Acqusitions
Virtuos completes acquisition of UK games studio Third Kind Games
All nine Third Kind Games co-founders will continue leading the studio
"curse Of The Consumables"
Aggressive mobile game monetisation pushes loyal players to churn, says Battle of Polytopia CEO
Midjiwan CEO Christian Lövstedt criticises the deliberate lack of transparency on in-app purchases
Investing In Britain
Ukie's 2024 Video Games Growth Programme gets Department for Business and Trade backing
The programme of advice and help for businesses now has 30 companies signed up for this year's cohort
Contactless Payments
Apple will be unlocking iPhone NFC chips for third-party apps everywhere
After relenting in Europe thanks to the DMA, it now looks like alternative contactless payment options are coming to iPhones everywhere
Legal Advice
The EU’s AI Act: What does it mean for game developers?
The act - in place since 1st August 2024 - is designed to ensure safety and transparency, but with that responsibility comes the necessity for careful compliance
Web Shop Spending
Tilting Point’s Warhammer: Chaos & Conquest makes 50% of revenue from its web shop
Players can purchase web shop-exclusive bundles for up to $1,000
Women In Games
Ad monetisation: Fanatee’s Beatriz Dias on the importance of preserving user experience
As part of Liftoff's Women In Games series, Beatriz Dias, the monetisation manager at Fanatee discusses her work with ad revenue, quality and the balance with optimising the player experience
Integrating Story
How to integrate your narrative team into a game’s design and avoid story being sidelined
Game writer and narrative designer Kelsey Beachum gets on the soapbox and offers key advice on integrating narrative into the development pipeline
Funding News
Reforged Labs secures $3.9 million for gaming ads with GenAI
The funding will be used to enhance its AI capabilities and refine its creative and performance models
Interview
"Africa is on track to become a top three market globally for mobile games"
Pan African Gaming Group chairman Jay Shapiro on building a network of game developers and sharing Africa's rich history of stories through games.
Investment News
Web3 platform GAMEE secures investment from TON Ventures
The Animoca Brands subsidiary plans to integrate TON-based digital assets into its Telegram Mini App to boost user engagement
Hot Five
Hot Five: AFK Journey hits China, The Sunday Times Gaming Rich List and the Gamescom Party Guide
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Devcom Begins
Devcom 2024 kicks off week of conference talks, exhibitions and awards
Prelude to Gamescom set to host more than 250 speakers across 200 sessions and 15 stages
Podcast | Episode 25
The Gamescom 2024 Survival Guide | 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 25...
Pocket Money
Playrix founders put mobile on top of The Sunday Times' first ever Gaming Rich List
The makers of Homescapes and Gardenscapes top the inaugural round up of the 30 richest developers and players in the UK
Week That Was
Epic goes mobile, Pokémon goes to Hawaii and gamers go to Gamescom | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Jobs In Games
Raptor PR pulls in big names with key hires from Unity and Square Enix
“With Greg and Claudio onboard, we’re locked and loaded for our next phase of hyper growth," said founder and managing director Rana Rahman
Industry Insights
Why Lifetime IRR is better than ROAS for measuring marketing performance
Mobile Finance Collective's Martin Macmillan on why marketeers should swap ROAS for an IRR-based approach when UA spending at scale
At Last
The Epic Games Store finally arrives on mobile
It's here. Though Epic's mobile game store - complete with Fortnite and a Fall Guys exclusive - requires users to jump through some hoops…
India Games Industry
Key Indian execs endorse PM Modi's Independence Day games business backing
Modi is also calling for the country to transition from being a games industry consumer to becoming a leading producer
Performance Boost
Using a Multiple Paid Pass to boost player choice, rewards, playtimes and revenue
Gradient Universe founder Oxana Fomina explains how the next step from the familiar Battle Pass could be your next step to improved monetization
Friends In High Places
AltStore PAL goes free thanks to Epic Games' MegaGrant
The grant is to support the development of innovative projects that might lack sufficient funding. Or…
Ready To Play
SuperGaming's battle royale, Indus is now available in open beta
With over 12 million pre-registrations on the Google Play Store, the ‘made-in-India-for-the-world' game is now playable for all players
Developer Tools
Kwalee launches Arabic mobile game publishing platform for MENA developers
Kwalee's Hitseeker will now support Arabic-speaking developers with the tools and resources they need to create games
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from pixel RPGs to… Candy Crush?!
