SuperData updates its always-excellent worldwide digital games review with some interesting business notes on monetization and cannibalization:

“Valve finds rare success in directly monetizing eSports for DoTA2:” 

• “The International, an annual Valve-sponsored DoTA2 tournament, took place in Seattle from August 8th to 13th. Already renowned for its enormous community-funded prize pools, the pot for 2016’s International reached $20.8 million, well ahead of 2015’s $18.4 million. Twitch viewership for the event was among the highest of the year, with finals day seeing a maximum of 650K concurrent viewers compared to an average of 400K.”
• The post’s important conclusion: “At present, Valve is the only company to successfully monetize eSports events with in-game purchases. Other publishers still struggle to channel eSports attention into revenue, but the International provides concrete evidence that eSports can improve a title’s bottom line.”

“The Double Edged Sword of Shared IP: Clash of Clans and Clash Royale cannibalization:”

• “No one questioned that Supercell had a winner when Clash Royale made its debut this March. However, the title’s early success had a hidden cost, it appears Clash Royale is cannibalizing Clash of Clans. Clash of Clans revenue initially tumbled 23% from March to April while Clash Royale experienced a similar drop in the same period. The downward trend has continued, with total revenue for the two titles falling 16% from May to June and 12% from June to July. Despite Clash Royale’s initial success, aggregate revenue for the Clash franchise has seen little growth overall.”