Event
Epic Games, Netmarble, Wargaming and Falafel Games join the speaker lineup for Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan
More amazing speakers revealed for November’s two-day B2B games industry conference for the MENA markets
Speaker Spotlight
PGC Helsinki: Homa Games’ Jon Hook to discuss the future of hyper-casual games
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki takes place from October 1st to October 2nd
Mario On Mobile
Mario Kart Tour is racing onto iOS and Android next month
People can pre-register on the App Store and Google Play now
New Studio
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment opens new San Diego mobile studio
"This new studio is a testament to our continued evolution in the mobile games space"
East Meets West
East Meets West: Tencent and NetEase earn $11bn in H1 2019, and how Supercell's games are performing globally
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
The transformation of Finland's games industry, Nutaku closes in on 40m registered users, and the Top 50 Mobile Game Makers revealed
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Welcome To The Party Pal
Kayleigh Partleton joins PocketGamer.biz and PCGamesInsider.biz as our new staff writer
She'll be reporting on breaking news across the mobile and PC game sectors
M&a
Playtika acquires Best Fiends developer Seriously
Terms of the deal were not disclosed
Super Stars
As Rush Wars hits soft launch, how are Supercell’s other games doing?
We analyse the recent performances of Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars
What A Rush
Supercell’s new mobile strategy game Rush Wars soft-launches in Canada, New Zealand and Australia
Gameplay revolves around defeating enemy bases
Rush Wars Reveal
Watch Supercell’s Rush Wars reveal right here
YouTube unveiling set for 9am UK time (BST)
Rush Wars
Supercell teases new mobile game Rush Wars
Rush Wars will soft launch on both iOS and Android, may release on Monday, August 26th
Head In The Clouds?
Razer and Tencent collaborate for cloud gaming standards
"We are delighted that this relationship has gone from strength to strength with a shared commitment to bringing the best experience to the gamer community"
Closed Beta
Minecraft Earth beta is coming to Android devices next week
Players must be 18 years old with a device running Android 7 or above
Chinese Revenue
Tencent and NetEase combined earned $11.1 billion for online games in H1 2019
Mobile games revenue in China grew 13.4 per cent year-on-year in H1
Design Refresh
Google Play rolls out visual redesign to aid discoverability
Two distinct sections for apps and games
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade subscription could be priced at $4.99 a month
Hidden promotional messages also claims free month's trial for new users
Devcom 2020
Devcom returns in 2020 for expanded three-day event
2019 event attracted more than 3,000 visitors for two days of talks
Event
How to get into Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki - free!
Here are four different ways for you to get involved with the leading B2B event for the mobile games industry this October without spending a dollar.
Child Friendly
Apple delays rule changes to data tracking and advertisement in children’s apps
"We aren't backing off on this important issue, but we are working to help developers get there"
Cloud Gaming
Vodafone and Hatch team up to bring the first premium cloud gaming service to Germany
There is a three month complimentary period for Hatch premium
New Investment
Nazara Technologies acquires a 67 per cent stake in Sportskeeda
The company is closing in on 100 million active monthly users
Start-up Fund
Play Ventures closes $40m fund to back games start-ups
$10m more than the planned $30m raise
Dig This
Gamescom 2019: New Shovel Knight game to launch on mobile
Announcement could be made at Pax West, according to Yacht Club Games COO James Chan
Cloud Gaming
RemoteMyApp is launching a public beta for a new cloud gaming service
Its own app Vortex.gg has been downloaded 10 million times
Job News
Bidstack welcomes a new vice president of publisher relations as it expands across the US
John Koronaios has over 20 years of experience in the industry
Superdata Chart
Digital revenue driven by mobile to a 5% year-on-year increase to $9.02 billion in July
Honour of Kings was the top-grossing game on mobile last month
Stadia Exclusive
Robot Entertainment’s CEO explains the decision behind making OMD3 a timed Stadia exclusive
The game is released in Spring 2020
Office Expansion
Scopely is expanding its offices in Barcelona and Dublin
The company is looking to expand its team
Job News
Finnish developer Dodreams makes two key hires to strengthen its management team
Two industry veterans from EA and Rovio Entertainment join the company as head of product and CFO
Huuuge Deal
Traffic Puzzle generates $1m in revenue in first eight weeks powered by Huuuge Publishing
First title published by the new division
App Store Optimisation
How can I determine the relation between organic and paid users?
LabCave analyses the data
Gamescom
Cyberpunk 2077, Orcs Must Die 3 and Watch Dogs: Legion lead Google's Gamescom Stadia Connect
“It's kind of the same feeling I got when I saw the iPhone coming and what I thought that would mean for games”
Adult Games
Gamescom 2019: Adult games platform Nutaku closes in on 40 million registered users
Platform picks up 130 million visitors per month
Global Charts
Weekly global mobile games chart: Tencent titles take up half the chart in China
Mr Bullet remains the top free game in the US and UK
Gamescom 2019
Superhot and Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition headline Nintendo Direct indie game reveals for Switch
Supershot and the Hotline Miami Collection are available for purchase from today
Streaming
Devcom 2019: “Cloud gaming will begin with families”
PlayGiga director of product Juan Carrillo shared how the technology will take over in three phases
Hot Five
Dr. Mario World makes $1.4m in first month, Loot Crate goes bankrupt, and JaffaJam wants to shake up hyper-casual
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Finland Report
Finland's transformation from games start-up capital to mobile heavyweight
Ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki on October 1st and 2nd 2019, we take a look at the current state of the Finnish games industry and how it's changed
One In Four
Devcom 2019: 26% of the US has a disability that affects them playing games
46 million players across the country
Live Ops
Devcom 2019: InnoGames has 35 people maintaining the €500 million revenue Forge of Empires
Stefan Walter discussed the details surrounding live ops for the strategy title
Narrative Design
Devcom 2019: Why mobile game narrative design is more than text and plot
King Berlin studio narrative designer Valentina Tamer offers her advice
Devcom 2019
Devcom 2019: “The best way to get a successful outcome of a publisher signing you is by letting them know your gaps”
Maximum Games CEO Christina Seelye details key elements of obtaining a publisher
Story Tellers
Devcom 2019: Gamebook’s design and monetisation tips for interactive fiction
Gamebook's Nico Nowarra delves into a few key design decisions it's made and shares some stats from its own soft-launched title
Devcom Kicks Off
Devcom 2019: “Let’s use the power of games to make this world a better place”
MD Stephan Reichart kicks off Devcom 2019 with another speech railing against populism and the far right
New Partnerships
Seven new partners brought in for the first $1m Auto Chess Invitational tournament
The final is being hosted from October 25th to October 27th in Shanghai
Npd Numbers
Nintendo Switch remains the best-selling console of 2019 in the US
Fire Emblem: Three Houses was the highest selling game on the Nintendo Switch in July
Job News
Activision Blizzard recruits new chief marketing officer and chief people officer
Firm brings new chief people officer and CMO on board
Partnership
Animoca Brands and Winfinite firm Versus Systems sign $500k mutual investment deal
Hong Kong publisher may leverage ad tools through its existing partnerships with other firms
$$$$
GPU revenue down 20% year-on-year at Nvidia
While games revenue saw a 27 per cent drop from 12 months ago