19 Aug 2019 11:45
Certain information contained within this Announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon publication of this Announcement, this information is considered to be in the public domain.
19 August 2019
Bidstack Group PLC ("Bidstack" or "the Company")
Collaboration with Epic Games' Unreal Engine
Bidstack to launch in-game ads plugin in collaboration with Epic Games' Unreal Engine
Bidstack Group plc (AIM: BIDS.L), the in-game advertising group, is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Epic Games, Inc.'s Unreal Engine, enabling video game developers to monetise their titles by creating advertising space within their currently live and soon-to-be-launched games, via a new Bidstack plugin.
The Unreal Engine is a complete suite of video game creation tools developed by Epic Games, the video game and software development company behind some of the biggest titles in video games including Fortnite, Rocket League and Gears of War.
Game developers creating games using the Unreal Engine often use third party plugins to add effects to their games. The soon-to-launch Bidstack plugin, will give such developers full control to identify and define areas within their games through which they could make native in-game advertising available. This could be any appropriate surface from virtual outdoor billboards and sporting pitch-side hoardings to decal stickers on the sides of vehicles or prints on a character's clothing. Developers will also be able to retro-fit advertising opportunities into existing games, creating a new revenue stream for their back catalogue.
The Bidstack plugin will mean that in future when a game using the Unreal Engine, which has passed Bidstack's stringent brand safety checks is published, all new advertising inventory contained within that title will automatically become available to advertisers to buy programmatically through Bidstack's growing network of demand side platforms ("DSPs"), including Xandr Invest (previously known as AppNexus) with which Bidstack is already working.
James Draper, Bidstack's CEO commented:
"Our collaboration with Epic Games and their Unreal Engine team provides Bidstack with a frictionless opportunity to scale. Previously it was necessary for us to form relationships with games developers on a one-by-one basis. We will continue to do this, but growth from this strategy alone takes time.
Our new arrangement with Epic's Unreal Engine enables developers of all sizes, by adding Bidstack's technology to their game, to open their ad inventory to global media buyers and potentially attract advertising revenue from the world's leading brands.
This collaboration with Epic also gives advertisers an expanded access point to the gaming community, making it even more attractive to advertisers seeking to reach gamers, at a time when revenues from video games are larger than music and video combined."
Contacts
Bidstack Group PLC
James Draper, CEO +44 (0) 7850 341 885
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)
Mark Brady/Neil Baldwin/James Keeshan +44 (0) 203 368 3550
Peterhouse Capital Limited (Broker)
Eran Zucker/Lucy Williams/Duncan Vasey +44 (0) 20 7409 0930
~ENDS~
Notes to editors
Bidstack is an advertising technology company which provides dynamic, targeted and automated native in-game advertising for the global video games industry across multiple platforms. Its proprietary API technology is capable of inserting adverts into natural advertising space within video games across multiple video games platforms (mobile, PC and console).
Bidstack's customers are games publishers and developers and advertising agencies, brands and programmatic advertising platforms. Bidstack contracts exclusive access to the native in-game advertising space within video games from their developers or publishers and sells that advertising space either direct to specific brands and their agencies or through programmatic advertising platforms.
About Unreal Engine
Epic Games' Unreal Engine technology brings high-quality games to PC, console, mobile, AR and VR platforms. Creators also use Unreal for photorealistic visualization, interactive product design, film, virtual production, mixed reality TV broadcast and animated entertainment. In 2014 the Unreal Engine was named the "most successful videogame engine" by Guinness World Records.
About Epic Games
Epic Games is an American video game and software development company which was founded by Tim Sweeney in 1991. Epic Games is the creator of Fortnite, Unreal, Gears of War, Shadow Complex, and the Infinity Blade series of games. Epic's Unreal Engine technology brings high-fidelity, interactive experiences to PC, console, mobile, AR, VR and the Web. The Epic Games store offers a handpicked library of games.
While Sweeney remains the majority shareholder, Tencent acquired an interest of approximately 40% in 2012. Following the release of Fortnite Battle Royale in 2017, Epic Games gained additional investments that enabled it to expand its Unreal Engine offerings, establish esport events around Fortnite, and launch the Epic Games Store. As of 2018, Epic Games has an estimated US$15 billion valuation.