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2022 In Review – September’s Best Bits

As the year draws to a close, we take a look back with our pick of the stories that shaped the last twelve months. Time for… September

2022 In Review – September’s Best Bits

2022 was a year of big news and even bigger industry movements. Mobile gaming was no different. Here are the stories that set the scene back in September 2022.

The Pokémon Company sues six Chinese companies

They may be cute, but they’re powerful. And when the mighty Haus of Pikachu comes knocking with a writ, it hits harder than a 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt. Which is exactly what happened in September 2022 when The Pokemon Company decided that enough was enough and action needed to be taken against Pocket Monster Reissue, a game it felt infringed a little too closely to its monster magic.

In fact six companies connected with the release of Pocket Monster Reissue were sued, to the tune of $72.5 million, along with a demand for apologies on popular Chinese websites, social media platforms, and app stores.

Although numerous Pokémon-style games are available on app stores all over the world, including Pocket Mortys – a parody set within the Rick and Morty universe – Pocket Monster Reissue went just that little bit too far, featuring characters and pokémon from the universe, such as Pikachu, Oshawott, and hero of the anime, Ash Ketchum. Ouch.

Netflix hires two top ad executives from social media platform Snap

One company’s falter is another firm’s talent grab. And Netflix showed no signs of slowing its 2022 charge to relevance when it stepped in to hoover up two two of Snap’s top executives to lead its advertising sales team, lending the streaming giant increased credibility to brands.

While Snap layed off a fifth of its workforce, ‘refocused the company’, and shelved the majority of its original programming, Netflix went from strength to strength through 2022 with an increased gaming focus and regular new investments hitting our news pages all through 2022.

Tomb Raider 'comes home'

We love a story with a happy ending and given the rocky road that Tomb Raider has trodden over the years to see the series finally come ‘home’ was one of the highs of September 2022.

The rights to Tomb Raider have been passed around somewhat over the years but in recent times it was the ‘reboot’ by developers Crystal Dynamics that resonated most strongly with fans, correcting the series’ faltering steps and offering a true ‘next gen’ take on Lara Croft’s explorations.

In September Embracer finalized its acquisition of numerous Square Enix assets, namely the Japanese company’s western studios and developers. This deal saw Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal change hands for $300 million. The deal effectively put Tomb Raider and Crystal Dynamics back under the same parent company roof enabling the team to get back to work on one of the franchises they love.

We can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Changes afoot at Ubisoft

Company culture was big news in 2022 and it seems the bigger the firm the bigger the problems. While much of the focus fell upon Activision-Blizzard's ongoing correction course, they weren’t alone.

In September 2022 Ubisoft stepped up to amend the company's culture and foster a diverse and accepting environment after complaints of widespread discrimination, abuse, and harassment had festered since 2020.

Chief people officer Anika Grant and vice president for global diversity, inclusion, and accessibility Raashi Sikka broke down how they hope to address these issues in a blog post.

Meanwhile, in the same month Ubisoft put their mouth where their money was and outright expressed a desire to get deeper into mobile gaming.

Co-founder, chairman and CEO Yves Guillemot said that the company would adopt various business models and means of distribution, with a strong focus on mobile gaming moving forward. “We are always first on disruptive technologies,” said Guillemot

Pocket Gamer Connects Rocks Helsinki

Yes! PocketGamer were back in the spiritual home of mobile gaming, Finland for the triumphant return of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki. Our event returned after a year’s break in a bash that saw the great and the good in mobile getting together to learn, connect and have fun.
And while local presence was off the chart, the event was truly global with attendees from all over the globe hoovering up the talk sessions, panels and opportunity to get in touch with friends and colleagues after the Covid break.

Don’t forget. We’re doing it all again in London in January 2023. Get all the info you need about our upcoming Pocket Gamer Connects London event right here.

Do you have a favourite mobile story from 2022? Take to Twitter with the hashtag #PocketGamerYearInReview to tell us your highs and lows of the year.

Want more? Get our pick of the best stories from October here.


Editor - PocketGamer.biz

Daniel Griffiths is a veteran journalist who has worked on some of the biggest entertainment media brands in the world. He's interviewed countless big names, and covered countless new releases in the fields of videogames, music, movies, tech, gadgets, home improvement, self build, interiors and garden design. Yup, he said garden design… He’s the ex-Editor of PSM2, PSM3, GamesMaster and Future Music, ex-Deputy Editor of The Official PlayStation Magazine and ex-Group Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Musician, Guitarist, Guitar World, Rhythm, Computer Music and more. He hates talking about himself.