Lost And Found
Nintendo’s Dragalia Lost hatches over $50m in just over two months
The RPG is still only available in the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau
Nice
Soomla snags $2.6m in funding to boost mobile monetization measurement platform
The funding was led by JAL Ventures with further investment from existing partners
Igdc Begins
“By the games industry for the games industry”: India Game Developer Conference kicks off
Rebranded event aims to promote emerging sector
Global
Tencent and NetEase saw a 382 per cent increase in international mobile games revenue during 2018
China’s game freeze hasn’t stopped the country’s biggest players going global
Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: Tencent’s Naruto Online makes a splash in the East
Charts for the week of November 12th
Stocked
Mobvista hopes to snag $173.9m from IPO to boost mobile advertising and analytics platform
The Hong Kong-based company also intends
Speak Up
Tencent, Zynga and Natural Motion set to speak at India Games Developer Conference 2018
Activision, Ubisoft and Avalanche Studios also to feature
Big Indie Pitch
Brawl Quest becomes the final Big Indie Pitch champion of 2018
We check out the top 3 prize winners at this years Big Indie Pitch at G-STAR 18
Big Indie Awards
The Big Indie Awards 2018 Top 20 Countdown Part 2 - 10 to 1
We check out the top 10 games from the 2018 Big Indie Awards in association with G-STAR and sponsored by Jagex Partners
Gone
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee shifts three million copies on Nintendo Switch in first week
The haul is the highest first-week sales figure for a Switch title
Eastern Promise
Blizzard devs claim Diablo Immortal designed with China in mind
But Blizzard denies this
Job Klaxon
Animoca Brands brings in former Mozilla exec to head up strategic partnerships
As part of his role Gen Kanai will help to advance the company’s blockchain strategy
A Magneton Of Bad Reviews
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee struck by review-bombing for deviating from main-series formula
Amazon Japan appears to have purged its review section in response
Charted
Weekly global mobile game charts: Pokemon Go enjoys grossing spike in the West following Pokemon Let's Go launch
The charts from November 5th to 11th
Ocean
Sea Entertainment seals a five-year deal to publish Tencent games in Southeast Asia
Games will be published by Sea's entertainment division, Garena
Faustian Bargain
Why Diablo Immortal’s detractors won that battle but have lost the war
Blizzard’s difficult decision
Falling Into Place
Changyou snags licence to bring Tetris mobile games to China
Its first effort, Tetris Journey, is set to land next year on Android and iOS
Pitching High
A Cat's Manor wins the Big Indie Pitch in Jordan
Second place place goes to educational game Crimson by all-girl team Sakura.Jo
China
Niko Partners lowers its China game revenue forecasts as new approvals remain frozen
PC and mobile game sales up 11 per cent, but below forecasts
Lukewarm
Tencent’s mobile revenues remain steady in Q3 despite China’s freeze on games licenses
Mobile revenues grew seven per cent year-on-year to $2.8 billion
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: Old School RuneScape racks up the downloads as Football Manager 2019 strikes gold
Google Play and App Store rankings in the US, Great Britain and Ireland, and China for the week of October 29th to November 4th
Chopping Block
Tencent culls games marketing budget as China’s freeze on the industry continues
Publisher plays conservatively as the block on new game approvals continues
Event
The Big Indie Awards this week!
Join us at G-STAR in Korea to find out the winners, plus two Indie Pitches and one sweet party
Top Stuff
Global Top Round names the 10 games and studios chosen for this year’s accelerator
Final ten studios are eligible for up to $300,000 of investment from GTR
Developing Story
Nanobit on the opportunity for narrative games in China
"If it’s bigger than the US, and the US is our biggest market, and we can make a game that fits into that space then it’s what we need to do"
Summoned
Overseas sales accounts for 83% of Com2uS’ $106.7m total sales figure for Q3
Profits for the third quarter came in at $33.8 million
Flat-lined
Bandai Namco shuts down soft-launched title Doctor Who: Battle of Time
Doctor Who: Battle of Time will come to a close on November 26th
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: Command & Conquer Red Alert Online fires up China's top grossing list
Google Play and App Store rankings in the US, Great Britain and Ireland, and China for the week of October 22nd to 28th
Oops
Mobile underperforms as Square Enix posts $33m loss in half-year result
Restructuring at the recently-formed Luminous Studios blamed for the sharp decline
Partnership News
DENA partners with Tencent to launch mutli-billion dollar hit Arena of Valor in Japan
Will Japan prove a successful venture for the hit MOBA?
Lessons From Down Under
5 things we learned from the Melbourne International Games Week
No amount of jet-lag can stop us learning enough to write this feature
Artificial Intelligence
4 ways China’s AI industry could transform video games in the country across the world
Mobvista investigates the hot new tech and its potential effects
Game Advertising
Facebook marketing partner ZingFront aims to be a key ad creative player in global markets
A look at the company's SocialPeta and UnrealFront products
Seige
Castle Clash charges past worldwide revenue of over $550 million
Three quarters of the strategy game's audience is playing and paying through Google Play
Check
Tencent will soon require Chinese players to verify their identities against a police database
Publishing giant continues to try and appease a government looking to crack down on gaming addiction
Partnership News
Gree partners with Chinese video sharing platform BiliBili to develop new mobile games
Also plans to explore the virtual YouTuber space
Big Indie Awards
The Big Indie Awards 2018 Top 20 Countdown Part 1 - 20 to 11
We check out 20 -11 Big Indie Awards countdown highlighting the very best indie games from the last 12 months
The China Effect
Newzoo's drops 2018 global games industry revenue forecast by $3 billion
Mobile dip by $8bn, PC and console forecasts lower overall decline
Gains
Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot: Asia mobile segment "growing significantly"
Digital and back catalogue drive French firm's H1 18/19 financials
Up
Animoca Brands Q3 revenue rises 283 per cent year-over-year following Crazy success
The Chinese firm has also consolidated its position in blockchain through a string of investments and acquisitions
Found
Dragalia Lost is making four times the revenue per download of Fire Emblem Heroes in Japan
Nintendo’s action RPG has brought in $28 million over its first month
Winners
The 3rd International Mobile Game Awards SEA names its winners
In a high-quality competition, no single game stood out above the rest to take home Grand Prix winner
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: Tencent's Command & Conquer Red Alert Online rolls into China as a top grosser
Google Play and App Store rankings in the US, Great Britain and Ireland, and China for the week of October 15th to 21st
Gcap
“In 2018 one of the most punk, transgressive, brave and bad-ass thing you can do is to care about each other”
At Melbourne International Games Week, Mountains creative director Ken Wong delved into the new revolution that the industry needs
Igdc
India Game Developers Conference 2018 reveals its first wave of speakers
Five speakers from studios including Avalanche, Zynga, Geogrify and Tabtale have confirmed attendance at this year's IGDC
Gcap
“We shouldn't see similarity as a requirement for helping each other"
At Melbourne International Games Week, The Working Lunch director Ally McLean delved into how mentorship can better the industry
Event
Free expo space for indies at G-STAR
Big Indie Awards open access to free booth spaces at Korea’s leading exhibition and conference
Freeze
China reportedly halts “green channel” approvals during a government restructure
Local developers and gamers are increasingly turning to Steam to remain active in the space
Expansion
How the esports landscape will change in Australia and New Zealand over the coming 12 months
ESL managing director and EGAA chairman Nick Zanzetti gave a talk on the topic at the Melbourne International Games Week
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: Candy Crush Friends Saga inevitably dominates the download rankings
Google Play and App Store rankings in the US, Great Britain and Ireland, and China for the week of October 8th to 14th