Farewell
The sun sets on FarmVille at the end of 2020
"Following an incredible 11 years since its initial launch back in 2009, we are officially announcing the closure of the original FarmVille game on Facebook"
Efficient Networking
Connect with top publishers and talented indie developers at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4. Sign up now!
The Publisher SpeedMatch returns for the fourth online-only games industry conference this November
Two Become One
Krafton to merge with PUBG Corp later this year
"The announced consolidation will allow Krafton to create sustainable environments where each of our studios can focus on what they do best: development"
Hot Five
Hot Five: Zynga launches Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells, Nick Le discusses hypercasual success, and Chinese strategy games growth in the US
The top stories of the week
Takin' Care Of Business
Mobile games jobs weekly: Former Sumo director joins Supercell, Microsoft acquires Zenimax, and Snap Games snaps up more
The movers, shakers and job opportunities in mobile gaming
Week Of Gaming
Get ready for a week of gaming this November with three brilliant online events
Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4, LaunchPad #2 and EGLX Digital 2020 all take place in the same action packed week, with a bonus event the following week...
Reincarnated
Nier Reincarnation is coming to North America and Europe
No release date yet
A Good Deed
One Special Day looking to break $500,000 target on 2 October
"One Special Day is our opportunity as an industry to come together and support gamers with disabilities who need our help"
Sponsored
Starloop Studios CEO Jesus Bosch discusses why developers are looking to partner more closely with outsourcing firms
"What they are looking for are real partners, deeply engaged with the customer objectives, and providing quick solutions to their demands"
Epicly Super Duper
Epic acquires kid-safe platform SuperAwesome
Expected to be integrated within Unreal Engine
Heading To Japan
Microsoft is launching xCloud in Japan in 2021
"In Japan, we're seeing the community embrace this freedom to play"
Fight For Fairness
Coalition for App Fairness formed to combat Apple and its App Store policies
Includes Epic Games and Spotify
In The Clouds
Amazon enters the cloud gaming market with Luna
Will cost $5.99 per month in Early Access
Megamigs Event
MEGAMIGS 2020: a virtual edition for video games experts and fans starts today
The two part event for the games industry kicks off today for part one with a careers and training edition.
Nation Of Billions
There will be 2.5 billion mobile gamers by the end of 2020
So predicts Newzoo
Welcome Aboard
Snap Games sharpens up with hires from Kongregate and Facebook
Panayoti Haritatos and Jessica Shetty hired
Better Ads
Bidstack teams up with Nautilus Mobile for Real Cricket 20 ads
"We are thrilled to add Nautilus as an exclusive partner to our growing gaming client base"
Stiff Competition
Ryu Games is launching its own games tournament platform to compete with Skillz
"The growth of this space has been incredibly exciting to watch"
Sponsored
Webinar: eCommerce App and Vertical Trends in 2020
Join Nativex alongside expert speakers from industry leaders
Ex-cell-sior
Former Sega and Sumo Digital director James Back joins Supercell
Back previously acted as product director for over a year
Feel The Music
Roblox's Warner Music deal debuts with Ava Max record launch
Taking place September 25th
#justvote
Enthusiast Gaming teams with Global Citizen and HeadCount to encourage young Americans to vote
"We have a unique opportunity to work with one of the most influential, grassroots movements in the world"
Change In Focus
InnerSloth cancels Among Us sequel to focus on original
"We have decided to cancel Among Us 2 and instead put all our focus into improving Among Us 1"
Money Maker
Scopely's Marvel Strike Force leads the way in US RPG boom
Generated $144 million from January to August 2020
Discount Ends
LAST CHANCE to save up to $380 on tickets to Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4 - book now!
Time is running out! Make sure you don’t miss out on our incredible Super Early Bird savings for November’s digital conference as this discount ends at midnight tonight!
Opinion Tick Boxes
UK's call for views over loot boxes and gambling
Consultation runs until 22 November
Down Under
Melbourne International Games Week starts 3 October with a host of online content
Taking place from October 3rd-11th
Tee Off
Playdemic is bringing The Ryder Cup to Golf Clash
“We’re incredibly proud and excited to be working with The Ryder Cup to bring this globally-loved tournament to our Golf Clash players"
I Have A Dream
Former Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime founds new studio, Dreamhaven
"We believe in the power of gaming to bring people together"
Big Indie Pitch
Puzzles & Games returns to The Big Indie Pitch and walks away champions
Winning at Digital Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #3 Helsinki
Special Offer
The G-STAR B2B games event goes online this November 17-21
Save up to 20% when booking along with Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4
Mo' Money
Admix raises a further $1.5 million in Series A funding extension
Accelerating roadmap to scale faster
Event Delayed
Reboot Develop Blue will now take place in April 2021
"Targeting what will be a hopefully safer and more predictable time in all of our lives"
It's Mario
Super Mario 3D All-Stars jumps its way to the top of the UK charts
The third best launch of 2020
Future Perfect
Post-ZeniMax, Microsoft still open to game acquisitions
"We'll always look for places where there is that commonality of purpose, mission and culture"
Going Digital
Blizzard moves its annual conference online with BlizzConline in February 2021
It will feature a range of contests
Welcome Aboard
Roblox welcomes Andrea Wong to its board of directors
"Roblox has tapped into a real need for people to connect and share experiences in the virtual world"
No Deal
Report: China is not likely to approve the US TikTok deal
"There's no way the Chinese government will accept your demand"
It's A Party
Fortnite to host hit boy band BTS
"We're always looking to partner with talented artists who are interested in pushing boundaries and finding innovative ways to reach fans"
Starting Fresh
Former Lab Zero devs form new studio Future Club
"We wanted to start fresh with a company structure that was worker-owned and gave everyone a say in the future of our organisation"
Smart Strategy
Chinese strategy games account for 56 per cent of genre revenues in the US
"The strategy genre has always been one of the cornerstones of modern and midcore mobile gaming"
Series A Funding
Playco secures $100 million in Series A funding round
"Our mission is to bring the world closer together through play"
Case Closed
Voodoo sues Rollic over plagiarism in hypercasual title Wood Shop
"We're super excited at the outcome. The decision of the court sets a precedent especially for hyper-casual game copies"
Event
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital - our most international event of all time!
6 continents, 75 countries, c.670+ companies, 1,500+ attendees, 2,400+ meetings
Case Closed
Gree wins its patent infringement lawsuit against Supercell
It's been awarded $8.5 million
Investment
My.Games invests in mobile games developer Hypemasters
"We are primarily interested in investing in people and talent, not just the end product"
Master The Meta
Master the Meta: How gaming's most underrated acquirer struck another incredible deal
The Master the Meta team dig into Stillfront's acquisition of Nanobit
Big Acquisition
Microsoft acquires ZeniMax Media and Bethesda for $7.5 billion
"We have enjoyed a close partnership with Microsoft for decades..."
Under Investigation
Report: US government is investigating Tencent's games investments
Trump administration asking Epic and Riot about how their user data security
Farewell
Ubisoft veteran Michel Ancel has quit the games industry
Rayman creator says he'll be focusing on his second passion, wild life