In this InvestorIntel interview with host Tracy Weslosky, ePlay Digital Inc.’s (CSE: EPY) CEO Trevor Doerksen talks about ePlay’s award-winning, augmented reality running app, Klocked. ePlay is a mobile game creator and publisher specializing in sports and entertainment augmented reality (AR) titles.

In the interview, which can also be viewed in full on the InvestorIntel YouTube channel (click here to access InvestorChannel.com), Trevor talks about Klocked, a free, real-time, 3D, audio and video running fitness app. He explains how Klocked uses sports science, 3D visualization, and coaches to help athletes improve performance and enhance their fitness activities and motivate them to a new personal best. Klocked allows users to turn their usual run into an exciting virtual 3D experience in different cities all around the world, connecting Klocked to their treadmill and run as if they were outside. Trevor says with Klocked “you take a step in the real world and your avatar moves through the virtual world.”

Trevor also emphasizes the importance of user feedback to continuous improvement of Klocked. “We’ve gone back to our first batch of 20,000 users and said: ‘What are we getting right?” Trevor tells Tracy. “They’re telling us exactly what we need to do to make it more real for them, to help them improve their performance and to help improve the product.” With the ‘hot runner market’ projected to be worth over $4 billion by 2026, Trevor talks about Klocked’s appeal to “couch to 5K” beginner or returning runners, as well as providing useful real-time peer data to runner mass participation events such as half and full marathons.

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About ePlay Digital Inc.

ePlay Digital Inc. is a mobile game creator and publisher specializing in sports, esports and entertainment augmented reality titles, including the, award-winning, augmented reality running app, Klocked.run, sports gaming app Fan Freak, flagship title Big Shot Basketball and Howie Mandel mobile game collaboration – HowiesGames.fun. ePlay is operated by an award-winning team of sports, gaming and eSports leaders as well as broadcast and digital technology industry experts, software engineers and athletes who have brought dozens of game titles to market for companies including Time Warner Cable, ESPN, Sony Pictures, AXS TV, Intel, AXN, Fiat, CBS, and others.

In this InvestorIntel interview with host Tracy Weslosky, ePlay Digital Inc.’s (CSE: EPY) CEO Trevor Doerksen discusses the introduction of metaverse advertising and brand monetization into ePlay’s virtual worlds as they accelerate towards full commercialization.

In the interview, which can also be viewed in full on the InvestorIntel YouTube channel (click here), Trevor Doerksen talks about ePlay’s partnership with VR advertising innovator Trivver to bring dynamic virtual reality and augmented reality advertising directly into ePlay’s Klocked World. As the “running metaverse that you could immerse yourself in today”, Trevor explains how Klocked World makes ePlay an early leader in the fast-growing market of metaverse engagement and commercialization.

Don’t miss other InvestorIntel interviews. Subscribe to the InvestorIntel YouTube channel by clicking here.

About ePlay Digital Inc.

ePlay Digital Inc. is a mobile game creator and publisher specializing in sports, esports and entertainment augmented reality titles, including the, award-winning, augmented reality running app, Klocked.run, sports gaming app Fan Freak, flagship title Big Shot Basketball and Howie Mandel mobile game collaboration – HowiesGames.fun. ePlay is operated by an award-winning team of sports, gaming and eSports leaders as well as broadcast and digital technology industry experts, software engineers and athletes who have brought dozens of game titles to market for companies including Time Warner Cable, ESPN, Sony Pictures, AXS TV, Intel, AXN, Fiat, CBS, and others.

I am admittedly new to the Metaverse. However, the opportunities presented by the metaverse as a powerful corporate tool are already clear to see.

Many companies still struggle with creating and maintaining websites. Some companies, particularly in the mining sector, consider websites a necessary evil and cost centre instead of the important IR tool that they are. A website is still the first point of contact for an investor or shareholder in making an investment decision. And while they are prettier than they were in the year 2000, they still contain the same basic elements of text, pictures and links. The metaverse is poised to change all that.

