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SK Telecom introduces new 5G data plan that includes exclusive games and promotions
Firm states that new 5G network will utilise its 34,000 5G base stations across the country
Wild
Gamigo acquires casual games developer WildTangent
WildTanget’s portfolio features over 4,000 games including the Fate series
You Have My Sword
The Elder Scrolls: Blades reaches one million downloads in first week of early access
$500,000 already generated in revenue
More Than Surviving
This War of Mine has raised $500k for charity after selling 4.5 million units
Developer and publisher 11 bit Studios has a new game in the works with $5.2m budget and a further two projects in preliminary development after that
Emergency Maintenance
Nippon Ichi Software stock nosedives after Disgaea RPG suffers maintenance woes after launch
Game taken offline after March 19th launch and was due to come back online at end of March, but has since suffered further delays
Competition
Win Indie Showcase space at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Demo your game to the global games industry FREE this May, worth $650
Movers And Shakers
Ex-Konami head of emerging markets named Marvelous Europe GM as Harry Holmwood exits
Holmwood leaving to focus on "other business interests"
Software
Epic Games unveils simultaneous multi-user editing for Unreal Engine 4.22
Google Stadia support out now
$4 Million A Day
Pokemon Go surpasses $2.5 billion in worldwide player spending
Augmented reality title yet to reach third anniversary
Pubg Prime
PUBG Mobile introduces in-app subscriptions for sixth season
Gross revenue grew 83 per cent in March 2019 overtaking Fortnite for the month
New Studio
Former Flaregames boss Klaas Kersting sets up Phoenix Games group
"Phoenix Games moves beyond what's possible with single-game publishing deals, promoting a more long-term, strategic approach"
New Job
StreamElements names former Twitch veteran Chase as head of communications
Chase will be heading up the communications division at StreamElements
Funding
MLB Champions developer Lucid Sight raises $6 million
Investment takes the company’s funding total to $11 million
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: PUBG Mobile hits top spot in the US Google Play grossing charts
Charts from March 18th to March 24th
Ads
Mobvista revenue from programmatic advertising grew 99 per cent in the wake of its IPO
Ad tech platform reports a 38.9 per cent annual increase in total revenue, hitting $435 million
Open-source
The Jolly Rogers - An open-source Unity game
Heroic Labs open-sources a demo game on GitHub
Job News
Former Exient, Chimera and ZenGuard staff join Idle Miner Tycoon dev Kolibri Games
Former Chimera Entertainment lead game designer Boris Conrad Heisserer takes the role
Foreign Games Too
China’s games regulator approves nearly 100 new games including Game of Thrones and Angry Birds
Bringing the total for new games in 2019 up to 987
Funding
Cloud tech startup Polystream secures $12 million to develop 3D streaming services
Wargaming's investment suggests Polystream is getting into games
Report
Mobile accounted for 29 per cent of all software sales in a record-breaking year for UK games
2018 saw a 10 per cent year-over-year gain in consumer spending in the country
Growth
Live game management platform ChillConnect raises $450,000 in funding
“We can now market the platform to an even larger range of potential customers”
Focus On Ip
Konami rebrands New York office to Konami Cross Media
Yuta Kose has been named president for the renamed studio
Virtual Apple
Apple patent filing suggests work on VR/MR headset
The document focuses on range finding and accessory tracking for VR/MR head-mounted display system
Mediate
Lab Cave’s birthday present to its customers is a new Advertising Mediation for Apps tool
Firm claims to offer unbiased, impartial way to mediate ads for mobile apps
Ban Lifted
India police lift PUBG Mobile ban in Ahmedabad
With exam season over, officials see no reason to renew the Battlegrounds ban
Charity
Gameloft partners with humanitarian charity CARE for “Stronger Together” Dragon Mania Legends event
Dragon Mania Legends developer vows a minimum donation of $50,000
Jobs Losses
More than 1,500 people have lost their jobs in the games industry in three months
Estimates suggest total already exceeds 2018
Switch Prime
Twitch Prime members can grab up to a year's worth of Nintendo Switch Online
A free year of Nintendo Switch online will now be added to Twitch Prime
East Meets West
East Meets West: Perfect World off to a scorching start with $100m in 22 days, and pre-registrations kick off for Brawl Stars in China
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
The good and the bad of Apple Arcade, how Raid: Shadow Legends monetises, and the top 10 selling Nintendo Switch indies
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Power Of The Cloud
Tencent is readying to test another streaming platform Start in China
Appears to be separate to Intel Instant Play partnership
East To West
Webzen eyes America launch for MMORPG MU Origin 2 after success in Asia
From China to America
Mansion Money
Matchington Mansion surpasses $100 million in global IAP revenue
50 million downloads
Done Deal
Animoca Brands invests $2 million in creative networking platform Talenthouse
Deal equal to 448,413 shares in art networking platform
Retire
Kaz Hirai is stepping down from Sony after 35 years
I am confident that everyone is fully aligned under Yoshida-san's strong leadership, and are ready to build an even brighter future"
Legendary
Monolith Soft is ramping up its roster in preparation for a new Zelda
After pitching in on Breath of the Wild, Monolith is back for more adventuring
Perfect
Perfect World’s $100 million launch month dethrones Honor of Kings
Tencent's newest MMO has been raking in $4.5 million in player spending every day since launch
Ux Reviewer
Former Digit Game Studios UX director opens new consultancy business
Om Tandon departs Star Trek: Fleet Dommand developer; will write articles analysis the UX in free-to-play games
Mr. Worldwide
Pre-registrations open for Supercell’s Brawl Stars in China
No official release date given
Venture Gained
Rovio invests $3 million in games start-up fund Play Ventures
Play Ventures was founded in 2018 by video game entrepreneurs Harri Manninen and Henric Suuronen
Beta Time
The Elder Scrolls: Blades swings into Early Access
Players can still sign-up for iOS and Android
Layoffs
Update: EA's latest layoffs include the closure of its offices in Japan and Russia
Publisher vows to help newly-redundant staff find new roles in the local games industry
Big Indie Pitch
Highkey Games returns to The Big Indie Pitch during GDC week and walks away as champion
The Big Indie Pitch heads to GDC for the 7th year in a row
Angry Birds Movie 2
First trailer lands for The Angry Birds Movie 2
The titular birds team up with the pigs as they face a new threat
Reality
Newzoo: Games are leading the augmented reality charge
But support for AR is still restricted to a handful of handsets
Special Offer
Last chance to save up to $250 on Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Early Bird offer ends tomorrow!
Mobile Hunt
CD Projekt Red reveals Witcher card game Gwent will come to mobile
Due to arrive on iOS later this year with Android planned at a later date
Gotta Clean’em All
Niantic launches second annual Earth Day utilsing Pokemon Go and Ingress
Incentives given in-game to promote global cleanup
Start Your Engines
Animoca Brands partners with Formula 1 on blockchain game F1 Delta Time
First phase will launch from May 10th, 2019
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Tencent’s Perfect World dethrones Honor of Kings as China’s top grosser
Charts from March 11th to March 17th