Access Denied
Apple claims that cloud gaming apps like Project xCloud violate its policies
Microsoft is still commited to bringing its platform to iOS
Banned
President Trump signs executive orders to ban business with TikTok and WeChat
Will come into effect in 45 days
Big Indie Launchpad
Big Indie Pitch developers take centre stage at the inaugural Pocket Gamer LaunchPad
We explore and detail the 10 former Big Indie Pitch developers who were showcased as a part of the inaugural Pocket Gamer LaunchPad event
Io-no
Project xCloud testing ceases on iOS devices
The app was expired on August 5th
That's Epic
Epic Games secures $1.78 billion in new funding round
"Having the support of leaders in the financial community accelerates Epic's efforts to build a new kind of digital ecosystem"
Acquisition
Enthusiast Gaming acquires Omnia Media from Blue Ant Media Solutions
The deal is worth CAD$54.5 million
Equal Pay
Update: Blizzard staff members preparing list of workplace requests as part of ongoing pay dispute
"We will continue to adapt our compensation to build and keep the workforce our company needs today and tomorrow"
Power Of Expression
Game Drive’s founder and CEO Chrstopher Green on creating cultures that reinforce positivity
“While the gaming community gets more diverse and more inclusion, the last 12 months have pushed to show that gaming is not a waste of time.”
Post-idfa Winners
Who will be the winners and losers in the post-IDFA app industry?
Nativex head of sales EMEA Ilya Gitlin explores the potential outcomes of the death of the IDFA
Financials
Zynga generates a record $452 million in Q2 2020 though suffers a net loss of $150 million
"We delivered tremendous results in Q2"
Change It Up
Lab Cave appoints Luis Bertó as its new managing director
CEO Jesús Martínez will depart the company on August 7th
Money Money Money
No More Robots sees $5 million in revenue for its third year
It will bring half a dozen games to Nintendo Switch in the next year
Develop:brighton Digital
Develop:Brighton replaces physical event with digital-only conference due to coronavirus
Still taking place on November 2nd-4th 2020
Into The Unknown
Making Of: Glu SVP Mike Olsen on tackling the RPG genre with Disney Sorcerer's Arena
"The player community is critically important to the ongoing development and success"
Financials
Nintendo experiences strong year-on-year growth in Q1 FY21 as it generates $3.4 billion in net sales
"The mobile business showed steady growth compared to the same period of the previous year"
Discount Ends
LAST CHANCE to save more than $300 on tickets to Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 - book now!
Time is running out! Early Bird prices for next month’s online-only conference ends at midnight tonight, make sure you don’t miss out!
Fast Mover
Zynga buys hypercasual outfit Rollic for $168 million
All-cash deal gains 80% equity
Skill Up
Transcend Fund leads $5.25 million investment into Big Run Studios
Indie has fifth game Big Cooking out soon
We Care
Jam City teams up with Care Bears for exclusive Panda Pop content
"The timeliness of this partnership and this message feels so right"
Take Some Time
Riot is giving its employees a week off to "disconnect, recharge, and reboot"
It is putting the health of its staff first to avoid toxic crunch culture
Question Time
Teatime Games CEO Thor Fridriksson candidly reflects on the failures of QuizUp and Plain Vanilla
"We put a lot of our eggs into one basket and then that basket was squashed"
Team Work
Venatus teams up with Frameplay for in-game advertising
"We are delighted to be partnering with Frameplay to drive our in-game advertising offering"
China Game Removals
Mass delisting by Apple China: Over 26,000 games without ISBN removed
Yodo1 looks at the impact of so many games suddenly disappearing from the App Store
Welcome Aboard
Improbable welcomes Chris Enock as its new head of publishing
He was the vice president of publishing at Riot
Talking Heads
Unity Technologies, Tenjin, Finnish Game Jam and NCSOFT confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020
The speaker lineup for next month’s online-only conference heats up - who will you be learning from?
Going Digital
BlizzCon will be held on a digital platform early next year
"We're looking forward to sharing what the teams have been working on for that event"
Financials
Glu Mobile's Q2 2020 revenue increases 40 per cent year-on-year to $133.3 million
"The second-quarter financial results were the best in Glu's history"
On The Go
Microsoft pins down September 15th launch date for Project xCloud Game Pass Ultimate beta
Available in 22 markets on Android devices
Bringing Back The Dodo
Indie Spotlight: How Moving Pieces pitched Dodo Peak for Apple Arcade
"I think what's really exciting about mobile games right now is that the line is blurring between mobile gaming and games in general"
Financials
Activision Blizzard experiences a record breaking second quarter as it hits $1.9 billion in revenue
King boasted 271 million monthly active users in Q2
Big Indie Pitch
The digital Big Indie roadshow continues with new pitches announced for August, September and October
Our digital pitches go from strength to strength as we announce new pitches and introduce new sponsors
Masterclasses
GamesConsulting.net’s Nick Murray on game economy design and optimisation
"The balance and design of an economy has a significant impact on not only retention but monetization potential"
A Success
Grand Cru Games and Roofdog Games join N3twork's NSP after successful testing period
They now have access to the $50 million growth fund
Tick Tock
Update: Trump insists the US government should have a slice of Microsoft's TikTok deal
President Trump has given the company 45 days to secure a deal
Bring Back The Classics
Animoca Brands extends its partnership with Atari
It will create Blockchain versions of a further 15 classic games
Post-idfa
Why are we bullish on contextual post-IDFA?
Fyber president Offer Yehudai looks at what's coming once the IDFA finally dies
Sony Financials
Sony kicks off its fiscal year with $17.9 billion in revenue for Q1
Visual Media and Platform segment accounted for $419.7 million
What A Goal!
EA secures the licensing rights to AC Milan and Inter Milan for its FIFA series
It is no longer partnered with AS Roma
Worlds Collide
Ludia soft-launches Disney Wonderful Worlds
Available to download across Indonesia and the Philippines
Financials
Take-Two grows revenues 54 per cent year-on-year as it generates $831.3 million in Q1 FY21
"Fiscal 2021 is off to a terrific start with first-quarter operating results that significantly exceeded our expectations"
Jobs In Games
Remote Working: How studying Creative Advertising inadvertently lead to Joy Marianowicz joining Facebook Gaming
"The course mainly helped me realise that looking at data and coming up with a concrete plan was much more my strength"
See You In Court
Apple faces new $1.4 billion lawsuit over patent infringement
"We are disappointed Xiao-i Robot has filed another lawsuit"
X-back
Update: Microsoft isn't actually rebranding Xbox Game Pass
Firm confirms that new logo doesn't mean new name
Update!
Find your funding at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 with the Investor Connector - sign up now!
The popular investor matchmaking event returns in digital form for the online Helsinki show
Clipping Cash
Clipwire Games sees 500% increase in revenue since teaming with AppLovin
"We're thrilled to see the impact of our investment"
$100 Million Rise
Mobile games revenue grew by $135 million across Malaysia and Singapore
Partly due to a rise in esports
Master The Meta
Master the Meta: How Electronic Arts and Roblox are shattering records
News and insights from the Master the Meta team
Tapjoy Offerwall
The evolution of the Tapjoy offerwall on iOS
How Tapjoy has changed its offerwall following Apple's policy changes
Discussions Ongoing
EA considering acquisition strategy for WB Games
"It is very rare that we don't get a chance to look at anything that's up for sale"
Monetisation Month
Catch up on PocketGamer.biz's Monetisation Month 2020
Sponsored by AudioMob