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
Roblox Financials
Roblox hit a record $680.8 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2023
The figure represents a 15% year-on-year increase from $591.2 million
Subscriptions
Netflix goes big screen with game controller app on mobile
The app doesn’t yet have any games available, but we can hazard a guess from leaks earlier this year
Release
Netspeak takes Sunshine Days cross-platform with PC debut and planned creator mode
The new PC version will also see the introduction of a “Creator mode” which will also come to mobile
Rumours
Are Silent Hill and Metal Gear coming back to mobile?
Konami’s latest financial report hints at new mobile games for two of its biggest franchises
Financials
Sony sees 6.8% drop in income for games but a rise in sales
Games income increased by 167bn yen despite other slim financial results
Financials
Mobile now accounts for 53% of Take-Two’s revenue
One year on from its acquisition of Zynga mobile dominates Take-Two’s Q! 2023-2024 financial report
Financials
Playtika latest results show decreases in revenue & paying users
The company previously halted all further development on new titles in favour of concentrating on their existing portfolio
Job News
Sandsoft appoints Ahmed Sharif as CTO
Sharif previously held the role of head of VR, AR, metaverse automation and platform engineering at Meta
On The Right Track
Honkai: Star Rail races to $500 million in worldwide sales
The game has pushed miHoYo to second place in global game publisher sales rankings
Financial Fuel
Konami’s profits back on track with 22% rise in quarter one
Video games account for the most profit, but not the biggest proportional rise
Interview
Fein Games Lea Schönfelder: “We firmly believe that if you want to change something you have to do it from the ground up”
Lea Schönfelder shares how Fein Games is handling workplace culture differently
Interview
Global Champions founder and CEO Gokhan Celiker on achieving a milestone four million downloads
We spoke to Celiker about the company’s success and their work with Supersonic on Plane Evolution
Collaborations
Subway Surfers to mobilise players in conservation efforts
Sybo has also donated a fixed amount of $25,000 to various efforts
Mindful Of Mental Health
79% of devs are increasingly pressured to release unfinished games
New data from Sauce Labs reveals the state of play from the game dev frontlines with staff exposed to bullying and threats online
Q&a
Gameloft’s Andrey Marinov on bringing the iconic character of John Rambo to War Planet Online
War Planet Online aims to keep players engaged with new content and the freedom of cross platform
Its Heart Of Vegas Baby!
Heart of Vegas - celebrating 10 years at the top of its game
PG.biz speaks to Product Madness' Bryan Hurwitz and Joraynee Sarno about the 10 year anniversary of the studios' social casino game Heart Of Vegas
Pokemon Presents
Pokémon Presents provides updates on five Pokémon mobile games
Whether you’re in bed or on the go, there’s a mobile game for everyone
Investment Opportunities
Discover your next great investment opportunity at PG Connects Helsinki this September 12-13
Book your ticket to PG Connects Helsinki today to find your dream investment partner and save with our fantastic Mid-term offer!
Scopely X Flexion
Scopely is bringing more of its titles to alternative app stores with Flexion
Monopoly GO! is available on alternative app stores already, with Stumble Guys coming soon
Investment
Japanese mobile entertainment company Mixi to invest $50m in Indian market
The money will be issues as part of their corporate venture capital
Major Milestone
Nekki celebrates 20 years of mobile gaming innovation after surpassing one billion installs
95 percent of installs are organic
Nintendo Numbers
Nintendo's mobile future unclear despite “tripled” revenue
The latest financial report muddies the waters by including LEGO and The Super Mario Bros. Movie in the same financial category…
Mega Mobile
Mobile is gaming’s strongest platform in a market set generate $187.7 billion this year
Newzoo's 2023 Global Games Market Report expects mobile games to generate $92.6 billion
Investment
Studio Billion receives undisclosed investment in pre-series A bridge round
WePlay Ventures, Aura B4YO Fund and Lima Ventures make another major investment in the Turkish market
Releases
My.Games to launch Little Big Robots in every region but China
The new mobile shooter is the third title in the successful War Robots franchise
Major Milestone
InnoGames' Forge of Empires surpasses $1 billion in lifetime revenue
Forge of Empires is responsible for half of all revenues