Hack Blocker
Defending against the dark arts of mobile game hacking with AppSealing
AppSealing delves into the problems at hand and its solution
Two Bans Two Months
PUBG banned in Nepal over addiction concerns in young children
“We have ordered the ban on PUBG because it is addictive to children and teenagers”
Reach For The Sky
Animoca Brands picks up majority stake in CCG developer Skytree for $606k
Developer could work on F1, MLB, Bundesliga or Bayern Munich IPs
One Billion Dollars
Mobile accounts for nearly a third of Black Desert franchise's $1 billion sales
Series began in 2015
Crime Does Pay
Games2win partners with Sony Pictures to launch mobile games based off iconic Indian show CID
“It’s an all-time epic”
Mobile Trends
Key mobile games industry trends for 2019 and how they’ll affect the sector in 2020
An overview of leading genres and new user acquisition formats and strategies for the year ahead
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Tencent continues its dominance as China’s top grosser but Perfect World drops to second
Charts from March 25th to March 31st
Bring Me Thanos
Kabam and NetEase partner for Chinese Android launch of Marvel Contest of Champions
Perfectly balanced as all things should be
Job News
Animoca Brands hires former Sony managing director Michael Ephraim as head of partnerships
Will oversee Australia and New Zealand region
East Meets West
East Meets West: Game of Thrones joins latest China game approvals, and Hatch partners with Samsung on 5G
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Huge Growth
Global mobile user spending to reach $156 billion by 2023
Latin America and Africa were both noted as most likely to see the biggest increase in growth revenue
Wahooo
Mario Odyssey and Zelda: Breath of the Wild VR support coming to Nintendo Labo
Experience Breath of the Wild in full through virtual reality
Hatch A Plan
Hatch partners with Samsung to bring 5G games service to South Korea
Hatch Premium will be included with any purchase of Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G in the country
Busy Bees
Animoca raises $3.3 million and acquires German developer Stryking
Picks up studio initial $1.1m deal that could rise to $3.3m
Chicago To Asia
Niantic details worldwide summer events for Pokemon Go in 2019
I will travel across the land, searching far and wide
3g 4g 5g More
SK Telecom introduces new 5G data plan that includes exclusive games and promotions
Firm states that new 5G network will utilise its 34,000 5G base stations across the country
Emergency Maintenance
Nippon Ichi Software stock nosedives after Disgaea RPG suffers maintenance woes after launch
Game taken offline after March 19th launch and was due to come back online at end of March, but has since suffered further delays
Movers And Shakers
Ex-Konami head of emerging markets named Marvelous Europe GM as Harry Holmwood exits
Holmwood leaving to focus on "other business interests"
Pubg Prime
PUBG Mobile introduces in-app subscriptions for sixth season
Gross revenue grew 83 per cent in March 2019 overtaking Fortnite for the month
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: PUBG Mobile hits top spot in the US Google Play grossing charts
Charts from March 18th to March 24th
Ads
Mobvista revenue from programmatic advertising grew 99 per cent in the wake of its IPO
Ad tech platform reports a 38.9 per cent annual increase in total revenue, hitting $435 million
Foreign Games Too
China’s games regulator approves nearly 100 new games including Game of Thrones and Angry Birds
Bringing the total for new games in 2019 up to 987
Eastern Stars
Is Brawl Stars set to knock it out the park in China as Supercell’s latest billion-dollar success?
An analysis of the online multiplayer shooter's Western and Eastern performance
Ban Lifted
India police lift PUBG Mobile ban in Ahmedabad
With exam season over, officials see no reason to renew the Battlegrounds ban
Better Together
Why NetEase is shooting up battle royale with stylish, team-based title Disorder
Another twist
East Meets West
East Meets West: Perfect World off to a scorching start with $100m in 22 days, and pre-registrations kick off for Brawl Stars in China
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
East To West
Webzen eyes America launch for MMORPG MU Origin 2 after success in Asia
From China to America
Done Deal
Animoca Brands invests $2 million in creative networking platform Talenthouse
Deal equal to 448,413 shares in art networking platform
Retire
Kaz Hirai is stepping down from Sony after 35 years
I am confident that everyone is fully aligned under Yoshida-san's strong leadership, and are ready to build an even brighter future"
Legendary
Monolith Soft is ramping up its roster in preparation for a new Zelda
After pitching in on Breath of the Wild, Monolith is back for more adventuring
Perfect
Perfect World’s $100 million launch month dethrones Honor of Kings
Tencent's newest MMO has been raking in $4.5 million in player spending every day since launch
Mr. Worldwide
Pre-registrations open for Supercell’s Brawl Stars in China
No official release date given
Layoffs
Update: EA's latest layoffs include the closure of its offices in Japan and Russia
Publisher vows to help newly-redundant staff find new roles in the local games industry
Start Your Engines
Animoca Brands partners with Formula 1 on blockchain game F1 Delta Time
First phase will launch from May 10th, 2019
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Tencent’s Perfect World dethrones Honor of Kings as China’s top grosser
Charts from March 11th to March 17th
Royale
PUBG Mobile celebrates its first anniversary with a $2.5 million live event
Live music premier provides a soundtrack to PUBG Mobile's big esports plans
Switch
Nintendo to launch budget and high-end Switch models this summer
Two new console variations will reportedly be announced at E3 this year
Legal
PUBG Corp and NetEase settle the battle royale cloning dispute
Two rival battle royale giants choose to settle the PUBG / Knives Out cloning dispute peacefully
Cinemagraph Ads
Facebook partner on using UnrealFront’s Cinemagraph ad creative to market your mobile game
High definition images offer an eye-catching solution to getting user attention
Special Offer
Speak at the first ever Pocket Gamer Connects in Hong Kong
Explore this new market with 125 speakers and two shows for the mobile and blockchain games industry
Nindies
Top 10 best-selling indie games on the Nintendo Switch so far
Overcooked 2's entry gives Ghost Town Games the unique position of holding two top-selling Switch indie games
Jobs
Two dozen new jobs open as Google ramps up Stadia development
Tech giant launches hiring spree across Canada, Germany, Taiwan and Japan
East Meets West
East Meets West: Pocket Gamer Connects heads to Hong Kong, and Tencent's games make $19bn
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Gdc Roundup
GDC 2019: All the top news in one place
We chart the breaking news and big interviews from each day at the world's biggest games developer show
Downloads
Nexon’s empire-builder DomiNations hits 50 million downloads
Mobile strategy hits the major milestone just in time for its fourth anniversary
Royale
Mobile was monumental in earning Tencent $19 billion in games revenue
Mobile success offset a decline in PC games revenue
Dead-ication
NetEase’s LifeAfter passes $125 million in revenue
97 per cent of revenue originated from China
Special Offer
Dates and venue revealed for Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong
International games industry conference lands in Asia, July 17-18. Super Early Birds save up to $450
Shoot
GDC 2019: NetEase takes on Call of Duty Mobile with new shooter Disorder
Disorder to go head-to-head with Tencent-partnered Call of Duty Mobile in China
Welcome Explorers
GDC 2019: Tencent’s WeChat opens doors for developers to create games on the platform
Mini Games program boasts 400 million monthly active users