Indie View
Battlebrew's Shawn Toh on 'food porn' and cooking up a successful indie studio
Shawn Toh discusses taking second place in our Digital Big Indie Pitch in August
Crossing The Streams
Game streaming revenues in China set to skyrocket to $4.5bn following platform merger
Huya and DouYu's merger agreement will create a streaming behemoth
Approved
Bidstack launches Approved Partner Network
In partnership with GIMA Esports and Httpool
Lost In Translation?
Dragalia Lost nears $150 million worldwide revenue, Japan accounts for 50%
Action RPG now sits at fourth spot for top-grossing Nintendo mobile titles
Live And Kicking
Dragalia Lost game director Yuji Okada on the two-year success of Nintendo's hidden gem
"We have over 100 people working on the project."
It's An Honour
Honor of Kings reigns supreme as the top-earning mobile game in September
Followed by fellow Tencent title PUBG Mobile
Back Again
TikTok restored in Pakistan following ban
"TikTok has assured moderating content in accordance with societal norms and the laws of Pakistan"
Esports
EVOS Esports raises $12 million in Series B funding
"Esports is currently one of the fastest-growing industries, and ATTN has managed to establish themselves as the most advanced esports platform across Asia"
Money Money Money
Japan is responsible for 22% of mobile games global revenue in the first nine months of 2020
Japanese games have generated $814.5 million internationally this year
Countdown Commences
Pocket Gamer LaunchPad #2 is coming, and you can get involved
Are you ready for takeoff?
Going Remote
Yodo1 announces transition to a fully remote company from 1st December, 2020
The China-based company has employees across the globe
This Week In Asia
This Week in Asia: Huya and DouYu merger, Com2uS acquisition and Pakistan's TikTok block
Our roundup of the latest news and updates from Asian territories
Big Indie Pitch
Alula's stargazing and gardening mix wows judges and is crowned Big Indie Pitch Winner
We explore the top three games from our recent Digital Big Indie Pitch #4
Two Become One
Streaming platforms Huya and DouYu are merging
Tencent will have a 67.5% stake
Price Is Right
Update: Nintendo to lower the cost of Joy-Cons in the US
They will cost $39.99
"progressive Strides"
Com2uS purchases Out of the Park Developments
"We expect OOTP to become a key part of our officially-licensed sports management product lineup"
Make An Impact
Genshin Impact racks up $100 million in under two weeks
"Without a doubt the most successful launch for an original IP from a Chinese dev"
Blocked
Pakistan blocks TikTok due to "immoral" and "indecent" clips
"We are hopeful to reach a conclusion that helps us serve the country's vibrant and creative online community"
This Week In Asia
This Week in Asia: Genshin Impact generates $60m in revenue while Voodoo preps to launch titles in China
Our collection of the latest news and stories from Asia
It's Mario
Super Mario 3D All-Stars was Japan's best-selling game in September
Switch games accounted for 79.2 per cent of all games sales
Welcome To China
Voodoo's titles are launching in China through The9
"Through our strategic cooperation with Voodoo to jointly publish and operate a variety of casual games in China, we can leverage the popularity of high-profile game IPs in the Chinese market"
Ninten-no
Nintendo's theme park not opening till 2021
A Mario cafe and shop will open on October 16th
Go Pro
The first all-female team joins Honor of Kings esports league
"Most teams believe that female gamers are not as capable as men"
Make An Impact
Genshin Impact generates $60 million in its first week
China accounted for 42 per cent of earnings
Dynamite
BTS World and BTS Universe Story close in on $50 million combined revenue
Estimated 15 million downloads between the two titles
Shake Up
Tencent's Chinese iOS game revenue drops $125 million as Lingxi and Lilith see strong growth
Trends in the world's largest market
New Acquisition
JetSynthesys acquires Real Cricket developer Nautilus Mobile
"With the online gaming industry skyrocketing, the acquisition also sets the ball rolling on our plan to deepen our foray into cricket esports"
Breath Of The Who?
Genshin Impact's early popularity explodes to 23 million downloads in first week
Number one title across 74 countries on iOS and 33 on Google Play
Attack The Block
Microsoft and Nintendo team up to bring Minecraft to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Minecraft Steve, Alex, Zombie and Enderman all join the fight
Impactful Launch
Update: Genshin Impact racks up 30 million downloads since launch
"I don't think any Chinese-made game has ever had that many pre-registrations outside its home market"
Trust Issues
China is looking at possible antitrust investigation into Google
“China will also look at what other countries have done, including holding inquiries with Google executives"
You're A Winner
Animal Crossing: New Horizons wins big at the Japan Game Awards 2020
Took home the Grand Award and Award for Excellence
It's War
Call of Duty: Mobile has more than 46 million pre-registrations in China
A final test will be held for Android next month
Remote Working
How a last-minute university course switch lead Tom Van Dam to ByteDance and China
"I felt that I shouldn't do something too similar to what I enjoyed as a hobby, so overnight I applied for Economics and Finance instead."
Heading To Japan
Microsoft is launching xCloud in Japan in 2021
"In Japan, we're seeing the community embrace this freedom to play"
Down Under
Melbourne International Games Week starts 3 October with a host of online content
Taking place from October 3rd-11th
Big Indie Pitch
Puzzles & Games returns to The Big Indie Pitch and walks away champions
Winning at Digital Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #3 Helsinki
Funding
Mobile Premier League raises $90 million in Series C funding
"Even in an environment as challenging as the current one, we are impressed with the success and accessibility of the platform concept"
Wechat Mini Games
Unprecedented growth in China's HTML5 games market: WeChat Mini Game revenue up 18%
Yodo1 explores the growing world of WeChat Mini Games
"push The Boundaries"
PGC Helsinki Digital: Why video games are "empathy machines"
Nyamakop producer Limpho Moeti spoke about the importance of subversion
This Week In Asia
This Week in Asia: Black Desert franchise hits $1.7 billion revenue as Nintendo ceases 3DS production
The biggest stories from across Asia
Farewell
Nintendo says goodbye to 3DS production
"We can confirm that the manufacturing of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems has ended"
My Little World
Hasbro's My Little Pony IP engages millions of fans in prominent Chinese mobile game
Yodo1 details how it brought the iconic IP to Mini World
Proving Popular
Nintendo's mobile games library hits 650 million downloads
Across seven apps
Sponsored
Huawei commits to AppGallery as applications continue growth
Since launching, AppGallery has exceeded 400 million monthly active users
Money Money Money
Pearl Abyss' Black Desert franchise breaks $1.7 billion in lifetime revenue
"We've reached dizzying heights and continue to strive towards making the best games in the world"
New Normal?
PGC Helsinki Digital: "Every day was like a weekend" - the impact of Covid-19 on mobile games
Second Wave of Games - Coming Back from Covid-19 panel
Only 3% Of Downloads
PGC Helsinki Digital: Battle royale made up 20% of total time spent across mobile games in the first half of 2020
Five billion global downloads were made in the genre of hypercasual too
Player Very Well Known
PUBG Mobile fires past $3.5 billion revenue, accumulates $500 million in two months
Battle royale has picked up 770 million installs
Switched
Nintendo increases Switch production by up to 30 million units in its current fiscal year
Has also asked developers to prepare games in 4K