Investment Round
Indian ed-tech firm Byju's raises $150m
Funding is said to value the company at around $5.5 billion
Job News
PlayStation vet John Drake heads to Disney to lead games biz dev and licensing
Follows five years at Sony
Fighting Poverty
China looks to mobile game in bid to eradicate poverty
Title lets users sell in-game goods to earn discount credits on real food
Sick Acquisition
My.Games acquires Love Sick studio Swag Masha
Companies had already worked together to launch the developer's flagship title
Linked In
Tencent launches Steam Link-like mobile streaming app for WeGame
Users can stream PC games to their smartphones over Wi-Fi
Global Advertising
The top global game advertisers in the US, Japan and South Korea for June 2019
SocialPeta data shows which games are generating the highest number of ad impressions
Strategic Investment
NetEase acquires minority stake Fallout Shelter dev Behaviour
Influence of Chinese companies increases at Canadian firm following last year's deal with GAEA
App Shutdown
Niantic is shutting down its first app Field Trip
Field Trip has already been removed from app stores
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Honor of Kings is only the third top grosser in China as it faces a new challenger
Rankings from July 1st to July 7th
Dev Fund
ROKiT launches $50 million development fund for indie games
Developers are being encouraged to contact ROKiT games for a chance to secure upto $500,000 for their game.
Medical Bills
Dr. Mario World prescribes two million downloads in 72 hours
Game generates a disappointing $100,000 in revenue from player spending
Event
Special thank you to the sponsors for this week’s Blockchain Gamer and Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong
The companies supporting the B2B games industry event’s first outing to the East
Reality And Streaming
Finnish start-up Surrogate.tv raises $2 million
“We want to rethink this process by bringing in unique benefits that the real world has to offer”
Roundup
Games industry roundup: EA and Riot vets set up Vela Games, Gods Unchained open beta, and how the top 5,000 dominate Twitch
15 articles from PocketGamer.biz, InfluencerUpdate.biz and BlockchainGamer.biz
East Meets West
East Meets West: Nexon no longer for sale, Tencent negotiates better revenue share, and Chinese companies eye new age-rating system
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
Azerion acquires Woozworld, Million Victories raises $1.4m, and Clash of Clans has its best month in two years
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Harry Potter remains stationary as Pokemon Go makes a comeback
Rankings from June 24th to June 30th
Osaki
Monolith Soft opens second studio in Japan
New location is a result of increased profits from the previous year
Hyper-casual Rise
11.2 billion mobile games were downloaded in Q2 2019 reports App Annie
PUBG Mobile claims highest average MAU
Season Pass
Clash of Clans had its best revenue month for two years in June
Player spending up 26 per cent as a result of season pass subscription
Pgc Hong Kong
Editor's Picks: 5 top sessions at Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong on July 17th and 18th
Gain key insights into the Asia markets at our first-ever Hong Kong conference
Develop: Brighton
Weather Factory, Sumo Digital and Jagex pick up the accolades at Develop: Star Awards
Overcooked 2 takes game of the year
For Sale?
China's Shanghai Fukong hasn't sold Jagex just yet
Reported sale was just one option that was being explored by the Chinese entertainment giant
Welcome To Jurassic Pop
Universal Games taps Funko brand for new mobile puzzler
Back to the Future, Jurassic World, Shrek, and more
Dead Serious
Motion Twin, Playdigious and Bilibili team for Dead Cells mobile port in China
Game is due for release on Western mobile devices in August
Growth
Hi-Rez Studios expands UK presence with Red Beard Games
"Our intent with Red Beard Games is to ensure it can function independently, creatively and with all the agility of a small studio"
The Doctor Is In
Dr. Mario World tops iOS charts quicker than Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
BTS World beats both however
No Go On Pro
Nintendo’s Doug Bowser says Switch Lite won’t kill off 3DS support
No Switch Pro will be released this year too
Rip 3ds
Nintendo Switch Lite launches this September
Pricing, release date and specs revealed
Develop: Brighton 2019
More than 4,000 developers have applied to be part of Google's Stadia Partners programme
According to technical account manager Sam Corcoran
New Studio
Former Panic Button director unveils new studio Enduring Games
“We're making good games with good people”
Expansion
Zordix launches new indie-focused publishing division
“Zordix Publishing will be a key strategic move for us, and we look forward with great excitement”
Imga China
Don’t miss the 2019 IMGA China Launch Seminar in Shanghai this August
It's great for networking, and our readers get 30% off the price of tickets
Job Losses
Intermedia Labs lays off several HQ Trivia staff as download numbers drop
Jeopardy winner Alex Jacobs claims he has not been paid winnings from the show
Event
Find out what awaits you at the first ever Pocket Gamer Connects MENA
Two-day games industry expo features 8 conference tracks, Big Indie Pitch, Investor Connector and more.
Old School
The challenge of taking Old School RuneScape to mobile
Senior game engine developer Christopher Knowles discusses old codebases and getting company-wide buy-in
Bravo
Netflix and King Features working with Studio MDHR on animated Cuphead series
The Cuphead Show featuring Mugman will follow the characters across Inkwell Isle
Event
Everything you need to know about Pocket Gamer Connects Hong Kong 2019
Essential info for those attending our two-day B2B games industry conference next week
No Sale
Update: South Korea's Nexon no longer up for sale following lack of buyers
CEO Jungju Kim apparently wasn't impressed by the list of companies who stepped forward
G-star
East meets West at G-STAR 2019, Asia's largest game exhibition in Busan, Korea, on November 14-17th - early bird registration now open!
Join over 2,000 trade visitors from 36 countries and nearly 700 exhibitors at Asia’s most accessible show
Million Dollars
French start-up Million Victories raises $1.4m to shake up strategy genre
Studio claims debut title Million Lords has 35 per cent day one retention and average revenue per daily active user of $0.50
Crushes Candy Crush
Pokemon Go generates $2.65 billion in first three years
Worldwide catch ‘em all is on track to cross $3 billion in 2019
Woo
Azerion acquires kids MMO Woozworld
Deal comes hot off the back of purchase of Spil Games’ mobile division
Expansion Plans
Mediatonic eyes recruitment drive as it expands to 200 staff and opens new Madrid studio
Gears Pop developer received funds from investment round earlier this year
Revenue Split
Tencent uses clout to negotiate better revenue share on Chinese Android stores
Publisher secures 70/30 split instead of typical 50/50 share with app stores owned by the likes of Huawei and Xiaomi
Roundup
Games industry roundup: Mike Bithell talks John Wick Hex, Yogscast creator fired amidst harassment allegations, and Etheremon runs out of funds
15 articles from PocketGamer.biz, InfluencerUpdate.biz and BlockchainGamer.biz
New Classification
Chinese companies including Tencent want new age-rating system in the region
Follows frustration with the country's approval process
East Meets West
East Meets West: Honor of Kings spending its $728m in H1 2019, Tilting Point invests $20m in CookApps UA, and Nintendo talks 5G
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
Marshmello debuts new album in mobile game, Nintendo Switch Online passes 10m subs, and Candy Crush's surprise success
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Whole Lotta Cash
Mobile game spending for the first half of 2019 reaches nearly $30 billion
20.1 billion downloads showing a 3.2 per cent increase year-on-year