Week that was

Unity CEO on helping devs ride the smartphone wave, what we learned at Gamescom, and why premium pricing builds respect

The past 7 days in bite-sized portions

Unity CEO on helping devs ride the smartphone wave, what we learned at Gamescom, and why premium pricing builds respect

This week, with GDC Europe and Gamescom 2014 finally over, it was Unity's turn to step into the spotlight and wow the industry at Unite 2014 in Seattle. 

Naturally, the news came thick and fast, with Unity CEO David Helgason claiming some bragging rights by revealing that 45 percent of all mobile games with thirdparty engines now use Unity. 

Helgason also offered some thoughts on going "end-to-end" with Unity, and how he plans to help developers ride the smartphone wave. 

Big news was also breaking in the east, where GungHo made $74 million by selling its share of Supercell back to SoftBank, while Gumi looked to go big outside of Japan by setting up 4 studios in US and Europe.

Of course, there's more gossip where that came from, so grab a slice of lemon meringue pie and quench your thirst for news with a fresh glass of Week That Was. 

Industry Voices

  • Unity CEO David Helgason revealed that 45% of all mobile games with thirdparty engines use Unity.
  • Going multiplatform only 'increases the awesome', explained Snuggle Truck dev.
  • In a brutally honest interview with PocketGamer.co.uk, Peter Molyneux explained that designers must own, love and define free-to-play. 
  • inkle's Jon Ingold revealed why he uses premum to build a rapport with his players. 
  • We talked you through the 4 things we learned at Gamescom and GDC Europe.
  • We found out whether China is an opportunity or a threat for indie Korean mobile game developers?
  • Durng his opening keynote Unity CEO David Helgason also offered some thoughts on going "end to end" with Unity, and helping developers ride the smartphone wave.

Monetisation

  • Localytics researched proved that every developer should be harnessing the power of push notifications. 
  • Chinese publisher Perfect World saw FY14 Q2 sales rise 4% to $150 million.
  • Single player casual games drove SkyMobi's FY14 Q2 sales up by 32% to $27 million.
  • With 21 games in development, CMGE saw FY14 Q2 sales increase by 28% to $44 million.

User acquisition, retention, and discovery

 Tools & Platforms

  • Humble Bundle geared up for more mobile bundles with the launch of the Sega Mobile Bundle.
  • Unity revealed that select components of the engine are to be open source moving forward.

Funding, acquisitions, personnel and shutterings


What do you call someone who has an unhealthy obsession with video games and Sean Bean? That'd be a 'Chris Kerr'. Chris is one of those deluded souls who actually believes that one day Sean Bean will survive a movie. Poor guy.