How NetEase's mobile PUBG-likes are performing, HQ Trivia eyes $15 million funding, and KamaGames on Facebook Instant Games
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds is one of the biggest games in the world and it's finally arrived on mobile - but NetEase is already first on the market.
Since the Chinese publisher only recently added monetisation to its raft of games adopting the PUBG formula - which were originally released completely free - we decided to check out how well those games are doing on the grossing charts, something which our readers were particularly interested in.
Second on our Hot Five list is a report that the developer behind HQ Trivia is eyeing up a $15 million round of funding to keep growing its business.
Instant Games, influencers and consumer spend
Third up is KamaGames explaining why it's decided to push into Facebook Instant Games and why Pokerist is the first game on its list.
And finally, Pixonic talks about influencer marketing and some of the issues it's faced along the way, and App Annie claims that 950 games generated over $5 million in consumer spend in 2017.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our readers' eyes over the last week.
#5: 950 mobile games generated more than $5 million in consumer spend in 2017
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950 mobile games generated more than $5 million in consumer spend in 2017 »Around 950 mobile games generated more than $5 million in annual consumer spend in 2017, according to App Annie.
Speaking at the White Nights Conference in Prague, App Annie head of Central Europe Silvia Buermann revealed some key stats on mobile user behaviour changes over the last few years.
The number of games to make more than $5 million was up from the 600 titles that managed the feat in 2015. The data referenced combined Google Play and App Store revenues.
The figures mark an overall rise in consumer spend on gaming apps across the world, though moreso in some countries than others, as players become more comfortable purchasing items in games.
#4: Pixonic CMO on how influencer marketing stacks up to UA campaigns through Facebook and Google
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Pixonic CMO on how influencer marketing stacks up to UA campaigns through Facebook and Google »If you want to get your mobile game in front of "the kids" or anyone else on the internet, you've got to work with influencers - that's just the world we live in now.
Thankfully, Pixonic CMO Artem Petukhov has given a brief rundown of how it all works and explained some of the pitfalls you might encounter along the way.
“One problem with that is that finding your target audience on YouTube is way more complicated because there are no tools for that yet,” he said.
“Picking the right channel for making an ad takes much time. When we began experimenting with this market we had to invent the approach on the go. After conducting a number of tests and making several hypotheses, we finally made our YouTube campaigns profitable."
#3: Why KamaGames is the latest developer to launch on Facebook Instant Games
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Why KamaGames is the latest developer to launch on Facebook Instant Games »Facebook Instant Games is being touted by some developers as the next big thing, not least because it gives you a reach of over one billion users.
It's got a lot of potential for sure and now KamaGames has decided to step in and bring Pokerist to the platform.
"One of the key aspects here is the social element, the immediate circle of those you play with. Instant games provides us with many unique instruments for social interaction and virality," said KamaGames MD Andrey Kuznetsov.
"This is why we believe that poker is one of the games with the strongest potential on the platform."
#2: HQ Trivia dev eyes $15 million funding round
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HQ Trivia dev eyes $15 million funding round »Apparently people really love playing HQ Trivia, a mobile game in which a real-life host (such as the rather energetic man pictured to the right) asks questions and players compete to win actual money.
But giving out money to players all the time isn't exactly good for business, so the developer is now reportedly looking for $15 million in funding to keep going and growing.
The round is said to value the studio at $100 million, not bad for a new company from the founders of Vine.
Sources claim that the funding is set to be led by Founders Fund partner Cyan Banister, who might well join the board of directors too.
#1: How well are NetEase's Playerunknown's Battlegrounds-like mobile games grossing?
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How well are NetEase's Playerunknown's Battlegrounds-like mobile games grossing? »You can't turn a corner on the Internet these days without someone banging on about Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, or PUBG as they call it these days, and how good it is.
It's so popular that NetEase famously launched three of its own clones of the game late last year on mobile with no monetisation, only recently throwing in IAPs when they got big enough.
But how well are they doing, exactly? Pretty well, as it happens.
By far the biggest game of the group is Knives Out. It's been a top 10 grossing game in China on iOS, which means it must be raking in some serious cash.