Growing Industry
UK games industry growing at its fastest ever rate
"A number of forces are driving growth in our industry"
Going Public
Playtika looks to go public as it confidentially files for an IPO
Could be valued at $10 billion
Most Read
Hot Five: Genshin Impact crosses $100 million, Voodoo tops downloads for hypercasual publishers, and Donut Lab raises $1.6 million
The hottest articles of last week
Countdown Commences
Pocket Gamer LaunchPad #2 is coming, and you can get involved
Are you ready for takeoff?
Going Remote
Yodo1 announces transition to a fully remote company from 1st December, 2020
The China-based company has employees across the globe
It's A Fantasy
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius hits 45 million downloads
Celebrated with various in-game events
This Week In Asia
This Week in Asia: Huya and DouYu merger, Com2uS acquisition and Pakistan's TikTok block
Our roundup of the latest news and updates from Asian territories
Token Of Appreciation
Animoca Brands and Gamee are introducing tokens to the platform
They will be given as skill-based rewards
Takin' Care Of Business
Mobile Games Jobs Weekly: Rovio CEO plans exit, Supercell looks to bolster team, and Anzu recruits Activision Blizzard exec
The movers, shakers and job opportunities in mobile gaming
Welcome Aboard
Bandai Namco Mobile welcomes two new community managers
Janneke van Ooyen and Jennifer Govea
Real Town Bidness
NFL star Marshawn Lynch onboard for Blackout Bingo’s Beast Mode event
72 hours of celebration
Change It Up
PlayStation's new mobile app drops wishlists and PS3 purchases
The changes come in on October 28th
Top Of The World
Google was the top mobile publisher via downloads in September
Voodoo cracked the top three
Big Indie Pitch
Alula's stargazing and gardening mix wows judges and is crowned Big Indie Pitch Winner
We explore the top three games from our recent Digital Big Indie Pitch #4
Enter The House
9th Impact launches Big Brother mobile game with AudioMob's ad solutions
"We're thrilled to be working with 9th Impact for their release of the Big Brother mobile game"
Poc In Mobile
Employers need to be "proactive in seeking diversity," says IronSource VP of new business Rujul Patel
"I see very few South Asians or other people of colour outside of product and technical roles"
Full Support
Unity launches Social Impact Division to support equality and sustainability
It is backed by a charity fund
Top Dog
Voodoo was the top hypercasual publisher through downloads in Q3 2020
GameJam Co experienced the most growth
Got To War
Wargaming teams with Korn for Halloween-based World of Tanks Blitz event
"I really like World of Tanks Blitz. It's true to the era, there are a lot of great tanks in there, and you don't just jump in and start shooting"
Happy Anniversary!
Sulake's networking title Habbo celebrates its 20th anniversary
"Habbo was a true pioneer in terms of free-to-play, user-generated content and sandbox gaming and online social interaction"
Event
Romanian and Eastern European video games to be promoted and discounted on Steam during Dev.Play 2020
The online conference, scheduled to take place during November 3-4, opens pre-registrations for its workshops
Tentuplay
TENTUPLAY on how Behavioural Segmentation grants valuable player insight
PGbiz caught up with Tentuplay co-founder Hyeyon Kwon following their talk at PGC Helsinki last month
Still Going
Beamable is not shutting down following bankruptcy filing
“The $3 million-plus in liabilities is a lot of liabilities to carry on the balance sheet of a company that is rebooting"
Out Of This World
Among Us hit four billion hours in viewership on YouTube in September
The majority came from the US
Event
The Global Games Pitch Season 2 goes online on November 16-17 - registration available now
The two-day pitching event enables developers to pitch their games to publishers and investors digitally
Just A Stream
US consumers are spending around $20.78 on app subscriptions
Adjust has launched its new Subscription Tracking tool
Making Of
Radical Forge creative director on the three-year road to the launch of Bright Paw
"We knew from the start that it was not going to work unless we committed to premium."
Trump Card
US court speeds up government appeal to ban TikTok
TikTok restrictions could be placed on November 12th
Get Hyped
My.Games acquires a minority stake in hypercasual dev Mamboo Games
"The volume of the hypercasual games market continues to rise every year, reaching around $1.2 billion in 2020"
Money Woes
Games tech firm Beamable files for bankruptcy
It reported $3.4 million in liabilities and $637,987 in property assets
Get Some Candy
The UK crowns its first Candy Crush Saga champion
Adam ‘Tango’ Holland is a Guinness World Record holder
Get Hyped
Supersonic Studios launches its Superstars contest for hypercasual devs
“Since the day Supersonic was launched, we have focused on developing a strong relationship with our developers"
Unlimited Networking
Connect with industry professionals around the world with the MeetToMatch platform at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4
The meeting platform is a core component of the online conference in November, and it’s free to all attendees
Great Advice
Anzu welcomes former Activision Blizzard exec Ruben Dehouck as new strategic advisor
"In-game advertising offers developers and publishers a compelling new revenue stream, but only if it's done right"
Top Advertising
Facebook takes the top spot for mobile advertising
It charges more than Google for games ads
Checkmate
Why indie developer Matthew English is looking to reinvent chess for a new audience
"If we had an unlimited budget we’d continue making Tschess the best game it could possibly be."
Trend Survey
Download the Mobile Games Developer Trends Autumn 2020 report
Hypercasual games and new monetization methods come out on top in the latest PocketGamer.biz industry survey
Switched
Nintendo Switch could be the best-selling console this holiday season
Games spending will hit $13.4 billion in November and December
It's Getting Wild
League of Legends: Wild Rift is coming to iOS
No release date has been given
Check It Out
Apple reveals its new iPhone 12 range
With 5G capabilities
Enter The Upside Down
MyTona teams with Netflix to bring Stranger Things to Cooking Diaries
"Fans can look forward to unlocking many Stranger Things themed rewards and mementos"
Nvm Support
UK National Videogame Museum receives $522,000 grant
Cash will keep the organisation going until next spring
Talking Heads
The Pokémon Company International, Niantic, THQ Nordic, Imperia Online and Crunchyroll all confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4
Revealed: the second set of speakers for the fourth online-only conference in the series, this November 9-13
"not Representative"
ASA bans "misleading" Gardenscapes and Homescapes Facebook ads
Only 0.03% of players reach the end content.
Two Become One
Streaming platforms Huya and DouYu are merging
Tencent will have a 67.5% stake
Monetisation
Unity launches Game Growth Program to support free-to-play indie games
"Great games often go unnoticed, especially within the indie segment"
Price Is Right
Update: Nintendo to lower the cost of Joy-Cons in the US
They will cost $39.99
Publishing Programme
JoyPac launches HyperFuel to aid in developing hypercasual titles
"The idea behind HyperFuel is to replicate the kind of hands-on input and access to resources that accelerators are so good at"
Machine Smarts
Vungle adapts to post-IDFA era with acquisition of automated UA platform AlgoLift
Taking a probabilistic approach
Going Public
Roblox confidentially moves forward with IPO plans
Still to determine if it is a traditional IPO or direct listing