Huge
Monster Strike and Puzzle & Dragons have grossed more than $7 billion each
More than five years later, Mixi’s game is still experiencing revenue growth
Cherry On Top
Hollow Knight dev Team Cherry snags Studio of the Year accolade at Australian Game Developer Awards 2018
Mountains also got a nod for mobile narrative game Florence
G-star 2018
Meet Pocket Gamer and Jagex Partners at G-STAR
We’ll be at the Korea show with the Big Indie Awards, a Big Indie Pitch and a sweet PG Party
Woah
Fortnite developer Epic Games to open new Australia and New Zealand branch
GDA Australia CEO Anthony Reed will be stepping down from his role to help start it up
Blast-off
NetEase’s Eve: Echoes is a mobile take on CCP’s space-faring MMO slated for a 2019 release
Mobile space sim will try to capture the full PC experience on Android and iOS
Globe Trotting
Yoozoo VP on finding the next great games market and the importance of localisation
“It’s down to them because games publishing and making there will be very different to how they are in China”
G-star 2018
Indies: Sign up now to be part of G-STAR's Indie Game Zone in November
Limited space available, register now to not miss out
Esports
Arena of Valor 2018 International Championship sports a $600,000 prize pool
Grand finals will take place in Thailand on December 15th to 16th
Region Focus
Region Focus: The opportunities and challenges facing South Korea’s lucrative games industry
In-depth analysis of the sector with comment from executives at Netmarble, Com2uS and Pearl Abyss
Indie Focus
How the Busan Indie Connect Festival is connecting developers with consumers
Event director Dustin Lee gives us the lowdown on the show
Fight
Huawei wants to take on the Switch with a $1,000 phone
Chinese manufacturer wants its new gaming phone to compete with the hybrid console
Trendy Sector
What's up with the South Korean games market?
Mobile and PC MMOs rule the roost in a sector-defining part of the world
Lineage Of Ips
Netmarble on Lineage 2 Revolution's runaway success and finding the next big hit
Simon Sim talks up the company's global strategy and M&A activity
Studio Profile
South Korean developer Ekkorr on Endless Frontier making $60m and the importance of sharing ideas
CEO Myeong Yong Shin offers up the details on the studio's work
New Pad
Lords Mobile developer I Got Games has opened a new office in Indonesia
Company celebrates opening of branch with grand ceremony and orchestral performances
Event
India’s biggest media and entertainment expo is just weeks away
25,000 visitors expected for December’s 15th festival, IndiaJoy
Top Performers
PUBG Mobile and Lineage M top download and grossing charts in South Korea in H1 2018
The top 10 grossers and downloaded mobile games across the App Store and Google Play for the first six months of the year
New Horizons
Animoca Brands' Yat Siu on why mobile games are leading the charge to take blockchain mass-market
Time to gain scale
Cutting Out A Niche
NetEase’s PUBG-like Knives Out pulls in over $370 million
97 per cent of that figure comes from China and Japan
Dead On
Chinese outfit GAEA snaps up 20% stake in Fallout Shelter dev Behaviour Interactive
The pair are currently co-developing a Game of Thrones game for mobile
Jobs News
Sega aims to improve work-life balance for employees
Japanese publisher also interested in addressing addiction
Looking Eastward
The quiet opportunity for games developers in Iran
With projected games revenues of 602m for 2018, it could be a fair market indeed
Korea
Expo space at G-STAR sold out!
Asia’s leading games industry conference and expo fills b2b show floor one month ahead of November dates
Studio Profile
NHN Entertainment on dealing with South Korea regulations and topping the mobile charts with a fishing game
Publishing business department director Sang Ho Kim discusses the company's vast operations
Social
At Game Closure the future of gaming is social
The studio's Battle Cats Galaxy and Fishing Star QUICK are currently on the LINE QUICK GAME platform
Business News
Webzen launches casual games publishing brand Appmigos
But stays clear of hyper-casual
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: South Korea's Line Puzzle tops downloads as Clash Royale makes a comeback
Google Play and App Store rankings in the US, Great Britain and Ireland, and China for the week of October 1st to 7th
Studio Profile
Webzen: "There is a lot of pressure to always acquire a new cash cow"
CEO Tony Kim gives us the lowdown on the company's plans
Summoning A Hit
Com2uS on Summoners War's rapid expansion and applying lessons learnt to Skylanders: Ring of Heroes
"I think that gaming is a hits-driven business in the same way that publishing is a hits-driven business"
Special Focus
Don't miss our South Korea Special covering the country's games industry this week
Interviews, analysis, studio profiles and region focus all dedicated to this exciting market
Found
Nintendo’s Dragalia Lost finds $16m in revenue after two weeks
$13.5m of which, comes from the US and Japan
Puzzled
GungHo to shut down Puzzle & Dragons in Europe
Service is set to conclude December 10th
The Big Freeze
"I don’t think the Chinese government is ready to lose its title as the world’s biggest games market"
Taptica division CEO Rivi Bloch discusses market expansion and the big freeze
Busted
Four Thirty Three’s Ghostbusters World lands in Singapore, Sweden, Denmark and New Zealand
The location-based augmented reality game is expected to release October 22nd
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: Supercell's Clash of Clans shuffles up the top grossing rankings
Google Play and App Store rankings in the US, Great Britain and Ireland, and China for the week of September 24th to 30th
Monster Adaptation
Production begins on live-action Monster Hunter movie
Resident Evil director Paul W.S. Anderson will write, direct and produce the adaptation
Event
Judging starts for the Big Indie Awards at G-STAR
Which of the 400 entries will make it through to the live awards ceremony in Korea?
Korea
Jagex joins the Big Indie Awards at G-STAR as sponsor
Runescape firm supports international celebration of independent game developers this November
Switch Up
New and improved Nintendo Switch in the works for 2019
The goal is to make the device brighter, thinner and more energy efficient
Invested
Tencent invests $318 million in Chinese video-sharing company Bilibili
Publisher acquires 12.3 per cent of shares in a company that dabbles in running League of Legends and Overwatch esports teams
Returning
Garena Online publishes Contra: Return in Southeast Asia
The retro-classic is currently available in Philippines, Thailand, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong
Jobs News
Animoca Brands brings in Xbox co-founder Ed Fries as strategic advisor
Former Microsoft exec had been advising developer Pixowl before it was acquired by the Hong Kong publisher
Heading East
Supercell takes Clash Royale League World Finals 2018 to Japan
Event leaves London behind in favour of Asia
Event
G-STAR trade visitor pre-registration now open
Korean games industry event also puts business matching system live
Sales Out
NetEase’s PUBG-like Rules of Survival bags $75 million
Another battle royale success for the publisher alongside Knives Out
Revenue Found
Nintendo’s Dragalia Lost generates $3.5 million in five days
Picks up over 800,000 downloads
Acquisition News
Animoca Brands picks up majority stake in AI accelerator Zeroth for $1m
Publisher underwrites $2m worth of investment into Zeroth SPC
Big Brother
Tencent tests facial recognition to restrict gameplay time in Honor of Kings
Chinese publisher wants to check identity and age of players
Event
Big Indie Awards still open to Korean entries
General nominations now closed, Local Developer Award open until the end of the month
Off Course
Nintendo successfully sues Tokyo’s unofficial Mario Kart tours for $89,000
Real-life Mario Kart operator MariCar ordered to stop using Nintendo's property immediately