Games First Helsinki
Trip Hawkins: Broken business models, the importance of social, and industry forecasts
The former EA CEO and founder offers his insights on the state of the market
Pgc Jordan
Game industry leaders to gather at Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan 2024 next week
Combining the very best of the MENA region to meet, network, and innovate with top games professionals...
Instant Games
Facebook Instant Games finally gets in-app purchases on iOS
IAPs now supported across web, iOS and Android devices
Closing Koi
Sony closes mobile studio Neon Koi
Neon Koi and Firewalk are both closing down as Sony prioritises games on a "pedigree" level
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Kwalee’s John Wright shares his games industry journey to VP of mobile publishing
Wright discusses helping to create one of the first industry-successful playable ads and the importance of mentorship
Investment News
Konvoy invests in Magic Potion Games to build safe and social immersive experiences
“The gaming landscape is changing, especially for younger audiences"
Layoffs
Fingersoft lays off 14 staff after “substantial decline” in ad revenue
"With this year’s substantial decline in ad revenue, adjustments to our cost structure became essential," says CEO
The Web Way
Nitro Games’ Autogun Heroes launches on CrazyGames web portal
Cross-progression and cross-play are both available between mobile and web versions
Revenue Result
Reverse: 1999 celebrates first anniversary in the West with $100m on the horizon
The time travel title celebrated one year since global launch on October 26th
New Game Launch
Monument Valley 2 is now available on Netflix
Subscribers can now play the first two games of the Monument Valley series for free
Investment News
Maintain Altitude secures $500,000 in pre-seed round to accelerate game development
The studio will use its newly secured funds to accelerate game development and collaborate with music rights holders
Legal Battle
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company vs. Pocket Pair: Understanding the details
Futura Digital’s Alexandra Kurdyumova and Evgenia Shikholeva explain why Nintendo is filing a patent rights lawsuit over a copyright infringement
Pokemon Power
Pokémon TCG Pocket launches tomorrow, but will it be the very best like Pokémon Go...?
The digitalised card game is debuting with plenty of nostalgia-infused Kanto classics, much like the geolocation giant before it
Mobile Marketing
71% of marketing spend is focused on just 10 countries
A new study from Moloco suggests potential high-value users in many regions are being overlooked
Empowering Start-ups
Germany is supporting game studios with new funding program
Start-up founders can now apply for the Press Start: Games Founding Grant
Growing Ip
Behind the scenes: Bringing The Dragon Prince: Xadia to mobile
We discuss the games development with both Wonderstorm and Blind Squirrel Games
Save The Date
The Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects, a key event in the MENA games industry, returns May 7 - 8, 2025 as Part of Dubai Esports and Games Festival
New Partnerships
SAG-AFTRA and Ethovox partner to build AI voice replicas and empower actors
The Ethovox model creates digital voice replicas based on extensive voice data
Mega Money
Microsoft CEO's compensation grows to $79m despite job cuts
Satya Nadella had requested a reduction in his pay package, which could otherwise have approached $85m
Podcast | Episode 34
Subscription without upsell is death! And IDFA changes are good now? | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 34...
Web Shop Waves
100% of top social casino games have a web shop, while casual’s only reached 30%
Across the 20 highest-grossing mobile games, Appcharge finds 72% have a web shop
Pocket Premium
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete goes premium on December 3rd
The premium replacement will allow players to transfer their data up until June 2nd, 2025
Negotiations On Pause
SAG-AFTRA extends interactive media agreement negotiations after three days of talks
There is no official resumption date for negotiations at this time
Rumour Rebuttal
Tencent denies layoffs despite restructuring, leadership changes and VP’s departure
VP Zeng Yu is retiring as 10 individuals are impacted in management overhaul
New Approvals
China approves 128 new games including Supercell's Squad Busters
China has consistently approved over 100 domestic video games each month, while foreign game approvals occur approximately every two months
Legal Advice
Telegram Mini Apps: What’s inside?
