Acquisition Reality
Admix buys media site VRFocus and aims to rehire staff
Publication looked set to close earlier this month when all employees were laid off
Studio Profile
Big Pixel Studios: How this London studio is growing up with Rick and Morty
VP David Burpitt and lead artist Steffie Garcia on ramping up recruitment and a changing culture following its acquisition by Adult Swim Games
Jobs In Games
From Crackdown to mobile: Outplay's Phil Wilson on how to snag a job as vice president of operations
"We have successful games that are several years old and we’re continuing to build our portfolio. That excites me more than any triple-A pre-launch hype ever could"
Kingly
Game of Thrones: Conquest grosses $125 million in just over a year
Fantasy strategy saw a 500 per cent year-over-year increase in growth this October
Clash
Clash Royale players to fight over esports gig in the first EE Mobile Series
Fnatic is offering a place on its professional Clash Royale team to the overall winner
Uk Special
PocketGamer.biz kicks off UK special to shine a light on the country's vibrant games industry
We'll be analysing the trends that are affecting this market at this point in time, such as jobs, education, tax relief and - of course - Brexit
Funding News
Activision Blizzard vets raise $16m for item-based blockchain gaming platform
Mythical Games aims to deploy platform using the EOS blockchain
Hot Five
The Diablo Immortal debate rages on, Flaregames lays off 45 staff, and Brawl Stars gets a global release
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Job Losses
Tekken Mobile developer Bandai Namco Vancouver closes
Senior vice president claims all but a "small skeleton crew" have been laid off at the Canada office
Leap
Magic Leap offering indie AR developers up to $500,000 through new Independent Creator Program
Augmented reality firm hopes to kickstart its marketplace offerings by supporting independent creators
Not Quite Noble
Tencent’s Arena of Valor takes $5m from the US as year anniversary approaches
The Chinese version, Honor of Kings, has made $3.7 billion in comparison since late-2015
Faustian Bargain
Why Diablo Immortal’s detractors won that battle but have lost the war
Blizzard’s difficult decision
Falling Into Place
Changyou snags licence to bring Tetris mobile games to China
Its first effort, Tetris Journey, is set to land next year on Android and iOS
Joining The Flock
New dev strategy for Angry Birds developer Rovio as it gets to work on 12 new games
Targeting at least two releases next year
Surf's Up
SYBO TV will be a "one-stop destination" of bite-sized entertainment for Subway Surfers fans
Head of brand marketing and licensing Naz Amarchi-Cuevas discusses extending the IP outside the mobile games space
Pitching High
A Cat's Manor wins the Big Indie Pitch in Jordan
Second place place goes to educational game Crimson by all-girl team Sakura.Jo
On Call
Bunch raises $3.8 million to develop its mobile video call app
Funds will be used to expand user acquisition and developer platform efforts
Super
Supercell's Brawl Stars rumbles up over five million pre-registrations in one day
Players were promised a skin should 2m installs be cleared
What Is Happening
Brexit chaos: UKIE and TIGA have their say on the current withdrawal agreement with the EU
Reaction on the current draft deal, for what it's worth
Real
Mixed reality monetisation startup Admix raises $2.1 million
SpeedInvest leads funding round for the AR and VR advertising platform
Business Chat
How to build a successful business with messenger games
How one company is making money out of these popular new platforms
Roar
Jurassic World Alive developer Ludia teams up with Universal on How to Train Your Dragon puzzler
Long-standing relationship continues with match-three RPG
Keys To The Kingdom
“We can’t wait to bring Disney stories and characters to life on mobile”: Jam City on its big new partnership
We caught up with Jam City president and COO Josh Yguado following yesterday’s partnership reveal
China
Niko Partners lowers its China game revenue forecasts as new approvals remain frozen
PC and mobile game sales up 11 per cent, but below forecasts
China
Narrative games specialist Telltale begins liquidation proceedings
Some of its earlier games have been removed from Steam
Lukewarm
Tencent’s mobile revenues remain steady in Q3 despite China’s freeze on games licenses
Mobile revenues grew seven per cent year-on-year to $2.8 billion
Super
Supercell’s Brawl Stars pulls in $6.5m from soft launch ahead of global launch
The arena shooter is set to go global next month
Smart Move?