As Morgan Stanley explains, the “metaverse blurs the lines between our physical and digital lives, potentially transforming advertising, e-commerce, entertainment and education.” It is an immersive, interactive experience that creates a virtual environment where visitors can learn, explore, and participate in events and presentations in a whole new way. While the leading users of the metaverse are currently entertainers and gamers (Disney is working on a Metaverse theme park, and Roblox’s Lil Nas X show had a viewership of 33 million), Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, Google and Apple are all investing heavily in the metaverse for a wide variety of applications and users. Brands like Nike, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Tommy Hilfiger all have had metaverse-based marketing campaigns, and retailers are making major investments in metaverse ‘real estate’.

It is important to think about the metaverse as a platform or infrastructure for future business and entertainment, and not simply a “place”. Like the web or internet, it is a vehicle for many different activities, the same way that the internet made possible both e-commerce and the sharing of cat videos. As Bloomberg Intelligence Industry Analysts Matthew Kanterman and Nathan Naidu observed, the “metaverse is the next big technology platform, attracting online game makers, social networks and other technology leaders to capture a slice of what we calculate to be a nearly $800 billion market opportunity.” It will get its next big boost as Facebook’s Horizon Worlds mobile phone version launches later in 2022, removing the requirement for VR goggles.

The metaverse will also prove disruptive for traditional investor relations and capital markets. It is already being used for presentations and annual meetings. It is a way to explore an interactive trade show that never closes. While there is a novelty that will surely wear off as it becomes more common, its ability to put people face-to-virtual-face, or transport an investor to an interactive factory floor or mine site, will eventually become as common as a corporate website.

A little more than 20 years ago there was a new gold rush for domains and internet technologies that made some companies and individuals very rich. Some of them were people who simply jumped blindly on the dot-com bandwagon, but others saw the business potential of the new platform. While some failed when the greed far outstripped the reality, it also gave birth to the new economy that underpins almost everything businesses do today. It has become the water in which we swim. Like goldfish, sometimes we are not even aware of the medium that surrounds our daily lives as we reach out to the world and each other with our mobile devices. Companies like Amazon and Facebook got their start while traditional economists and analysts questioned their business models and future profitability.

InvestorIntel already has its own metaverse platform in development, joining this bold new frontier as Investor Meta World, bringing capital market companies to this platform. Stay tuned for our ten client pilot projects and our own World at PDAC. Here’s a sneak peak – https://youtu.be/iXNrKbcUyg8.

At one time the internet was the playground of kids. Twenty five years later, some of those kids are investing the millions (sometimes billions) they made in the next big thing. Many are betting big on the metaverse, or more specifically, individual projects within the metaverse – whether it is e-sports, online casinos, social media, games, entertainment, advertising or PR, or more traditional business.

See you in the metaverse.

Ask anyone who has children if they play free-to-play mobile games. In about 95% of cases the answer will be ‘yes’. Such is the popularity of mobile games today.

According to Statista, worldwide revenue from mobile games is “is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2026) of 8.73%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$174,586m by 2026.” And “the average revenue per user (ARPU) in the Mobile Games segment is projected to amount to US$64.66 in 2022.”

Looking at the above statistics, this is an enormous market opportunity for those that can be successful in the mobile gaming segment. Today’s Company is already Canada’s leading free-to-play mobile game group.

East Side Games Group Inc. (TSX: EAGR | OTCQB: EAGRF) not only owns and creates games, they also license their proprietary Game Kit software platform that enables professional game developers to create games. East Side Games Group has a diverse portfolio of original and licensed IP mobile games that include: Archer: Danger Phone, Bud Farm Idle Tycoon, Cheech & Chong Bud Farm, The Goldbergs: Back to the 80s, It’s Always Sunny: The Gang Goes Mobile and Trailer Park Boys Grea$y Money, RuPaul’s Drag Race Superstar and The Office: Somehow We Manage.

