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
Business Shuffle
Tencent restructures business for first time in six years as games regulations bite
Publishing giant setting itself up for future challenges
Big Indie Awards 2018
The best of The Big Indie Pitch 2018 - Airheart - Tales of Broken Wings
We take a look back at the winner of our 2018 Big Indie Pitch at Gamescom
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: Snake Vs Colors cracks top spot on US App Store while China's top grossing gets a shakeup
Google Play and App Store rankings in the US, Great Britain and Ireland, and China for the week of September 17th to 23rd
Big Indie Awards 2018
The best of The Big Indie Pitch 2018 - Pirate Code
We look back on the winner of the second Chinese Big Indie Pitch
Big Indie Awards 2018
The best of The Big Indie Pitch 2018 - Skybolt Zack
The Big Indie Pitch returned once again to Brighton to crown another Big Indie Pitch at Develop:Brighton champion
Revenue
Lords Mobile plunders over $825 million in revenue worldwide
IGG's massively-multiplayer strategy game raked in $7 million in one week alone earlier this month
Acquisition News
Chinese tutoring services provider snaps up chidren's apps developer Dr. Panda
Companies to work on "new models for future education"
Found
Nintendo’s Dragalia Lost hits top download spots in four countries and is a top 30 grosser in the US
Those countries being Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau
Big Indie Awards 2018
The best of The Big Indie Pitch 2018 - Mish Mash
We take a look back at the winner of The Big Indie Pitch at the first ever Big Indie Fest
Indie Mavens
Should indie developers release their games in Asia?
Our Indie mavens weigh in
Big Indie Awards 2018
The best of The Big Indie Pitch 2018 - Sticky Pigeons
We take a look back at the winner of our 2018 Big Indie Pitch at White Nights St Petersburg
Data
Tencent maintains a firm grasp on SuperData’s top 10 grossing mobile games chart in August
Publisher dominates a chart virtually unchanged over the last two months
Console Switch
Nintendo Switch Online companion app hits five million downloads
The total is 25 per cent of the console’s install base