Game talents are in demand, and global salary increases are competing for | reading worldwide

Reading Global(2022.05.07)

Game talent is in demand, and there is a global competition for salary increases

Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 7th that the recruitment competition for talents with rich game production knowledge is becoming increasingly fierce. Against the backdrop of the strengthening of the idea that "human capital management" will become a source of corporate value, the market value of game talents is further improving.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a subsidiary of Sony, has decided that about a third of the approximately $3.6 billion invested in Bungie, a U.S. game company that is making acquisitions, will be used to prevent employee outflows.

Bungie is not listed, and Sony Interactive Entertainment will acquire an employee's stake in Bungie on the condition that it continues to work at Bungie after the acquisition is completed, or pay additional compensation for years to come. Bungie employs about 900 people, and at a unit price per person, each employee will receive about $1.3 million.

In addition, Microsoft in the United States is also competing for gaming talent. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which cost about $68.7 billion, also targeted talent. Activision Blizzard has about 10,000 game developers in Europe and the United States.

According to the recruitment site Indeed, the average revenue of game developers in the United States has exceeded $90,000. The average U.S. wage is about 30 percent higher than the OECD survey.

The expansion of the market size of the meta-universe will also increase the popularity of game talents. Citigroup released estimates that the market size of the metacosm will reach up to $13 trillion by 2030. Meta (formerly Facebook) announced that it was hiring about 10,000 people in Europe, and the competition for talent is fierce.

Some people believe that game talents are easy to play in the metaverse field. They have the skills to use CG production tools to depict virtual spaces, and to create avatars (clones) (based on cartoon characters and actual characters). Some people also have extensive experience in analyzing user behavior and maintaining services.

Japanese game companies are also pushing to improve the treatment of developers and compete for talent. Bandai Namco Entertainment has raised the starting salary of new employees by nearly 60,000 yen from the previous fiscal year to 290,000 yen (about 14,800 yuan) since FY2022, and the monthly salary of existing employees has also increased by an average of 50,000 yen. Capcom, for its part, has increased its employees' base annual salary by an average of 30 percent from the previous fiscal year from FY2022.

Forbes released its 2022 List of Most Valuable Esports Companies

Forbes reported on the 7th that today, the average valuation of the 10 most valuable e-sports companies has reached $353 million, an increase of 46% over 2020, but most companies are rapidly implementing business diversification to meet industry challenges.

In this list, Andy Dinh's TSM is once again at the top of the list, with its valuation rising 32% to $540 million. The valuation of second-placed 100 Thieves soared 142 percent to $460 million.

However, these figures do not tell the whole story. Last fall, the clamor over FaZe Clan's extremely high valuation belched some of the fundamental concerns about its business problems. Just last week, the company lowered its valuation expectations for itself in an amendment filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which made concerns even sharper. Skeptics point out that FaZe Clan posted a net loss of $36.9 million in 2021, while Forbes valued it at $400 million, ranking fourth on the list.

The high valuations of the rest of the companies on the list also obscure the status quo in the esports industry, which is a not-so-easy business and, in some ways, increasingly difficult to do. The main reason for the rise in the valuation of these companies is not the performance of the esports team, but the performance of other divisions.

Still, the esports industry clearly has great potential. A report released last month by game data firm Newzoo showed that global esports viewers are expected to reach 532 million this year, including 261 million "esports enthusiasts" who watch esports content more than once a month.

However, this kind of viewing traffic doesn't reflect any opportunity for subdividing the esports movement — League of Legends fans don't necessarily care about Call of Duty. Esports teams must not only choose the right races to compete in, but must also hope that these champions will remain relevant. Overwatch's ratings, for example, plummeted a few years ago, before some companies had spent $20 million to buy the alliance's initial franchise. Some people in the esports industry believe that the price of these franchises today is only a small part of the initial price.

Esports teams face other challenges. Revenues like media rights haven't caught up with the increase in audience numbers, in large part because of a lack of competition, and Twitch and YouTube are still the only platforms interested in esports content. On top of that, talent is becoming more and more expensive. According to industry insiders, players in the promising game "Intrepid Pact" are asking for as much as $30,000 a month. The way esports teams make money is also limited because they don't own the intellectual property rights of competitive games.

The 10 e-sports companies on the list are TSM, 100 Thieves, Team Liquid, FaZe Clan, Cloud9, G2 Esports, Fnatic, Gen.G, NRG, and T1.

Britain's Capco and Shaftesbury are in talks on a $4 billion merger

Reuters reported on the 7th that two real estate giants in London's West End, Capital & Counties Properties Plc (Capco, CAPCC. L) and Shaftesbury Plc (SHB.L) are in deep talks on a £3.5 billion ($4.32 billion) merger.

The two companies are in detail about a full-stake merger that could be announced in a matter of weeks.

Capco is the owner of shops and restaurants at Covent Garden, while Shaftesbury owns large plots of land in major landmarks in central London such as Carnaby Street, Chinatown and Seven Dials. The combined properties will be jointly owned by both companies.

In June 2020, Capco bought a 26.3% stake in Shaftesbury from Hong Kong billionaire Samuel Tak Lee for £436 million ($537.85 million).

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank, could play an important role in the merger, as it holds large stakes in both Capco and Shaftesbury, one analyst said.

Both Capco and Shaftesbury have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the latter raising around £300 million in share sales in autumn 2020.

The President of the European Council will visit Hiroshima on the 13th

Kyodo News Agency reported on the 7th that senior EU officials recently revealed that European Council President Michelle will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima City, the site of the nuclear explosion, and deliver a speech. Michel will visit Japan with European Commission President von der Leyen next week and plan to hold regular summit consultations with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the 12th. Von der Leyen allegedly will not travel to Hiroshima.

Citing Michelle's decision to visit Hiroshima, the senior official said it was symbolic as a nuclear explosion site and was Kishida's birthplace.

This is the first visit to Japan by two EU heads of state since taking office in December 2019. Around the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, cooperation in sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine will be confirmed and relations strengthened.

The two sides will also hold consultations on the importance of responding to peace and stability in the China and Taiwan Straits. Strengthening cooperation on climate change and digital will also be on the agenda.

Today's picture

Turkey's record inflation rate egg prices rise 178% in one year

On May 6, 2022, local time, in Bandelma, Turkey, workers checked eggs at a chicken farm. With inflation high, egg prices in Turkey rose 178 percent in a single year. On the 5th, the Turkish Statistical Office released CPI data, and the Turkish CPI in April rose by 7.25% from the previous month, up 31.71% from December of the previous year, and up 69.97% from the same month of the previous year, hitting a new high in inflation in nearly 20 years.

(This article is compiled from Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Forbes, Reuters, Kyodo News Agency)

Economic Observation Network intern reporter Zhou Yuqing sorted out