It’s been a great summer for blockbuster movies:
Wonder Woman… Spider-Man… Atomic Blonde — combined, these three films have done $765 million at the box office.
But last weekend, after seeing Spider-Man at a deserted drive-in, I started thinking about the movie industry’s past, as well as its future.
You see, for the last three or four decades, movies have been top of the heap for paid entertainment — bigger than TV, music, or books.
But now there’s a new leader in the Entertainment industry…
And as you’ll learn today, its early investors are making big profits, fast.
Bigger Than the Movies
Every year, Hollywood movies bring in about $40 billion at the box office.
That’s a lot of money…
But a new sector in the Entertainment industry is bringing in twice as much — it’s generating more than $100 billion each year.
Have you already guessed the sector I’m referring to?
I’m talking about Video Games.
Video Games Become Mainstream
In 1952, a physicist named William Higinbotham quit his job developing nuclear bombs and tried his hand at something a bit more entertaining:
He designed the world’s first video game, Tennis for Two.
About twenty years later, Atari released a video game called Pong. It quickly sold more than 70,000 units, becoming the first “blockbuster” coin-operated game.
Then, in the late 70s, Space Invaders and Asteroids were released. The video game market exploded: it went from about $300 million to about $3 billion.
For decades, despite being a billion-dollar sector, “gaming” was still considered to be a niche market, most popular with teens and nerds.
But when Personal Computers and the Internet came along, gaming finally became mainstream. Today, in the U.S. alone, more than 155 million people play video games, and their average age is 40.
And just like in Hollywood, when a company produces a blockbuster, it can turn into a “cash cow.”
A video game called CrossFire, for example, has pulled in $6.8 billion…
And World of Warcraft has generated $8.5 billion.
This is especially impressive given that the all-time top-grossing movie, Avatar, made just $2.8 billion.
All these billions help explain why smart investors are jumping into gaming — and they also help explain why some of them are jumping for joy right now.
Let me explain…
Doubled Their Money in Three Weeks
Last winter, the makers of Kingdoms and Castles — a “city building” game where users create a virtual kingdom — needed money to finish production.
To raise the money, it used Equity Crowdfunding. This is the type of fundraising we focus on at Crowdability…
It’s where a large number of ordinary investors each put in a small amount of money towards a funding round.
But this particular funding round had a twist:
Investors wouldn’t just earn profits if Kingdoms and Castles went public in a big IPO, or if it were acquired by one of its competitors…
Investors could also earn profits directly from this video game’s sales — in other words, they could earn royalties.
And when you own a stake in the royalty stream for a hit song, hit movie or — in this case — a hit video game, you can earn big returns, fast.
The investors in Kingdom and Castles experienced this first-hand:
Just 48 hours after the game went on sale, investors got back 100% of their money…
Three weeks later, they’d doubled their money…
And thanks to their stake in this game’s royalty stream, they’ll continue to earn profits for the next three years.
Interested in exploring opportunities like this for yourself?
Now you can…
Two Games You Can Invest in Now
Fig.com, the funding platform that helped raise money for Kingdoms and Castles, is currently offering similar royalty deals in several new games.
For example:
Phoenix Point — This is a new strategy game.
It involves a fight against a terrifying alien menace. The menace was borne from a horrifying virus discovered in melting permafrost.
Learn more (and check out the awesome videos) here »
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire — This is a role-playing game.
It involves the return of Eothas, the god of light and rebirth. This god was thought to be dead, but he now inhabits the stone titan buried under your land. Ripping his way out of the ground, he destroyed your stronghold and left you at the brink of death. Now you must track down the wayward god and demand answers.
Learn more about Pillars of Eternity here »
Do Your Research!
Just like with Kingdoms and Castles, if these games enjoy booming sales, you could enjoy your share of big, fast profits.
But to be clear, I’m not recommending you run out and invest in these deals…
Just like the start-ups we introduce you to, video games are risky ventures, and each of these deals requires substantial investment research.
So before you consider investing, make sure you do your homework!
Happy investing.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
