Creative Block
Creative firm Talenthouse inches from failure
The company secured a high-profile investment from Animoca Brands in 2019
Netease Lawsuit
Pop star Jay Chou sues NetEase for copyright infringement
Chou claims that NetEase’s latest campaign for Tianxia III led fans to believe the game had a “specific connection” to his music
The Rise Of Mobile
Gaming app installs are up 10% compared to 2022
Adjust’s new report delves into the state of 2022’s mobile industry, and how 2023 is shaping up so far
Partnership
Milky Tea Games partners with new majority owner, Aonic
The studio was behind one of the Apple Arcade’s launch titles
Mobile Legend
Join us at the PG Mobile Games Awards next week and meet the trailblazing legends of the mobile games industry!
See who wins our prestigious Mobile Legend award in-person at the PG Mobile Games Awards on April 20th, book your ticket to the show today!
Success In Funding
Reactional Music raises $2.05 million in pre-series A funding round
The platform aims to connect music and players for game developers
Launches
Scopely follows Savvy acquisition announcement with launch of Monopoly Go
Their first game since their big news acquisition last week
Esg
Tencent pushes “Tech for good” in latest ESG report
The company's environmental, social and governance report highlights their 2022 achievements
Mobile Dominance
92% of gamers are exclusively using phones
The world’s biggest gaming platform in numbers
Unity For Humanity
Unity announces the winners of its 2023 Unity for Humanity Grant
The winners will receive a share of a $500 thousand prize pool, plus mentorship and technical support
Milestones
My.Games’ War Robots hits $750m milestone on its ninth anniversary
The pvp mech combat game was developed by Pixonic
Games Go Crazy
CrazyLabs achieves six billion downloads in six million years of play!
the hyper and hybrid-casual games specialist has announced that it has had over six billions downloads of its titles around the world
Rumours
Could Playtika be a target for a buyout?
After a strategic review last year resetting the company's course, buyers are reportedly showing interest
Konvoy Report
Gaming market to reach $201 billion in 2023
Asia dominated Q1 in terms of deal value, but came second to America in terms of volume
Charity
Make your game part of the Play for Türkiye relief bundle via Itch.io
Proceeds from the bargain bundle will go to charities assisting those affected by the Turkish earthquakes
All About Dubai
Travelling to Dubai this summer? Prepare for your journey with the Pocket Gamer guide to Dubai ahead of the Dubai GameExpo Summit!
Joining us in Dubai this June 21-22nd for our first ever conference in the UAE? Learn everything you need to know ahead of time
Releases
NetEase’s cutesy battle royale, Eggy Party, to launch in the Philippines
The take on the Fall Guys formula will launch April 21 for Android
Data.ai Report
Japan and South Korea lead consumer spend by device in 2022
Data.ai’s State of Mobile Gaming 2023 report analyses the sector’s performance across markets and demographics
China Changes
Chinese game licences in 2023 could surpass the past two years combined
Niko Partners points out the positives of recent changes in China
Regulations
Mobile game exclusivity triggers $32m fine for Google
Outdated exclusivity practices are cited as stifling competition
Retain Retarget Reduce Churn
Retain your players with retargeting - a masterclass from Adikteev
Adikteev offers expert insight into the latest techniques to predict churn, retain players and increase revenues
Football Funds
Soccer Manager creator Invincibles raises £1m for two new games
Investment is the latest in repeat funding from Mercia
Join Us In London
One week to go until the PG Mobile Games Awards! Join us in Central London next week
Connect with the best in the mobile games industry at the PG Mobile Games Awards next week on April 20th! Limited tickets are still available for this highly anticipated event
Moves & Merges
BoomHits to merge offices with Skyloft Studios
The two Turkish studios will now operate under one roof
Data.ai Report
Consumers spent an average of $1.6 billion on mobile gaming per week in 2022
Data.ai’s State of Mobile Gaming 2023 report delves into the market’s performance
India
Indian battle royale game Indus passes 1.5 million registrations
With a fourth playtest announced in order to further polish esports features
Playx4 May 2023
Korea's leading B2B games event - PlayX4 - returns for 2023 - with online and live events supported
PlayX4 Korea’s leading B2B games event PlayX4 will be held on May 11th & 12th 2023 with both on and offline participation supported
Lord Of The App Store
Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth set for May 10 release
The game will launch in iOS and Android
Rovio Analytics
Rovio gives insight into its game analytics approach
The company’s director of analytics discussed the topic in a new blog post
Turkish Gaming Market
Why localisation is essential in the Turkish gaming market
A recent Gaming in Türkiye report offers insights into adapting for a local audience
Acquiblizz
Sony claims CMA narrowing scope of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard is “irrational”
The tech giant has been one of the deal’s biggest opponents
Sony Handheld
Is Sony going remote with its next handheld console?