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Mena Market
Saudi Arabia and UAE to propel Gulf region games spending to $3.24 billion by 2028
The KSA alone represented 49.5% of the gulf total revenue and 61.7% of its gamers in 2023
Financials
Embracer's Q1 shows year-on-year revenue drops across mobile, PC, console and more
There's a positive spin buried within… But there's still plenty of tough reading up front
Financials
Applovin's Q2 revenue hits $1.08 billion, up 44% year-on-year with net income skyrocketing 286%
Their AI-powered AXON technology is cited as a key driving force for these latest numbers, with further growth to come
Gamescom Tips
Mobile Mavens: The expert's guide to surviving Gamescom
How to avoid the crush, be at the best party, and make all the best connections. Our Mavens give their tips and tricks for getting the best out of Europe's biggest games show
Finding A Franchise
Mad Crusader to invest in games with "franchise potential" via Game IP Incubation programme
Applications are open for the second batch of the eight-month programme
In-car Gaming
Mattel and AirConsole to showcase UNO Car Party for BMW vehicles
The game will be available on over 500,000 BMW and MINI vehicles through the AirConsole platform
Playing Pokemon
Mobile matters at Pokémon Worlds 2024 as Pokémon Go and Unite players get set to clash
Winning players will win $20,000 each this weekend at a competitive tournament that promises to be the biggest ever
Book Now
Final seats for the PG Mobile Games Awards 2024 in association with Gamelight
Join us for the splendid sit-down dinner ceremony in Cologne on August 20th before it's too late
Jobs In Games
FRVR names Quentin Staes-Polet as its new CEO
Staes-Polet has over 25 years of experience from leadership roles at Epic Games, Unity, Take 2 Interactive, and Ankama
More Acquisitions
Keywords spending spree continues with the acquisition of UK dev Wushu Studios
With over 20 such purchases under their belt, fuelling a £2.1 billion valuation, Keywords aren't done with their M&A strategy just yet
Reschedule
Scottish Games Week is hitting the pause button for 2024
The B2B event is no longer taking place this October and will return in 2025 instead
Profit Power
East Side Games turns a profit in Q2 as it moves further out of the red
It's time for a turnaround as the games studio recorded a loss of more than $130,000 in Q2 2023
Xsolla At Gamescom
Xsolla to showcase latest solutions empowering game developers at Gamescom and Devcom 2024
Experience Live Demonstrations of How to Enable Cross Play and Cross Pay Opportunities for Video Games
Distribution Delight
Candy Crush lands on alternative app stores
King’s flagship sweetens Flexion’s distribution portfolio, out now on App Gallery, ONE store and more
Advisory Board
PlanetPlay launches advisory board to drive environmental action in video games
The advisory board includes Niantic CEO John Hanke, Lockwood Publishing CEO Halli Bjornsson and more
Developer Deals
81% of mobile devs are making new games, but 27% say publishers "take more than they give"
Only 39% now see publishers as "necessary" as the landscape changes and deals get tougher
Jobs In Games
Krafton taps Jin Oh as their new chief global publishing officer
Oh will lead Krafton's global publishing and international business operations from September
Earnings Report
Krafton hits $1.04 billion in H1 2024 revenue as PC and mobile lead
Q2 earning increased to $532 million - an 83% increase over Q2 2023 despite a console revenue decline
In-game Events
Maximising success through in-game events mastery
AppQuantum’s Oleg Nalimov shares tips on timing, duration and pauses to get the very best out of your in-game events
Industry Sustainability
Sustainable Games Alliance forms to make the games industry a leader in global sustainability efforts
Non-profit group, led and backed by industry veterans, aims to create unified reporting standards to tackle sector's environment impact
Podcast
Taking Snake.io to the next level and building multimedia brands with Kooapps CEO CK Wang | Podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team and guests give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode…
Afk In Asia
China spends $5.1 million on Lilith's AFK Journey in first five days
The Chinese market is now its second-biggest, accounting for 7% of lifetime revenue in less than a week, despite a four-month lead in the West
Masterclass
TODAY: FREE Webinar - Game Design For Engagement & Retention
The one-hour online session starts at 4pm (UK time) today, Wednesday August 14th
Scaling The Industry
TIGA identifies risk period for UK game start-ups and five tips to scale the industry
Studios with fewer than five staff are highly vulnerable to failure with 50.2% studios failing to grow
Done Deal
Why Xsolla sponsored League One English football club Stevenage FC
Games, Hollywood and big money TV deals combine to spur a partnership in a town with a population of 90,000 people