Never Forget
Former EA vets team up with mobile firm Wildlife to form new studio
The studio will set up shop in San Francisco
Fuse Has Been Lit
Apex Legends may see mobile soft launch in Q2 2021
Game set to roll out before end of fiscal year 2022
Special Shoutout
Meet the amazing sponsors for next week’s Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
Celebrating the finest companies backing us for our fifth digital conference. Thank you to each and every one!
Hot Drop
Apex Legends set to drop on Nintendo Switch in March
Respawn's shooter arrives on the platform March 9th
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: 'The best way to show you can make games is to make games,' says Auroch Digital CEO
PGC Digital #5 kicks off on February 8th
Poc In Mobile
Hatch Entertainment Cloud Engineer Khoa Mai on why "diversity enables companies to reach the masses"
"Becoming well known and popular is usually the goal for lots of firms."
Security And Protection
The latest edition of the PocketGamer.biz RoundTables is now available on YouTube
Explore the design and implementation of security and protection measures in mobile games with our latest RoundTable
Happy New Year
Celebrate Chinese New Year with a special offer for Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
Enjoy 20% discount on all tickets for the incoming year of the ox
Catch Of The Day
Big Run Studios hires former Big Fish Games senior producer Anna Rix
Rix's addition marks the expansion of a second development team
Pgc Digital
Refine your industry visions and values at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
One of 14 featured tracks
Eggman Or Robot-brick
Sega partners with LEGO on Sonic the Hedgehog set
The design was approved by 10,000 fans
Cracking Ar, Gromit
From Bioshock and GTA to Wallace and Gromit; Susan Cummings' journey into AR
"We're essentially bringing Bristol to you"
2021 Predictions
2021 mobile trends to watch, according to ironSource chief design officer Dan Greenberg
Hyper-casualisation, social games and more
Phoenix Rising
Phoenix Games acquires match-three mobile studio SmileyGamer
"It’s been great to have had the opportunity to grow SmileyGamer from the ground up"
Live And Kicking
How Supercell continues to grow multi-billion dollar hit Clash Royale five-years on
"There’s a reason that battle passes are so popular in the industry nowadays"
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Jump data lead Carlos De Las Heras Peña on how data tech will transform the gaming sector
PGC Digital #5 kicks off on February 8th
Acquired
AppLovin set to acquire Adjust for $1 billion
Adjust has grown significantly in the last year
The Best In Mobile Games
Voting is now OPEN for the Pocket Gamer Awards 2021!
Celebrate the best in mobile and handheld gaming: vote for your favorite games now.
Pgc Digital
Get high definition insight with Big Screen Gaming at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
One of 14 featured tracks
All In
Com2uS acquires majority stake in Kritika developer AllM
The deal includes mobile games subsidiary Funflow
Indie Spotlight
How Apple Arcade's Secret Oops started life as a PlayLink game for PlayStation
"AR technology was progressing very fast back then and we were fascinated by the shared experience capabilities"
No Brainer
Mobile developer Easybrain acquired by Embracer Group in $640m deal
$640m in stock and a potential extra $125m as a bonus
Schedule Revealed
The final conference schedule for Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5 has been LOCKED IN!
Find out what’s happening on stage next week as our fifth digital conference goes live. Are you ready to do business?!
Acquired
Embracer Group picks up Aspyr Media for potential $450m
$100 million, plus up to $350 million in bonuses
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Kimaru Talent founder Rumiko Matsumoto on why fewer studios are building teams in San Francisco
PGC Digital #5 kicks off on February 8th
Target Acquired
Can opt-ins save niche targeting?
App marketers will once again have to take a step back and re-evaluate their practices
Down To Business
Apple’s Small Business Program is now open. Will it change anything?
AdColony's Liz Waldeck-Pinckert discusses the new perks for iOS developers
Coming Up Trumps
Coin Master reigns supreme in Casino mobile gaming
Crunching the data with App Annie
Gain Valuable Knowledge
Get expert advice from games industry leaders with the IGDA Mentor Café at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
Industry leaders share their knowledge and expertise in short sessions during next week’s online only conference
Meet The Investor
Hiro Capital’s Samuel Costello on emerging trends in the games industry during the pandemic that are likely to persist
“The games industry has seen record numbers across the pandemic and a lot of those players wouldn't have played before they were stuck indoors.”
Going Public
Nexters to go public through merger with Kismet Acquisition One SPAC
"Nexters is one of the fastest-growing mobile gaming companies in the world"
What A Strike!
EA working on six football mobile titles as its extends UEFA license
"Our vision is to create the most authentic, social and connected football experience by bringing our games to more devices"
Pgc Digital
Be in the know with the Esports & Influencers track at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
One of 14 featured tracks
Insight And Growth
Dive founder Elad Levy on the growing need for "custom analytics"
"Dive is the only data insights and live ops platform in the industry that allows all the client's data to reside on their own servers"
Top Dog
SuperData: Oculus Quest 2 shifted 1 million units in Q4
"The Quest 2 benefitted from a lower price than its predecessor"
Spac
Playstudios to go public after merging with Acies Acquisition Corp
"They know how to make engaging and enduring games..."
Top Of The World
Tencent and NetEase remain App Annie's top publishers for the fourth year running
A number of companies jumped up more than 10 places this year
Jobs In Games
How to get a job as a director of story with Pocket Gems' Cass Phillipps
"This industry has a reputation - sometimes correctly - of crunch culture..."
Money Money Money
Pocket Worlds secures $7 million in Series A funding
“At Pocket Worlds, every feature we create and product we build is intentionally designed to cultivate a social-first gaming experience for our users"
On The Up
Haruki Satomi becomes Sega Sammy group CEO
Replaces his father in the top job
Shifting Focus
Google to close Stadia Games and Entertainment studios
Studio head Jade Raymond has departed the company too
Meet The Investor
Balderton Capital’s Sebastiaan Debrouwere on how game developers can prepare to pitch their projects online for investment
“Most importantly, feel comfortable with your pitch, make sure all the logistics are in place (light/internet/etc.) and do some research on the fund if you can.”
Pgc Digital
Boldly go Beyond Games at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
One of 14 featured tracks
Master The Meta
Master the Meta: making sense of GameStop’s insanity
The MtM team took a look at the GameStop stock market frenzy
Building The Anthill
Sumo Group snaps up indie outfit PixelAnt Games for £250k
The studio is Sumo's first mainland Europe acquisition
App Economy
An app economy on steroids: How to grab a piece of the action
While in-app spending has thus far been led by mobile gaming apps, a major increase in spending is anticipated from non-game apps
Be Social
Developers can integrate a social games platform into their apps through Goama
The platform currently has 2.5 million users
Meet The Investor
Level-Up’s managing partner Thibaud Morin on how the pandemic has affected the games industry
“Gaming emerged as a way to stay connected with your friends: the social component will be more and more important in the gaming experience.”
Money Money Money
Nintendo generated $13.4 billion between April 1st and December 31st
Mobile generated around $400 million
Editor's Picks
PGC Digital #5 - our editor's guide to the best upcoming sessions
Overwhelmed by choice? Here's the editorial lowdown on PGC Digital #5