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Bidstack secures $11m to become best-funded in-game advertising company

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Bidstack, the in-game advertising and video game monetisation platform, today announces it has raised a total of USD $11 million in a new round of funding. This includes a $6 million strategic investment from digital platform cybersecurity world leader, Irdeto, and brings Bidstack’s total funding to $42 million – the most raised for any company in the in-game advertising industry to-date.

This is the first strategic investment in Bidstack’s seven-year history and will fuel the pioneering company’s US growth strategy following the recent hire of Jude O’Connor as Chief Revenue Officer. With more than 80 staff across five international locations, Bidstack now has the infrastructure and talent in place to take on the huge, untapped opportunity for in-game advertising in the US market. Bidstack has already run award-winning in-game campaigns for brands such as Marriott Bonvoy, Paco Rabanne, and Doritos, and works with world-leading game publishers such as Codemasters, and Take-Two Interactive.

Irdeto entered the video games industry with the acquisition of anti-cheat software company Denuvo. The company’s suite of software products are used by a majority of leading console, PC, and mobile titles, creating extensive synergies with Bidstack’s ever-growing developer and publisher network, and breadth of ad formats which now includes rewarded video in addition to in-game and in-menu.

James Draper, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Bidstack, commented

“I am pleased to share that we have secured our first strategic investment, from Irdeto B.V. Irdeto, part of the Multichoice Group, is established as one of the world’s leading cybersecurity businesses, with their gaming division Denuvo being trusted as a leading anti-cheat middleware across the world’s most celebrated gaming platforms and franchises. Irdeto’s positioning across the gaming and entertainment space will lead to many opportunities for our two companies to collaborate going forward, as strategic partners.”

Globally, the in-game advertising market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11% to 2030, from its current estimated valuation of $7.6 billion. This figure represents just under 1% of the $850 billion global advertising market, despite more than three billion people playing games on a daily basis.

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THE BATTLE OF POLYTOPIA ANNOUNCES GLOBAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH $10,000 PRIZE POOL

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Midjiwan, the award-winning independent studio behind The Battle of Polytopia has today announced The Polytopia World Championship with a prize pool of $10,000 USD and a live final broadcast from Stockholm.

The Polytopia World Championship is set to launch this fall, uniting players from across the globe in an epic showdown of fast-paced strategic mastery. The tournament will be themed to Battle of the Tribes. Players will choose to compete with one of Polytopia’s 12 in-game tribes; each with a unique regional theme and skillset.

The tournament will begin with open qualifiers, giving everyone a chance to prove themselves. From there, players will advance through tribe-specific playoffs and head-to-head elimination rounds, each match bringing them one step closer to glory.

The top six players will earn a spot in the live finals in Stockholm on December 6: an in-person event streamed online for fans worldwide. In addition to live commentary of the tournament, the fan event will also provide behind-the-scenes content from the Midjiwan team.

The winner will be awarded a prize pool of $10,000; making this tournament the biggest competitive event in The Battle of Polytopia’s nine year history.

Christian Lovstedt, CEO of Midjiwan AB, commented: “This marks a major new step for Polytopia’s competitive scene, featuring a fresh tournament format and enhanced broadcasting that makes it even more exciting for viewers to watch, learn, and get inspired by the world’s top players.“

The matches will be played on the Polytopia Official Space on the Challengermode esports Platform.

The planned dates are:

September:

  • Sep 13–14

  • Sep 20–21

  • Sep 27–28

October:

  • Oct 4–5

  • Oct 11–12

  • Oct 18–19

November:

  • Oct 25–26

  • Nov 1–2

  • Nov 8–9

Nov 22–23

  • Faceoff

  • Final Qualifier

Dec 6

  • World Championship Live Event

The post THE BATTLE OF POLYTOPIA ANNOUNCES GLOBAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH $10,000 PRIZE POOL appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Polemos Announces Partnership With Guinevere Capital to Drive Monetisation and Growth Across Gaming Ecosystems

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Polemos, a Web3 gaming infrastructure platform, announces a strategic partnership with Guinevere Capital, a prominent esports and gaming investment firm known for its investments and advisory roles in projects such as GiantX, iTero, Perion, Skybox, and various other projects across the industry. Guinevere Capital has established a strong reputation for its work across global Web2 gaming titles, including League of Legends, Valorant, Rocket League, and many more. This partnership aims to leverage the combined expertise of Polemos.io and Guinevere Capital to enhance and further monetise audiences across publishers, infrastructure players, gaming companies, studios, and platforms.

The collaboration will focus on integrating advanced asset management and engagement tools from Polemos.io’s Forge platform with Guinevere Capital’s extensive network and experience in both Web2 and esports ecosystems. This will create new monetisation opportunities and improve player experiences by bridging traditional gaming with blockchain-enabled innovations.

Carl Wilgenbus, CEO of Polemos.io, stated, “Partnering with Guinevere Capital marks a significant milestone in our mission to expand access to gaming rewards and unlock new revenue streams for the entire gaming industry. Together, we will empower publishers and studios to better engage their audiences and capitalize on the evolving landscape of gaming and esports.”

“Polemos has built an impressive piece of infrastructure that has plugged a huge gap in the gaming sector. We look forward to working with them to commercialise this.” said Dave Harris, a partner at Guinevere Capital. Dave’s previous experience includes investing in and operating top teams and leagues in the Riot Games and Activision Blizzard ecosystems.

Guinevere Capital’s strategic involvement will accelerate the adoption of blockchain gaming infrastructure while supporting the growth of esports and gaming communities worldwide. This alliance underscores a shared vision to drive innovation, education, and monetisation in the gaming sector by combining Web2’s reach with Web3’s potential.

Today, Polemos also started the official Token Generation Event (TGE) for the $PLMS utility token. The TGE began at 5:00 AM UTC on June 23rd, 2025, marking a step in the platform’s development to integrate blockchain technology within the gaming sector. Now available on MEXC and Uniswap, $PLMS gives users entry into the Polemos GameFi ecosystem.

The $PLMS token is designed to serve as the utility and governance token for the Polemos ecosystem. It is intended to facilitate platform functionalities, including asset management, player incentives, and participation in ecosystem governance. The TGE follows prior development phases and strategic partnerships, contributing to the framework of Polemos’ Web3 gaming offerings.

Details of the $PLMS TGE:

  • Official TGE Start: June 23rd, 2025, at 5:00 AM UTC.
  • Exchanges: MEXC & Uniswap.

The post Polemos Announces Partnership With Guinevere Capital to Drive Monetisation and Growth Across Gaming Ecosystems appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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German Federal Government Significantly Increases the Budget for Games Funding

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Good news for games companies in Germany: the Federal Government’s budget plans provide for the significant increase in the games funding budget long demanded by game – The German Games Industry Association. The Federal Government’s draft budget provides for a total of 125 million euros annually from 2026. The new funds are in line with the calculations made by the game association for the funds required until the introduction of additional tax incentives for games, as announced in the coalition agreement.

“That’s encouraging! The new federal government, and above all Federal Minister for Research and responsible for games Dorothee Bär, is following up its words with action. Following the clear statements in the coalition agreement, the significant increase in games funding less than 50 days after taking office has already set a key course. The funding will ensure growth again and provide the necessary breathing space to implement the additional tax-based games funding planned in the coalition agreement at the same time. This decision is an important and encouraging sign that Germany is creating internationally comparable conditions and wants to catch up quickly in the competition between games locations,” said Felix Falk, Managing Director of game – The German Games Industry Association.

The post German Federal Government Significantly Increases the Budget for Games Funding appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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