Market Opportunity?
‘Kid-safe’ ads platform SuperAwesome raises $13m to build YouTube rival
New video on demand service aimed at the seven-to-12 age group
Keep Calm And Carry On
After generating $1 billion-plus from each of its first four games, Supercell’s falling revenue is kind of the point
2019 could see the company experience explosive growth again
Report
Mobile grows while PC declines in NCSoft’s Q4 financial results
The Lineage M publisher’s financial results paint a mixed picture for the MMO publisher
Sales Star
Brawl Stars scores $110 million in two months
Supercell might be in another annual drop, but Brawl Stars might be the game to turn things around
Changes
App monetisation platform Tapjoy appoints new CEO
Jeff Drobick takes the reins
New Clan
Supercell staffing up China game development studio
CEO Ilkka Paananen discusses his evolving vision for the company
Financials
Supercell revenue drops again to $1.6 billion for 2018
But Brawl Stars performance signals better times ahead
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Coin Master continues to dominate Great Britain and Ireland
Charts from January 28th to February 3rd
Back In Business
GungHo breathes new life into Puzzle & Dragons as MAUs and sales increase in Q4
Sales and profits up quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year
Sales Lost
CyberAgent president “regrets relying too much on a single game title” as Dragalia Lost underperforms
Sales fall below expectations and aren't enough to recoup costs in other areas of the business
Going Public?
Report: Unity eyes up 2020 IPO
Firm eyes first half of 2020 for flotation, sources claim
Nintendo
Nintendo wants to break beyond its existing fanbase despite multiple franchise successes
The Mario-maker’s recent Q&A also touched on keeping players online and the rapidly-declining 3DS
New Plan
Square Enix mobile games underperform as publisher signals it’ll rebuild business
Lowest sales quarter in 2018 and 2019 financial years for smartphone and browser sectors
Swipe Right
HQ Trivia dev Intermedia Labs adds Tinder CEO to board
Joins co-founder Rus Yusupov and investor Jeremy Liew on the board
New Studio
Sumo Digital opens mobile studio in Leamington Spa
Sega Hardlight founder Chris Southall heads up new branch
Hot Five
Diving into TabTale's hyper-casual business, Miniclip acquires Masomo, and Apex Legends could get mobile cross-play
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Roundup
Games industry roundup: Why Introversion sold Prison Architect, blockchain's EverDreamSoft rethinks business, and Machinima shuts down
15 articles from PCGamesInsider.biz, InfluencerUpdate.biz and BlockhainGamer.biz
Job Losses
Report: Activision Blizzard set for hundreds of layoffs
Unclear what teams will be affected by decision
Welcome To The Party Pal
Say hello to our new PocketGamer.biz staff writer Matthew Forde
Rising star to report on the hottest news and conduct key interviews
Telling New Tales
Former Telltale devs open new interactive narrative games studio AdHoc
First project likely to blend gaming with live action content; partner on project to be announced in near future
Oh No
Swedish tax agency demands $370 million from Candy Crush Saga maker King
Skatteverket claims King owes substantial taxes after its acquisition by Activision in 2016
Bird’s Eye View
Rovio and Resolution Games partner for Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs
Available on Vive and Oculus Rift now
Cut
Google won’t be dropping its 30 per cent revenue split in the wake of Epic’s Fortnite antics
"I think there's a value exchange there and it's been the industry standard"
All Aboard
Sega, Riot and THQ Nordic among the ESA’s six new members
US-based trade body bolsters its ranks with three new and three returning members
Big Initiative
King becomes first UK games company to sign Tech Talent Charter to push diversity in the UK
Publisher claims women only count for 19 per cent of people working in UK games industry
Indie Fund
FoxNext rolls out indie development fund
No figure placed on how big this pot is though
Epic Win
Fortnite surpasses $500 million for iOS in less than a year
Game took 326 days to hit the milestone
Back Of The Net
Miniclip acquires Head Ball 2 dev Masomo
Studio's flagship IP has racked up over 60 million downloads to date
Big Investment
Mobile marketing tech firm Ogury picks up $21m investment
Company generated $100m in 2018
Rune-ing To The Bank
Summoners War exceeds 100 million global downloads
Five-years after launching
5g By 2020
Hatch partners with DOCOMO to bring cloud gaming to mobiles and TVs in Japan
UNESCO agrees deal to publish games for Hatch Kids
Like A Boss
Redbox Mobile appoints new CEO and opens London office
James Salins will oversee the EMEA
Financials
Dragon Ball Legends drives a strong Q3 2019 performance for publisher Bandai Namco
Mobile brawler success sees expectations raised for the publisher’s end-of-year results
Crime
NBCUniversal gangs up with Starbreeze on a Payday mobile game
Payday: Crime War will be a mobile spin-off of the PC and console FPS
Stream Or Summon
Iron Man and Spider-Man writers join Summoners War TV series
Robert Kirkman helming the project
All Systems Go
More games, more M&A, more growth: Why Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau is bullish for 2019
Opportunities, not costs
Comeback Kings
“Zynga’s turnaround is now complete” as publisher posts record mobile earnings
Mobile revenue hits $816m in 2018
Go Go Go
Registrations for developer conference Develop: Brighton 2019 are now live
Featuring new awards event Develop: Star
Tuned In
Music apps-focused Gismart wants to double its headcount and enter the publishing business after successful 2018
VP of marketing and business development Lana Meisak discusses its hit music games and what's next for the London-based studio
Jobs
WIGJ announces a new executive board for day-to-day operation
Four-person board is seeking two more members to complete its ranks in marketing and events
Launch
Real-money competition platform Flashbreak launches with $2 million in seed funding
The app will act as both a publishing platform and a real-money competition hub
Change Of Name
Microsoft Studios renames to Xbox Game Studios
"2019 is going to be a great year for Xbox gamers everywhere"
Clash Of The Titans
Apex Legends battle royale could get mobile cross-play
One million players in eight hours
Forging Ahead
InnoGames revenue at all-time high as mobile sales grow 37% in 2018
Mobile takes 50 per cent revenue share in key US market
On The Up
Design Home generates $158 million in 2018 as Glu Mobile closes in on profitability
Big year ahead for the publisher's steady comeback
Ea Financials
EA Mobile downbeat on year-end earnings in face of “increasingly challenging” market
But China success for Command & Conquer offers hope
Facebook Roundtable
Roundtable: Discussing the mobile games market's big 2019 trends in hyper-casual, hybrid monetisation models and midcore's future
PocketGamer.Biz was joined by Facebook, Wooga, Madbox, Supersolid, Firi Games and Two Way Media at a round table during Pocket Gamer Connects London
Twitch Stats
Viewers watched more than 9.36 billion hours of Twitch in 2018
Twitch's viewership has grown year on year
Licence Focus
Disney CEO Bob Iger: Licensing is the best model for Disney in games
Boss calls out its partners in the space, including EA, but fails to mention Star Wars Battlefront II launch PR disaster
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Pocket.watch launches new games division and aims to partner with famous YouTubers
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