China
China approves further 84 games as new regulatory body works its way through backlog of thousands
84 new games have passed China’s video game approvals system for the second time since the freeze ended
Asia Insights
Four experts explain: What you should know about Asia mobile gaming in 2019
How to get ahead in China, India, Japan and South Korea
Blockchain Engine
Cocos-BCX officially launches its testnet to over 1.3 million developers
A look at what the game engine brings to the blockchain
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Roblox moves up Western download and grossing charts over Christmas
iOS and Android charts from the US, UK and China from for the week of December 24th to 30th
Marvellous
Hearthstone director's Second Dinner snags $30m from NetEase and secures Marvel licence agreement
New studio has been working on its first game for six months
Growth
Square Enix eyes India as part of year of “aggressive” overseas expansion
India and China will play a key role in the Square Enix president’s plans for global growth
Say What?
Report: Nexon put up for sale as founder and controlling stakeholder exits
Total 98.64 per cent stake owned by Kim Jung-ju up for grabs, it seems
Restart
The indie spirit behind the rebirth and growth of the Australian games industry
"We have to share the knowledge that we keep to ourselves and the things that scare us. We have to connect"
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Brawl Stars fires into US top 10 download and grossing rankings
Rankings for the week of December 17th to 23rd
Blockade Lifted
China's games market is officially open for business again
First 80 games approved for release in China since end of games freeze
Indie View
The Big Indie Interviews: Niebla Games talks pitching all over the world
We chat to Niebla Games, who walked away with the third place prize at The Big Indie Pitch at ChinaJoy 2018
Indie View
The Big Indie Interviews: Codex7 Games talk winning The Big Indie Pitch with their PvP realtime sea battle game Pirate Code
We chat to the winner of the second Big Indie Pitch at ChinaJoy
Indie View
The Big Indie Interviews: We learn more about Battlebrew's idle clicker that's filled with cute bunnies on magical floating islands
We chat to the recipient of the third place prize at the second Korean Big Indie Pitch
Unstuck
China's big games freeze finally comes to an end after nine months
New licences set to be issued for fresh launches
Indie View
The Big Indie Interviews: We talk adapting retro beat em ups for the mobile market with the G-STAR Big Indie Pitch winner ThinkBIT
We chat to the winner of the second Korean Big Indie Pitch which took place at G-STAR 2018
Court Battle
Qualcomm insists Apple is in breach of Chinese court order it claims prohibits iPhone sales
“Apple’s statements have been deliberate attempts to obfuscate and misdirect”
Block In The Chain
Atari makes strategic investment in blockchain specialist and mobile publisher Animoca Brands
Hong Kong-floated publisher set to bring Rollercoaster Tycoon Touch and Good Squad to the blockchain
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Lion Studios' Popular Wars lives up to its name around the world
Rankings for the week of December 3rd to 9th
Spotted
Activision and Tencent’s Call of Duty Legends of War surfaces in Australia on Android
The classic shooter is currently in Alpha
Calm Down
Honor of Kings skips past $4 billion in lifetime revenue
278 million downloads to date
Smashed It
Super Smash Bros Ultimate sold over 1.2 million copies in Japan during its first three days on sale
First-week figures for crossover brawler are Nintendo’s best ever in Japan, excluding Pokemon
Legal
iPhone XS and XR could be banned in China amid Apple-Qualcomm battle
Though Apple maintains that its handsets are still for sale in the People's Republic
Eastern Stars
Is Supercell's Brawl Stars set to rise in the East rather than the West?
Recent soft launch performance indicates Asia audience preference, but is it enough?
Soulful
Netmarble’s Blade and Soul Revolution tops iOS grossing charts in South Korea one day after launch
The MMORPG will launch globally in 2019
Growing Up
India set for first-ever independent games trade body
Local studios come together as sector matures
Funded
Analytics platform AppOnboard eyes up London and Seoul offices following $30m funding drive
Los Angeles-based company claim $15m will come in off the bat from Breakaway Growth
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Kabam’s Marvel Contest of Champions enjoys Western surge in player spending
This week's charts cover the period from November 26th to December 2nd
Is It Over?
China establishes Online Games Ethics Committee as end of games freeze nears
20 reviews have taken place, nine games rejected under new regulations
Moba
NetEase is bringing Super Evil Megacorp’s flagship MOBA Vainglory to China
Mobile-exclusive MOBA is also coming to PC and consoles in 2019
Indie Spotlight
How Super Entertainment's Spin Rhythm is designed to combine flow with flare
“Spin Rhythm makes use of all the available inputs and gestures of a touch screen to make players feel like they are inside the music, almost composing as they play like some interdimensional DJ”
Award Winners
Star Trek: Trexels II picks up Studio Game of the Year at India GDC Awards 2018
Winners revealed at ceremony
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