Glu sells Moscow studio, the potential of live ops, and which of 2017's games will sustain in 2018?
Glu's going through some big changes right now, and unfortunately that means dumping some of its core games in favour of the lifestyle apps that have brought it success.
And so it's Moscow studio, which was developing titles such as Last Day Alive and an unannounced celebrity game, has now been sold off for $2.8 million - a story which caught the most attention on our humble website last week.
Second on our Hot Five list is a collection of developers, including Wooga, Tag Games and Spil Games, discussing why live ops are important and how they go about it.
Big games, social media, and slots
Third up, we take a look at the biggest games launched on mobile in 2017 and try to determine whether they have the potential to make it through 2018 unscathed.
And finally, Traplight's creative director Sami Kalliokoski stops by to talk about merging social media and free-to-play, and Sega launches a slots game starring Sonic the Hedgehog and other classic IP.
Hit the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our readers' attention of the last week.
#5: Sega gets into casino gaming on mobile with Sega Slots
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Sega gets into casino gaming on mobile with Sega Slots »Sega, on the quiet, has been churning out social casino games for a while now - mostly for Japan, so you're unlikely to know them very well.
But now it's roped in its better known characters for a Western spin, in its recently released title Sega Slots.
Yes, now you too can gamble away digital coins with the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog, the cast of Super Monkey Ball and a wealth of classic IPs across eight different unlockable slot machines.
There are more slots planned for the future, so maybe in the future you'll be playing a slots variation on Shenmue 2's Lucky Hit or something.
#4: Can you merge social media and free-to-play games in a monetisable way?
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Can you merge social media and free-to-play games in a monetisable way? »Can you merge social media and free-to-play games in a monetisable way? That's something Traplight creative director Sami Kalliokoski has been pondering, and he even took the time to write about it for us.
"At Traplight (developer of Big Bang Racing), we see UGC as enhanced player autonomy - an increased pool of choices and possibilities the players have in the game," he wrote.
"That autonomy starts with how you control the game and create your unique playing style.
"The playing style as such is rarely cited as UGC. But when you look at, for example, placing points on talent trees to twist game mechanics, customising characters and all that express our identities as players, it is not so clear where the player choices are UGC."
#3: Which of 2017's biggest mobile games will sustain in 2018?
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Which of 2017's biggest mobile games will sustain in 2018? »At the start of January 2018, only four of the top 25 grossing games in the US were released in 2017. It may sound crazy, but it's true.
The real question, however, is whether these games will make it through 2018 unscathed - something which we set out to answer.
The games in question were MZ's Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire, Peak Games' Toon Blast, Playrix Games' Homecapes and FunPlus' Guns of Glory, which is a pretty varied mix.
And no, we're not being funded by MZ to say its games are doing well, the developer just knows how to make a lot of money from a handful of titles.
#2: Live long and prosper: Understanding the potential of live ops
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Live long and prosper: Understanding the potential of live ops »In this day and age of mobile games, it's important to have a strong live ops plan in place - or watch your game get overtaken by those that do.
So we chatted with a bunch of developers about their approach to live ops and why it's important in the modern mobile games industry.
"Live ops gives us the ability to optimise a game in real time, and that’s about making it a great experience for the player," said Spil Games CEO Tung Nguyen-Khac.
"But it can also be the difference between success and failure. We’re seeing people playing so-called 'casual' games for longer than triple-A productions."
#1: Glu Mobile sells Moscow studio for $2.8 million
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Glu Mobile sells Moscow studio for $2.8 million »Glu Mobile is going through some radical shifts at the moment as it moves away from games and more into lifestyle apps such as Design Home and The Swift Life.
And that's coming at a cost, with the latest casualty being it's Moscow studio, which has now been sold to Saber Interactive for $2.8 million.
Thankfully, it looks like everyone in the 120-strong studio will keep their jobs. Existing games at the studio will be transferred to the developer's Hyderabad studio.
Glu has also sold off a handful of games for $200,000 to MGL My.com, including soft-launched title Last Day Alive and an unannounced celebrity game.