Speculation is rife for what, if it happens, Sony’s new handheld gaming console will do
Market Insights
9 out of 10 adults in the UAE play video games – learn more about the region ahead of the Dubai GameExpo Summit!
Get to know the MENA market ahead of the Dubai GameExpo Summit 2023
Investment In Turkiye
Turkish gaming VC firm Ludus Ventures leads $3 million investment round in Paxie Games
The money comes as part of surge of investment in Türkiye
Xp Developer Summit 2023
XP Game Developer Summit returns to Toronto in April 2023
Canadian B2B Video Game Conference returns to Toronto Connecting the Industry, Partners, and Speakers at the XP Game Developer Summit, April 20-21
Savvy X Scopely
Savvy Games Group acquires Scopely for $4.9 billion
The group has made numerous acquisitions as part of its long term gaming strategy
Acquisition
Nodwin Gaming acquires a majority stake in full-service live media company Branded
The acquisition brings Branded’s event IP’s and team into the Nodwin fold
Blackpink The Game
BLACKPINK The Game coming from developer Takeone
BTS sparked major success in Cookie Run Kingdom, now fellow K-idol band Blackpink are following suit
Tiktok
TikTok fined £12.7 million for mishandling of children’s data
The social media giant has fallen foul of the UK’s data protection laws
Full Steam Ahead
Sid Meier’s Railroads! comes to mobile from Feral Interactive
The specialist in retro game ports has now brought in the well-known railroad building title
Google Ads Attribution Integration
ByteBrew, the all-in-one mobile game analytics platform, gets access to Google Ads attribution integration
This new integrated access allows ByteBrew to offer game developers free Google attribution measurement
Final Countdown
Final chance: Vote for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2023
You have until midnight April 6th
Not Mushroom For Mobile
Mobile will “Not be the primary path for future Mario games”, says Shigeru Miyamoto
The director of Super Mario Run praised mobile’s ability to expand the franchise’s audience, bit criticised its generic nature
Gaming In Turkiye
Turkish mobile revenue dips, but players on the rise
Differences in currency conversion affected mobile revenue
Secure Your Savings
Book your ticket to Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle today and save up to $280 before prices rise next week!
Our Seattle show’s Early Bird offer is ending April 13th – save up to $280 when you buy your ticket today!
Adverts With Ai
Adludio raises $2.5M for mobile ad platform with AI technology
Investment from Mercia’s venture capital trust
Tiktok Trouble
Australia is the latest country to ban TikTok on government phones
The app has been subject to security concerns throughout the world
Mobile App Fraud
Consumers were exposed to $5.4 billion in app fraud during 2022
Games saw six times fewer levels of fraud compared to other apps
Sporting Ai Soccer
FIFA’s new mobile game is built around AI footballers
It marks their first game independent of long-time partner EA
Misleading Ads
35 to 46% of gamers will accept misleading advertising
75% of gamers in the US and Europe agree misleading ads can be more interesting than the actual game