adminThe IPVerse data platform is a free service launched by China-based mobile games publisher Yodo1 to help game developers, publishers and intellectual property holders assess potential licensing partnerships. It brings together information on in-game collaborations across mobile, console and PC games, with additional insights focused on the Chinese market.
Image credit: Yodo1
What the IPVerse data platform offers
IPVerse includes data covering 80,000 in-game events, 20,000 brands and 15,000 game titles. The platform is intended to help users compare intellectual properties and identify which partnerships may be a good fit for a game, as well as help rights holders understand where their properties could be relevant.
For teams assessing a collaboration, a broad dataset can provide useful context on past activity and market patterns. It is still important to consider a game’s audience, tone and existing plans: the number of previous partnerships alone does not establish whether a particular collaboration will work.
Why game partnerships need careful evaluation
Yodo1 says in-game collaborations have risen by 280% since 2020, while noting that not every partnership has been successful. The company has warned that a poorly matched intellectual property could affect player growth and long-term retention. This makes audience fit and the goals of a campaign important considerations alongside licensing costs and brand recognition.
Yodo1 Games product lead Eliyar Eziz said the platform was developed to make the process of finding valuable collaborations less fragmented. Eziz described IPVerse as a way to bring global trends and regional information together, including detailed coverage of China, so studios can make partnership decisions with more information than intuition or scattered data alone.
Practical considerations for developers
- Check audience fit: Consider whether a property is relevant to the game’s players and overall setting.
- Use regional context: Market preferences can differ, so China-focused information may be useful when evaluating opportunities there.
- Compare more than popularity: Past collaborations can offer context, but they do not guarantee future results.
- Set clear goals: Decide whether a partnership is intended to support player acquisition, engagement or another business objective before selecting an IP.
Yodo1’s background
Founded in 2011, Yodo1 raised $18 million in funding from seed through Series B within its first two years. In 2019, the company also drew attention after CEO and co-founder Henry Fong said that a player had spent $150,000 in Transformers: Earth War. The announcement prompted discussion about how mobile game companies approach players who spend heavily; Fong was speaking about an AI tool Yodo1 had developed to identify such players.
What IPVerse could mean for licensing decisions
The IPVerse data platform gives developers and rights holders a shared resource for exploring potential game collaborations, with a dataset spanning multiple platforms and a specific focus on China. Its information can help teams narrow their options, but partnership decisions still require careful consideration of audience needs, creative fit and commercial goals.
