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Pixel P&L: Comic Con India Signs MOU with Indian Institute of Creative Technologies

Pixel P&L: Comic Con India Signs MOU with Indian Institute of Creative Technologies

AFK Gaming Editorial
July 24, 2025

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 5 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

Comic Con India partners with India's new creative technology institute to develop the next generation of gaming and animation talent.
Ubisoft posted disappointing Q1 results — learn why below.
Apple's revised EU App Store fees are expected to win regulatory approval after paying €500M in fines.
Modern Times Group revenue doubles to $304M following its massive Plarium acquisition.
Roblox launches an educational hub with BBC partnerships to make summer learning interactive for millions of students.

Let's get into it.

IICT and Comic Con India Form Partnership to Boost Animation, Gaming Workforce

Comic Con India signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies to develop talent in animation, gaming, comics and extended reality sectors.

The partnership, announced Wednesday at the IICT-NFDC Campus inauguration in Mumbai, will create student showcases at Comic Con India events, offer industry masterclasses and provide internship opportunities. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and federal Information & Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw attended the signing ceremony.

IICT, established in May as a national center of excellence modeled after India's prestigious IIT and IIM institutes, aims to build India's creative workforce. Comic Con India, owned by NODWIN Gaming, operates the country's largest pop culture platform.

Ubisoft Reports Disappointing Q1 Results as Rainbow Six Relaunch Stumbles

Ubisoft posted disappointing first-quarter results, with net bookings of €281.6 million ($330 million) falling short of its €310 million ($364 million) target and dropping 2.9% year-over-year.

The French gaming giant said Assassin's Creed Shadows met expectations with 5 million players since launch, but Rainbow Six Siege X underperformed due to pricing exploits involving prepaid currency cards that inflated virtual wallets. CEO Yves Guillemot called the technical issues "temporary but significant disruptions" that have been addressed.

Ubisoft expects stable bookings for fiscal 2025-2026, with second-quarter revenues projected at €450 million ($529 million). Upcoming releases include Anno 117: Pax Romana, Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence, plus the long-awaited Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake.

The company is restructuring into "Creative Houses" to oversee major franchises. The first subsidiary, led by co-CEOs Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot, will manage Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six. The pending Tencent deal for this is expected to close by year-end.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Roblox Launches Educational Hub for Summer Learning

Roblox launched a Learning Hub featuring dozens of interactive educational experiences, timed for Northern Hemisphere summer break to enable students to "learn while playing" across subjects including math, English and computer science. Highlights include BBC Bitesize's upcoming "Planet Planners" experience for ages 11-14, covering global challenges like disaster preparation and city management mapped to UK and US curricula, and the popular STEM game Sesame Street Mecha Builders with 70 million visits alongside programming and vocabulary games.

Modern Times Group Revenue Doubles on Plarium Acquisition

Swedish gaming company Modern Times Group reported 103% revenue growth to SEK 2.9 billion ($304 million) in Q2 2025, driven by its $620 million acquisition of RAID: Shadow Legends developer Plarium in February. Plarium contributed 49% of quarterly sales, while the company's top three games accounted for 50% of revenue. Daily active users rose 55% year-over-year, though user acquisition spending jumped 124% to SEK 1.05 billion ($110 million). CEO Maria Redin said the company is evaluating M&A opportunities while focusing on debt reduction.

Apple's EU App Store Fee Changes Expected to Win Regulatory Approval

Apple's revised App Store rules and fees for the European Union are likely to receive European Commission approval in coming weeks, Reuters reported, citing sources with direct knowledge. The greenlight would help Apple avoid additional fines after paying €500 million ($587 million) for breaching the Digital Markets Act. Under new terms, Apple charges publishers a 2% acquisition fee, 5-13% store services fee, and 5% Core Technology Commission for off-store payments, prompting Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney to call it potential "total capitulation."

⚔️Side Quest

Credits: TheBeevsComics

📺 Watch: I recommend FritangaPlays' analysis of how AI-generated content is compromising Nintendo and PlayStation's marketplace integrity. He exposes how these platforms' curation failures allow low-effort AI "games" to exploit discount algorithms and crowd out legitimate titles. Essential viewing for understanding how AI spam threatens digital storefront business models and consumer trust.

🎮 Play: WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition is a beautifully updated wolf simulation that delivers pure, realistic wildlife gameplay without fantasy elements like wings or unrealistic coats. The enhanced home screen, wolf customization, and finally-complete campaign will hit longtime fans with waves of nostalgia. Despite some graphical limitations and screen tearing issues, the stellar sound design, strategic pup-raising mechanics, and heartfelt storytelling make this an unforgettable nature experience.

📚 Read: I highly recommend in this Derek Lieu's game trailer masterclass dissecting the science behind how he made the Skin Deep Release Trailer. He covers everything from identifying hooks and managing capture workflows to Stream Deck automation and A24-inspired editing techniques. His insights on balancing spoilers versus intrigue are invaluable for marketers, developers, or anyone interested in video game promotion craft.

💡Did You Know

The term "cutscene" was actually coined by Ron Gilbert, co-developer of the groundbreaking 1987 adventure game "Maniac Mansion." Gilbert created this now-universal gaming terminology to describe the game's innovative non-playable video sequences that would "interrupt gameplay to advance the story and inform the player about offscreen events." Before Maniac Mansion, games rarely used cinematic storytelling techniques, making Gilbert's cutscenes revolutionary for their time. Today, cutscenes are fundamental to modern gaming, from brief story moments to elaborate CGI sequences, but it all traces back to Gilbert's creative vision in this classic LucasArts adventure that helped define narrative-driven gaming.

📜 Quote of the Day

“Never forget what it is like to see the world as a child, Senua: where every autumn leaf is a work of art; every rolling cloud, a moving picture; every day a new story. We too emerge from this magic, like a wave from the ocean, only to return back to the sea. Do not mourn the waves, the leaves and the clouds. Because even in darkness the wonder and beauty of the world never leaves. It's always there, just waiting to be seen again”