TheGamingEconomy’s Daily Digest brings you the prevalent business stories in gaming. In today’s news: AdColony sold for USD$400m (£283m); Hiro Capital in USD$15m (£11m) funding triple; and SIE to "re-organise" Sony Japan Studio.

AdColony sold for USD$400m (£283m)

Mobile advertising platform AdColony has been sold by Otello to publicly-listed technology firm Digital Turbine for an estimated total consideration of USD$400m (£283m). The transaction is expected to close in March this year. The acquisition has purportedly been made by Austin-based Digital Turbine to leverage AdColony's brand advertiser relationships and mobile video expertise.

Bill Stone, CEO of Digital Turbine, commented, "We look forward to welcoming the AdColony team to the Digital Turbine family and believe that this strategic transaction accelerates our growth and is a positive for our partners, advertisers, employees and shareholders. AdColony saw the secular tailwinds toward mobile, video and high-speed networks like 5G before most and has been able to capitalize on its vision. The ability for Digital Turbine to utilise AdColony's unique mobile advertising solutions across our vast device distribution footprint unlocks significant new monetisation opportunities for the combined company's platform offerings. With the addition of AdColony, we will expand our collective experience, reach and suite of capabilities to benefit mobile advertisers and publishers around the globe. Performance-based spending trends by large, established brand advertisers present material upside opportunities for platforms with unique technology deployable across exclusive access to inventory."

Hiro Capital in USD$15m (£11m) funding triple

London-based video game and technology VC fund Hiro Capital has announced that it has invested a combined USD$15m in three studios, namely Snowprint Studios; Double Loop Games; and Happy Volcano. Firstly, Double Loop Games, a nascent outfit headquartered in San Francisco, will use the latest funding to support the launch of a mobile social game for individuals who do not identify as "gamers". The latest investment follows a USD$2.5m seed funding round secured in February last year, led by London Venture Partners. Secondly, Leuven-based Happy Volcano raised funding to scale following the launch of its upcoming multiplatform title You Suck at Parking. Finally, Stockholm-based mobile developer Snowprint Studios will use their tranche to support the development of an upcoming AAA title, as well as its Rivengard game, which launched on 21st January.

Luke Alvarez, Co-Founding Partner of Hiro Capital said, “Hiro was founded to invest in the super-sector of Games, Sports and Metaverse technologies. On every dimension, in every market, 2020/21 has been a story of strong growth - in users, sales, devices, stream views, and innovations. People fell in love, got married and graduated in games and are coming out of lockdown stronger thanks to gamified wearables and VR fitness tech. As a VC, it is exciting to see our sector focus so emphatically confirmed. Finally, Hiro is a diverse team and so are these new studios, including our first female Games founders, Emily and Shelby.”

SIE to "re-organise" Sony Japan Studio

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has announced that PlayStation Studios Japan Studio is set to be "re-organised", with its development staff now sitting under the wing of Astro's Playroom developer Team Asobi, while its external production and localisation departments will sit under the global PlayStation Studios umbrella. The announcement follows a report from VGC which detailed that the overriding majority of the studio's development staff had not had their contracts renewed ahead of the upcoming financial year.

A statement issued by SIE reads, "In an effort to further strengthen business operations, SIE can confirm PlayStation Studios JAPAN Studio will be re-organized into a new organization on April 1. JAPAN Studio will be re-centered to Team ASOBI, the creative team behind Astro's PLAYROOM, allowing the team to focus on a single vision and build on the popularity of Astro’s PLAYROOM. In addition, the roles of external production, software localisation, and IP management of JAPAN Studio titles will be concentrated within the global functions of PlayStation Studios."