Bluff Plus
Zynga launches new casual card game Bluff Plus
Zynga Turkey gets its first game launched since being acquired in 2017
Too Much Pay
EA shareholders vote against its exec compensation payment plan
It is rare for a plan like this to be rejected
What's Your Genre?
Report: 49 per cent of mobile players pick a new game based on genre
"With this genre report, we sought to understand people's motivations for downloading a specific game"
Financials
Sega Sammy experiences a loss in Q1 FY2021 despite increase in free-to-play revenues
F2P titles generated $98 million
Put 'em Up
ByteDance is looking to fight back against Trump and the US ban of TikTok
"Will try every possible way to fight back"
Financials
DeNA's game profits are on the rise earning $200.5 million in Q1 FY2020
Overall revenue dropped four per cent year-on-year
Pgbiz Roundtable
Join us on August 11th for our "Monetise, not Bastardise" PocketGamer.biz RoundTable session
Discussing new methods of monetisation, brought to you by AudioMob
No More Nicknames
Chinese gamers will need to use their real names to log in for online gaming from September
So the government can track time spent on games
Master The Meta
Master the Meta: Understanding Zynga's remarkable trajectory and newest acquisition
News and insights from the Master the Meta team
Helping Out
TIGA answers House of Lords inquiry into employment and Covid-19
Trade association outlines four measures to help the industry
Wanna Merge?
Tencent is looking to merge streaming platforms Huya and DouYu
It would seek to be the majority shareholder
Money Money Money
Microsoft's worth jumps up by $77 billion after announcing plans to buy TikTok in the US
It is valued at $1.6 trillion
Being Prepared
TikTok is returning money to advertisers ahead of its possible US ban
It will honour ad campaigns it can still complete
Moving On
Street Fighter boss Yoshinori Ono leaves Capcom after nearly 30 years
"I've been with the Street Fighter brand for a long time, experiencing good times, bad times, and even non-existent times"
Going Nowhere
AT&T appears to be keeping hold of Warner Bros. Interactive
"Warner Bros. Interactive remains part of the Studios and Networks group"
Masterclasses
PocketGamer.biz MasterClasses: Early Bird ends at midnight!
Last chance to save $130 before prices rise
Most Read
Hot Five: Zynga acquires Rollic, EA discusses WB Games purchase, and Blizzard staff request pay rise
The hottest articles of last week
Going Digital
Digital sales made up 55.6 per cent of Nintendo's software revenue in Q1 FY21
Around 50 per cent of Animal Crossing: New Horizons sales were digital
Stripped Back
Facebook Gaming launches app without Instant Games for iOS
"Unfortunately, we had to remove gameplay functionality entirely in order to get Apple's approval"
Takin' Care Of Business
Mobile games jobs weekly: Sega president Kenji Matsubara resigns, Improbable welcomes new head of publishing, and more Ubisoft exits
The movers, shakers and job opportunities in mobile gaming
Hard Work Recognised
Voltage entertainment increases the pay of Lovestruck writers following 21 day strike
"While we work together to move forward, releases will be on a slower schedule at first"
You Larvitar To See It
Pokémon Café Mix generates 2.9 million downloads in first month, tops $1 million revenue
Pokémon Smile accumulates over half a million installs
Game Of The Show
Ukie unveils 15 finalists for its UK Game of the Show award
Winner to be crowned on August 24th
Financials
Nexon has its best Q2 to date as it generates $610.4 million
"Nexon is performing exceptionally well"
Access Denied
Apple claims that cloud gaming apps like Project xCloud violate its policies
Microsoft is still commited to bringing its platform to iOS
Banned
President Trump signs executive orders to ban business with TikTok and WeChat
Will come into effect in 45 days
Io-no
Project xCloud testing ceases on iOS devices
The app was expired on August 5th
That's Epic
Epic Games secures $1.78 billion in new funding round
"Having the support of leaders in the financial community accelerates Epic's efforts to build a new kind of digital ecosystem"
Acquisition
Enthusiast Gaming acquires Omnia Media from Blue Ant Media Solutions
The deal is worth CAD$54.5 million
Equal Pay
Update: Blizzard staff members preparing list of workplace requests as part of ongoing pay dispute
"We will continue to adapt our compensation to build and keep the workforce our company needs today and tomorrow"
Financials
Zynga generates a record $452 million in Q2 2020 though suffers a net loss of $150 million
"We delivered tremendous results in Q2"
Change It Up
Lab Cave appoints Luis Bertó as its new managing director
CEO Jesús Martínez will depart the company on August 7th
Money Money Money
No More Robots sees $5 million in revenue for its third year
It will bring half a dozen games to Nintendo Switch in the next year
Develop:brighton Digital
Develop:Brighton replaces physical event with digital-only conference due to coronavirus
Still taking place on November 2nd-4th 2020
Financials
Nintendo experiences strong year-on-year growth in Q1 FY21 as it generates $3.4 billion in net sales
"The mobile business showed steady growth compared to the same period of the previous year"
Discount Ends
LAST CHANCE to save more than $300 on tickets to Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 - book now!
Time is running out! Early Bird prices for next month’s online-only conference ends at midnight tonight, make sure you don’t miss out!
Fast Mover
Zynga buys hypercasual outfit Rollic for $168 million
All-cash deal gains 80% equity
Skill Up
Transcend Fund leads $5.25 million investment into Big Run Studios
Indie has fifth game Big Cooking out soon
We Care
Jam City teams up with Care Bears for exclusive Panda Pop content
"The timeliness of this partnership and this message feels so right"
Take Some Time
Riot is giving its employees a week off to "disconnect, recharge, and reboot"
It is putting the health of its staff first to avoid toxic crunch culture
Team Work
Venatus teams up with Frameplay for in-game advertising
"We are delighted to be partnering with Frameplay to drive our in-game advertising offering"
Welcome Aboard
Improbable welcomes Chris Enock as its new head of publishing
He was the vice president of publishing at Riot
Talking Heads
Unity Technologies, Tenjin, Finnish Game Jam and NCSOFT confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020
The speaker lineup for next month’s online-only conference heats up - who will you be learning from?
Going Digital
BlizzCon will be held on a digital platform early next year
"We're looking forward to sharing what the teams have been working on for that event"
Financials
Glu Mobile's Q2 2020 revenue increases 40 per cent year-on-year to $133.3 million
"The second-quarter financial results were the best in Glu's history"
On The Go
Microsoft pins down September 15th launch date for Project xCloud Game Pass Ultimate beta
Available in 22 markets on Android devices
Financials
Activision Blizzard experiences a record breaking second quarter as it hits $1.9 billion in revenue
King boasted 271 million monthly active users in Q2
Big Indie Pitch
The digital Big Indie roadshow continues with new pitches announced for August, September and October
Our digital pitches go from strength to strength as we announce new pitches and introduce new sponsors
A Success
Grand Cru Games and Roofdog Games join N3twork's NSP after successful testing period
They now have access to the $50 million growth fund
Tick Tock
Update: Trump insists the US government should have a slice of Microsoft's TikTok deal
President Trump has given the company 45 days to secure a deal