Rovio sees best growth ever, Google reworks discovery on Google Play, and is Kabam's breakup really a success?
Things don't look particularly great for Kabam right now - it's just sold off its biggest assets to Netmarble and regrouped under a new name. But what if this is actually a major success for the developer?
Contributing Editor Jon Jordan certainly thought so, and his take on the state of Kabam struck a chord with our readers too, propelling it to the top of our list of the most read articles of last week.
Second up is the news that Google is reworking its discovery algorithm to focus less on the number of downloads a game has, and more on the number of users it still has engaging with it.
Birds, billionaires, and bagging jobs
Third on the list is Rovio's biggest year of growth yet, with revenues up 34% overall thanks to a number of older titles raking in the cash.
And finally, Jon Jordan takes a look at the original billionaire F2P games and how they're performing five years on, and we chat to Noredus' Aleksandar Aleksic about how to become a Producer.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our reader's eye over the last week.
#5: Jobs in Games: Nordeus' Aleksandar Aleksic on how to get a job as a Producer
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Jobs in Games: Nordeus' Aleksandar Aleksic on how to get a job as a Producer »It takes a great number of individuals working together in various disciplines to make any commercial enterprise function.
The mobile games industry is certainly no exception, offering dynamic and diverse roles to thousands the world over.
As such, PocketGamer.biz has decided to celebrate this with a regular series of interviews where each week we chat to a mobile games industry professional from a different field - be it game design, art, or PR - to learn about how they bagged that job in games.
This time, the spotlight is on Aleksandar Aleksic, Producer on Top Eleven at Nordeus, who tells us about how he fell into the role of Producer after major restructuring at the developer.
#4: Five years on, have the first billionaire F2P mobile games survived or thrived?
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Five years on, have the first billionaire F2P mobile games survived or thrived? »Nowadays its not uncommon for a major F2P release to generate $1 billion in its first year of release, but five years ago it was a different story.
But if you did manage it five years ago, is the game still going to be making the same level of revenues it was before? Jon Jordan looked back to find out just how well these titles have got on.
GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons is one title that peaked early, and has been in steady decline for a couple of years now - but remains the studio's main source of revenue.
Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga are meanwhile enjoying continued success, and Supercell has even managed to make another $1 billion game with Clash Royale.
#3: Rovio revenues shot up 34% in 2016 as games business had best year ever
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Rovio revenues shot up 34% in 2016 as games business had best year ever »Say what you like about the Angry Birds movie, but it looks to have done a world of good for Rovio's finances.
The studio posted revenues of €190 million, up 34% year-on-year, representing the biggest year of growth it has ever experienced.
Its older titles continued to perform well for the developer, with games such as Angry Birds 2 and its wealth of updates helping to keep players engaged and spending.
And Rovio isn't backing down from its feathery friends any time soon, as it plans to keep growing the brand as well as exploring further licensing options while investing in its own game development.
#2: Google Play improves discovery to focus on engagement over downloads
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Google Play improves discovery to focus on engagement over downloads »Discovery is one of the biggest problems facing mobile developers, especially given the number of games that are constantly being released on the app stores.
Google looks to be taking some productive measures to combat this, as its announced changes to its algorithms that will focus more on user engagement than overall downloads.
Developers will also have the ability to run their own sales, allowing them to slash prices whenever they feel like it to generate more interest in their game.
The company also highlighted a few games coming its way over the next year, including Kabam's Transformers: Forged to Fight and Epic Games' Battle Breakers.
#1: What if Kabam’s breakup is actually a success story?
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What if Kabam’s breakup is actually a success story? »Kabam's recent collapse appears to be a classic symptom of growing too rapidly and making too many bold moves that ultimately failed - in this case, buying too many movie licenses.
But while it may appear to be a failure on the surface, Jon Jordan has a different take, suggesting that maybe this is a success story for the studio.
"It generated well over $1 billion in revenue, most of its investors made back a multiple on their cash, its staff were presumably well paid, and post-Netmarble, the two parts remain in business - hopefully making better F2P mobile games tempered by past experience," he writes.
"May we all suffer such a failure."