10/08/2021 Hot Five: More Embracer acquisitions, a Louis Vuitton NFT mobile game and Tencent stock plummets

The hottest articles of last week

To help you keep on top of a busy news cycle and the latest hot topics in mobile gaming, each week we round up the five most-read stories on PocketGamer.biz.

Read on and digest…

1. Louis Vuitton launching NFT mobile game in August

French fashion brand Louis Vuitton is launching a mobile game with NFTs.

Launched on August 4th, 2021 for iOS and Android devices, Louis: The Game will be part of the company's celebrations for the 200th anniversary of its founder's birth.

2. Embracer makes eight acquisitions, including CrazyLabs

Swedish games publisher Embracer Group has purchased eight new companies, including mobile developer CrazyLabs.

The purchases totalled $315 million making it Embracer’s third-largest purchase this year.

3. Spanish casual startup Unusuall raises $3.6 million, led by Garena

Spanish startup Unusuall has raised $3.6 million (€3 million) in seed funding, which was led by Free Fire publisher Garena.

Unusuall's goal is to create casual mobile games with more social and more exciting experiences.

4. CrazyLabs acquires Firescore Interactive to boost Indian hypercasual ecosystem

Hypercasual publisher CrazyLabs has acquired Indian developer Firescore Interactive,

Founded in August 2018 by Karan Khairajani and Surojit Roy, the Mumbai-based developer has seen its mobile games generate over 200 million downloads.

5. Tencent stock falls by $60 billion following criticism from state media

Tencent has revealed that it will rein in accessibility options it has implemented for minors, following criticism from a state media article that saw $60 billion knocked off the company's valuation.

Following the publishing of the article, Tencent’s share price fell more than 10 per cent - plummeting the Chinese tech giant's stock by almost $60 billion.

The Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey is back for 2021, in association with AdInMo.

As a thank you for participating, we will give five lucky winners a free ticket to Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #8 and the first 100 participants will receive an exclusive 30% discount too. 

Complete the survey here to be in with a chance of winning and help shape our industry trends report to be published later in the year.
Arts

https://www.pocketgamer.biz/hot-five/77012/hot-five-more-embracer-acquisitions-a-louis-vuitton-nft-mobile-game-and-tencent-stock-plummets/

Interesting NFTs
Wonky Icy Selkirk Amur
Uh, hi! I'm Wonky Icy Selkirk Amur. My friends describe me as petulant and ridiculous. My great-great-great-great-great-great grandkitty lived with Mother Theresa. I hope you like kitten around as much as I do!
Fuku-Shiva
The term “Fuku” refers to fortune or good luck. “Shiva” refers to the Hindu deity who represents strongly polar qualities, both severe and delicate. On a beach inspired by adventures on Phi Phi island in Thailand, three youths cavort. Two are representational figures and the third is psychologically rendered. A dynamic relationship ensues between the triad; a reciprocity of active and passive states. The boy on the right engages in maneuvers of evasion, defense, and is dressed in a speedo which reiterates the colors and symbolism of the caution tape on the left and upper right frame of the composition. In concurrent reaction the psychedelic figure shoots out a rocket powered paper airplane. The nude boy seated in the froth and sand approaches in passive repose, and is met with active attention but equal physical reserve by the psychedelic being. Perhaps the most naked figure is also the least representational. Looming large, dynamic, and active, it engages its companions playfully. Various symbols interject into the otherwise naturalistic scene, most notably a beach ball and two contaminated barrels nested in the sand. The upright barrel reads “FukuShima” in Kanji. The barrel laying down reads “Dharma”. To the left the scene is bounded by caution tape, reiterating the danger of the nuclear waste while also hosting alien archetypes, whose presence, as is the nature of these entities, runs up and just behind the consciousness of the psychedelic figure’s eggshell-like skull.
Nyan Cat
Nyan Cat is the name of an animation uploaded on April 2 2011, and became a viral internet sensation. The design of Nyan Cat was inspired by my cat Marty, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge but lives on in spirit. I am the original artist behind the iconic GIF and have remastered the image for its 10 year anniversary. Owning this piece grants the following stats: Charisma +10 Luck +10 Happiness +15 ________________ 1400x1400 - 12 Frames
The classical poet Ono no Komachi, one of the Six Immortal Poets
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) The classical poet Ono no Komachi, one of the Six Immortal Poets 1800s-1810s - Japan
Tile [7, 13] - The Notch
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