This report provides an update on the digital media sector, including insights into broader trends and public and private valuations. The report also includes interviews with industry leaders. Key points include:
- Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter was a rocky process, filled with legal battles and a shake-up in the tech firm's culture.
- A number of competitors have risen to take advantage of Twitter's challenging period, seeking to capture its market share.
- Mastodon, Twitter's biggest rival, has grown eight-fold but Twitter remains far larger at almost 100x Mastodon's size.
- Hypercasual games have become a staple on mobile app stores, with 2022 seeing increased global revenue growth of 21% and ~200 M&A deals worldwide.
- Factors like lower development costs, high user acquisition, and engagement make hypercasual games an attractive advertising medium.
- US regulators and government officials have begun cracking down on major digital media companies, with increasing concerns over user privacy, homeland security, and anticompetitive transactions causing backlash.
- While the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Epic Games and seeks to block the Microsoft/Activision deal, several government officials call for a ban on TikTok.
Overall, the digital media sector is facing increased regulation and competition, with hypercasual gaming remaining a popular and profitable area.
