This Week In Asia
This Week in Asia: Nintendo Switch hits 1m sales in China, Apple's App Store purge, and Honor of Kings' revenue reign
All of the hottest stories from the region
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: 'Getting into game mod communities is a fantastic way to learn,' says Javier Barnes
PGC Digital #5 kicks off on February 8th
Making Of
How Apple 'featuring' helped The First Tree rival sales to PS4 and Xbox One on iOS
"Having a powerful ending can help people look past the flaws so much easier"
To Battle!
Epic brings app store battle with Apple and Google to the UK
Two filings were submitted to the Competition Appeal Tribunal
Money Money Money
$33.6 billion was spent on games industry investments last year
$12.6 billion came from M&As
Giving Back
Activison Blizzard Staff gave over $1.6 million to charity in December
"At Activision Blizzard, we recognise our responsibility to give back to the communities where we operate"
Rebrand, Relaunch
Angry Birds Journey soft launch takes flight
New title is a reinvention of previously tested Angry Birds Casual
Down Under
Animal Crossing: New Horizons tops the charts in Australia
Games sales were up 35 per cent in the country
Meet And Connect
The Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5 meeting platform is now LIVE!
Start organising your meetings and connecting with games industry professionals from all around the world NOW
Going Public
Playtika secures $1.88 billion via IPO
69.5 million shares for sold for $27 each
Welcome To The Family
Digital Bros snaps up Gems of War dev Infinity Plus Two
"IP2 is a proven studio with phenomenal success over the years. Their creative vision and extensive experience will be a great addition to 505 Games"
Switch It Up
The Nintendo Switch hits one million official sales in China
The number is higher when grey markets are included
Money Money Money
Kuato Studios raises $6 million as it launches VR title Panic Room
"We are incredibly excited to be launching this game as part of our ambition to shift into the VR market"
Gotta Capture 'em All
New Pokémon Snap set to capture audiences this April
Sequel will arrive 22 years after the original N64 release
Over The Moon
Moonrise is the new early stage fund from Glitch CEO Karr
Organisation to provide support for projects with unique gameplay
Big Indie Pitch
Drimia Interactive proves the fun never has to end as Aztec Ride takes the first Big Indie Pitch crown of 2021
We reveal the top three games from our recent Digital Big Indie Pitch #5
Get Connected
EE launches 5G across 13 more locations in the UK
"Today's recognition shows the continued investment we're making to keep our customers connected to what matters most to them"
Fired Up
Garena Free Fire was the most downloaded mobile game last year
It has racked up 100 billion views on YouTube
Outta Here
Apple removed 48,000 games from the Chinese App Store last year
Due to them not having an ISBN
Ninten-no
Super Nintendo World opening delayed due COVID-19
A new date will be set when the state of emergency lifts
Discount Ends
LAST CHANCE to save up to 50% on the price of tickets to Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
Early Bird offer ends at midnight tonight, don’t miss out on these amazing savings for February’s digital conference!
Hacked Off
The Capcom data breach looks worse than previously thought
Personal data of 16,406 leaked in the hack
Pokemon!
The Pokemon Company teams up with Katy Perry to celebrate 25th anniversary
"I love being a part of anything that is playful and is good storytelling and has really good messages to share with the world"
Game Drive
Introducing Game Drive: the acceleration programme from MY.GAMES and Google that promises to fuel mobile developers
The new initiative will see successful mobile studios rewarded with consultation on how to level up their business
It's An Honour
Honor of Kings was the top-grossing mobile game in December 2020
Followed by PUBG Mobile
Trendy
Five mobile gaming trends to keep an eye on in 2021, according to Newzoo
Newzoo details a handful of industry developments set to shake up mobile this year
Open Communication
Discord users can have text conversations with Matrix-based apps
EMS has secured a deal with the company
The Best In Mobile Games
Nominate your game for award recognition on the world’s leading mobile games website
The Pocket Gamer Awards return in 2021 to recognise the best games in the mobile and handheld gaming sphere
New Partnership
Tilting Point forms live-publishing partnership with South Korean firm Storytaco
"Storytaco has done a great job of creating a narrative-driven game that has captivated audiences, and this partnership allows us to bring that thrilling storyline into the hands of even more players"
Lessons From Voodoo
How Voodoo is driving creativity and innovation in the creation of mobile game ads
Voodoo creative marketing manager weighs in how to craft in-game ads that resonate with your users
Economics
Under half of UK devs believe the economic climate is favourable for games
Though the UK games industry is expected to grow this year
Money Money Money
Fyber experiences best ever Q4 as it grosses $108.2 million
“2020 brought about unique challenges and significant uncertainty, and Fyber’s success in navigating these challenges is a true testament of the resilience and diversity of our business"
Political Views
ESA halts political contributions in wake of US Capital chaos
Trade body says it is reflecting on what to do moving forward
Big Spender
Mobile consumers spent $143 billion on apps in 2020
Games revenue is predicted to hit $120 billion this year
Welcome Aboard
Admix makes two key hires from Google and Spotify
As it expands in the US and EMEA
A Good Deed
Zynga teams up with will.i.am for a new GoFundMe initiative
"We are honoured to join the i.am Angel Foundation in their commitment to create opportunity and equity through education that incorporates STEAM skills"
Switched
Nintendo Switch sales surpass those of the 3DS
Production for the 3DS was stopped in September 2020
Pgc Digital
The speakers you won't want to miss at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #5
Our most anticipated highlights from the 250+ expert speakers and 14 themed conference tracks, February 8-12
Ressurected
Disney revives the LucasFilm Games brand
Eight years after LucasArts was closed
Smashed It
Streamer TheGrefg breaks record with over 2.3 million concurrent viewers on Twitch
The Fortnite influencer hit the milestone this week
New Job
Scopely hires Ben Webley as its new CMO
"Ben brings deep experience in gaming and mobile advertising..."
Get Hyped
Homa Games partners with Facebook Audience Network for hypercasual game jam
HOMAJAM will kick off on January 18th with a $165k prize pool
Money Money Money
Animoca Brands had a record breaking 10 months in 2020
It generated $38 million by October 31st
Tweet Tweet
More than two billion tweets were posted about games last year
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the most talked about game
Welcome To The Family
AdInMo welcomes new COO and VP of engineering
"We're delighted that Joanne and Kon have joined our team at this key growth period for AdInMo"
And So It Goes
Social network Parler booted from Apple App Store, Google Play, and AWS following failure to moderate violent content
The site has become a hotspot for right-wing networking
Money Money Money
Lockdown causes UK video games revenue to hit $5.7bn in 2020
Market saw a 14.5 per cent increase year-on-year, digital rose by 16.5 per cent
A Good Deed
King teams with Battersea for charity campaign in Pet Rescue Saga
To support with organisation's work with animals
Master The Meta
Master the Meta: What you need to know before Playtika’s IPO
To kick off 2021, the MTM team takes a look at Playtika's movements ahead of its IPO
That's Awesome
Awesome Games Done Quick raises $2.76m for Prevent Cancer Foundation
Charity event has raised $31.4 million to date