Unity And Ironsource
Unity announce date for stockholders vote on ironSource merger
The vote will take place on October 7th, but neither company is likely to reject the merger
Optimise
App Store Optimisation's increasing role in user acquisition
App Store Optimisation Q&A tips from Simon Thillay, Head of ASO for AppTweak
Hot Five
Hot Five: September 12th. The five stories you need to know before you start your working week
The biggest stories on PocketGamer.biz in the last week
Nintendo
Nintendo RPG Dragalia Lost to shut down in November
Nintendo’s mobile RPG Dragalia Lost will no longer be accessible after the 30th of November.
Layoffs
Garena to lay off up to 15% of its Shanghai staff
Game developer Garena is laying off hundreds of staff
July Charts
Uma Musume Pretty Derby raced into July’s charts
Stumble Guys unseated Subway Surfers as the month’s most downloaded iOS title
Animoca Brands Secures Funding
Animoca Brands raises $110 million in funding
Animoca Brands had a successful funding round of $110 million the round was led by investment company Temasek
Block Breaking Beats
Tackling the technology gap to build web3 mobile games
From its origins as a successful hypercasual games studio to the cutting edge of web3 mobile games, PlayEmber CEO Hugo Furneaux, charts the company's quest to reimagine development
Financial Report
NetDragon sees a 26.3 increase in revenue year-on-year
Eudemons proved to be a strong performer despite a decrease in overall revenue
Tencent X Guillemot Bros
Tencent now owns 49.9 per cent of Guillemot Bros
The investment follows reports that Tencent was seeking majority control of Ubisoft
Investment
Metaverse Magna raises £3.2M in latest seed funding round
Multiple investors including WeMade participated in the round
Layoffs
ByteDance reportedly downsizes games divisions
Hundreds of employees have reportedly been laid off as the brand refocuses
Series A
Xterio game publisher and developer raises $40M for mobile Web3 games
Xterio has raised over $40M in a round of Series A funding including investors such as Animoca Brands and FunPlus.
Financial Report
XD sees 15.6% year-on-year increase in revenue
The company saw high MAU in China, despite a decrease in international markets
Funding Round
Temasek to head funding round for Animoca Brands
The investment sees Temasek double down on its interest in Web3 companies
Guest Post
How to build a winning ad strategy through creative testing
LifeStreet CEO Levi Matkins on how to create the best ads possible
Hot Five
Hot Five: September 5th. The biggest stories from the last seven days, in a bite-sized digest
The HOTTEST stories on PocketGamer.biz in the last week
Gotta Catch Em All
Pokémon GO Fest 2022 drives more players outdoors - and in game
Increased spend shows the ongoing value of events - both in-game and live in keeping an active and engaged audience
A Sea Of Trouble
SEA shuts projects and lays off staff in Garena unit
This comes in the wake of a $1 billion quarterly loss
It's Super Effective!
The Pokémon Company sues six Chinese companies
The lawsuit is being filed due to copyright infringement
Financial Audits
NetEase and Alibaba among first in line for US audit inspection
NetEase and Alibaba among first in line for US audit inspection
Goodbye Facebook Gaming
Meta closing Facebook Gaming app before end of year
The app’s servers are shutting down on October 28
Acquisition Finalised
Embracer finalises acquisition of Square Enix assets
The deal sees Embraces takes control of franchises such as Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain
Mobile Acquisition
PlayStation Mobile makes its first acquisition
The company is bringing Savage Game Studios into the fold
Hot Five
Hot Five: August 29th. The biggest stories from the last seven days, in a bite-sized digest
The HOTTEST stories on PocketGamer.biz in the last week
New Studio
Square Enix to launch new western studio
Studio Onoma announced following the sale of western studios to Embracer Group
Investing In The Future
njoyKidz receives first investment round on a $5 million valuation
The round was led by WePlay Ventures
Financials
Netmarble reveals financial earnings for second quarter of 2022
South Korean mobile giants earned $535.95 million in revenue, but saw its EBITDA decrease by 48%
Guest Post
Cruise to the East: How to successfully localize a game into Arabic
Inlingo and Belka Games discuss the unique struggles that come with adapting games for the MENA region
Big Business
Saudi Arabia approves Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard
The Middle Eastern country is the first to recognize the acquisition
New Hire
Roblox appoints Steve Park as Asia-Pacific head of public policy
The Meta veteran joins the Roblox team this week
Hot Five
Hot Five: August 22nd. The mobile games industry's unmissable news, features and more
The HOTTEST stories on PocketGamer.biz in the last week
Ios Vs Android
Tenjin reports Android apps generated 14% more revenue than iOS apps in Q2 2022
The United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom had the most ad revenue last quarter for both iOS and Android apps
New Partnership
Adverty and Yazle announce in-game ad partnership
The partnership will make Yazle the exclusive vendor of Adverty products in the MENA region
Rpg Stats
Report: 63% of RPG revenue comes from mobile
Genshin impact was the most streamed title of June 2022
Quarterly Report
Garena sees sharp decreases in year-on-year bookings and revenue
This comes in spite of the continued success of Free Fire
Quarterly Report
Tencent reports first quarterly loss since first listing in 2004
The company’s revenue has decreased 3% year-on-year
Return Of Tgdc
Tencent Game Developers Conference returns for its sixth year on August 16th to 17th
Attendees can expect to see guest speakers from Supercell, USC Games, and Sumo Digital, who will share their insights into the development of the game industry
Scientific Partnership
NetEase Games and CCP Games team up to bring Project Discovery to mobile
NetEase Games EVE Echoes players can help scientific research to prevent and cure illnesses through Project Discovery
Dragon Quest Builders
Yuki Furukawa discusses the development and success of Dragon Quest Builders' mobile port
We spoke to Furukawa regarding the game's journey from PlayStation to mobile
Indie View
We sit down with Minidragon to discuss its record-breaking Big Indie Pitch success
We talk to Minidragon's Hank Choi about The Big Indie Pitch
Hot Five
Hot Five: August 15th. The mobile games industry's unmissable news, features and more
The HOTTEST stories on PocketGamer.biz in the last week
Krafton Not Slowing Down
Krafton Inc reports revenue of $729 million for the first half of 2022
PUBG: Mobile vital to Krafton's successful H1, earning $550 million in mobile business sector
Igda Riyadh
International Game Developers Association announces its first Saudi Arabian chapter
The new chapter is being created in collaboration with Nine66
A New Partnership
WEBZEN signs partners with Crimoons to publish mobile idle RPG ‘Project F’
Project F is an upcoming mobile game with character collection and idle RPG features
Indie View
Dunali Games sit down with us to discuss innovation and survival in indie game development
We talk to Dunali Games' Dipender Kaushik about The Big Indie Pitch
Gaming In China
Niko Partners: 40% drop in Chinese young gamers after September regulations
However, the number of Chinese gamers will rise to 115 million by 2026, predicts the market intelligence provider
New Art Design Studio
Aiming Inc. expands to open new Taipei Studio
The co-developer behind World of Demon hopes the new location will grab the attention of local artists
Quarterly Finances
Unity announce 9% revenue growth, but lower annual guidance in Q2 results - no comment on Applovin deal
This call should be of considerable interest due to AppLovin's acquisition plans
Quarterly Report
Korean market key as Nexon experiences a record-breaking quarter
FIFA Online 4 and Dungeon&Fighter Mobile were the company's biggest mobile hits