A sample of just some of East Side Games Group’s free-to-play mobile games

Source: East Side Games Group website

East Side Games Group has been very busy in 2022 with acquisitions, new games announced (including “Star Trek”), a strong financial performance, and various award nominations

In January East Side Games Group announced that they had acquired 100% of N3TWORK Inc.’s interest in the ‘Funko Pop! Blitz’ mobile game. The game currently features characters from a variety of franchises including Jurassic World and Back to the Future, The Office, Shrek, Trolls, and Masters of the Universe.

Also in January the Company announced that they had entered into a multi-year partnership with BBC Studios for the worldwide release of a mobile title based on the Doctor Who franchise.

In February, the Company announced that it has entered into a multi-year partnership with ViacomCBS Consumer Products for the worldwide release of a Star Trek: Lower Decks-themed mobile game on iOS and Android. Regarding Star Trek, Wikipedia states: “Star Trek since its original debut in 1966 has been one of the most successful television series in science fiction television history and has been considered by many to have had a large influence in popular culture as a result.” Or put another way, Star Trek is wildly popular and has a cult following.  The announcement also highlighted the magnitude of this deal stating: “The Star Trek franchise has had an unmistakable influence on adults and children alike for over 50 years. Being able to bring such a storied franchise to mobile in our trademark idle-game style is an honor for us here at ESGG,” said Darcy Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of ESGG. “We’re looking forward to sharing this new experience in the Star Trek franchise with everyone from new audiences to Star Trek super fans. This new mobile game is another top tier IP franchise that will only add to an already exciting launch slate in 2022.”

In March, East Side Games Group reported their Q4 earnings results which included record Q4 and FY2021 revenues up 49% YoY and 37% YoY respectively. They also announced record Q4 monthly average users (MAU) of 1.5 million, up 53% YoY.

Record Q4 2021 and FY 2021 results were announced on March 10, 2022

Source: East Side Games Q4 2021 and FY 2021 financials presentation

Finally capping off a brilliant quarter, in mid-March East Side Games announced that they had been nominated for multiple awards, including Pocket Gamer People’s Choice and Canadian Game Awards Best Mobile Game.

East Side Games Group quotes 5 core reasons to invest in the company

• Market Growth in terms of quantitative and qualitative visibility in the largest and fastest growing entertainment market.
• Proven Portfolio – Proven game portfolio with recurring revenue stream and deep product pipeline.
• Revenue Diversification – Game Kit(s) technology Platform SaaS revenue model complements organic growth and enhances scalability.
• Successful & Accelerating M&A – Successful & Accelerating M&A Agenda to attract world class talent, teams and IP.
• Scale Benefits – Reduced cost of capital and scale benefits operational synergies and profitability.

Source: East Side Games Group website

Summary of progress and growth strategy of East Side Games Group

Source

Closing remarks

The global mobile gaming industry continues to enjoy very solid growth, with user penetration expected to hit 29.3% by 2026, East Side Games Group is aiming to grab some of this audience. The Company is rapidly growing their portfolio of free-to-play mobile games as well as their revenues, with FY2021 revenues up 37% accelerating in Q4 2021 up 49% YoY.

East Side Games Group has a market cap of C$203 million. One to watch in 2022.

One of the biggest trends today is mobile gaming, and one of the largest trends of tomorrow is augmented reality (AR) and the metaverse. AR is a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced. The metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds (virtual reality) focused on social connection.

Today’s company is at the leading edge of mobile gaming incorporating AR, VR, and the metaverse.

ePlay Digital Inc. (CSE: EPY) (ePlay) is a sports, eSports, and entertainment mobile games developer and publisher. ePlay is big on Augmented Reality and the metaverse.

ePlay has over 10+ mobile sports, esports, and entertainment games released and several others readying for commercial release. Some of the most popular mobile apps developed by ePlay include the flagship title Big Shot Basketball and the Howie Mandel mobile game collaboration.

ePlay develops and publishes mobile phone games for sports, eSports, and entertainment

Source: ePlay investor deck

ePlay’s latest releases include revolutionary 3D AR fitness/running app ‘Klocked‘, sports and entertainment real estate metaverse ‘Klocked World‘, and fantasy sports app ‘Fan Freak‘.

