Candy Crush The Competition
Candy Crush Saga breaks records with All Stars Tournament
The upcoming tournament will have the biggest prize pot in casual mobile gaming history
New Expansion
Dream Games expands with new office in London
This marks the first international office for the Turkish studio behind Royal Match
It’s Showtime
Persona: The Phantom X available for pre-order in China
The game is the first in the franchise released on mobile
Event Latest
Global Games Pitch Returns with Exciting New Features
365/7 Matchmaking Portal and Online Game Pitching Show on April 5-6
Event Latest
Outer Edge LA is set to take place on March 20th to 23rd
The conference formerly known as NFT LA retuns to Los Angeles next week
Taxes
UK budget ups tax relief for British game companies
The new credit will offer a 34% rate relief, up from 25% in its previous incarnation
Tiktok Trouble
TikTok banned on government phones in the UK
The social media app has faced criticism regarding security concerns
New Label
NetEase launches Exptional Global label for international releases
Games such as Dead by Daylight Mobile and Lord of the Rings: War have been shifted to the new label
Stocks
Hero Wars developer Nexters to resume trading on Nasdaq
The formerly Russian-based developer has divested nearly all its operations in the country
Creation Operating System
Fragnova unveils Creation Operating System to revolutionise game creation
Fragnova unveils its network and exclusive games creation system that will shape how future generations create User Generated Content
Studios
UK developer Creative Assembly to open new studio in Newcastle
The longtime collaborator with mobile developer Feral Interactive is set to bring their new development studio North-East
Playstation Mobile
PlayStation Mobile continues its hiring spree
The company has been making a concerted effort to break into the mobile space
The Next Era Of Horror
Dead by Daylight Mobile launches The Next Era of Horror with a horror icon
Ringu villain Sadako has made her debut in the game’s mobile port
Stakeholders
Abu Dhabi firm G42 acquires $100m+ stake in Bytedance
The owner of Nuverse and TikTok receive a new stakeholder
Mobile Browser Gaming
AviaGames launches a new browser-based gaming service for phones
Pocket7Games WebGame allows players to access the company’s titles on their phones without downloading
Updates
PUBG Mobile’s fifth anniversary brings custom build tools to the game
The mobile battle-royale’s new suite of tools will allow players to build custom modes and maps
Releases
Honor of Kings becomes Brazil’s most successful free mobile game
The game has been heavily pushed in Brazil with exclusive trailers and more
Time To Invest
Meet active investors at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle’s Investor Connector!
Find funding for your next project and meet your dream collaborators during May’s leading games industry conference!
Please Welcome Gamelight
Spotlight becomes Gamelight
Game marketing platform Spotlight rebrands as Gamelight as growth continues
New Partnership
S8UL partners with Krafton to launch Road to Valor: Empires in India
The new partnership aims to boost India’s gaming ecosystem
Acquisitions
Plug In Digital acquires FTP developers Celsius Online
The free-to-play mobile and web pioneers were acquired by the French publisher
Celebrating Success
Supersonic passes 3.4 billion downloads in three years
The publisher is celebrating its third anniversary this month with a massive milestone
Chinese Gaming Industry
Chinese games industry publishes draft of rules for self-regulation
The rules aim to address problems in the industry such as copyright disputes and gaming addiction without the need for government interaction
Adaptations
Raid: Shadow Legends is set to become an animated series
The billion-dollar mobile franchise is set to become a television series
Flexion X Netease
Flexion launches Vikingard on alternative app stores
The company has partnered with NetEase games for the launch
Google
Google Play Games for PC comes to Europe and Japan as service expands
Google’s cross-platform service will no longer require developers to optimise before submitting
Will Of The Industry
VOTE NOW: The Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2023 Finalists are live
Inaugural industry-wide vote now open until April 6th
See You Next Week
Attending GDC 2023 next week? Connect with the Steel Media team!
Book a meeting with the Steel Media team ahead of GDC next week. We will be in San Francisco for GDC, let's discuss how we can best support your business in 2023!
Regulations
Call of Duty: Mobile team attempt to clarify Warzone confusion: “We are committed.”
The team behind CoD Mobile clarifies their position and reiterates their commitment to the title
Gdc 2023
Brazil Games delegation announced for GDC 2023
More than 43 companies will showcase Latin American innovation at the conference
Unity Report
Unity Report: More players are turning to mobile, but paying less
The median game saw an 8% increase in daily active users worldwide in 2022
Appointments
Sybo appoints new CMO Philip Hickey
The Seriously veteran will take on the role of chief marketing officer
Startups
App Radar wants to use AI to make advertising easier
The startup wants their AI tool to make analysing reviews and understanding player sentiment easier
Cryptotheft
FBI warns that fake games are stealing cryptocurrency
The agency has issued a PSA to address the issue
Appsflyer Report
RPG ad spend surged in 2022 amid massive rise across platforms
The genre saw a 177% increase on iOS and 101% on Android in the USA
Appsflyer Report
India saw a 32% rise in hypercasual installs in 2022
Google’s ban on interstitial ads caused ripples in the market, while India surged ahead
Creatives
Pedro Pascal joins the Merge Mansion creative campaign
Following on from other major Hollywood stars, the Last of Us star has joined the Metacore creative campaign
Web 3 Ip
Brazilian Web3 dev Jungle raises $6 million in funding round
Web3 mobile shooter expected to launch later this year
Finance
Silicon Valley Bank - What happened and how does it affect mobile?
One of America’s biggest venture capital and startup banks failed over the weekend. Here’s what it could mean for mobile
Second Wind
Second Life is coming to mobile
The world’s first and best-known metaverse platform makes the leap to iOS and Android
Back On Track
Genshin Impact revenue reached an 11-month high in February as Chinese devs flourish again
Sensor Tower data found 40 of the top 100 revenue earners last month were in China
Appointments
Vancouver studio A Thinking Ape appoints new CEO
Founder and former CEO Kenshi Arasaki will move to role of chair
Join The Webinar
Retargeting Masterclass: How to retain and retarget players
How can developers and publishers keep their users, reduce churn and increase retention?
find out more in this expert webinar from Adikteev and PocketGamer.biz
Alternative App Stores
Epic has apps for iOS and Android ready to go
The Epic Games Store may see an appearance on mobile sooner than we think if Tim Sweeney’s predictions come true
All About Indies
Seven reasons why you, as an indie developer, need to be at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle!
Don’t miss your chance to sign up for an exclusive competition for indie developers! You can win free tickets to PG Connects Seattle and demo
Ai Game Creation
Anything World partners with Unreal Engine to expand animation and 3D modelling
The new deal follows partnerships with Ubisoft and Coheed and Cambria
Gamer's Voice
Has your game made the Pocket Gamer People's Choice Award 2023 finalists?
Get your players to vote for you by April 6th if so
Playing For The Planet
2.5 million trees were planted as part of 2022’s Green Game Jam
2022 was a breakthrough year for sustainability efforts in gaming
Trade Bodies
TIGA calls on UK government for new video game investment fund
They predict a new investment fund for the UK video game industry would provide an economic boost
Wemade At Gdc 2023
Wemade – diamond sponsor at GDC 2023 – shares valuable blockchain gaming knowledge and experience
Join in the conversations with company experts on trending industry topics, wins and challenges in open sessions during the event