Regulated Fun
Apple commissions a new report to show its strict App Store rules make for a better experience
"Trust and integrity are central to making buyers and sellers comfortable trading on the platform"
Money Money Money
Digital games made $10.46 billion in June 2020
Game or Peace was mobile's top-grossing title
Get Access
Super Evil Megacorp to launch Early Access for Catalyst Black
For iOS devices only
Moving On
Jason Killingsworth leaves Riot Games
Has decided to focus on his publishing company, Tune and Fairweather
Farewell
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann steps down as Modern Times Group CEO
David Chance will stand down as chairman of the board
See You In Court
French union Solidaires Informatique will take Ubisoft to court
Over allegations of harassment and abuse at the company
Hands Up!
Shooters are the sixth biggest mobile genre in the US, finds GameRefinery report
20.56% of the market is held by Call of Duty
Pgbiz Roundtable
Catch up on our Publishing in China RoundTable discussion
Full video available now on YouTube
#metoo
Ubisoft CEO says he made "tough decisions" over previous misconduct allegations
"It has now become clear that certain individuals betrayed the trust I placed in them"
Super Evil Launchpad
LaunchPad: Why Super Evil Megacorp is getting involved in Pocket Gamer's first digital consumer event
"Digital events like Launchpad are opportunities to bring the celebration of new games to a much broader audience"
Money Money Money
My.Games sees a revenue increase of 46% year-on-year for Q2 2020
Mobile accounts for 67 per cent of all revenue
One Special Day
SpecialEffect to host fifth annual One Special Day fundraising event on October 2nd
Working with over 40 developers and publishers to raise money to help gamers with disabilities
Turbo Payments
Admix cuts payment terms down to 14 days with new Turbo payments
Those on 90-day terms to receive a better revenue share at the cost of having to wait longer
Event
Introducing PocketGamer.biz MasterClasses: a series of deep-dive workshops exploring all things games design
Learn from the finest games industry experts in an in-depth learning environment
To The Future
Tencent, Asus, and Lenovo are using the SDS GamingBar in their new phones
"The digital controls that Sentons provides takes mobile gaming to the next level, creating a seamless and innovative experience"
Behind The Wheel
Rocket League is going free-to-play
"The game wouldn't be where it is today without our dedicated and amazing community"
Bouncing Back
The UK games industry is showing resilience against the coronavirus
45 per cent of businesses have increased revenue
It's Magical
Ludia teams up with Disney for new game Disney Wonderful Worlds
It will be released in 2021
#metoo
Ubisoft dismisses PR director Stone Chin
"I can see that my actions as a manager over the years while at the company have hurt people"
Oh Dear
Former Ubisoft HR employee claims management distrusted harassment victims
Marketing team and execs apparently said that female protagonists don't sell games
On Strike
Update: Voltage responds to the strike action by Lovestruck staff
"None of our 21 fellow Lovestruck writers have had their contracts terminated, and we are surprised by the company's statement" says the Voltage Organised Workers group
It's A Secret
China pulls Cytus II from the App Store for secret pro-democracy Morse code message
The musical director behind it has resigned
Big Indie Pitch
Minidragon makes it two years in a row as our July Big Indie Pitch champion
We reveal the top three from our second standalone Digital Big Indie Pitch
Tamatem Partnership
Tamatem and Tamalaki partner to release Home Designer Blast Makeover in the MENA region
Renamed خبير تصميم المنزل Home Design Expert
Under One Roof
HAL Laboratory moves into Nintendo's Tokyo building
It's increased its staff numbers to 195
Talking Heads
Fingersoft, London Venture Partners, A Thinking Ape, and Fnatic confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020
The speaker lineup for September’s online-only event continues to form; who will you be learning from?
Pride
Gayming Magazine to host first ever Gayming Awards in February 2021
Celebrating LGBTQ+ representation in the games industry
Not Banned
Germany is not banning Coin Master
Though stricter rules could be placed
Moving On
Mojang is moving Minecraft to Microsoft's Azure servers
Title previously posted on Amazon's platform
Too Much Money
Update: ISS encourages EA investors to vote against pay plan
CEO Andrew Wilson earning 56 per cent more than other chief execs
Welcome Aboard
Homa Games hires Julien Bourhis as its new vice president of operations
"Julien is extraordinarily entrepreneurial and creative"
Mobile Is Alive
Nintendo's mobile earnings hit $474 million for its last fiscal year
Mobile is a "target area" for the company moving forward
Court Case
Gree is suing Supercell for patent infringement in Clash Royale and Brawl Stars
A move for dismissal was denied
Feel The Music
Amanotes teams up with YG Entertainment to bring K-pop music to its games
Including iKON, BIG BANG and BLACKPINK
Merging
Games development agency Amber is merging with studio KaraOkulta
"Amber is always looking for outstanding talent and the team at KaraOkulta impressed us"
Review It
Metacritic places 36 hour waiting period on user reviews
"To ensure our gamers have time to play these games before writing their reviews"
Defying History
Google Play blocks World War II game Attentat 1942 from select storefronts
Not available in Germany, France, Austria, and Russia
You Have My Download
NetEase soft-launches The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War
"First regional beta test" available in Australia and the Philippines
Round The Track
Mario Kart Tour is getting a landscape mode in its next update
The control layout is different
13 Billion Franchise Installs
My Talking Tom Friends hits 100 million downloads as the franchise celebrates its 10th anniversary
"Over 400 million fans play with the games every month"
Comic Bound
Com2us partners with Skybound and Image Comics for Summoners War comic book
"We're expanding the IP into new frontiers by partnering with Skybound Entertainment on our first official comic book series, Summoners War: Legacy"
Getting Direct
Nintendo is hosting its first Nintendo Direct Mini: Partners Showcase
July 20th at 7:00am PT
Most Read
Hot Five: Sonic games slowing down, NetEase soft-launches Marvel Duel, and Nifty Games makes camp in Chicago
The hottest articles of last week
This Week In China
This Week in China: Taptap shows off its next games as Tencent solves its chili sauce fraud problem
The biggest stories direct from Beijing
Takin' Care Of Business
Mobile games jobs weekly: Reggie joins Rogue Games, Tilting Point acquires assets, and Bad Robot appoints Anna Sweet as CEO
The movers, shakers and job opportunities in mobile gaming
Behave Better
Games industry harassment hotline is opening next month
"We started the Games and Online Harassment Hotline to ensure that anyone who experiences such abuse can reach out to us to get whatever support they might need"
Play A Game
The ESA reports that two-thirds of the US population plays games
According the trade body's new 2020 Essential Facts report
Welcome Aboard
tinyBuild acquires the development team behind Hello Neighbor
It plans to invest $15 million in the franchise
Money Money Money
Honor of Kings was the top-grossing mobile game in June 2020
PUBG Mobile came in at second
Banned
The UK bans Huawei from its 5G networks
"The UK can no longer be confident it will be able to guarantee the security of future Huawei 5G equipment"