Milestones
Lilith Games’ Warpath crosses 30 million downloads globally
The WW2-inspired title is one of a number of Lilith’s RTS hits
Partnership
Gcommerce company Scuti partners with audio tech firm Consumable for audio ads
Brands will be able to advertise their products to users browsing the Scuti marketplace
Deconstruction
Under The Hood: Discovering the secrets of successful free to play games
Vikram Khatri shares his system for deconstructing successful free to play games with a view to finding similar success
Monopoly Money
The biggest gaming acquisitions of all time
From Activision Blizzard and Zynga to Bethesda and Playdemic
Tencent Financials
Tencent generated $20.6 billion in the second quarter of 2023
The total represents an 11% increase from the same period of 2022
Partnership
Room 8 Group announces new partnership with Zibra AI
The companies are aiming to revolutionise virtual content creation
Web3 On Mobile
Blockchain infrastructure service Stardust launches wallets-as-a-service
Seamlessly implementing cryptocurrency wallets has been an ongoing stumbling block for web3 developers
Feature
The PR expert's guide to modern mobile games PR
ZiMAD’s Anastasia Zaiceva discusses the role of public relations in the modern mobile market and how it can contribute to the success of your game
Financials
Netmarble financials sees 49% slump in earnings and 8% drop in sales
Their quarter two results echo a difficult year for many mobile companies
Diversity In Gaming
Black Voices in Gaming announces Xperience Excellence Accelerator cohort
The accelerator program is powered by Netflix Games
Acquisition
InMobi acquires consent management platform Quantcast Choice
The acquisition comes amid a growing push for stricter privacy regulations worldwide
Regulators
South Korean regulators to crack down further on unfair practices by Google
The new judgement follows an already hefty fine from Korean authorities
Success In Funding
Play Ventures’ Fund I sees 1.5x return in less than four years
The fund has 20 titles in its portfolio
Web3
Zynga unveils their first web3 game Sugartown
Doubts caused by the crypto winter hasn't stopped big names from investing in the web3 gaming space
Milestones
SuperGaming’s Indus battle royale title passes five million pre-registrations
A closed beta is set to follow its pre-registration success
Investments And Acquisitions
Haveli Investments acquires minority share in Match Masters developer Candivore
The acquisition comes at a cost of $100 million
Q&a
Colossi Games' Manuel Prueter: “We stay bullish for mobile and keep working to entertain players everywhere.”
As their Daisho: Survival of a Samurai notches one million downloads, the Colossi CEO explains how the studio navigates the current gaming market
Netflix Games
Netflix launches first public cloud gaming test
Select subscribers in the UK and Canada can access the company’s games on TV and through connected devices
Revelations
Savvy Games unmasked as Embracer's mystery partner in deal collapse
Axios Gaming's Stephen Totilo has enough evidence to point the finger
Events
Devcom 2023 announces final round of talks and speakers
With the event set to kick-off on Monday the final line-up of talks is now in place
Yokai Watch
Yokai Watch’s 10th anniversary drives the success of its mobile titles
Yokai Watch Punipuni saw a threefold increase in revenue
Insights
How Genshin Impact's devs were driven to tears
MiHoYo's president reveals how comparisons to Nintendo's Zelda Breath of the Wild were a major concern pre-release
Jobs News
August's Mobile Movers and Shakers: Ahmed Sharif joins Sandsoft, Jeaneane Falkler moves to Room 8 and more
August has seen some significant moves by some of the industry's biggest company's - here's the highlights from the last week
Stocks
Playtika investor confidence grows despite recent financials
Estimations of the company's stock have risen since their most recent financial release
Ever Crisis
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis gets September 7 release date
The game finally approaches launch following a successful beta
Mobile Monetisation
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick wants to monetise 100% of its audience
The company is currently monetising only 10% of its players
July In Review
July 2023 was a massive month for new releases and crossovers
GameRefinery analyses the performance of the mobile gaming market throughout the month
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news including developer hardships, IP disputes and China's ongoing war against games
Financials
East Side Games sees revenue slide by 32% in first quarter 2023 financials
The dip echoes wider financial shocks across the mobile gaming market in recent financials
Investment
Krafton commits to massive $150m investment in Indian startups
The deal indicates the company’s renewed commitment to what has been a turbulent market for them
Game Design
Breaking the rules: Magical secrets of game design
Fundamentally Games’ Oscar Clark breaks down the core rules of game design and how they drive gameplay
Chinese Restrictions
China’s game restrictions aren't working
A new study by Nature Human Behaviour has found that players are willing and able to circumvent restrictions
Milestones
Indian-made battle royale title Battle Stars passes five million players
The title is being developed by SuperGaming, the company behind the hotly anticipated Indus
Tech Investment
Telltale power up their storytelling skills with Flavourworks acquisition
The UK company's unique video technology will become part of Telltale's future projects
Birds Of A Feather
Sega to finalise Rovio acquisition next week
Sonic and Angry Birds to be one big family as Sega takes 96.3% of shares
Name Change
Golf Club: Wasteland forced to change name four years after launch
The studio hasn’t yet made it clear how the dispute arose or with who
Apple Vs Epic
The US Supreme Court sides with Apple in its ongoing battle with Epic
The court has decided to block a federal injunction that would have forced Apple to change its payment practices
Financials
NCSoft financials show almost 75% drop in profit year-on-year
The majority of the company’s revenue comes from mobile games
Partnership
Xsolla partners with AppsFlyer to streamline cross-platform data-driven insights
The companies are combining forces in order to better serve their clients
Feature
Navigating Google TCF 2.2 requirements with GamesBiz Consulting's Božo Janković
Game on or game over? We take a deep dive into the consent management landscape of Google TCF framework
Women In Games
Nordcurrent’s Gintarė Maraulė on her transition from e-commerce to mobile gaming
Gintarė Maraulė, Head of Digital Marketing at Nordcurrent talks to PG.biz about her career in games and where she had to leave e-commerce behind.
Hybrid Monetisation
In-app purchases are up on both iOS and Android
Tenjin’s latest report highlights a shift towards hybrid monetisation
New Release
Tilting Point and AN Games announce new Avatar: The Last Airbender game
The new mobile game will be launching in 2024
Financials
Applovin financials see rise driven by new AI investments but declining revenue for apps
The company’s non-gaming related business is on the up even as apps falter
Nexon Financials
Nexon celebrates 12% year-on-year increase in revenue in 2023’s second quarter
However, the company’s net income decreased 7% over the same period
Sensor Tower Report
37 of July's top 100 mobile game publishers came from China
Chinese publishers accounted for nearly $2 billion for the month
Regulations
China’s game licencing system to be extended to all mobile applications
Companies will need to either have a branch in China or work with Chinese companies in order to publish apps
Moving To Mobile
Dana White’s Power Slap is coming to mobile courtesy of Zynga
The “sport”, connected to numerous health concerns, will receive a mobile adaptation from developer Rollic
Feature
Next-level game dev analytics: Using heatmaps in midcore games
Azur Games lead analyst Alexey Platonov shares how heatmaps can be used as a powerful analytical tool
Krafton Financials
Krafton's latest figures show 28% decline from record first quarter 2023
The company generated $294.2 million in the second quarter of 2023