Everplay, the AIM-listed video games publisher behind the Worms series, is on course for a series of earnings upgrades on the strength of its new shooter Wardogs, according to RBC Capital Markets.
The broker, which rates the shares "outperform", raised its price target to 545p from 455p.
On Friday, the shares were changing hands for 401.3p, up 3%.
RBC sits 13% above the market's forecast for underlying earnings this year, and said its more optimistic scenarios pointed to upgrades of 22% to 31%, depending on how many copies of Wardogs sell.
Wardogs is a first-person shooter made by the studio Bulkhead, which has already confirmed more than two million sales.
Everplay owns 28% of Bulkhead's parent, Super Media Group, along with a board seat, giving it a stake in a game analyst Ross Broadfoot described as a potential long-term franchise.
The broker estimates that every extra 500,000 units sold adds about £4.5 million to Everplay's underlying earnings.
Its base case assumes 2.5 million sales, which it called conservative; three million would lift consensus earnings by 22%, and 3.5 million by 31%.
RBC lifted its revenue forecast for this year by 15% to £211.3 million and its underlying earnings estimate by 17% to £62.3 million.
It trimmed next year's earnings forecast slightly, reflecting a decision by the developer to push the full release of Wardogs, at a higher price of about $59.99, back to 2028.
The note flagged a weaker performance from Astragon, Everplay's simulation games arm, which it said had work to do to restore confidence.
Its children's app business StoryToys grew 43% year on year but went largely unnoticed.
RBC pointed to risks including an oversupply of games, weak consumer spending and underperforming new releases.
It also noted the 28% stake could add meaningfully to profits in 2027, though it has left that out of its forecasts for now.
