Winner Winner
Battle royale games have surpassed $2 billion on mobile
NetEase’s Knives Out leads the way
Big Deal
Microsoft and Sony set aside rivalry to team up on cloud gaming
PlayStation maker to use Azure data centres for cloud gaming; will also work with Microsoft on new developments
Financials
Japan success helps propel NetEase sales to $2.7 billion in Q1 2019
Chinese publishing giant also knocking it out the park at home
Financials
Tencent hopes Season Passes will help revitalise games growth after decline
Publisher is now clear of China's licensing freeze
Mobile Future
NCSoft wants more from its legacy RPG franchises on mobile as sales decline
Mobile still makes up more than half of the company's sales
Faster
Bidalgo’s new Accelerator program wants to help small to mid-sized app developers scale up
Bidalgo aims to put smaller studios on a level playing field when it comes to user acquisition efforts
What A Rush
Pokemon Rumble Rush revealed for iOS and Android
Evolution of 2017 Pokeland title that was in the works
Event
How to get into Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong - free!
Four different ways for you to get involved with the leading B2B event for the mobile, blockchain and PC games industry this July without spending a buck
Market Data
More than half of the world’s mobile gamers are based in Asia
Newzoo's head of analytics Jelle Kooistra delves into how markets around the world still have room to grow
New Update
PUBG Mobile adds new gameplay management tool to help promote “healthy gaming”
Aimed at young users under the age of 18
That’s A Twist
Detective Pikachu captures biggest weekend opening ever in US for a video game film adaptation
$58 million made from American Pokemon Trainers
Korea Stars
Brawl Stars takes $50 million in South Korea
Total global sales to date reach an estimated $230m
Season 2
Supercell partners with South Korean TV network OGN for Clash Royale League
Handling production in the West and Asia
Investor Meeting
Nintendo and Tencent not expected to bring Switch to China before March 2020
Not included in the company’s sales targets for 2019
Acquisition News
Rockstar acquires Indian developer Dhruva Interactive for $7.9m
Starbreeze sells majority stake in studio for $600k less than it paid
New Opportunities
SK Telecom partners with Microsoft on 5G, AI and cloud technologies
SK Telecom will adopt Microsoft 365 secure solution
Peace
Tencent’s "peaceful" PUBG clone Game for Peace earned over $14 million in three days
Game for Peace is already outperforming PUBG Mobile internationally
Weekly Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Clash of Clans the US top grosser again, but it can't beat Coin Master in the UK
Rankings from April 29th to May 5th 2019
Vote
Australia's Labor party courts devs with pledge to reinstate the Interactive Games Fund
$25 million fund will be reinstated pending the results of elections this Saturday
East Meets West
East Meets West: China mobile games revenue to surpass $25bn, Chinese loot box rules, and DeNA-Pokemon Company partnership
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Legendary
Apex Legends is pinging a mobile port
EA’s Q4 results suggest Respawn’s battle royale is heading to smartphones and China
Financials
DeNA games sales and profits fall in FY2018
Company hopeful Mario Kart Tour can do the business in 2019
Financial
MapleStory and Dungeon & Fighter shatter expectations to drive Nexon’s Q1 2019 results
Nexon predicts further growth as it heads into the next quarter
I Choose You
The Pokemon Company partners with DeNA for new mobile game
Game is due to arrive before the end of March 2020
Trade Dispute
US China trade war escalates as Trump raises tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products
Further duties of $325 billion worth of Chinese goods also threatened, which has the potential to affect tech companies like Apple
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Roblox the top grosser on US App Store
Charts from April 22nd to 28th
Live And Kicking
Four years on: Netmarble on how Marvel Future Fight has continued to assemble fans
"In order to compete with other games, the title should be as fun as if it only came out yesterday"
Event
Quick! This is your last chance to save up to $450 on Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong tickets
Super Early Bird offer for July’s two day B2B conference ends TONIGHT
Loss
South Korea economy could lose over $9 billion once the WHO names gaming addiction a disease
Stigmatising gaming addicts could cost the industry trillions of KRW
Game For Peace?
Tencent shuts down PUBG Mobile in China
Replaces with new, similar battle royale title Game for Peace that has received government approval
Douyu Not
Chinese live-streaming platform DouYu halts US IPO
The company announced the IPO late last month
Chinese Regulations
Loot box design 2.0: Complying with China's new rules
The Yodo1 team discusses the latest changes and offers help on figuring out your best strategy for legal monetisation in the country
Rapid Growth
China mobile games revenue to surpass $25 billion by 2023
95 per cent of gamers in China are playing mobile titles; 40 per cent spend money
East Meets West
East Meets West: DOCOMO invests $280m in Magic Leap, the Middle East's growing games market, and Let's Hunt Monsters a top grosser in China
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Jobs News
Mobile ad tech firm Pocketmath appoints Joanne Joynson-Hewlett as CEO
“It is a time of unprecedented growth and opportunity for Pocketmath”
Event
Win FREE expo space in the Big Indie Zone at Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong
Get the chance to demo your game to the global games industry FREE this July, worth $650
Impressive Numbers
Voodoo outpaces hyper-casual rivals with 771 million downloads in six months
Lion Studios and Playgendary follow in second and third
Event
Things are heating up! Here’s the 15 conference tracks at Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong
Check out the amazing tracklist for July's two-day B2B games industry event
Partnered
Animoca Brands is partnering up with global venture accelerator Brinc
Both firms seal the relationship with a mutual investment of $750,000 in shares
Future Of Streaming
Synative’s revolutionary playable ad tech is like Google’s Stadia for mobile
The company operates cloud-based gaming technology that lets users try games without downloading them
Error Code 403
Nintendo removes A Dark Room from Switch eshop after developer includes code editor
“I deeply regret how this has blown up"
Jobs
Square Enix is hiring over 100 new positions at its Montréal Studios
Square Enix Montréal and Eidos Montréal are scaling up as part of an international collaboration.
Exciting Times
Maysalward CEO: “The Middle East market is a key player in the mobile industry”
The MENA video games market has a 25 per cent year on year growth with the largest youth population in the world”
Online Success
Nintendo Switch online subscriptions reach 9.8 million in six months
A third of Switch owners hold an online account
New Office
Dutch 3D tracking tech developer Xsens opens new office in Shanghai
"The Shanghai office will support the further growth of Xsens in China, which reflects the rapid growth of Xsens worldwide”
Banned
Google is wiping a Chinese developer with half a billion installs off the face of the Play store
DO Global has been accused of committing widespread ad fraud
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Clean Road cleans up in the UK in a strong week for SayGames
Charts from April 15th to 21st
Magic Funds
Japanese mobile operator DOCOMO invests $280 million in Magic Leap
Yet another investor brings total funding to date to around $2.6 billion
East Meets West
East Meets West: Chinese regulator starts approving new games, China debates long working hours, and Perfect World is world's top grosser
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Nintendo Cashes In
Nintendo mobile division sales up 17% to $412m in FY2019
Total sales for the fiscal year rose to $10.7 billion