Game Accelerators
Wings Interactive announces Elevate mobile game accelerator in collaboration with Netflix
As with other projects from Wings, the aim will be to elevate indie game development
Indian Market
Nazara CEO: Indian market playing catch up with game monetisation
Despite the growth of India’s mobile gaming sector, the country trails in effective monetisation
Stellar Star
HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail to release in April 2023
Mobile and PC releases are coming ahead of PlayStation launch
A Game Of Risk
81% of biggest mobile games are vulnerable to basic cyberattacks
Promon finds that a mere 1 in 357 games could identify malware
Releases
PlaySide Studios announces Dumb Ways to Die 4
Pre-orders are now open with a teaser trailer and the announcement of a release date
Dubai Gameexpo Summit
Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects announced for June 21-22
Two-day summit for the global games industry to take place alongside Dubai’s large scale GameExpo event attracting thousands of consumers
Racing Ahead
Ace Racer zooms to 1 million downloads as devs showcase new technology
The tech behind NetEase’s graphically enhanced new game was shown off at last week’s GDC
Appointments
Nexon appoints two new directors to its board
The announcement is in addition to the reappointment of three directors
Vote Now
Have you voted for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2023?
The Finalists are live until midnight April 6th
Ad Tools
Mobvista launches new XMP platform for cross-channel monitoring
The dashboard lets developers track multiple analytics for their campaigns
Acquiblizz
Microsoft's Activision Blizzard deal inches closer as the UK's CMA flips its decision
The authority has backtracked on its previous findings and is satisfied that the deal WON'T affect console competitors. But cloud gaming remains an issue
Dev Tools
Unity take the next step, teasing AI development tools in new video
While developing with Unity has always been fast, it looks like it might be about to get a whole lot faster…
Acquiblizz
This week in the Microsoft x Activision Blizzard deal
All the latest in one place as the EU and CMA flip-flop opinions and a conclusion draws nearer
State Of Play
Xsolla's Chris Hewish on generative AI: “You have to ask: ‘is more actually better’?”
At Xsolla’s Live at GDC 2023 event the president of Xsolla spoke about cloud gaming, AI, web stores and more.
Clever Stuff
CleverTap's new platform aims to boost live ops revenue and more
Unveiled at GDC 2023, CleverTap Gaming is an all-in-one solution for customer engagement
Take-two Hearts Gameclub
Take-Two Interactive has acquired mobile retro-games subs service GameClub
The publishing giant has acquired the subscription-based start-up for an as yet undisclosed sum and purpose
Tencent Financials
Tencent’s revenue increased 0.5% year-on-year in Q4 2022
The company saw a small rebound following a turbulent year
Female Gamers
74% of women play mobile games daily
While 67% see mobile gaming as a vital source of ‘me time’
Partnerships
Fishing Clash to cease distribution in China as NetEase closes subsidiary studios
The game's loss is being cited as a knock-on effect of NetEase and Blizzard parting ways
War In Ukraine
Supercell blocks its games in Russia and Belarus
After phasing out titles, the last of Supercell's games are now inactive with a block in place until at least June 1
Discussions
Rovio halts discussions with Playtika with no deal in sight
The Israeli publisher had been eager to make a cash offer to buy the Angry Birds developer
Unreal Graphics
Epic unveils Unreal Engine 5.2 delivering even more power to mobile
New cross-platform Unreal upgrades give developers the tools to create improved worlds and characters, whatever the host device
New Features
NetEase launches first pilot server for Infinite Lagrange
The server will allow players to test incoming features and offer feedback to the development team
14 Unmissable Tracks
Dive into future technologies and artificial intelligence at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle!
PG Connects returns to Seattle this May 16th to 17th, get an exclusive look at all the future-gazing content we have lined up for you at the conference.
New Live Events Tracker
How to keep track of the myriad of live service events across mobile games
GameRefinery's new live events tracker offers game creators a new way to stay in control of multiple events in multiple titles - quickly, simply and cost effectively
Epic News
Epic launches Unreal Editor for Fortnite, delivering metaverse-building power to everyone
Their GDC 2023 announcement comes packed with new tech set to give the world of mobile creation a shake-up
Releases
Super Meat Boy Forever finally makes the jump to mobile
Originally intended for the platform, the game has so far only been on PC and console until now
Cross-platform
Kabam brings Unreal 5 to mobile and PC for King Arthur: Legends Rise
"Enabling our players to experience cross-platform progression and play is an essential part of what we want to offer."
Financials
Flexion Q4 financials close with another record quarter
The alternative app store publisher saw major deals in 2022
Living Legends At Gdc23
Virtual influencer Babka and cyber-cat sidekick Nushi team up to celebrate game developers around the world at GDC
Developers will be interviewed live on Twitch to discuss their latest games. Babka and Nushi are showcased at a prime location in GDC Moscone South Lobby
Loot Box Lawsuit
Loot boxes: not gambling, says Canadian judge
But by allowing the rest of the class action suit to continue, Electronic Arts aren’t out of the woods yet
Esports
DreamHack San Diego to host Snapdragon Pro Series Mobile Challenge tournament finals
The esports open will feature prominent battle-royale Fortnite as the headlining game
Seed Secured
Mystic Games seed round aims towards bringing Web3 mobile games "into the mainstream"
Veterans from King, Rovio and more looking to democratise digital ownership
Makreo Report
49% of China’s gamers play on their phones
A new report analyses the world’s biggest mobile market
Collaborations
NetEase’s Vikingard re-collaborates with MGM’s Vikings
The mobile strategy game and historical drama series crossed over once before back in September of 2022
Microsoft Merger
EU delays decision on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard
Relax. The $69 billion acquisition decision has been pushed back to May 22
Croquet X Unity
Croquet for Unity makes multiuser games “automatically”
The new 'no netcode' JavaScript framework makes multiplayer development easier than ever before
Licences & International Releases
Tencent brings smash hit Merge Mansion to China in raft of new licences
The game is part of a slew of newly granted licences for a number of foreign titles
Partnerships
PUBG Mobile upgraded with immersive Dolby Atmos in audio update
The audio manufacturer and publisher Krafton have teamed up to boost in-game audio
British Gaming
Study finds one in three Brits are gaming during remote working hours
Ages 35 to 44 most likely to use work devices for personal activities
Big Fish In The Big Easy
Big Fish Games expands with new office in New Orleans
The company hopes to foster a diverse talent pipeline
Releases
Jetpack Collective to publish Rare Pets - Merge Game Mystery
The iOS and Android title is one of two new games being published by the company
Milestones
Subway Surfers hits 4bn downloads
Sybo’s hit endless runner hits a new milestone and doesn’t look set to slow down anytime soon
Microsoft App Store
Microsoft hopes to launch its mobile app store next year
The tech giant hopes to capitalise on changes to regulations regarding alternative app stores
Anniversaries
Netflix Games one year on
As the anniversary of Netflix’s robust gaming catalogue comes round, more information arrives about their plans for 2023
Platform Partnership
ByteBrew partners with Mintegral to offer ad measurements and tracking tools to users
The 2021 startup has accrued 5,000 devs so far
Flexion X Digital Turbine
Flexion and Digital Turbine partner for alternative app distribution
The partnership combines the services of both companies
Major Milestone
Bitcoin Miner surpasses 1 million players and becomes the biggest play-and-earn game
A week of celebratory events set to take place
Audio Ads
Odeeo and Any Ever partner to offer new touchpoint for audio campaigns
Establishing in-game audio ads in Germany
Reported Restructuring
UK-based Team17 is supposedly laying off employees from art and design teams
The publisher is currently aiming to restructure