Event
Win FREE expo space in the Big Indie Zone at Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong
Get the chance to demo your game to the global games industry FREE this July, worth $650
East Meets West
Development, publishing and opportunities in Asia: Inside East Meets West at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
Well Played
Phoenix Games makes UK studio Well Played its first acquisition
Leamington Spa developer is currently working on Warhammer Combat cards
On The Move
Kongregate CEO Emily Greer steps down for new venture
COO Pany Haritatos named new interim boss
Launch
GameClub raises $2.5 million to bring old premium games into the modern marketplace
Mobile startup is already working on making over 50 games compatible with current and future devices
Expansion
Esports organisation Immortals raises $30 million in funding
Firm also acquires Brazilian matchmaking platform Gamers Club
Impressive Numbers
Voodoo outpaces hyper-casual rivals with 771 million downloads in six months
Lion Studios and Playgendary follow in second and third
Indie Track
UX design, team management tips and publishing advice: Inside the Indie Track at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
Good Dog
Zynga posts record mobile bookings of $341m in Q1 2019 thanks to Empires & Puzzles and Merge Dragons
However losses increased significantly due to the outperformance of these titles, resulting in bigger earnouts for Small Giant Games and Gram Games
New Update
Facebook rolls out new Instant Games features
Shortcuts, redesign and group tournaments
Knocked Down
Devs lose out on thousands of dollars as Apple cracks down on offerwall ads
Developers on and off the record discuss impact
Event
Things are heating up! Here’s the 15 conference tracks at Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong
Check out the amazing tracklist for July's two-day B2B games industry event
Studio Acquisition
Epic acquires Rocket League developer Psyonix
San Diego studio says deal boosts esports ambitions
Gotta Scan 'em All
Pokemon Pass mobile app launches in the US
Claim a shiny Pikachu or Eevee through Pokemon: Let’s Go
Partnered
Animoca Brands is partnering up with global venture accelerator Brinc
Both firms seal the relationship with a mutual investment of $750,000 in shares
Monetiser Track
The future of monetisation: Inside the Monetiser track at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
Esports
Fnatic expands its esports operation by raising $19 million in funding
British esports firm hopes to employ 1000 people worldwide by 2024
Fun For All
Tim Cook: Apple Arcade a service “for players of all ages”
Will be something "that families can enjoy together"
Apple Financials
Apple sales and profits fall as services gains fail to make up for hardware decline
iPhone sales down 17 per cent as services hits record $11.5 billion
Studio Closure
Robot toys maker Anki closes
Close to 200 people out of a job with one week's severance pay after funding round falls through at the last minute
Streaming Future
Google CEO: Publishers "want to see our commitment" to Stadia
"We see genuine excitement"
Great
Sea Hero Quest is a mobile VR game that can identify a player’s risk of Alzheimer’s
Glitchers' game uses spatial navigation challenges to detect early warning signs of the disease
Stack
Appodeal is now a part of umbrella ad tech solution brand Stack
Stack wants to help mobile publishers compete with an encroaching ad network industry
Blockchain Gaming
From augmenting your game for the best user experience to making as much impact as mobile: Inside Blockchain Gaming at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
Fast
The first trailer for Sonic The Hedgehog film was 'interesting'
Gotta watch fast
Financials
RuneScape maker Jagex revenue up almost 10 per cent year-on-year in 2018
Cambridge-based firm saw income of $120.7m
Error Code 403
Nintendo removes A Dark Room from Switch eshop after developer includes code editor
“I deeply regret how this has blown up"
Phone It In
Epic Games being sued by musician Leo Pellegrino over dance emote
Fortnite developer has been embroiled in several lawsuits over ownership of dance emotes
Jobs
Square Enix is hiring over 100 new positions at its Montréal Studios
Square Enix Montréal and Eidos Montréal are scaling up as part of an international collaboration.
Still In Early Access
The Elder Scrolls: Blades generates $1.5 million from player spending in first month
US accounts for $1.1. million of player spending
Online Success
Nintendo Switch online subscriptions reach 9.8 million in six months
A third of Switch owners hold an online account
Event
Save up to $450 on Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong this week only
Super Early Bird offer for July's two-day games industry conference ends this week!
Event
Fringe events registration open: Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle 2019
There's still time to get involved in the two-day games industry conference on West coast USA
New Office
Dutch 3D tracking tech developer Xsens opens new office in Shanghai
"The Shanghai office will support the further growth of Xsens in China, which reflects the rapid growth of Xsens worldwide”
Esports Academy
From building a successful esports audience to the future of interactive streaming: Inside the Esports Academy at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
It’s A Bugs Life
Seriously soft-launches Best Fiends Stars on iOS and Android
Game is available to download in Finland and Poland
Awards
Here are this year’s nominees for the 2019 Google Play Awards
This year brings a number of new awards for Most Beautiful Game, Best Living Room Experience and Most Inventive Game
Banned
Google is wiping a Chinese developer with half a billion installs off the face of the Play store
DO Global has been accused of committing widespread ad fraud
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Clean Road cleans up in the UK in a strong week for SayGames
Charts from April 15th to 21st
Pgc Seattle
Editor's Picks: 5 top sessions at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle on May 13th to 14th
PocketGamer.biz senior editor Craig Chapple looks at a selection of the must-attend talks at this year's show
Magic Funds
Japanese mobile operator DOCOMO invests $280 million in Magic Leap
Yet another investor brings total funding to date to around $2.6 billion
East Meets West
East Meets West: Chinese regulator starts approving new games, China debates long working hours, and Perfect World is world's top grosser
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
Playrix soft-launches Wildscapes, Nutaku opens Android store, and the who's who of the Google Stadia team
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Investment
Investor Connector at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle - applications close next week!
Last chance to get one-on-one time with investors at next month’s two-day games industry conference
18-plus
Nutaku opens new Android adult gaming store
Beta launches with 30 games, with 30 more planned this year
Mad
Trademark for Slightly Mad's Mad Box console runs into trouble after opposition from casual games company
Studio withdraws application following opposition from a similarly-named French games firm
Uk Funding
UK government puts together $5.2 million funding for mixed reality games based on iconic British IP
British authorities are looking to push new VR and AR experiences for established properties like Wallace and Gromit
Dual Listing
Atari starts trading on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm
Longstanding games company was already listed on the Euronext Paris, will maintain trading on both exchanges
Consult
DeltaDNA is launching a new 'Investment Readiness' consultancy service
Analysis firm wants to make it easier to make informed investments in mobile games
Rolling Out
Snapchat launches SDK allowing developers access to in-game Bitmoji avatars
Kenny Mitchell also appointed new chief marketing officer