This Week In China
This Week In China: Game for Peace cracks down on cheaters as the police crack down on in-game gambling
The biggest stories direct from Beijing
Preserving The Past
Interview: Why Poki is partnering with Nitrome and more to preserve the Flash games of old
Co-founder Michiel van Amerongen and the team explain the business behind saving older games
Leaping Away
Rony Abovitz stepping down as Magic Leap CEO
Part of the company's shift to enterprise
The Lawson He Approach
The Voodoo Approach: Tower Run creator Lawson He on why partnering with a publisher is crucial
"I would say that Voodoo has increased my business' revenue by infinite %"
The Mova Manova
VR firm XRSpace reveals new standalone headset Mova
Retailing for $599
In-app Bidding Webinar
In-App Bidding Webinar: Mintegral, ironSource, AppLovin, MoPub and Fyber
Join Mintegral to find out more about adopting in-app bidding
Dontnod Montreal
Life is Strange developer Dontnod is opening a new studio in Canada
Now hiring in Montréal
Pgc Digital #1 Highlights
Watch 21 of the best talks and panels from Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #1
And don't forget to get your tickets for PGC Digital #2!
Pgc Digital
Learn more about Esports and Influencers at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2
One of 10 featured tracks
Event
The speakers you won't want to miss at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2 - just days away!
200+ expert speakers, 10 tracks, 5 days. Online-only games industry conference, June 8-12
Expansion
Square Enix branches out into "entertainment AI" with forming of new company
Square Enix AI and Arts Alchmey Co. will spearhead research and development
End Of Battle
Terra Battle developer "heartbroken" to end service six years after launch
RPG from Final Fantasy creator will shut on June 30th, 2020
Full Throttle
KartRider Rush+ zooms to 10 million global downloads in two weeks
3.57 million daily active users
More Games!
Microsoft adds another five games to Project xCloud on Android
Including Mortal Kombat X and Batman: Arkham Knight
Live And Learn
Sega and Paramount Pictures reteam for Sonic the Hedgehog film sequel
Jeff Fowler returning to direct the motion picture
Touchdown
Update: EA secures NFL license for Madden games until May 2026
Terms of the exclusive partnership were not disclosed
Back From The Brink
Indie Spotlight: Efecto Studios CEO and co-founder Eivar Rojas Castro on bouncing back from closure
"It was a six-person team with no clients and no local industry"
Popular Cat
Outfit7's My Talking Tom Friends exceeds seven million pre-registrations in six days
It's due for release on June 12th
Breakthrough Talent
BAFTA Breakthrough applications are now open
Both in the US and the UK
Pgc Digital
Learn how to make money from your games with the Monetiser track at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2
One of 10 tracks
Virtual World
Avakin Life welcomes 200 million users
Currently sees 1.4 million players daily
Retargeting
Here's how retargeting supports app growth for gaming
Remerge looks at how retargeting can add value to your game
Fringe Events
Meet your next business partner, publisher or investor online at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2
Fringe benefits: beyond the conference talks and panels, there are multiple events for networking with over 1,000 industry professionals over the internet in June
Rise Of 7.6%
Slovakian games industry to reach $60.5 million revenue in 2020
Pixel Federation tops employers across the country
Three Is A Magic Number
Match-three games dominate US iOS market at 21% of revenue
Candy Crush, Toy Blast, Gardenscapes, and more
Pokemon Stay Home
Pokemon GO Fest goes digital with two-day global event
Scheduled to take place from July 25th to 26th, 2020
1.5 Million Users
Carry1st raises $4 million to help grow mobile games in Africa
"Social gaming is the largest and fastest-growing form of mobile media"
Jobs In Games
Remote Working: Clipwire Games' James Aiken on developing from home after just relocating
"When you can't go out and see friends and family it’s important to make plans to communicate with people outside of work"
Mobile Dominance
The record for weekly mobile game downloads has been broken during the coronavirus outbreak
New record is 1.2 billion
Splash The Cash
Tencent is investing $70 billion into tech infrastructures
Including cloud computing and cybersecurity
Gamedev Toolbox
GameAnalytics launches The GameDev Toolbox - the first one-stop directory of mobile game service providers
The free web resource includes information and links to hundreds of companies and platforms offering everything from ad monetization to user attribution
The Cassette Approach
The Voodoo Approach: How AquaPark.io developer Cassette grew with help from the hyper-casual publisher
"These guys are experts of feeling the thin line between giving advice and letting you make your own decisions"
Wake Up
Little Nightmares scares up two million sales
Game shifted one million copies since August 2018
Pgc Digital #2
Learn the Global Trends at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2
One of 10 featured tracks
Find Your Funding
Investor Connector returns at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2 - sign-ups close May 31st
The ever-popular investor matchmaking event goes online next month, sign up now!
Beta Only
IronSource opens up Facebook Audience Network to its in-app bidding platform LevelPlay
70 per cent of its mediation traffic expected to run through in-app bidding by the end of 2020.
Europe, Middle East And Africa
Subway Surfers tops monthly average users for EMEA across Q1 2020
App Annie data points to Supercell duo and Sybo Games megahit
Covid-19 Strikes Again
BlizzCon 2020 cancelled, digital event expected for early 2021
"We're feeling deeply disappointed about this decision"
Stood Up
Konami's LovePlus Every to shut down 10 months after launch
Dating simulator will cease operations on August 5th, 2020
What Is Reality?
Pokemon GO rolls out "Reality Blending" AR functionality to limited devices
PokeStop scanning also made available to help map the in-game world
Discount Ends
LAST CHANCE to save on tickets for Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2
Mid-Term discounts for next month’s B2B conference end at midnight TONIGHT - book now!
Talking Heads
Unity, Microsoft, Crazy Labs and Bidstack confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2
With our second online-only conference only two weeks away, the speaker roster is nearing its final form. Read on to see who you’ll be learning from next month
Helping Out
IGDA launches Indie Collective group to aid smaller studios
"As an indie developer, it can be difficult to navigate all of the challenges a development team faces"
Pride
Netmarble sales up 11.6% as Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross starts strong
"We are anticipating significant growth in sales and profitability in our second quarter"
Pgc Digital
Discover how to grow your games at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2
One of 10 featured tracks
Splashing Cash
Tencent acquires 20% stake in Japanese games firm Marvelous
"In comparison to Western companies, there is a widening abyss in terms of development capability and financial clout"
Gamestream Funding
Gamestream secures $3.8 million funding for B2B cloud games platform
Money will also be used to increase staff numbers
17% Overall Growth
SuperData: Games spending cracks $10.5 billion in April, mobile up 14%
Kongregate's Peacekeeper earns highest-grossing title for the month
Referee!
Manchester United F.C. raises lawsuit against Football Manager makers
Club alleges that Sports Interactive and Sega have infringed its trademark
Scrabble Go Success
Interview: Why Scopely and PierPlay spent three years perfecting Scrabble GO
Speaking with PierPlay CEO Lorenzo Nuvoletta about the game's huge initial success