Supercharged
Exclusive: Supercell breaks ground with first investment in NFT gaming
Oxalis Games has raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Blocore and including Supercell, Animoca Brands, and Sir Ian Livingstone
Committing To Casual
Turkish mobile puzzle games developer Cypher Games raises $3.2 million
Investment will be used to expand the team sixfold, open a new office in Berlin, and create the firm's first casual title
Co-development Deal
Mighty Kingdom and Lion Studios partner to develop unnamed title
Partnering for 12 months of co-development
How To Say "welcome" In Simlish
Playstack acquires Magic Fuel Games, reunites EA veterans
The deal brings Magic Fuel's exec team, including Kevin Shrapnell, together with Playstack CEO Harvey Elliot, following previous collaboration on the SimCity franchise
Apple And Apps
68% of mobile games devs find marketing more difficult following Apple ATT
Tenjin and Growth FullStack speak to PocketGamer.biz on their latest report which states 99% of developers plan to use alternative Android stores this year
Esports Everywhere
Toronto’s the up-and-coming esports capital of the world – join us there to learn all about it firsthand!
Esports are taking over the world, join us at PG Connects Toronto to learn how to get in on this growing industry.
News
Update: Lawsuit alleges Activision Blizzard sexual harassment led to employee suicide
Lawsuit alleges “wanted sexual harassment” in a “hostile, intimidating, offensive, oppressive, and abusive” workplace
4dww
Hutch begins four-day working week trial
Mobile games developer Hutch has now begun its four-day working week trial, as part of a pilot organised by 4 Day Week Global.
Tracks On Tracks On Tracks
Explore the hottest industry topics at Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto, July 6-7
Get all the details on our upcoming Toronto conference’s 15 tracks, and take advantage of our Early Bird discount to save up to $350 on your conference ticket!
Celebrating And Saving
It’s time to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee! Get 30% off your Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto ticket for a limited time only
You have five days to take advantage of this incredible flash sale – don’t wait to enjoy 30% off your PG Connects Toronto ticket.
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Wizards of the Coast’s John Eberhardt on the importance of a wide a variety of perspectives in the game making process
Get to know the thought leaders of Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto, June 6-7
Player Power
Sky Mavis reveals player-generated games using Axie Infinity IP
Selected games from the Builders Program granted a minimum of $10,000 in AXS
Skulls For The Skull Throne
Games Workshop partners with PocketGamer.com at the Warhammer Skulls Mobile Showcase
The wargaming behemoth will reveal its upcoming slate of mobile releases at 18:00 BST today (June 1) in a co-production with PocketGamer.com
Blockchain Breakthrough
Square Enix is creating an NFT ecosystem with Animoca Brands
Partnering with Animoca Brands to develop Web3 plans
Locational Layoffs
Playtika to lay off 250 employees as it closes three development studios
London, Los Angeles, and Montreal studios are closing, Helsinki studio considered
Ash Cashem
The Pokémon Company celebrates a record fiscal year
Net profit increased by 123%, with sales reaching $1.6 billion
Metaverse Motoring
Infinite Drive is steering towards the metaverse
The Tiny Digital Factory has revealed its next racing game with Web3 and NFTs
Heaps Of Holiday
tinyBuild is trailing limitless paid time off until end of year
Mandatory minimum of two weeks remains in place
Greener Games
Gamigo Group joins Playing For The Planet Alliance
The European and North American publisher is the latest in the 43-strong games industry environmental advocacy group
Subscription Service
3 Network operator, CK Hutchison, and Gameloft to launch "All You Can Play" service
Titles like Asphalt Nitro 2 and Sonic Runners Adventure included
Welcome Aboard
Homa Games appoints Brice Vinocour as VP of marketing & communications
Homa Games will leverage Vinocour's experience and leadership skills to build the scaleup’s marketing & communications strategy, increase brand awareness, and grow gamers and developers' communities
Meet The Speakers
From Google to Netflix, get a sneak peek at the incredible speakers of Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto and their companies
Find out some of the fantastic names we have lined up to speak at our Toronto conference this July 6-7
Alternative App Stores
Android games make $50 million through alternative app stores, states Flexion
“Essentially a bonus for games that already do great in Google Play,” claims CEO Jens Lauritzson
Vamos Celebrar!
