Very Big Indie Pitch
Smash Head Studio's roguelite action platformer wins the first ever Dubai Big Indie Pitch
Winners breakdown
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact records lowest monthly revenue as Honkai: Star Rail soars
The success of Honkai: Star Rail saw the original smash hit game’s revenue drop to $53.8 million
Women In Games
Zynga's Paula Neves shares her journey from psychology to mobile marketing
From a psychology major in Brazil to a Senior Product manager with Zynga in Montreal, Pocketgamer.biz finds out more about Paula Neves' journey in games
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight Seattle: Maintain UA and performance within the changing privacy landscape with Mark Menery of Dataseat
We get up close with the speakers at our upcoming Pocket Gamer Seattle event. Don't miss out!
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight Seattle: Phil Shpilberg of GameChangerSF by Pixis outlines the future of AI in games marketing
We get up close with the speakers at our upcoming Pocket Gamer Seattle event. Don't miss out!
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight Seattle: Delivering premium live services with Kazutomo Niwa of Game Server Services (GS2)
We get up close with the speakers at our upcoming Pocket Gamer Seattle event. Don't miss out!
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight Seattle: Moloco's Donghwan Jeon on AI, big data, machine learning and more
With just a couple of weeks to go, we get up close with the speakers at our upcoming Pocket Gamer Seattle event. Don't miss out!
Esports
Snapdragon Pro Series partners with Activision to bring Call of Duty: Mobile to Mobile Masters
The title will join other mobile heavyweights Garena: Fire and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Pending Deal
Sega to snap up Rovio for $1 billion?
Will Sonic join forces with the Angry Birds?
Events & Awards
It's Awards Season: Vote for PG Connects and come to the Mobile Game Awards
If you love Pocket Gamer Connects London, don't forget to vote for us. And don't miss our own Mobile Games Awards next week too!
Rumours
Could Playtika be a target for a buyout?
After a strategic review last year resetting the company's course, buyers are reportedly showing interest
Playx4 May 2023
Korea's leading B2B games event - PlayX4 - returns for 2023 - with online and live events supported
PlayX4 Korea’s leading B2B games event PlayX4 will be held on May 11th & 12th 2023 with both on and offline participation supported
Feature
Hypercasual macro overview in 2023 for developers
Google’s Analytical Consultant, Daria Yakovleva dives into the hypercasual market to share some key points of interest
Insights
LifeStreet CEO Levi Matkins on generative AI and its role in mobile advertisement
Generative AI has caused quite the buzz in 2023 but what does it mean and how can it be used
Various Visits
Tim Cook represents Apple in visits to miHoYo and other Chinese partners
Meeting creators behind games like Genshin Impact
Finance
ByteDance hits record revenue of $80bn, but at the cost of gaming?
Their latest figures has them head-to-head with fellow tech giant Tencent
Feature
Game Analysis: Taking a deep dive into the world of Frozen City
AppQuantum's Oleg Lomakov explores Frozen City to reveal what makes this hit app tick
Feature
The hyper-casual landscape in 2023: Trends and insights for developers
Azur Games publishing lead, Sergey Martinkevich shares insights on the development and monetization of hyper-casual games
Netease Anime
NetEase Games enters the world of animation with Anici Anime
The new brand will further the company's interests outside of games
Pokemon Power
Indian Pokémon Unite tournament boast biggest prize pool ever
The esports event takes place between April and June with $75,000 up for grabs
Indian Market
Nazara CEO: Indian market playing catch up with game monetisation
Despite the growth of India’s mobile gaming sector, the country trails in effective monetisation
Tencent Financials
Tencent’s revenue increased 0.5% year-on-year in Q4 2022
The company saw a small rebound following a turbulent year
New Features
NetEase launches first pilot server for Infinite Lagrange
The server will allow players to test incoming features and offer feedback to the development team
Expert Insight
Dmitry Bobrov of ZiMAD: “How to stay successful for over ten years”
The mobile puzzle maker with over 200m users shares the secrets of effective operating for lasting, long-term success
Makreo Report
49% of China’s gamers play on their phones
A new report analyses the world’s biggest mobile market
Building An Empire
Mo' ATT, mo' problems: Why Supercell’s next hit must overcome Apple’s privacy assault
Is the developer’s next blockbuster being stymied by Apple’s App Tracking Transparency rules?