Klocked (augmented reality fitness app)

ePlay’s AR fitness app, Klocked is an immersive fitness experience that allows you to run in the real world and power your avatar across 400+ virtual courses. You and your avatar can together explore, train, compete with a global community.

Klocked, recently won the Ember Award for best mobile solution as well as introducing a new feature called “Join live”. It allows you and your avatar to join with friends or new friends while on a run.

Trevor Doerksen, CEO of ePlay Digital and co-creator of Klocked fitness app, stated: “Running with friends is great – strangers too. That’s hard in the best of times, and a pandemic is not the best of times…..I hope Klocked Join Live helps us get out there more, go longer, faster, and meet new people. In the real world or Klocked World, I’m pretty motivated to catch up and join others.”

ePlay’s Klocked AR fitness app – Run on your treadmill and watch yourself and your surroundings (via your avatar) in the virtual world

Source: Klocked.me

Klocked World (sports and entertainment real estate metaverse)

ePlay recently released ‘Klocked World’. It is a connected virtual world (metaverse) where users buy, sell, collect, build, innovate, and curate unique virtual ‘sports and entertainment’ real estate. The Klocked World Metaverse Real Estate Platform allows users to purchase property, courses, fields, baseball diamonds, and other iconic or locally famous sports real estate.

ePlay’s Klocked World

Source: Klocked World

Fan Freak App and ePlay Wallet

In January 2022, ePlay announced the release of Fan Freak. Fan Freak is a daily fantasy sports and streak app with cash and NFT prizes. Fan Freak includes NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA, and NCAA Football. The three games included in the initial release include Fantasy MVP, Pick-Sheet, and Streak.

The ePlay Wallet is interoperable with other ePlay games and fully circumvents App Store revenue sharing that can be as high as 30% to the App Store.

ePlay’s Fan Freak allows sports fans to build teams, streaks, and win cash prizes.

Source: ePlay Digital Fan Freak

ePlay’s promotion, distribution, and market opportunity

In terms of promotion, ePlay partners and investors include comedian and America’s Got Talent’s Howie Mandel, Top 10 social media star, 7-time NBA champ Robert Horry, and TV host and Sports broadcaster Lindsay McCormick.

For distribution, ePlay is available in Google Play and the Apple app store. ePlay also has a marketing and distribution deal with one of China’s largest media conglomerates, with an audience of >100 million viewers.

ePlay’s market opportunity is to tap into the markets for eSports (US$1.1 billion), mobile games (US$107 billion), mobile advertising (US$107 billion), sports advertising (US$150 billion) and the sports gaming market (US$37.9 billion).

Closing remarks

AR and the metaverse are said to be the next big thing. ePlay is at the cutting edge of this trend developing and publishing ‘mobile’ AR, 3D, and immersive fitness, sports, eSports, and entertainment games apps with superb live experiences that are celebrity-driven, valuable, precious, and unique.

ePlay trades on a market cap of C$6 million and certainly is a play on the mobile gaming and entertainment future, with AR, VR, and the metaverse all thrown in. Impressive combination and a stock to watch closely in 2022.

Did you know that LEAF Mobile Inc. is now East Side Games Group Inc. (TSX: EAGR | OTCQB: EAGRF)? The Company is Canada’s leading free-to-play mobile game group. Actually LEAF Mobile Inc. acquired East Side Games Inc. in early 2021 for C$159M, but has clearly decided that rather than keeping the name as a subsidiary it is a better name for the whole company.

The name change was announced in December 2021. CEO Darcy Taylor commented about the name change saying: “We’ve been working on this change for some time, and it represents a change in our trade name; not our purpose, our vision, our structure, or how we operate and it comes at an exciting time in the Company’s growth as we ramp our launch slate of new games and further scale our Game Kit partners.”

