Virtual Gaming Only
Com2us reveals Skylanders Ring of Heroes mobile game but appears to ditch toys-to-life aspect
But appears to lack toys-to-life
M&a
Tencent-backed Chinese developer Seasun eyes Western partnerships
JX Online studio set to wrap up US investment
Winner Winner
Report: Tencent set to acquire 10% of PUBG developer Bluehole for $500 million
Sale is not intended to raise capital for Bluehole but instead is a chance for early investors to cash out
Eyes On Korea
Why Seasun and other Chinese developers are expanding their influence over South Korea's mobile market
Seasun Games overseas business development director Zhen Li tells us why Chinese games are so popular in South Korea
Developer Awards
Entries open for The Big Indie Awards at G-STAR
Gala ceremony in South Korea the grand finale to another fantastic year of international Big Indie Pitches
Crazy
Animoca Brands eyes Middle East revenue potential with Crazy Defense Heroes release
An Android version of the game is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2018
Data Klaxon
Analysing player behaviour in the Chinese mobile games market
Chinese gamers are also more likely to surpass the world spending average
Top Tips
4 tips for tapping into the South Korean mobile games market
WeQ CEO Markus Malti on cracking one of the world's most lucrative mobile sectors
World Tour
Platinum Games and DENA soft-launch World of Demons in Southeast Asia
The RPG is seen as a spiritual successor to Clover Studio’s Okami
Galactic
CCP Games teams up with NetEase for new Eve Online mobile game
Project Galaxy will drop in 2019 for iOS with Android to come thereafter
Funding News
Australian developer iCandy receives $1 million investment from esports.com
Blockchain and esports firm to take 19.5 per cent stake in studio
Switching It Up
Square Enix sets up new Nintendo Switch games division
More Switch focused titles are on the way from Square Enix
Mobile Game Trends
Philippines snapshot: NetEase's battle royale hit Rules of Survival tops grossing charts
Niko Partners' Daniel Ahmad takes a close look at the hottest trends
Killing It
Nintendo Switch takes lion’s share of Bloodstained: Cure of the Moon’s 100,000 downloads
Console/tablet hybrid takes 56 per cent of sales
New Digs
GameAnalytics continues APAC expansion with new office in India
The move is the mobile analytics firms second expansion in the region following an office opening in China in 2016
Tournament
Tencent makes E3 debut, partners with ESL and Razer to host Arena of Valor tournament
The Valor Series playoffs will take place at the E3 ESL Arena from June 12th to 13th in Los Angeles
New Clan
Chinese dev Seasun cracks South Korean market with Clans: Shadow of the Moon
Seasun managed to score a 170 per cent ROI through the Taptica’s targeted app install campaign
New Subsidiary
India’s Nazara taps real-money games market in Kenya
New company NZWorld formed
Competitive Investment
Tencent invests in Chinese esports tournament operator VSPN
Company already runs Honour of Kings and Clash Royale competitions
Destined To Be Partners
Destiny developer Bungie could be set for mobile push following $100m investment from NetEase
US studio could be set to explore the mobile games market
That Was Onix-pected
Pokemon Quest catches one million downloads on Nintendo Switch within two days of launch
The title is currently out on Switch but will find its way to mobile in June
Opinion
PUBG Corp's lawsuit against Epic's Fortnite could set an uncomfortable precedent
This market has been built on a cycle of iteration and improvement which could end if the Playerunknown's Battlegrounds firm wins this case
Data Klaxon
75% of spending in the iOS App Store came from games over the past 10 years
In terms of downloads games took 31 per cent
Going Public
Chinese games publisher iDreamSky plots Hong Kong IPO
Gardenscapes and Subway Surfers publisher could raise as much as $300 million
International Events
Pocket Gamer and G-STAR launch international promotional partnership as Big Indie Awards heads to South Korea
UK publisher Steel Media Ltd extends partnership with South Korea’s leading game expo G-STAR, including the Big Indie Game Awards in Busan in 2018
I Choose You
Slate of new pokemon games set for Nintendo Switch and mobile
Pokémon: Let’s Go duo to come out late next year while Pokémon Quest is out now
There Can Be Only One
PUBG Corp sues Epic over Fortnite Battle Royale
Follows threats last September and a lawsuit against NetEase
Augmented Reality
Google’s ARCore heads to China
Partners up with Xiaomi
Critical Hit
Pokemon Company profits almost halve to $81 million
But still represents the second highest on record
Co-development
Canada’s Throwback Entertainment inks co-development deal with South Korea’s Leanup
Two titles set for release by the end of the year
Not Bad
Tencent's Honour of Kings made $185 million in April 2018
Fortnite meanwhile generates $296 million across platforms
Well Then
New PlayStation chief sees future in portable games for Sony
John Kodera thinks it should be a vital part of the PlayStation ecosystem
Why Not
NetEase developing internet drama based on battle royale hit Knives Out
The Chinese tech company are also turning Onmyoji into a live action movie
Crafty
Minecraft builds up 100 million players in China since launching last year
The popular builder originally came to China in August
Search Ads
How AppBi is supporting Apple Search Ads campaigns for top mobile games publishers
AppBi CEO Carmen Lu discusses how its services can lead to a generous ROI
Knighted
Netmarble’s Knights Chronicle pulls in 500,000 pre-registrations in one week
Players who sign-up will gain a slew of rewards come games launch
Nice
Cartoon Network soft launches new Powerpuff Girls game in Asia
The horde mode-styled beat ‘em up pits the girls against monsters
Whoot!
Alien Path publisher iCandy buys Indonesian Hollywhoot developer Joyseed
Deal worth up to $263,000
New Job Klaxon
NCSoft appoints chief development officer for Western operations
Chris Corry will be responsible for overseeing all development in the West
Rip
Sony to cease production of physical PlayStation Vita Games, except in Japan
Creation of games cards to finish by the end of March 2019
One V One Me Bro
Street Fighter characters touch down in Power Rangers: Legacy Wars
Cammy, M. Bison, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile and Akuma set to join the fray
Netease Financials
NetEase profits tumble 20% in Q1 as Onmyoji and New Ghost lose traction
Battle royale hits Knives Out and Terminator 2: Judgement Day offset lost revenue
God Like
How NadiaSoft plans to mix Eastern and Western influencers for global appeal
The new IP will feature an array of gods and heroes from Greece, China and more
What's Next?
Monster Strike publisher Mixi plots $900m investment in biz dev and M&A over next five years
$100 million earmarked for Monster Strike and new IP development
Tencent Financials
Tencent’s mobile games revenue up 68% to $3.4 billion in Q1 2018
But investors concerned by historically low operating margin
Uninstall Rates
Three out of 10 apps uninstalled after 30 days
But games one of the least likely to be deleted, according to Appsflyer report
Gladiators, Ready
Nintendo and Cygames' Dragalia Lost picks up 200,000 pre-registrations
Game set for summer launch in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau
Racing To Mobile
Slightly Mad partners with Gamevil for new Project Cars mobile game
But no release date announced
Power Of Ip
Lineage M spikes NCSoft profits up 570% year-on-year to $189m
But revenues are down quarter-on-quarter as Lineage sales stabilise
Still Going Strong
GungHo’s sales and profits continue to fall amidst Puzzle & Dragons decline
But still hugely profitable