Updated: Kwalee's Pedro Caria details why Portugal was the right choice for Kwalee's fourth international office
Winner of Best Publisher at the Mobile Games Awards has opened its first office in Almada, Portugal
Be Seeing You
Founded by Rovio and Zynga veterans, Village Studio has raised €2.1 million
Will Luton, Cyril Barrow, and Tak Fung's Village Studio aims to confront the issue of interoperability in blockchain and Web3 games
Latest Lawsuit
Apple loses bid to dismiss app store lawsuit
Alternative app store Cydia originally accused Apple of continuing an unlawful monopoly in January 2020
Supercharged
Supercell acquires majority stake in Trailmix with $60 million investment
Majority stake follows 2018 investment of $4.2 million in the London studio
Gaming And Golfing
New PGA golf game utilises Niantic Lightship AR tech
Developer by Trigger as an educational, utility game
We Gucci
Gucci forms permanent presence in Roblox with Gucci Town
Gucci Town, a “virtual piazza in the landscape of Roblox” follows Spotify, Gap, McLaren, the Brit Awards, and near-countless others
Readjusting To Remote
Gismart is shifting to remote-first working as of June 2022
Flexibility to work from anywhere in the world
Boost Your Brand
Elevate your brand at Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto’s Ads x Brands x Games Summit this summer!
Join us in Toronto this July to discover the latest trends and biggest opportunities when it comes to advertising and branding your game!
Bolstering The Ranks
Former King, Wargaming exec joins Kwalee as head of casual mobile games
F2P specialist Callum Godfrey will lead on all internal and external casual games projects for the UK-headquartered publisher
An Apex App
Apex Legends Mobile player spend reached $4.8 million in first week
The most downloaded game in 60 countries following initial launch
Mobile Manoeuvre
20% of all first-party releases will be mobile by 2025, says Sony
Playstation CEO Jim Ryan also stated that 10% of first-party releases will be mobile within 2022
Indie Opportunities
Indie developers unite! Pitch your game to experts at Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto
Apply to our Big Indie Pitch opportunities now to get your game in front of experts this July!
Join The Collective
Game economics platform Machinations.io raises $3.3 million
Machinations.io has announced a $3.3 million Series A funding round led by Hiro Capital
Loot Box Lull
Activision Blizzard is not releasing Diablo Immortal in Belgium and the Netherlands
Both countries have banned loot boxes in games via gambling laws
Breaking The Habit
Force of Habit co-founder dives deep into the studio’s closure
Twitter woes, commercial failures and porting issues, and fighting burnout among influences towards the one-man studio’s closure in May 2022
Awards And Achievements
Mobile wins big at the Finnish Game Awards 2021
Pako 3, Kitka Games, and HypeHype celebrated for Small Screen Game of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Creative Achievement, respectively
The Lion's Share
Mobile gaming to exceed 60% of entire games market in 2022
More than $1.6 billion spent weekly on mobile games in Q1 2022 alone
Get In The Sea
Infinite Arcade partners with blockchain gaming community YGG SEA
Collaboration with Southeast Asia subsidiary of Yield Guild Games intended to bring half a million players to Web3 gaming
Plans For Pride
Zynga donating $50,000 for Pride Month
Employee resource group zPride donating to Brave Space Alliance, LGBT Foundation, and Gay Gaming Professionals
Join Us
Niantic wants you in its social AR network
The Campfire social app, currently live in Ingress, and Lightship VPS was revealed at Niantic Lightship Summit
Diverse & Dynamic
Expand your network and connect with a diverse mix of professionals at Pocket Gamer Connects Toronto
Introducing the location for our upcoming July Pocket Gamer Connects conference – learn more about what this dynamic, diverse city has to offer
Double Digit Development
Huuuge announces Q1 2022 results with $84 million in revenue
Adjusted EBITDA percentage increase reaches double digits
Roblox Role
Roblox hires former Zynga and Twitter exec Nick Tornow
Former Zynga CTO joins Roblox as vice president of technology
Community Currency
Former Gameforge CEO launches Web3 publisher Eleet Games
Carsten van Husen to lead
Flames On The Side Of My Face
Paul Farley’s Firestoke raises $2.2 million
Mobile games industry luminary’s indie games publisher to bridge gap between triple-A and mobile experiences
Under A Union
Employees from Activision Blizzard's Raven Software form the first gaming union
Accepted by the National Labor Relations Board with 19 votes to 3
Big Fish Focus
Former Amazon gaming manager Larry Plotnick appointed president at Big Fish Games
Supporting innovation and development of casual games