Roblox on its explosive growth, Zynga acquires four Solitaire games, and Supercell opens an online store
Even in this crazy digital world, there are still those of us that want to own a real, physical chunk of something that we can proudly display on our walls and mantelpieces.
No wonder then that our most read story of last week was the news that Supercell has opened an online store, giving people in the USA and Canada the chance to own a small Clash Royale figure of their choice.
Second on our Hot Five list is the news that Zynga has acquired four Solitaire games from unknown developer Harpan LLC for a staggering $42.5 million.
Blox, bucks and BuildIt
Third up is our interview with Roblox, the developer behind hugely-popular MMO Roblox, about its rapid growth and enormous potential for players of the game.
And finally, Tencent was the top earning mobile publisher in 2016, and we have a chat with EA about how it evolved SimCity BuildIt over the last two years.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our readers' attention over the last week.
#5: Two years on: EA on the evolution of SimCity BuildIt
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Two years on: EA on the evolution of SimCity BuildIt »In the current mobile ecosystem, a game is far from finished when it's released - they need years of maintenance and updates to stay relevant.
That's why we keep track of some of the bigger games a few years down the line, such as in our interview with EA about the evolution of SimCity BuildIt two years after launch.
"Our second year has been the strongest we have had so far, so we’re super happy about that," said Inka Vikman, Senior Producer and Live Service Lead for SimCity BuildIt at EA Helsinki.
"We launched SimCity BuildIt at the right time - there was room for a beautiful city builder on the market. Having built a live service model with frequent updates and live events on top of the game, it has been a fun ride!"
#4: Tencent world’s top earning mobile games publisher in 2016
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Tencent world’s top earning mobile games publisher in 2016 »Mobile gaming is big business, but for a handful of developers in the world it's really, really big business, and Tencent is no exception.
It made so much money from mobile games in 2016 that it was the top earning publisher in the world for that year, after being sixth in 2015.
Acquiring Supercell probably went some way to Tencent's success - the developer was first place in 2015 but dropped to second in 2016.
NetEase, MZ, Activision Blizzard, Mixi, Line, Bandai Namco, Netmarble and Niantic round out the top ten, with 30 of the top 52 companies being based in the APAC region.
#3: How Roblox's explosive growth and one million concurrent players led to a $92 million funding round
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How Roblox's explosive growth and one million concurrent players led to a $92 million funding round »Roblox is an odd one - a massive MMO that covers all platforms and allows its players to make games inside them, through which they can make themselves a tidy profit.
So after netting $92 million in funding in its last investment round, we had a chat with the studio about its explosive growth.
"It takes a lot of the worry and a lot of the hassle out of distribution for a lot of these game developers," said Roblox VP of Marketing Tami Bhaumik about its Roblox Studio platform that allows players to make their own games within the game.
"Over time these game developers become more sophisticated and they start customising their own code and developing their own virtual goods and upgrades in their games."
#2: Zynga acquires four Solitaire games from little-known developer for $42.5 million
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Zynga acquires four Solitaire games from little-known developer for $42.5 million »Everyone loves a bit of Solitaire from time to time - it's a card game that has held popularity like no other, particularly since it always seems to end up on your new PC at some point.
Zynga must really love Solitaire too, since it just acquired four Solitaire games for a whopping $42.5 million from a developer called Harpan LLC.
Never heard of Harpan? Us neither, but its Solitaire by Harpan was once a top ten downloaded game on the US App Store, so it clearly has an audience.
And given that Harpan is apparently just a one-man team - or two depending on your source - the developer is probably very happy with the deal indeed.
#1: Supercell opens online shop to sell official Clash of Clans merchandise in the US and Canada
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Supercell opens online shop to sell official Clash of Clans merchandise in the US and Canada »Merchandising popular brands is an oft-overlooked method of monetisation in gaming - unless you're Rovio of course - so it's always interesting to see which studios decide to make the leap.
That's especially true when it's Supercell, a developer that probably doesn't need the money given its already hugely successful games, but has now opened an online store.
There's a range of t-shirts, figurines and other trinkets to get your hands on, although the store is only open to the US and Canada for now.
And you'll need to dig deep into your wallet if you want some of the more impressive items - a gold P.E.K.K.A statue will set you back $125, for example.