New Digs
Netmarble to set up shop in Los Angeles with new US office
The move will put the studio closer to partner Walt Disney and its Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm subsidiaries
Cancelled
Armada Interactive cancels debut strategy game Quantum Siege
The title had been in soft launch since May 29th 2017
Doors Open
Habbo Hotel developer opens new MMORPG Hotel Hideaway on iOS and Android
Studio to bring AR functionality using Apple’s ARKit in spring
Investment News
New VC fund Altered Ventures plots $36 million investment focusing on emerging markets
Fund works by revenue share, rather than equity stake
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Eldring Games' Dan Olsson on overcoming adversity and taking risks
“I set out to do this because it has a lot of potential and I figure it's worth the risk. And it is a big risk, but you've got to take those sometimes.”
Weekly Charts
Weekly UK App Store charts: Fortnite stays on top ahead of PUBG Mobile
Rankings from March 26th to April 1st 2018
Rad
The Witness developer Thekla puts up $100k for underrepresented developers
RAD Game Tools' Jeff Roberts matched the initial $50k to double the prize pool
Developer Survey
Mobile Games Developer Trends Spring 2018: Augmented reality and real-time strategy a focus for devs
What's hot and what's not in the mobile games industry
Out-gunned
"The European games industry is a non-stop unicorn juggernaut"
Atomico partner Mattias Ljungman is bullish about the region's exciting games sector, and its future
Event
Refereum, Reality Clash, Lucid Sight and more to speak at Blockchain Gamer Connects San Francisco 2018
Hear the latest trends, technology and techniques from the people that are driving blockchain tech forwards
M&a
Keywords expands audio services with three acquisitions
Spending spree continues
Job Losses
AdColony cuts senior staff as it eyes profitability
Further redundancies at mobile ads firm
Royal Flush
Social casino developer KamaGames racks up 100 million players
App Store proves more lucrative than Google Play
Partners In Education
Tencent partners with Age of Learning to bring ABCmouse English curriculum to China
Consists of more than 5,000 learning activities, including games, puzzles and books
Mixed Picture
2018 so far for mobile game company stock
Winners and the losers
What's Trending?
The must know Japan mobile games trends for 2018
AppLovin's Johannes Heinze on what's hot in one of the world's most lucrative mobile markets
Acquisition News
AppScatter to acquire mobile app intelligence platform Priori Data in $19m deal
Purchase expected to be completed by May 15th 2018
Hot Five
Gender pay gap revealed, moving on from Sparcade to WorldWinner, and Gameloft's ads strategy
The hottest articles of the last week
Pg Connects
Niantic Superstar Session at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco
Ross Finman will reveal the company’s plans for AR and how it will build on breakout hit Pokemon GO
Sky’s The Limit
The Walking Dead’s Skybound launches games publishing division
Skybound Games will debut with The Long Dark and Slime Rancher in September 2018
Skilled
Mobile esports company Skillz doubles revenue to $200 million run-rate in less than nine months
Revenue run-rate up by 125 per cent thanks in-part to player involvement in over one million tournaments per day
Cash Royale
Fortnite Mobile pulled in over $15 million in 20 days
The battle royale games daily revenue tripled after the game was made launched fully on iOS
Equal Pay
UKIE and TIGA call for UK games companies to take proactive steps over gender pay gap figures
UKIE and TIGA say that now is the time for companies to act on the clear disparity in their work force
Iterative Approach
Keep on shipping: How Fluffy Fairy Games updated its game 50 times in a year
Founder and CTO Oliver Löffler explains the challenges and advantages of this iterative approach to development
Clone Dinner
PUBG developer sues NetEase over mobile 'clones' Rules of Survival and Knives Out
Lawsuit demands removal of titles
Gender Pay Gap
Women in Games CEO: Pay gap figures are depressingly unsurprising
Marie-Claire Isaaman discusses the figures and what the next steps should be
Kid Friendly
SuperAwesome’s Dylan Collins on building a flourishing kidtech platform in a zero data world
Embracing COPPA and GDPR-K
Big Screen To Small Screen
Dame Maggie Smith, Warwick Davis and Michael Gambon star in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Game set for April 25th launch
Joining The Band
Publishing giant Netmarble picks up stake in K-pop label Big Hit Entertainment for $190m
Becomes the second largest shareholder
Shrinking Marketplace
Google Play continues to grow while number of App Store releases shrinks for the first time
There were 755,000 titles released on iOS in 2017, a drop of 29 per cent
Gender Pay Gap
UK games companies reveal gender pay gap
New figures show men earning more than women
Job Losses
Twitch lays off staff as company restructures
But firm claims it still wants to grow its headcount overall
State Of Mobile Fraud
Mobile app fraud reached up to $800 million in Q1 2018
New AppsFlyer report claims $103 million of games earnings exposed during quarter
Partnership
PerBlue tapped for Disney Heroes: Battle Mode mobile RPG
Title part of Disney's new mobile strategy
Money Pot
Makers Fund raises $200 million to invest in interactive entertainment industry
Group has already invested in Bossa, SuperData, TinyBuild, Genvid and more
Something Of Value
Big Fish Casino constitutes “illegal gambling”, rules US federal appeals court
Case set to rumble on after victory for the plaintiff
Co-op
Crunchyroll launches its first anime-based mobile game Memoria Freese in the West
Company has partnered with Gree and Sumitomo Corporation for release
Deeper Engagement
Gameloft Advertising Solutions’ long-term bets for future growth
Alexandre Tan on meeting brand and player needs
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Pixel Hunt’s Florent Maurin on Bury me, my Love and trading journalism for games development
"Bury me, my Love tells the story of a Syrian woman as she tries to reach Europe in hope of a better life. You just can’t write a game like that light-heartedly"
Group Up
China’s Shanda Games invests $9.4 million in Kakao Games
Kakao Games received a $131.6 million investment from multiple investors in February
Wing A Wager
How a real-money version of Angry Birds has WorldWinner flying high
Jeremy Shea on the success of Angry Birds Champions
Settlement Reality
Niantic settles Pokemon Go Fest class action lawsuit for $1.6 million
Attendees can claim for airfares, hotel expenses, parking fees and more
Esports Royale
World's top esports teams flock to Supercell's Clash Royale League
$1 million World Finals takes place at the end of the year
Big In China
How Mobvista's UA campaign for Marvel: Contest of Champions led to better conversions and engagement in China
NativeX's Joyce Ye deals out the advice
Hot Five
Snapchat snaps up PlayCanvas, PUBG and Fortnite mobile games face off, and Marvel Strike Force launches
The hottest articles of the last week
C-level-only
White Nights CEO Summit: Games industry leaders set to gather in Cyprus
A look at a brand new event exclusive to C-Level execs
Deep Data
Increasing user LTV by 45% with automated loyalty and dynamic pricing
Wappier CEO guides developers through automated revenue management
Kitted Out
ARKit-powered apps break 13 million downloads in six months
Games count for almost half of AR apps
Job Losses
Nokia to lay off 353 staff in Finland
The decision comes as part of the company’s global cost-savings plan
Bigger Than Ever
GDC 2018 attracts record 28,000 attendees
Rise of 2,000 industry professionals year-on-year