Some of East Side Games (formerly LEAF Mobile Inc.) popular free to play mobile games

Source: East Side Games Group website

East Side Games Group expands the Mighty Kingdom partnership

East Side Games Group recently announced an expansion of its publishing and Game Kit partnership with Mighty Kingdom Games Pty Ltd for the world wide release of three additional free-to-play mobile games on iOS and Android. The games are expected to launch during 2022 and 2023 and will be published by East Side Games. The company’s CEO, Darcy Taylor stated:

“This expanded partnership with Mighty Kingdom is a testament to the quality and performance of our Game Kit technology that allows for a material decrease in the typical build to launch timeline for mobile games developed on the platform. Having Australia’s largest independent game developer join us for an additional three games speaks volumes about our platform.”

As you can imagine, in the mobile games development world, speed to market is important, as is the publisher’s brand name, portfolio of games, and distribution. In the case of East Side Games Group, they rate well in all areas.

East Side Games Group to list on the LSE

Perhaps more exciting for investors is that East Side Games Group will soon be listed on the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”). The Company stated in November 2021: “This secondary London listing is part of LEAF’s growth strategy and brings Canada’s largest free-to-play mobile game group to the LSE. The net proceeds of the capital raising will be used to further scale the business.”

East Side Games Group revenue is forecast to more than double in the next two years

East Side Games Group’s revenue in 2021 is forecast to be C$90M and rise to C$201M in 2023. If achieved, it would be a more than doubling of revenue in just 2 years. This is up enormously on 2020 revenue of C$31M, making East Side Games one of the fastest growing mobile games publishers/developers. Clearly East Side Games Group is very serious in accelerating their growth to capture as much as possible from the booming mobile gaming market.

Facts about Mobile gaming

• Newzoo – Mobile games are expected to reach 2.6 billion players and generate revenues of USD 90 billion in 2021, representing more than half of the global games market in terms of revenue.
• Games are also the most dominant category within the mobile applications ecosystem with gaming accounting for more revenue on iOS than every other category combined.
• Sensor Tower – Games accounted for 66% of all ‌App Store‌ revenue in 2020, approximately USD 47.6 billion was spent on iOS games in 2020, up 25% from 2019.

Source

Closing remarks

Investors may be familiar with the name LEAF Mobile Inc. from some of our past articles here on InvestorIntel. The latest changes are really a new company name, which I think better matches the company’s core business of being a games developer and publisher.

East Side Games Group continues to grow its portfolio of game development studios, publisher partnerships, and mobile games which is now translating into rapidly growing revenues for the Company.

New exposure on the global stage via the LSE listing can only benefit the Company further. Stay tuned in 2022.

In a recent InvestorIntel interview, Chris Thompson spoke with Trevor Doerksen, CEO of ePlay Digital Inc. (CSE: EPY), about ePlay’s three-in-one Fan Freak sports app, and about its Boston Common 5k Hybrid, Real-Time Race Experience and Virtual Run which will be held on November 27, 2021.

In this InvestorIntel interview, which may also be viewed on YouTube (click here to subscribe to the InvestorIntel Channel), Trevor Doerksen introduced ePlay’s sports Metaverse comprised of their augmented reality running app Klocked, sports gaming apps, Fan Freak and Big Shot Basketball, and, Howie Mandel’s mobile game collaboration, Howie’s Games. In addition to having developed games for companies like ESPN, Sony Pictures, Intel, and Time Warner Cable, as well as the FIFA World Cup and others, Trevor told InvestorIntel that ePlay has also developed games’ series in collaboration with 7-time NBA Champion Robert Horry and Olympian Michael Smith in addition to those with comedian and America’s Got Talent’s Howie Mandel.

To watch the full interview, click here.

There is an emerging trend of using Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) to enhance the user experience, either in gaming or in entertainment. AR is an enhanced experience in the real world whereas VR is a virtual (digital) world experience.

According to Fortune Business Insights, the global Augmented Reality market size was US$ 2.82 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 65.22 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 48.3%. That’s a very impressive 23x increase over the 8 year forecast period.

Today’s company is an award winning creator and publisher of games (including AR games) that can be used on your mobile phone.

ePlay Digital Inc. (CSE: EPY) (“ePlay”) is a sports, eSports, and AR entertainment mobile games developer and publisher. ePlay has 10+ mobile sports, eSports, and entertainment games already released and several others readying for commercial release. They also have an AR fitness app called Klocked.

Some of ePlay’s game titles include: Howie Go Viral, Outbreak ES, Outbreak Unlimited, Big Swish, SwishAR ES, SwishAR, Big Shot Basketball, Big Shot Swish, Klocked Fitness app and Fan Freak.

ePlay creates and publishes mobile games for sports, eSports & AR entertainment

Source: ePlay investor deck 2021

Market opportunity

The market opportunity for ePlay is enormous. For example, ePlay operates in several markets including: eSports (US$1.1 billion),  mobile games (US$120 billion), mobile advertising (US$107 billion),  sports advertising (US$150 billion) and the US$37.9 billion sports gaming markets.

ePlay’s global market opportunity

Source: ePlay investor deck 2021

Distribution and commercialization of ePlay’s AR mobile games

The key method of distribution used by ePlay is having its games available on the Apple app store and the Android play store. ePlay also has a marketing and distribution deal with one of China’s largest media conglomerates, with an audience of over 100 million viewers.

Partners and investors include comedian, and America’s Got Talent’s, Howie Mandel, social media star and 7-time NBA champ, Robert Horry, and TV host and Sports broadcaster, Lindsay McCormick.

In September ePlay announced the launch of their Klocked Fitness app. By using AR the app makes exercise fun and engaging.

In some recent good news for ePlay, the Company announced that a major update of their Outbreak mobile game featuring Howie Mandel was approved for both the Apple and the Google Stores. Trevor Doerksen, CEO of ePlay Digital, stated: “We are seeking millions of players for the games we created with Howie Mandel and are well on our way with top rated titles like Outbreak.”

ePlay stated in the news release:

“Outbreak is a part of a series of games developed by ePlay and created in partnership with Howie Mandel. Howie’s Games highlights just one of many successful partnerships between ePlay, athletes, celebrities and great brands. Others include Robert Horry, 7-time NBA champion with his mobile game Big Shot Basketball co-created and developed by ePlay. The Klocked partnership was announced earlier this summer with Spartan Racing and more announcements to follow.”

In further good news, ePlay announced on September 30 that Apple has approved ePlay’s Fan Freak app and ePlay wallet. Fan Freak is 3 games-in-one, all of which allow users to earn prizes and points. The three games included in the initial release include Fantasy, Pick-Sheet, and Streak. Games covered by Fan Freak include NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA, and NCAA football.

Closing remarks

ePlay is at a great stage now for investors to consider. This is because the hard work of game development and distribution has been done. Now comes the potential for large revenues if the games achieve popularity and monetization success.

Trading on a market cap of just C$17.75 million leaves ePlay Digital with plenty of potential upside ahead if ePlay’s revenues take off as commercialization of its games progresses in 2021 and beyond.

In a recent InvestorIntel interview, Tracy Weslosky speaks with Trevor Doerksen, CEO of ePlay Digital Inc. (CSE: EPY) about ePlay Digital’s recent announcement on the submission of the sports app Fan Freak to App Store.

In this InvestorIntel interview, which may also be viewed on YouTube (click here to subscribe to the InvestorIntel Channel), Trevor went on to say that Fan Freak is a three-in-one sports app which allows users to play daily fantasy, pick sheet, and streak games with the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA and more. Highlighting ePlay Digital’s competitive advantages. Trevor touches on the benefits of IP ownership and building partnerships with well-known comedian Howie Mandel and 7-time NBA champ Robert Horry.

To watch the full interview, click here