Is Machine Zone worth $9 billion, why did Clash Royale run out of steam, and how one man made mega-hit Color Switch
2016 was another busy year for both us and the mobile games industry overall, so we thought we'd take a look back on what stories caught our reader's attention across the year as a whole.
Leading the way is the story of how one man developed a Color Switch, a huge indie title at the start of the year, with codeless development tool Buildbox.
Second is regular columnist Torulf Jernstrom asking the question that was on everyone's lips after just a few months of Clash Royale's launch - why was it already running out of steam?
Snakes and trends
Third up is the beginning of our retrospective on the history of mobile gaming, starting with a tiny but addictive title that killed many an hour on the old Nokia phones - Snake.
And finally, we debated whether Machine Zone was actually worth $9 billion in a world before Supercell's $8.6 billion acquisition, and Dmitry Terekhin identified the seven trends that were going to make you rich in 2016.
Click the link below to find out more about the stories that caught our readers' eye across the entirety of 2016.
#5: 7 mobile gaming trends to help get you rich in 2016
More Info
7 mobile gaming trends to help get you rich in 2016 »There's two things that the mobile industry love to talk about: trends in the industry you should be aware of, and how to get rich.
Dmitry Terekhin, founder and CEO of Russian developer Nekki, loves talking about both of these things, so much so that at the start of 2016 he identified 7 trends everyone wanting to get rich should have been aware of.
First off the bat was brand power, which came true thanks to the success of Pokemon GO and Super Mario Run, two games Terekhin couldn't have predicted.
He also identified maturing multiplayer, soft monetisation, and quality-fueled growth as further trends to follow. Notably, AR and location-based games aren't included.
#4: Is Machine Zone really worth $9 billion?
More Info
Is Machine Zone really worth $9 billion? »Machine Zone, now known as MZ, remained one of the top grossing developers throughout 2016 - and it's only released two games.
They're making enough money, alongside MZ's RTplatform and other ventures, that F2P mobile game financial blog GloMo estimates the company is worth over $9 billion.
Former editor-at-large Jon Jordan was a little taken aback by the valuation - it was before Supercell was acquired for $8.6 billion after all - but was willing to entertain the valuation anyway.
"Not that PocketGamer.biz has anything but the highest regard for the developer of top grossing games Game of War and Mobile Strike," he adds hastily after expressing his shock.
#3: A Brief History of Mobile Games: In the beginning, there was Snake
More Info
A Brief History of Mobile Games: In the beginning, there was Snake »Mobile games have been around for years and years now, but just how many years has it been exactly?
For us at Pocket Gamer, it's 10 years - that's how long its been since we started after all. But in the real world, it's 19 years, back when Snake first launched.
The game has now shifted an estimated 400 million units since it first launched - not quite Pokemon GO numbers - and kickstarted mobile gaming as we know it.
Chris Wright uses this as his springboard into his brief history of mobile games, recounting how the technology started out and how the world changed over the years following.
#2: Why is Clash Royale running out of steam?
More Info
Why is Clash Royale running out of steam? »Clash Royale was the first major hit of 2016, and went on to generate over $1 billion in revenue by the year's end, but not without some speedbumps.
Pokemon GO aside, it was suffering in its early days too, leading to guest columnist Torulf Jernstrom to ask, why is Clash Royale running out of steam?
"One reason is that the game starts to get grindy after a while. In a sense, all mobile F2P games do that, but personally I noticed it more in Clash Royale," he wrote.
"The core itself, with its inherent ~50% win rates felt like arm wrestling someone equally strong as I am. Which means that it quickly gets exhausting instead of fun."
#1: How solo-developed Color Switch topped the App Store using 'codeless' dev tool Buildbox
More Info
How solo-developed Color Switch topped the App Store using 'codeless' dev tool Buildbox »2016 started off as a seemingly great year for indies - Slither.io took off in a way that no one could have predicted, and the only big game on the horizon was Clash Royale.
But one of the biggest success was Color Switch, a game that had originally been developed by one man in "codeless" development tool Buildbox.
"Our goal from the beginning was to create a new market sector we call codeless development," said Buildbox founder Trey Smith.
"This has empowered thousands of people who want to make games, but did not have the technical ability to do so."