iCandy Interactive cements position within the future of gaming: metaverse and Web3.0

iCandy Interactive (ASX: ICI) used the 12 months to December 2021 (FY2021) to cement its position in the gaming metaverse and Web3.0 spaces via numerous acquisitions, which it says is “the future of gaming”.

The company stated it had focused “significant resources” during the period towards gaining a foothold in new growth areas including the metaverse and Web3.0.

As a result, for FY2021, iCandy’s revenue was down to $1.9 million. iCandy noted there was also a “broad, sector-wide shift” towards new and evolving gaming models, which caused a weakening in the traditional mobile phone video games businesses.

However, iCandy’s balance sheet was “significantly strengthened”, with total assets rising 104% to $36.3 million. Net assets grew 121% to $34.1 million.

Acquisitions to pursue growth

To bolster its position in high growth markets, iCandy undertook numerous acquisitions during FY2021 and after the period.

As part of this, iCandy executed an agreement to acquire Lemon Sky Studios and raised $40 million in an oversubscribed funding round that Animoca Brands cornered.

iCandy also made a bid for Nextgamer, which is a hyper-casual gaming platform. Hyper-casual games are an emerging genre in the mobile gaming industry that are “very easy to play” and can be played in a “very short time frame”.

“The company expects to integrate hyper-casual gaming with its newly enhanced in-house design and development capabilities,” iCandy stated.

Also, during 2021, iCandy scooped up a 7.78% interest in Mighty Kingdom (ASX: MKL). The purchase was designed to boost iCandy’s reach within the Asian gaming sector and drive value through collaboration.

Launching into 2022

iCandy’s buying spree continued in 2022 after revealing it was acquiring 60% of Gameconomy in mid-January.

Malaysia-based Gameconomy is a boutique software company that specialises in back-end gaming technology relating to real-time in-game analytics and player-versus-player mechanics.

iCandy plans to use Gameconomy to improve its back-end tools and capabilities to facilitate its venture into metaverse gaming.

The Gameconomy deal was followed up in February, with iCandy announcing it was buying a 51% stake in Storms, with an option to acquire the remaining interest in the company.

This acquisition is also expected to help iCandy better-position itself in the metaverse gaming space.

Positioned for growth

As 2022 advances, iCandy says it expects “a major revenue contribution” from its acquisitions of Lemon Sky and Storms.

In FY2021, Lemon Sky reported unaudited revenue of $15.5 million, while Storms generated $4.3 million.

“Moving forward, iCandy plans to deploy its resources of over 500 highly skilled game artists, designers and developers to undertake more ambitious endeavours – creating AAA-quality games and content for the metaverse and Web3.0 – which the company sees as the future of gaming,” iCandy stated.