Back Of The Net
Google and Adidas partner for smart insoles that track performance in FIFA Mobile
Utilising the software goes towards FIFA Ultimate Team.
Todd!
Bethesda Game Studios' Todd Howard will keynote Develop:Brighton 2020
First speakers announced too
Disrupted
Star Trek Timelines developer Disruptor Beam suffers layoffs
Estimated 10 employees let go
Reality Gacha
Reality Gaming Group partners with Nagemon to bring gacha to Reality Clash
Pushing further into Japan with new mechanic
Kick Ass, Take Names
Reggie Fils-Aimé appointed to Gamestop board of directors
William Simon and James Symancyk join too
Job News
Sumo Digital appoints new director of excellence and integration
Plus a new studio director at Sumo Sheffield
Restrictions
A parlimentary committee in Australia is calling for loot box restrictions
One of six recommendations
Games Are Innocent
American Psychological Association maintains games aren't tied to violence
Violence "stems from many factors"
Slingshots Return
Rovio soft-launches Angry Birds Casual in the US for "early market testing"
Finland, Poland and Sweden too
Fundraising 101
Update: PlatinumGames' The Wonderful 101: Remastered smashes initial goal, fights its way to $2.2 million
Former Wii U title now making its way to Switch
Work From Home
Take-Two boss Zelnick believes coronavirus could lead to more remote working
Exec says the outbreak hasn't impacted the games business just yet
Keep Building
Mojang cancels Minecraft Festival due to coronavirus concerns
It's not willing to predict how long it will take for the virus to pass
Epidemic
SXSW 2020 will not take place due to the coronavirus
For the first time it would have had a games industry track
Pitch Your Game
Applications close NEXT WEEK for the Big Indie Pitch @ San Francisco
You have just seven days to sign up for the first Stateside leg of the year for our beloved international pitching competition
Snapped Up
Snap Games hires Brittany Brown as new marketing manager
Previously a brand manager at Twitch
Most Read
Hot Five: Alanah Pearce on getting into games, Glu soft-launches Tap Sports Baseball 2020, and Playrix acquires Plexonic
The hottest articles of last week
Start Your Engines
Update: Mario Kart Tour multiplayer mode rolls out worldwide
Compete against seven other racers
Event
Update on Pocket Gamer Connects 2020 event plans and announcement of new digital conference
We stand with our peers and colleagues around the world that have been impacted by the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Speak Out
Julia Hardy and Aoife Wilson to host new gaming podcast for the BBC
Focused on games and real-life
Pubg For All
PUBG Mobile brings in a new colourblind mode
Three options to improve accessibility for all
"i Like Apple"
Shigeru Miyamoto talks working with Apple, Pokemon GO and why the Switch was helped by smartphones
Quotes taken from Japanese magazine Famitsu
Cancelled
TwitchCon Amsterdam cancelled amidst coronavirus concerns
The convention was set to go ahead in May
Signed Up
Remote Control Productions welcomes Frag Games and Giant Gun Games to its roster
Will aid in the pair's business development
February 2020 Downloads
Voodoo saw the most downloads of any mobile game company worldwide in February 2020
Sensor Tower reveals its monthly download ranks
"mixed Emotions"
More red flags for E3 2020 as creative director Iam8bit resigns
No reason was given for the departure
Finger Lickin' What
Update: Tencent's Arena of Valor lets players unlock KFC's Colonel Sanders via meal loot drop in Taiwan
40 per cent chance to unlock with $10 meal
Need A Chat?
GameOn Technology raises $10.5 million for its ChatOS platform
It was led by Quest Ventures' Andrew Ogawa
Event Disruption
Epic cancels Unreal Fest Europe 2020 over coronavirus concerns
Was due to take place in Prague
Milestone
MAG Interactive's Word Domination reaches 10 million downloads
It launched in May 2018
Esports Growth
Esports Players League receives $1 million in funding
Led by VC 500 Startups
Dropping Numbers
Improbable saw operating losses rise by 65 per cent in 2019
Revenue hit $1.5m but cost of sales came in at $20.6m
Words With Lawyers
Zynga struck with lawsuit regarding Words with Friends data breach
Estimated 173 million usernames and passwords hacked
Still Conquering
Five years on, Big Huge Games’ DomiNations generates $200 million
Mobile RTS rolling on
Growing And Growing
Playrix acquires Armenian casual games studio Plexonic
Studio has been renamed Playrix Armenia
Kwalee Hire
Kwalee hires ex-Outfit7 ads director Dilpesh Parmar as new head of ad monetisation
"This is such an exciting time to be working in the gaming space"
Match-three Puzzler
Zynga partners with Portkey Games and Warner Bros. for Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells
Soft-launched in the Philippines
Beach View
Google Stadia recruits former Sony Santa Monica studio head Shannon Studstill to lead new Playa Vista studio
"So excited to build and support a new team of creatives"
Still Happening
Update: E3 is still taking place despite LA declaring a state of emergency
ESA is keeping an eye on the situation
New Behaviour
Behaviour Interactive names former Microsoft director David Reid as chief marketing officer
"The company has a tremendous pedigree built on decades of success"
Massive Savings
Just one week left to save up to $275 on Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle 2020
Early Bird prices for May’s two-day B2B games industry are set to end at midnight next Thursday
Brains?
Call of Duty: Mobile is losing its Zombies mode
It leaves on March 25th
New Style
Nintendo teams up with Levi's for Mario clothing and accessory range
No launch date yet
Phoenix Firefly
Phoenix Games acquires live-ops specialist Studio Firefly
It's the third acquisition
Further Cancellations
Games First London 2020 and Google I/O cancelled due to coronavirus concerns
Refunds will be issued
Tilting Timelines
Tilting Point acquires Star Trek Timelines from Disruptor Beam
Forms new studio Wicked Realm Games to run it
Flavourworks Funding
Flavourworks raises $4.5 million to further develop its Touch Video technology
Series A round led by Hiro Capital
Interested?
PlatinumGames' The Wonderful 101 Kickstarter campaign was about "gauging interest"
Nothing to do with money
Gismart Ft 1000
Gismart ranked fastest-growing games company in Europe by FT 1000
Places sixth overall on the list
Project: Ban Pan
PUBG Mobile's Project: Ban Pan gets beefed up with two new initiatives
Behind-the-game video and Death Replays will help combat cheating
Potato Play Funding
Singapore-based mobile games publisher Potato Play raises $500,000 to expand operations
Play Ventures stumps up the cash