Live And Kicking
Seven years on: How SYBO Games ran up 2.5 billion downloads for Subway Surfers
"From day one we knew fans were integral to the game’s longevity"
Monetizer
7 videos from Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle 2019's Monetizer track
The track, sponsored by Vungle, features speakers from the likes of Nordeus, Rogue Games, Game of Whales, 12traits, Wooga and more
East Meets West
8 videos from Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle 2019's East Meets West track
The series of talks stars speakers from the likes of JetSynthesys, Chorus Worldwide, Nexon M, NetEase, Scopely, Hatch and more
Indie Track
9 videos from Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle 2019's Indie Track
The series of talks from the track includes speakers from the likes of A Thinking Ape, Unbound Creations, Seismic Squirrel, East Side Games, Niantic and more
Pgc Videos
5 videos from Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle 2019's Instant Games and Hyper-casual track
The series of talks from the track, which was sponsored by Facebook Gaming, features speakers from Mintegral, Double Coconut, Microsoft, East Side Games, Metamoki and more
Live Ops
5 videos from Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle 2019's Live Ops Landscape track
Featuring speakers from the likes of Wooga, PlayFab, Playkot, Keywords and A Thinking Ape.
Free Event
“Nobody should live in a bubble”: Why you should attend Helsinki’s free Leadership Day
IGDA’s Teemu Haila explains the vision for September’s games industry summit
Layoffs
NBCUniversal partner Endless Entertainment lays off seven employees
“It’s simply an unfortunate reality of a slow-down in our current development cycle”
Import Tax
Update: Nintendo withdraws some Switch production in China amidst US trade war
Production moving to Southeast Asia according to sources
Event
Last chance to save money on Blockchain Gamer and Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong
Mid-term ticket prices for two-day B2B games industry conferences end TONIGHT!
Shovelociraptors
Shovel Knight digs its way to 2.5 million sales worldwide
Title available across 12 different platforms
Auto Chess Unite
Tencent launching own Auto Chess on iOS and Android
Chess Rush versus Auto Chess versus Dota Underlords
Deal Struck
Tencent joins Drodo Auto Chess partnership to co-publish game in China
Players will now be able to login via messaging platform Tencent QQ
App Store Optimisation
PGC Hong Kong: Lab Cave CMO Enric Pedro on app store optimisation
Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong 2019 will take place on July 17th to 18th
Dead Or Alive
Candy Crush co-founder thought title would be “dead” within six months
Casual puzzle series has brought in over $4 billion in revenue
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Simon Joslin on how The Voxel Agents has been thriving off puzzlers for 10 years
"It’s a good time for an indie if you have a killer idea, or a great track record because there’s a tonne of cash out there for cool projects"
Adult Gaming
Nutaku fronts $5m investment pot for LGBTQ+ games
Adult games firm says it'll be supporting titles from queer creators for three years with this fund
Job News
Sumo Group plans to increase headcount by 15% over next 12 months
Sheffield-based firm will employ around 750 people by July 2020
New Hire
GameClub's new COO on the death of premium games and why subscriptions are the future
"I’d argue premium games died on mobile some time ago. We can’t ignore the changes to the mobile economy that have occurred over these last five to seven years"
Check This Out
DJ Marshmello debuts Joytime III album in new mobile game
Music artist partners with Gamejam on Marshmello Music Dance
Stakes Are High
Nexon acquires majority stake in Embark Studios
Former EA chief design officer and DICE founder Patrick Söderlund heads up the studio
Ad Solution
IronSource launches cross-promotion solution for mobile ads
“IronSource's tool has given us the ability to treat both our ads and our ad units in a cross-promotion with a business mind”
Blockchain Gaming
PGC Hong Kong: 8Hours Foundation Shane Zhu on what’s next for blockchain gaming
Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong 2019 will take place on July 17th to 18th
Job News
Voodoo brings on Blizzard, King and Mamau hires for Berlin studio
Two new game designers and two new developers
Meeting Place
Your next business partner, investor, client is waiting at a Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong 2019 networking event
Don’t miss these fringe events included in our upcoming b2b conference
Clash Of Clans
$1 million Clash of Clans World Championship heads to Hamburg in October
More than 40 million players have competed in a series of qualifiers in the game’s new 5v5 play mode
Fair Share?
Paradox CEO says 70/30 revenue share status quo is "outrageous"
Firm's executive chairman says that this business model is based in the 1970s VHS market
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Scopely’s Liz Liu on how to get a job as a people business partner
"Gaming is the convergence of art and science, where creative people work together to build experiences for human connection"
Top 50
PocketGamer.biz to unveil Top 50 Mobile Games Developers this summer - Have your say
Submit your suggestions by July 12th
Ultimate Game Changers
Lion Studios launches $300k indie mobile games contest
Games new and old welcome; Submissions close on August 15th
Ua Party
Tilting Point to invest at least $20m in CookApps UA
Match-three game Toy Party gets marketing boost
Falling Into Place
N3twork signs exclusive deal for mobile Tetris games
First release is battle royale title Tetris Royale
Rapid Growth
Growing German studio Kolibri hits 100m downloads
The developer behind Idle Miner Tycoon and Idle Factory Tycoon now employs 100 staff
Event
OpenSea, Blockade Games and Diginex join the next wave of speakers for the first Blockchain Gamer Connects Hong Kong
Two-day B2B games industry conference looks poised to make an impressive debut next month
Weekly Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Wizards Unite hits top 10 US download charts but is not a top grosser
Rankings from June 17th to June 23rd
Spellbinding Stuff
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite enchants players with $3 million in first week
6.5 million downloads in seven days
Mobile Art Style
PGC Hong Kong: GameRefinery chief analyst Kalle Heikkinen to discuss mobile art styles across different regions
Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong 2019 will take place on July 17th to 18th
Jobs In Games
Seeking a job in the games industry - part one: The application process
Game Dragons consultant Philip Oliver offers advice on getting a job in games
Yas Queen!
InfluencerUpdate.biz editor Danielle Partis takes Journalist of the Year accolade at Women in Games Awards
"It's incredible to be recognised among such a group of talented journalists"
Roundup
Games industry roundup: Top 50 PC developer submissions open, Dr Disrespect is back on Twitch, and Ubisoft's blockchain business
15 articles from PocketGamer.biz, InfluencerUpdate.biz and BlockchainGamer.biz
East Meets West
East Meets West: Nexon price scares off buyers, and gaming firms rally against new US-China tariffs
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
The design choices behind Behaviour's Game of Thrones title, Candy Crush shoots down PUBG Mobile, and LEGO Tower diorama breaks record
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Award Winners
BIG Festival Awards 2019 winners revealed
Starlit on Wheels takes home Best Mobile Game
Industry Growth
Brazil’s games industry has more than doubled in size in four years
2018 saw 276 games companies employing 2,731 staff
Investigation
Games industry only "paying lip service" to addiction, says DCMS committee chair
Companies aren't taking the issue seriously enough according to MP Damian Collins
Beta Success
DOTA Underlords public beta reaches 1.5 million mobile downloads in seven days
Russia garnered the largest number with approximately 210,000 installs
Live And Kicking
Two years on: Small Giant Games on the evolution of Finland's latest great export Empires & Puzzles
CEO Timo Soininen and developer Sofia Vanhanen. discuss growing the highly successful title
Finland X Sweden
Nitro Games partners with Avalanche Studios to utilise IP on new mobile title
New game expected to launch in 2020 on iOS and Android
Work Conditions
UK media and entertainment union BECTU investigating working conditions in games
"We know there are also challenges that people face in their working lives, whether to do with stress, pay, long hours, or harassment"
Government Backing
Uncertainty surrounds future of Brazil games funds
Ancine and Finep agencies may no longer provide grants for local games companies