Licences & International Releases
Tencent brings smash hit Merge Mansion to China in raft of new licences
The game is part of a slew of newly granted licences for a number of foreign titles
It’s Showtime
Persona: The Phantom X available for pre-order in China
The game is the first in the franchise released on mobile
New Label
NetEase launches Exptional Global label for international releases
Games such as Dead by Daylight Mobile and Lord of the Rings: War have been shifted to the new label
Chinese Gaming Industry
Chinese games industry publishes draft of rules for self-regulation
The rules aim to address problems in the industry such as copyright disputes and gaming addiction without the need for government interaction
Wemade At Gdc 2023
Wemade – diamond sponsor at GDC 2023 – shares valuable blockchain gaming knowledge and experience
Join in the conversations with company experts on trending industry topics, wins and challenges in open sessions during the event
Big Trouble In Little China
The USA’s new trade restrictions are bad news for Nvidia
The restriction would impact Nvidia’s ability to do business with Huawei
Boost Your Ad Strategy
Boost your ad strategy in 2023 with Appodeal's new insights report
How will inflation affect ad revenues? Let Appodeal reveal all the Mobile eCPM insights to boost your ad strategy in 2023!
A New Fantasy
Square Enix to relocate main offices from Shinjuku to Shibuya
The move to the iconic location is due to be completed after the construction of a new building is complete
Matsuda’s Final Fantasy?
Square Enix board calls for their president to step aside
A proposal suggests that boss Yosuke Matsuda will be replaced by company director Takashi Kiryu
Podcast
Gaming for good | Podcast
Tiltify's Tom Downie joins the PocketGamer.biz podcast to explore the curiosity of giving and the power of play
Olympic Esports
Mobile games included in inaugural Olympic Esports Series
The global competition will culminate in the live finals in Singapore this June
New Studio
NetEase funds Studio Flare in Tokyo
Former Marvelous executive vice president Toshinori Aoki will serve as president and CEO
Quantic Dream Come True
NetEase reportedly paid $106 million for Quantic Dream
Last year’s acquisition highlights the company’s commitment to growth
Unity Financials
Unity celebrates its first profitable quarter on a non-GAAP basis since going public
The company generated $451 million in Q4 2022
Alibaba Financials
Alibaba Group generated $36 million in Q4 2022
The group’s latest financial report showcases a period of modest growth
Financial Report
NetEase revenue rose 4% year-on-year in Q4 2022
The gaming giant’s latest financial report highlights a year of growth
Leaks
Genshin Impact developers MiHoYo on legal hunt for leakers
The hit games' developers have subpoenaed Twitter for the names of users suspected of leaking its secrets
Rumours
Is there a new Nintendo console on the way?
Documents provided to the CMA sparked rumours of potential new handheld or console from the company
Industry Insight
Seven ways mobile games can make the most of direct–to-consumer strategies
Xsolla's Chris Hewish explains how mobile studios can make the most of the direct-to-consumer strategies used by major publishers
Insights
Flexion's Jens Lauritzson on why you should consider alternative app stores
Alternative app store publishing has been a winning model for companies such as Flexion and their partners
Podcast
Unravelling the alchemy of user acquisition | Podcast
Trailmix’s Philippa Layburn reveals the routes to winning user acquisition strategies and creatives
Views Week
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news to talk AI in games, games going global and the return of much-loved franchises
Chinese Gaming Industry
China’s games sales fell 10.33% in 2022
China Audiovisual and Digital Publishing Association has revealed the sector’s struggles
Ncsoft Financials
Mobile games generated 75% of NCSoft sales revenue in 2022
The company’s latest financials showcase the strength of its mobile offerings