Not Bad
Fate/ Grand Order helps launch Sony Music’s revenue to $7 billion in FY17
The division saw a 24 per cent year on year increase
On The App
Annual consumer app store spend to increase to $157 billion by 2022
Mobile app downloads will also increase to 258 billion by 2022, according to App Annie
Four In A Row
CSR Racing 2 and Words With Friends 2’s strong performance extends Zynga’s profit streak
Plus Willy Wonka’s Sweet Adventure in testing
Preparing For Takeoff
Building up to IPO, Flexion adds experienced game exec Chris Bergstresser to its board
Bolt-on experience
One Share, One Vote
Mark Pincus’ decision to relinquish Zynga majority voting rights reflects “my confidence in the company”
Founding CEO is stepping back
Ouch
Next Games revenue down 56% in Q1 2018 as Walking Dead: No Man’s Land loses players
Finnish developer cites change in daily active and monthly active users as the primary reason for drop in revenues
Formulated
Gumi’s The Alchemist Code racks up five million downloads worldwide
The Japanese mobile games developer is celebrating with special in-game events
Chicken Little
PUBG Mobile’s first week revenues on iOS only a fifth of Fortnite’s
Players outside of China spent $700,000 in its first week of monetisation
Instant Hit?
In-app purchases come to Facebook Instant Games
But monetisation through Google Play will smaller less returns for developers
Into The Wild
Facebook wants to make virtual reality more accessible with $199 Oculus Go launch
F8 Developer Conference attendees get free headset each
Connect
CyberAgent’s new release Princess Connect! Re:Dive propels games revenues to $368m in Q2 2018
Company credits Princess Connect! Re:Dive for the improved financial performance
Marvellous
Marvel Future Fight breaks the 70 million players mark
Netmarble celebrates the milestone by extending its in-game event campaign
Competitive Gaming
Amazon’s $100,000 Mobile Masters esports tournament returns in June
Games include Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, Survival Arena, World of Tanks Blitz and Critical Ops
Amazing
Games Week Berlin 2018 brings in 15,000 visitors
The seven-day rendezvous featured over 12 individual events including A MAZE/ Berlin
Indie Spectacle
Develop:Brighton opens submissions for Indie Showcase
10 developers will get a chance to show off their game at the event
Silly Money
Ads generate majority of $270k revenue for Finnish indie Part Time Monkey's Silly Walks
Unity Ads-driven earnings made up 97 per cent of all revenue
Big Deal
Tencent eyes investment in Playerunknown's Battlegrounds outfit Bluehole
Local media reports investment could equal around $468 million
On The App
Mobile games revenues to hit $70 billion in 2018
Revenues will account for more than half of the $137.9 billion made across all platforms
Key Release
$1 billion mobile title Disney Tsum Tsum comes to Facebook Instant Games
'Introductory version' launches globally
Face Games
Snapchat gets ‘Snappables’ augmented reality games
Weekly games launch on the platform
On The App
Games featured on iOS 11’s Games Tab see 450% more installs
Largest increase in percentage was seen in the Medium List which resulted in a 451 per cent increase
Finnternal Promotions
Next Games promotes from within for management team
Finnish games developer also promotes former Head of Games Sami Nurmio to Head of New Projects
Lost And Found
Nintendo taps up Cygames for new RPG game Dragalia Lost
New RPG will be released this summer
Not Bad
Fortnite made $223 million across all platforms in March
Revenue was up 73 per cent from February according to SuperData
Switching It Up
Nintendo’s mobile games brought in $359.5 million in the last year
Overall revenue increased 116 per cent to $9.66 billion
Events
Blockchain Gamer Connects San Francisco speakers: The third wave
The talent behind CryptoKitties and CryptoWars, plus Super Game Chain, PlayTable and more
Going Up
Chinese publisher 37 Interactive doubled its mobile revenue to more than $500m in 2017
Overseas revenue for mobile games also jumped up 80 per cent
Spellbinding
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery tops App Store download charts in first 24 hours
Tops rankings in UK, US, France, Germany and Spain
Content-tastic
Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2018 schedule is live
Niantic, King, Super Evil, EA, Zynga lead best line-up to date for May 14th to 15th conference
Loot Box Crisis
Landmark Belgium gaming authority ruling defines loot boxes as gambling
Publishers could face sizeable fines if they don't remove paid loot crates
Stepping Down
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima to retire
Leaves after nearly three years in the role
Updated
Bidalgo launches self-serve tool for optimising Google universal app campaigns
The mobile app user acquisition platform aims to help marketers grow apps
New Hires
Recruitment drive at ad sales firm Venatus draws in 10 new staff
The company increased revenue 50 per cent year-on-year in 2017
Lift Off
Game Insight taps up Tamatem to publish Airport City in the Middle East and North Africa
The Arabic version of the game will be released on iOS and Android
Not Bad
Osmo surpasses one million educational AR game sales on iPad
Developer wants to scale up its operations
You Make My Heart Sing
Jam City unveils new story-driven match-three IP Wild Things: Animal Adventure
Takes inspiration from Gardenscapes
Finland's Finest
Empires & Puzzles wins Small Screen Game of the Year at Finnish Game Awards
Former Big Indie Pitch winner Team Ocmo picks up Rookie of the Year
Co-op
Vungle brings its video ads platform to Samsung Galaxy Apps Store
The initial rollout will be in the US and South Korea
China Gathering
Tencent to publish new Magic: The Gathering games in China
Deal also includes Southeast Asia territories
They Nominated Who
45 Android apps and games up for 2018 Google Play Awards
Well-being, accessibility and social impact make their debut as categories
Big Indie Pitch
Aeon Must Die! walks away with the first place prize at the first ever Big Indie Pitch at GameDevDays
Take a look at the winners from the Big Indie Pitch at GameDevDays 2018
Smashing
Latest Apple, Google and Samsung mobiles smash game monetisation record
DeltaDNA study delves into which devices’ players spend more money
Big Deal
New mobile ad tech firm WeQ secures $50 million to challenge Facebook and Google ‘duopoly’
Claims exclusive global publishing network and machine learning can support UA campaigns
Better Support
TIGA wants better access to global trade shows for UK developers
Trade body also wants better tax breaks and introduction of Games Investment Fund
Mobile & Conquer
Tencent revives Red Alert game series for mobile
Red Alert Online set for China release
Business News
Eden Games majority owner Millennial Esports enters $10m credit facility
Publisher withdraws initial $1.1 million
Heading East
Tencent backs Fortnite China release with $15 million investment
Chinese publisher plans esports push
All Aboard
British Games Institute names 20 new advisory board members
Shahid Ahmad, Katherine Bidwell, Carl Cavers, Marie-Claire Isaaman and others on board
Not Too Shabby
Featured iOS apps can see up to 800% more downloads
A report by Sensor Tower delves into the download rates of featured iOS games
Closed
Nexon removes LEGO Quest and Collect from iOS and Google Play stores
The title had been in soft launch since June 7th 2017