Games industry roundup: Why Dodge Roll has parted ways with Enter the Gungeon, and Tencent does its own blockchain-based Pokemon Go
While PocketGamer.biz focuses on the world of mobile gaming, it's always a good idea to keep an eye on the trends, controversies and opportunities of other sectors.
To that end, each week we round up the hottest stories as selected by our expert editorial team across our network of sites that includes PCGamesInsider.biz, InfluencerUpdate.biz and BlockchainGamer.biz.
Looking for a mobile roundup? You can check out our Hot Five here. You can also catch up on all the news coming out of Asia in our East Meets West roundup here.
Learn more about all these sectors of the games industry at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle on May 13th and 14th or at Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong on July 17th and 18th.
Hottest stories
Over on PCGamesInsider.biz, there's an interview with Dodge Roll co-founder Dave Crooks about its hit game Enter the Gungeon and what the studio has in store next, and there's the exclusive lowdown on what BioWare vet Aaryn Flynn is doing at Improbable's Edmonton studio.
In the blockchain space, the Blockchain Game Alliance has opened up registration and announced its first technical group, and there's a look at how ow dupe items nearly crashed the Blockchain Cuties economy.
InfluencerUpdate.biz meanwhile reports on the highlights from TwitchCon Europe 2019, and there's a story on the news that viral video app TikTok has been banned in India following claims the platform encourages pornography.
#1: PC game news and insights
Here are the five hottest stories from our sister-site PCGamesInsider.biz for the last week.
Why Dodge Roll has decided to part ways with Enter the Gungeon
Studio co-founder Dave Crooks discusses the hit indie game's life so far and what the developer has planned next.
Here's what BioWare vet Aaryn Flynn is doing at Improbable's Edmonton studio
The development alum talks RPGs, cloud tech and working with the SpatialOS firm.
PC Connects Seattle 2019 - Meet the Speakers - Chet Faliszek, Stray Bombay Company
Ahead of PC Connects Seattle 2019 on May 13th and 14th, we are catching up with some of the big names that we have on-stage at the show.
PepsiCo planned on taking campaign against "unjustified prejudices" towards gamers to space
Part of a push to promote new Russian energy drink.
"Your feedback directly contributes to the evolution of Xbox Game Pass – thank you for taking the time to help us continually improve the service".
#2: Blockchain game news and insights
Here are the five hottest stories from our sister-site BlockchainGamer.biz for the last week.
Tencent launches its own take on CryptoKitties and Pokemon Go!
For players in China, games like Pokemon Go are a scarcity, thanks to the country’s long-standing ban on Google. As a result, Tencent has launched its own take on the game, while combining it with the collectable game CryptoKitties.
Blocklords officially goes live on TRON Mainnet
With its closed betas on TRON and NEO coming and going over Q1 2019, Blocklords has now launched on TRON. In the run-up to the launch, the community had been stress-testing on the testnet right up until hours before hitting the mainnet.
Blockchain Game Alliance opens up registration and announces first technical group
Established in September 2018, the Blockchain Game Alliance has dedicated itself to bringing together blockchain developers. Allowing them to collaborate and raise awareness of how to apply it and bring about mass adoption.
Crisis averted? How dupe items nearly crashed the Blockchain Cuties economy
While it took the form of a series of sporadic updates on its Telegram feed. The Blockchain Cuties team had to deal with a sudden threat to its marketplace this week.
Cryptage Origins announces it’s ‘freezing further development’
It is genuinely hard for any game title to find the perfect mixture of entertainment and education. It’s especially the case for blockchain games that need to blend the two in order to onboard brand new users. For the team at Cryptage Origins, this comes part-way to explaining its announcement this week.
#3: Influencer news and insights
Here are the five hottest stories from our sister-site InfluencerUpdate.biz for the last week.
Highlights from TwitchCon Europe 2019
All of the highlights and big announcements from TwitchCon's first European event
Viral video app TikTok is now banned in India following claims the platform encouraged pornography
The popular video app has been removed from Google Play and the App Store in India after the High Court Madras determined the app was encouraging pornography and other illegal content.
Fullscreen research demonstrates how branded social content can positively impact offline sales
Entertainment giant Fullscreen has teamed up with analytics platforms Shareablee and IRI to prove that branded content has a positive effect on product sales.
A transport company in Canada has been encouraged to pursue plans for an influencer marketing campaign, over traditional advertising methods.
A new Facebook update could see Stories integrated into the news feed
Facebook is currently testing new ways to share Stories content with users, which includes integrated them into the main homepage.