Oct-25 ubuntu METI JAPAN AI & CLOUD SOLUTIONS \$109M GRANT Dec-25 VITURE Undisclosed AR/XR HEADSETS \$100M SERIES B Sep-25 Decart BENCHMARK SEQUOIA AI TECH $100M SERIES B Aug-25 appcharge D2CPAYMENTS $58m SERIES B Aug-25 NIANTIC SPATIALPLATFORM SCOPELY AI TECH \$50m LATE-STAGE Mar-2025 ASTRA NOVA Outlier Ventures AI WEB3 TECH $48m LATE-STAGE Oct-2025 FundamentalLabs Prosus ventures AI TECH \$33m SERIES A Aug-25 # Most active early-stage gaming VCs # Fundraising activity in 2025<sup>1</sup> TOP-10 BY NUMBER OF LED DEALS (LTM) <table><tr><td>#</td><td>FUND NAME</td><td>DEALS LED</td><td>DEALS TOTAL</td><td colspan="2">SELECTED INVESTMENTS</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>BITKRAFT</td><td>10</td><td>11</td><td>airoclip</td><td>Cloud GAMES</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>GRIFFIN</td><td>9</td><td>10</td><td>AMOUNTUDE STUDIOS</td><td>Super Banana</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Arcadia</td><td>8</td><td>16</td><td>IRON games</td><td>TALE MONSTER</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>LATON</td><td>8</td><td>10</td><td colspan="2">grand</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Lvp.</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td colspan="2">SPEKTER GAMES</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>vgames</td><td>6</td><td>9</td><td>Tagada.</td><td>BIX TEAM</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>THE GAMES FUND</td><td>5</td><td>7</td><td colspan="2">Hypemasters</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>GAME VENTURES</td><td>4</td><td>12</td><td>empty vessel</td><td>TORPOR GANES</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>LUDUS</td><td>4</td><td>9</td><td>chaos</td><td>TARK</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>PL AY</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>cypher</td><td>BIG GER</td></tr></table> TOP-10 BY LED DEAL VALUE (LTM) investgame <table><tr><td>#</td><td>FUND NAME</td><td>VALUE OF DEALS LED</td><td>TOTAL VALUE OF DEALS</td><td>SELECTED INVESTMENTS</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>GENERAL CATALYST</td><td>$141m</td><td>$146m</td><td>TALE MONSTER</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>khosla ventures</td><td>$134m</td><td>$134m</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>MENLO VENTURES</td><td>$83m</td><td>$83m</td><td>goodjob games</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>BITKRAFT</td><td>$70m</td><td>$75m</td><td>airoclip airoclip</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>ANTHOS</td><td>$60m</td><td>$60m</td><td>goodjob games</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Arcadia</td><td>$53m</td><td>$126m</td><td>IRON games TALE MONSTER</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>PL AY</td><td>$47m</td><td>$81m</td><td>cypher BIG GER</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>GRIFFIN</td><td>$32m</td><td>$36m</td><td>AMOUNT STUDIOS Super Banana</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>RAINE</td><td>$30m</td><td>$164m</td><td>cypher</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Goodwater</td><td>$25m</td><td>$31m</td><td>BIG GER WELCOME</td></tr></table> # Appendix Aream & Co. Credentials Aream & Co. # Trusted by leading digital entertainment, media and consumer entrepreneurs across the globe # Trusted by leading digital entertainment, media and consumer entrepreneurs across the globe (cont'd) # Trusted by leading digital entertainment, media and consumer entrepreneurs across the globe (cont'd) # Trusted by leading digital entertainment, media and consumer entrepreneurs across the globe (cont'd) peak Board & Card Assets Sale to zynga \$100 million December 2017 Luminati Sale to EMK Capital $200 million September 2017 SMARTLY.IO Preferred Stock $20 million June 2017 TRADESHIFT Acquisition of Cangemini / i3X April 2017 socialpoint Sale to $250 million January 2017 Meltwater Subordinated Debt million December 2016 GIANT Acquisition of Playtika $4.4 billion September 2016 JAGEX Sale to FU KONG INTERACTIVE $315 million June 2016 BIGPOINT Sale to YOOZOO $90 million May 2016 Sale to ACTIVISION $5.9 billion February 2016 Telia Investment in Spotify \$115 million June 2015 NONSTOP games Sale to \$100 million August 2014 applifier Sale to Unity March 2014 Strategic Investment from SoftBank $1.5 billion October 2013 shazam Preferred Stock July 2013 Preferred Stock \$130 million February 2013 # Aream & Co. LONDON 1 Cavendish Place W1G OQF info@aream.co +44 20 3111 7500 LinkedIn BERLIN Str. 3-5 Neue Schönhauser 10178 SAN FRANCISCO 535 Mission St. 94105 SINGAPORE 36 Robinson Road, 068877