Futura Digital’s Alexandra Kurdyumova and Christina Sirozh share on what Telegram Mini Apps are and how to be compliant with its rules and regulations
Hot Five
Hot Five: Barbie’s UK soft launch, Supercell’s London-based hiring, and Antihero’s IDFA perspective
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
New Studio
Mobile games company Digital Dunes launches in Media City Qatar
The company says it will bring Arabic content and culture to the world through its projects
Barbie Merge Mystery
Rollic soft-launches Barbie Merge Mystery mobile game in the UK
The title, which features puzzle and decorate gameplay mechanics, sees players uncover the mystery of the pink fog covering the Barbie world
Five New Games
New release roundup: Neko Atsume 2, Blossom Tales 2, Political Party Frenzy, and more
We highlight five new games that have broken cover over the past week
Incredible Indies
Incredible Indies: Cowleyfornia Studios on being a BAFTA nominee and developing Iron Roads
Marina Sciberras and Duncan Steele discuss their journey as indie developers
New Offerings
JetBrains launches free non-commercial licenses for WebStorm and Rider IDEs
Developers can use the IDEs for learning, open-source project development, content creation and hobby development.
Games, Everwhere
Everything is a games platform
Discord, LinkedIn, Telegram - everyone wants in on gaming
Strategic Growth
Redwood acquires majority stake in Indian games streaming start-up Loco for $65m
The deal will see Loco expand to global markets
New Studio
3OGS rebrands to The OGs as it opens new office in Córdoba
The tech firm aims to expand its operations globally following its acquisition by OV Entertainment in June
Loot Box Laws
EA victorious after Austrian court rules that FIFA 23 loot boxes are not gambling
The court said that the player did not acquire FIFA Ultimate Team packs with the intent to profit
Gaming Trends
Games industry M&A activity hits $2.5 billion in Q3 2024
M&A activity in games has grown for the fourth consecutive quarter
A New Path Forward?
Why the ex-Supercell and King devs at Antihero think IDFA changes are a positive turn for the mobile games industry
CEO Brice Laville Saint-Martin discusses his new studio's big ambitions for social gaming and why the games industry lacks marketing innovation
Developer Tools
Unity's Supersonic launches new AI-powered Game Idea Generator
The tool will generate and refine game ideas to provide key building blocks and initial code for development on the Unity engine
Funding News
Party Icons lands $9 million in seed for mobile-first web3 games
The company plans to develop its web3-enabled functionalities and expand into key markets by 2025
Marvellous Mena
Kayfo: Web gaming "has been a game changer"
Kayfo Games founder Julien Herbin and COO Thierno Ndiaye discuss the opportunities in web-based games, the rise of Edtech in Africa and monetisation challenges
New From Ncsoft
NCSoft to establish four new subsidiaries developing games and researching AI
The corporate split-off was approved during a board meeting but awaits green light from shareholders
Emotional Arousal Explained
How the deconstruction of fun works in mobile games
How Sensemitter brings together neuroscience, behavioural and emotional analysis to measure and improve player engagement
New Marketplace
Epic Games' new unified marketplace Fab is now live
Fab is successor to the Unreal Engine Marketplace and Sketchfab Store
Cancellation
Ubisoft cancels mobile game Gwen’s Getaway
The game had been in development for some years and soft launched in 2023
New Offerings
Apple is developing a new iOS games hub similar to the App Store
The app will display challenges, leaderboards, and achievements, featuring games from both the App Store and Apple Arcade
Supercell London
Supercell hiring London team for Squad Busters
Three roles currently open for a "small cross-functional team" in the UK
Negotiations Underway
Negotiations resume as over 120 games sign SAG-AFTRA's interim contracts
“We’ve had over 120 contracts signed and there’s no sign of things slowing down."
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Usiku Games' Kevine Nzayanga on how to get a career as a game developer
In our Jobs in Games series, we highlight the talented team members currently working in the games industry
World Number One
Gamelight recognised as #1 rewarded source in latest AppsFlyer Performance Index
AI-powered UA specialist Gamelight has been named the number one rewarded source - globally - in the latest AppsFlyer Performance Index