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
Possible Acquisition
Latest financials from Square Enix reveal noticeable declines
Sony, Tencent and Nexon expected to buy stakes from Square Enix as the Japanese video game company acquisition seems more likely after performance in the last three months
Global Mobile Market
IP-Power and Eastern markets play a major role in July mobile industry performance
The month saw big success for midcore titles.
Big Indie Pitch
Real-time chess puzzler Tale of Honour manoeuvres to the Big Indie Pitch crown
Winners Breakdown
Alternative Revenue
ONEMT: quality users who drive revenue show up through the alternative app stores
Flexion CEO Jens Lauritzson explains how the company helped ONEMT give their game a revenue boost
No Longer Niche
Anime games make up 20% of all app store spending, says data.ai
Over $17 billion in consumer spending generated in 2021 alone
Get In The Sea
Infinite Arcade partners with blockchain gaming community YGG SEA
Collaboration with Southeast Asia subsidiary of Yield Guild Games intended to bring half a million players to Web3 gaming
Independent Thought
Japanese manga publisher Shueisha is taking different inspiration for its mobile games: the indie scene
Michiharu Mori discusses how Shueisha’s new games division is looking at the indie model, and why there is so little movement in mobile gaming’s most popular titles
Big Indie Pitch
Minidragon becomes a three time Big Indie Pitch winner as Hyper Dungeon is crowned champion
We explore the top games from our recent Digital Big Indie Pitch
Casual Crypto
Yomi Games raises $2 million to become the "Zynga of Crypto"
Will develop play-to-earn casual social games to be more accessible for those entering crypto gaming