It was a mixed week for gaming stocks: 30 of the 59 companies we track rose, and the median move was +0.1%. Three of the six indices fell, led by Large Cap Mobile at -2.9%, and Large Cap PC & Console is the only index above its year-end level, at +4.0% year to date. The week’s news came from outside the tables. On Oct 7 Google opened Playground, an experimental browser platform that makes games from text prompts, to US adults, and Unity announced Spark the same day as Playground’s route to advanced 3D. Unity rose 7.5% on the week, and Raymond James upgraded it to Outperform on Oct 8.
The catalysts behind the week’s largest moves are below.
What moved them
Playstudios (-17.0%) In its first week after a 1-for-10 reverse split, it said it will shut Tetris Block Party in October and book a $3.0m to $3.5m non-cash impairment.
Modern Times Group (-15.1%) MTG postponed the planned IPO of PlaySimple, its India-based casual games developer, on Oct 9, citing Indian capital market conditions, and will revisit the timing in 2027.
Enad Global 7 (+12.3%) The shares rose 8.6% on Oct 7, when Fireshine Games acquired Fair Games for $4.0m upfront, about 3% of the $137.5m market cap. We found no other news.
Paradox Interactive (-9.4%) ABG Sundal Collier cut its rating to Hold from Buy on Oct 5 and lowered its target to $15.44 (SEK 155) from $15.94 (SEK 160), citing weak Transport Fever 3 sales.
NCSOFT (-7.9%) Aion 2 launched in the West and Japan on Oct 5, and NH Investment cut its target to $238.28 (KRW 320,000) from $282.95 (KRW 380,000) on Oct 8.
Unity Software (+7.5%) Google and Unity announced an AI gaming platform partnership on Oct 7, and Raymond James upgraded the stock to Outperform on Oct 8 with a $54 target.
Also in the top five, without a catalyst in the deck: Roblox (+9.0%), Stillfront (+7.9%) and Taboola (+6.8%) among gainers, and Azerion (-10.0%) among decliners.
Keep reading
Google’s Playground and Unity Spark, in detail: what Playground does, who gets access, which models it runs on, and why Raymond James upgraded Unity.
The San Diego County suit against AppLovin: what the county alleges, the other suits filed the same day, and how the shares closed the week.
PC/Console Pulse, with Alinea Analytics: revenue, units and Twitch hours for seven titles, including Aion 2’s $39.7m first Steam week, which titles earned more than their buzz, and full pages on Star Wars: Galactic Racer and The Outlast Trials.
Indices, week and year to date: all six InvestGame gaming indices.
Deals of the week: all 12 transactions, from Firy selling its Exit Games stake back for $55m to Gardens’ Series B at a reported $190m pre-money valuation, plus the full 17-page deck.