In one of the busiest years for video games which has given us The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Resident Evil 4 Remake and a Metroid Prime remaster, there were very few people – critics and gamers alike – that expected Baldur’s Gate 3, an RPG based on the Dungeons and Dragons license, to be this year’s biggest hit.

It’s been a busy month for Barbie, with her big battle for the box office leading to numerous collaborations across a variety of sectors, not least gaming. Of course, Barbie is no stranger to the world of video games.

As the developer and publisher of games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Activision Blizzard has plenty of experience using licensing partnerships and branded collaborations to amplify its releases.

The Magic of Monopoly: How Scopely Transformed a Beloved IP into a Record-Breaking Mobile Game + How Do You Really Value an IP?

Only a few weeks after Savvy Games Group announced its acquisition of the mobile game publisher Scopely, Sega followed with the surprise announcement of its intention to acquire Rovio, best known for creating the Angry Birds games.

After the success of HBO’s The Last of US TV adaptation and the release of the highly anticipated Super Mario Bros. movie just around the corner, are video games experiencing a transmedia revolution?

With 33 million players racking up over one billion combined playing hours in The Sims 4 last year, can EA’s simulation game become a major player in the metaverse space?

Who knew Dungeons and Dragons fans could get so angry?! From Wizard of the Coast’s Open Game License fiasco to HBO’s The Last of Us TV series being celebrated as the best video game adaption ever created, here are the biggest licensing stories from the world of video games in January.

From A$AP Rocky and EA teaching everyone that music integrations are about more than just syncing the latest tracks, to a wrap-up of the biggest licensing deals from 2022 that you might have missed, here’s everything you need to know from last month. 

Welcome to the latest edition of the Layer licensing newsletter, covering the biggest updates and news stories on brand collaborations, partnerships and licensing deals in the world of video games.

It’s our first newsletter, so let’s start by putting some context and numbers behind all of the licensing deals that are taking place in video games right now. Whether it’s virtual merch desks popping up in Fortnite and Roblox, the emergence of branded virtual worlds or famous video game items transforming into physical products, you might be wondering why there’s so much interest from brands in video games right now, so let’s take a look.