Smashed It
Super Smash Bros Ultimate sold over 1.2 million copies in Japan during its first three days on sale
First-week figures for crossover brawler are Nintendo’s best ever in Japan, excluding Pokemon
Time To Recalculate
Why the 70:30 App Store revenue split is doomed
The old order is passing
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Softgames' Alexander Krug on the future of messenger games
"Messenger Games have already been a huge success story for us, and I expect this trend to continue in 2019"
Video
VIDEO: A Dead Cells post-mortem from Motion Twin’s Sebastien Benard
Benard tells an audience at PGConnects Helsinki 2018 how the developers “found the fun” in its roguelike
Royale
Knives Out out-earns both PUBG Mobile and Fortnite in November revenue results
NetEase’s battle royale is propelled to No.9 this November with over $52 million in player spending
Uk Review
UKIE's Jo Twist: "The UK games industry is one to be proud of, and despite the current challenges facing it"
We caught up with Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of the UK's trade body, to get a feeling for how the sector is doing
Trade Union
'Gig economy' workers union IWGB opens branch for UK video games employees
"As part of the IWGB, we will have the tools to fix this broken sector and create an ethical industry where it's not only big game companies that thrive, but workers as well”
Report
Report: There's been an 80 per cent rise in Western game installs in East Asia
Research from Appsflyer shows a market dominated by midcore and strategy games
Legal
iPhone XS and XR could be banned in China amid Apple-Qualcomm battle
Though Apple maintains that its handsets are still for sale in the People's Republic
Oh No
Mobile ad intelligence platform SafeDK finds ‘thousands’ of in-app ads auto-direct users to porn sites
Firm claims to have used its User Ad Journey tech to track the ads and find their origin
Eastern Stars
Is Supercell's Brawl Stars set to rise in the East rather than the West?
Recent soft launch performance indicates Asia audience preference, but is it enough?
Video
Shipyard Games’ Teemu Harju provides pointers on making location-based mobile games
“We really believe in location-based games, and we truly believe there’s an opportunity for way more cooler gaming.”
Huge!
Epic is sharing Fortnite's cross-platform system with developers for free
"We have put huge efforts into building services for Fortnite that reach 200 million players across seven platforms"
Insight
Execution Labs’ Jason Della Rocca: “No one is in the business of solving your lack of money problem”
Investment expert advises on the common pitfalls and best practices to acquire funding for your games
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: SYBO's Astrid Lamhauge on creating a culture of high-performance
"If we want long-term success and longevity, we need to become better bosses and better at creating and cultivating great company cultures"
Spellbound
Voodoo Development Magic: Transforming labyrinth puzzler Tenkyu into a globe-trotting hit through simplicity
Over 30 million players have downloaded Tenkyu since its launch in July 2018
Competition
Win Indie Showcase space at Pocket Gamer Connects London - new closing date
You could demo your work to 2,500 games industry professionals free!
Soulful
Netmarble’s Blade and Soul Revolution tops iOS grossing charts in South Korea one day after launch
The MMORPG will launch globally in 2019
Hatched
Hatch set to bring games streaming service to Android TV as part of premium membership scheme
Premium scheme pencilled in for a Q1 2019 launch
Reach For The Stars
Supercell launches Brawl Stars globally
The next billion-dollar mobile hit?
Growing Up
India set for first-ever independent games trade body
Local studios come together as sector matures
Star Launch
Brawl Stars: “We at Supercell have never prepared more for a game launch”
Brawl Stars releases globally on December 12th
Walking The Line
The delicate balancing act behind midcore match-three Sega Heroes
Finding core-casual sweetspot
Funded
Analytics platform AppOnboard eyes up London and Seoul offices following $30m funding drive
Los Angeles-based company claim $15m will come in off the bat from Breakaway Growth
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Kabam’s Marvel Contest of Champions enjoys Western surge in player spending
This week's charts cover the period from November 26th to December 2nd
Is It Over?
China establishes Online Games Ethics Committee as end of games freeze nears
20 reviews have taken place, nine games rejected under new regulations
Hot Five
Playtika snaps up Wooga, who is buying Zynga, and Jam City layoffs
The past weeks hottest articles
Funded
UK games industry receives a tasty slice of the government’s $25.5 million creative industries boost
Games in education program Digital Schoolhouse to receive $255,000 in funding
Brexit
Creative Industries Federation urges the UK government to safeguard the $129 billion sector post-Brexit
TIGA welcomes the report with open arms, calling for particular support for UK games
Event
Gaming Istanbul 2019 announces PlayStation and HP OMEN as exhibitors
Turkish B2B and B2C expo set for January return
Moba
NetEase is bringing Super Evil Megacorp’s flagship MOBA Vainglory to China
Mobile-exclusive MOBA is also coming to PC and consoles in 2019
Zoned
MZ picks up Wells Fargo exec for chief financial officer role
Has experience with IPOs and M&A activity
Winner Winner
Mountains takes home Best Mobile Game prize from The Game Awards 2018
Matt Makes Games’ Celeste also took home prizes for Best Indie Game and Games for Impact Award
Indie Mavens
Where do indies and innovative ideas fit in the current mobile games market?
Our indie Mavens weigh in
Investment
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 launches Investor Connector
Making it easier than ever to get one-on-one time with investors that are ready to spend
Halo Effect
Why the Epic Games Store could reposition Android as the gamers’ mobile ecosystem
The power of open
Jobs
A new mobile Pokemon game may be in the works
The Pokemon Company is looking for a principal game designer on an unnamed mobile game
Labo
Nintendo Labo named one of Time Magazine’s inventions of the year
Top 50 inventions list praises Nintendo's cardboard controls for "helping gamers create their own fun"
Oh Dear
Apple removes strategy game from the iOS App Store for featuring the Taliban
The development director at the studio who published the game shared the news on Twitter
Breaking Out
Patents, platforms and IPO: How mobile-first esports platform Skillz is planning for bigger things
CEO Andrew Paradise explains
Check
Mobile acquisition and management firm Maple Media snaps up Banana & Co’s mobile games portfolio
Games include Checkers, Hearts, Mahjong Match! and Sudoku
Jobs In Games
From RuneScape to Love Island: Fusebox's Sarah Longthorne on how to land a job as a narrative designer
"Writing in a group opens you up to constructive criticism, which is kind of like a ‘frenemy’ for most writers. It hurts, but it’s good for you."
Epic
Sensor Tower: Epic Games’ Fortnite makes $1.2m a day for November on iOS alone
The battle royale has now made $385 million from iOS
On The Go
App Annie claims mobile games will snap up 60 per cent of worldwide gaming revenue next year
Increased power and cross-platform successes could see handhelds take almost two-thirds of the gaming pie
Acquired
Mobile measurement company Adjust purchases Acquired.io
Acquired.io’s technology set to be fully integrated with Adjust by H2 2019
Teach
Supercell clashes games skill shortage with free new coding school
Finnish developer puts significant funding behind the free Helsinki program
Indie Spotlight
How Super Entertainment's Spin Rhythm is designed to combine flow with flare
“Spin Rhythm makes use of all the available inputs and gestures of a touch screen to make players feel like they are inside the music, almost composing as they play like some interdimensional DJ”
Award Winners
Star Trek: Trexels II picks up Studio Game of the Year at India GDC Awards 2018
Winners revealed at ceremony
Solid
Roblox builds up revenues of $25m for October
The revenue haul represents a 67 per cent increase year-on-year
Lost And Found
Nintendo’s Dragalia Lost hatches over $50m in just over two months
The RPG is still only available in the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau