Strategy
PlayRaven leaves Eve: War of Ascension to CCP after joining Rovio’s flock
CCP London will take over the development of the galactic MMO tie-in
Jobs
Jam City laid off “a large number” of developers on Friday
Mobile developer has yet to reveal exactly how many employees have lost their jobs
Big Deal
Social casino giant Playtika acquires Pearl’s Peril dev Wooga
German studio finds a buyer after self-proclaimed 'tough two years'
Party Time
Join us for the PG Christmas Mixer in association with Ogury
Free relaxed networking, panel discussions and drinks in central London
Charts
Weekly global mobile game charts: Tencent’s Naruto Online makes a splash in the East
Charts for the week of November 12th
Super
Marvel: Contest of Champions Cyber Monday revenue exploded 583 per cent in one week
Kabam’s mobile fighter reached a superpowered $3.3 million this holiday weekend
Sound Strategy
Analytics group believes Nintendo can claim control of the 2019 console market with the Switch
Strategy Analytics isn't worried about the enduring success of home consoles
Hard Turn
Nintendo shoots down Elon Musk's request to license Mario Kart to Tesla’s range of electric cars
The Tesla CEO seems open to the possibility of adding PC games marketplace Steam though
Stocked
Mobvista hopes to snag $173.9m from IPO to boost mobile advertising and analytics platform
The Hong Kong-based company also intends
Masterclass
“Games are for everyone:” Space Ape on breaking misconceptions and helping people find their way into the industry
“Our studio is overflowing with knowledge, I think it would be selfish not to share it”
Joining The Flock
Angry Birds creator Rovio snaps up Finnish dev PlayRaven
Rovio claims the move will help them strengthen their presence in strategy games
Uk Special
Region Focus: London-based games companies on persevering in the face of Brexit
"Facing the unknown and uncertainty does not encourage innovation and exploration of new ideas and collaborations"
Woah
British consumers to rack up $1.2 billion in spending on mobile games this year
The figure is set to rise to $2 billion in 2023
Special Offer
Pocket Gamer Connects London Early Bird prices end today!
Save up to $400 if you book your tickets by midnight
Jamming
Jam City wraps up Bingo Pop IP acquisition with new Toronto Studio
The Bingo Pop team will join Jam City as part of the move
Speak Up
Tencent, Zynga and Natural Motion set to speak at India Games Developer Conference 2018
Activision, Ubisoft and Avalanche Studios also to feature
It's A Match
Matchmade reveals plans to open a US office amid $4.8m investment
The platform now also offers key Twitch data to marketers
Big Data Energy
UK video games industry contributed over £1.069bn to country's economy in 2017
The figure could be much higher, however.
Lets Go
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee sold 1.5m units in the US in just ten days
RPGs launched back on November 16th
Cool
Atari focusing on casual and sim games following Rollercoaster Tycoon success
"We’re clearly doing well with simulation games like Rollercoaster Tycoon," says CEO Chesnais
Caught
Nintendo catches $250m from the US between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday
Total US hardware sales for the period jumped up 45 per cent over the same period in 2017
Hammered
Games Workshop taps up Tilting Point and Hunted Cow for Warhammer: Chaos and Conquest
The fantasy strategy game is currently in Beta in the Philippines and could be globally launched next year
Uk Special
"Scotland's pedigree has endured, and the development scene is thriving"
4J Studios, Outplay and Tag Games fill us in on the game scene north of the wall
All In
Who could be top dog in the fight to acquire Zynga?
We speculate on the potential suitors if any deal were to take place
Indie Spotlight
Alex Johansson on combining vertical platformer and shooter inspirations in Shump and diversifying income
"Other areas gave me those extra streams of income to sustain development when getting started and also serve as a breath of fresh air from the apps I was working on daily"
Funding Round
New US publisher Nifty Games raises $3m for mobile-first sports games
Early investors include aXiomatic Gaming and venture capital firms March Capital Partners and Defy.VC
Crash Course
Google Play removes 13 phoney apps from a single developer for installing malware
But not before the racing games accumulated over half a million downloads
Jobs
IGDA names new chairman and vice chair as David Seltzer steps back from leadership role
Vesa Raudasoja succeeds Seltzer as chairman while Emily Greer takes on the vice chair position
Brexit
Leading UK Games industry figures and companies reject Brexit deal
The Games4EU-published letter was signed by over 125 companies and 1300 industry members
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Unbound's Ryan Nisbet on building a career in games and getting out of your comfort zone
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd
Event
King, Moonfrog Labs, Resolution Games and GameAnalytics join the amazing speaker roster at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019
Industry trends, hypercasual games, VR, AR, consoles and the future - it’s all at the January event.
Paradise Palms
Fortnite now has 200 million players
Rise of 60 per cent in the last five months
Deal Space
World of Tanks dev Wargaming snaps up UK's Fractured Space studio Edge Case Games
32-person team working on an unannounced new MMO IP
Wales
Wales Region Focus: “We've got a way to go but we're already punching above our weight”
Toxic Games' Dan De Rocha, Wales Interactive’s David Banner MBE and Richard Pring, Talespinners' Ian Thomas and Quantum Soup’s Chris Payne weigh in
Oh I Wish It Could Be...
Ogury, Tripledot, Lockwood, Jagex and Gram Games on the panel at the PG Christmas Mixer
Join us for an evening of talks, networking and drinks in London next week
On Tap
Tapjoy on Tapdaq acquisition: “We hadn't found the right combination of great team and differentiated tech until now”
Tapjoy SVP of strategy, corporate and business development fills us in on the decision to acquire mediation platform Tapdaq
One Hundred Million Dollars
Sniper Elite dev Rebellion doubles down on film and TV with $100m space in Oxford
500 new jobs to be created
Legal Battle
Apple heads to Supreme Court over App Store 'monopoly'
Is Apple's dominance over its closed-off iOS ecosystem inflating prices?
Out
Goodgame founders relinquish leadership positions following Stillfront deal
Doctors Kai and Christian Wawrzinek to focus on new roles as Stillfront shareholders
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Bossa Studios' Henrique Olifiers on accessible game dev tools and industry trends
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Gismart's Andrey Savitsky on how to be a sound designer
"Personal development is key. You need to stay on top of your game and constantly learn about new tools and technology all the time"
Event
Pocket Gamer Connects London Early Bird prices end this week
Save up to $400 if you book your tickets by Thursday, November 29th
On The Move
Marvel: Contest of Champions dev Kabam secures office move in Vancouver
Studio has signed a lease for 105,000 square feet of office space
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Space Ape's Lissa Capeleto on the pain and pleasure of F2P UI design
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd
Start-up
Seven games start-ups kickstart new Northern Irish co-working and business support space The Pixel Mill
Belfast hot-housing location will also provide funding and business support for game developers
Growth
The UK's creative sector contributes nearly $118 billion to the nation’s economy
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport reports above-average growth in these industries
Mobile Stars
Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2019 finalists revealed
Ceremony takes place on the evening of Tuesday, January 22nd at the prestigious BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, London
Crashed
Nintendo investigates conduct of its Russia GM following Mario Kart live stream outburst
Russian Nintendo fans subsequently circulated a petition asking for his dismissal
Black Friday
From Unity assets to Udemy courses: some of the best Black Friday deals for games developers
Deals also involve discounts on GameMaker Studio 2 and RPG Maker MV
Special Offer
Pocket Gamer Connects London Black Friday offer - 23% off!
One-day only discount doubles down with Early Bird prices for up to 43% saving