Clash Royale dev Supercell invests $5.6m in smartwatch experts Everywear Games
"With Supercell supporting us we can now focus on our long-term vision"
Excite
Pokemon Go developer Niantic teases new mobile game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite for 2019 release
Had been slated for 2018 launch
Harvest
Stardew Valley reaps a $1 million harvest on iOS after making its mobile debut
Faming life-sim finds early success after only three weeks on mobile
Close The Gates
Mobile RTS Age of Empires: Castle Siege will go offline in May 2019
Developer Smoking Gun will use the Castle Siege technology to develop a new, unannounced RTS
Is That Safe?
Voice-based games developer Drivetime raises $4m in funds to make games for drivers
Funding includes Zynga co-founders Mark Pincus, Eric Schiermeyer and Justin Waldron along with Applovin founder Adam Foroughi
Event
Rovio, CCP, Hutch, Glu and Space Ape Games to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019
More speakers for January conference revealed, 20% Early Bird discount
Not Appy
US Senators urge FTC to investigate ‘manipulative marketing practices by apps designed for children’
Also described as “unfair and deceptive”
Monetisation Design
A guide to barebones monetisation in mobile games
Oscar Clark walks developers through key considerations when designing effective ways to get players to invest their time and money in your game
Double Trouble
THQ Nordic acquires Goat Simulator dev Coffee Stain and Wreckfest maker Bugbear
A steady string of purchases leave the publisher in a strong end-of-quarter position
Jamming
Disney taps Jam City for multi-year mobile games development partnership
The Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery developer will create a slate of new games based on Disney IP
Financials
Tough quarter for Next Games as losses hit $12m and Our World is beset by "technical challenges"
Walking Dead titles said to be profitable, but lack of cash could hold back future development
Brawlin’
Supercell set to launch Brawl Stars globally in December on iOS and Android
Players who pre-register will get a free skin if two million signs ups are hit
Job Klaxon
Angry Birds developer Rovio swoops for Gameloft exec to head up games teams
Alexandre Pelletier-Normand joins from Gameloft, where he served as executive vice president of games
Stream
5G game streaming app Hatch leaves beta in the UK, Ireland and Nordic countries
Free service will trial an ad-free premium subscription in early 2019
Helsinki 2018
Jam City's Jeremy Horn: If retention is below 20% on day seven "I would advise to go back to soft launch"
Jam City VP also shared insights into a maturing mobile market
A Marvel
Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee passes away at the age of 95
Lee was one of the creative forces behind popular characters Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four and The Hulk
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Resonance House's Rosemary Lokhorst on using games to support young people facing chronic or serious illnesses
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd
Indie Spotlight
How an Oscar-nominated animator went from working on The Breadwinner to creating mobile games
“I wouldn’t trade the indie experience for the world"
Brexit Nightmare
Living with Brexit: "The complete legal basis for staying in the place I consider home was suddenly brought into question"
InnoGames implementation manager discusses the impact Brexit has had on his life and why he obtained German citizenship
Social Influence
Network effect: Looking at the impact of social in games
Gamee CEO Bozena Rezab takes a deep dive into the data from her company's gaming platform
Watch 'em All
Warner Bros drops first live-action Detective Pikachu trailer ahead of May 10th 2019 release date
Film stars co-leads Ryan Reynolds as the voice of pikachu and Justice Smith as Tim Goodman
Having A Blast
How Plarium worked with its players to develop Lost Island: Blast Adventure
A look at the symbiotic relationship between players and developers
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: CCP's Sam Barton on bringing Eve Online to mobile with a little help from the players
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd