Birds On Tour
Rovio reveals slew of licensing partnerships in US for Angry Birds
Bags, oral care, crocs, you name it
Destroyed
Ash vs Evil and the Divergent series collide in Lionsgate's Deploy and Destroy
Developer Apps Ministry will add more characters from Lionsgate's library of IPs in due course
Well Then
New PlayStation chief sees future in portable games for Sony
John Kodera thinks it should be a vital part of the PlayStation ecosystem
First Person
Google out to highlight mobile games stars with new behind-the-scenes series
First three videos feature voice actor Ashly Burch, games dev Bennett Foddy and Ink Stories co-founder Vassiliki Khonsari
Creatively Speaking
Inkle, Laser Dog, Creative Assembly and more games companies named in Creative England 50
List celebrates top companies in UK creative industries channelling diversity and taking creative risks with ‘resonating messages’
Closure
150 staff laid off as Wargaming Seattle closes down
Up to 150 jobs to be affected
Indie Backing
GameMaker creator YoYo Games spins up indie games publishing division
Ex-Outplay senior producer Chris Trewartha heads up new team
What A Play
Outplay recruits King's Luis De La Camara for global marketing role
Luis De La Camara joins as VP of Global Marketing
Stats
Static full-screen generate largest revenue share amongst casual games in the West
Appodeal surveyed a host of mobile casual games developers to look into monetisation trends
Jobs News
Nordeus, Mobile Monsters and Ubisoft Massive vets move to Jagex
Three new hires at the RuneScape developer
Cabin
Games accelerator Stugan welcomes 21 developers in 2018 line-up
The programme has aimed to double down on diversity with this year’s crop
Beyond App Stores
"In 2050 there will be no app stores"
Will be replaced by chat platforms
Why Not
NetEase developing internet drama based on battle royale hit Knives Out
The Chinese tech company are also turning Onmyoji into a live action movie
Crafty
Minecraft builds up 100 million players in China since launching last year
The popular builder originally came to China in August
Key
Apple's 19th annual WWDC to kick off June 4th in San Jose
Apple expected to reveal host of new updates for iOS in opening keynote
Interesting
Double Fine Presents taps up Playables for interactive animation title KIDS
KIDS will come out this year on iOS and Android
Not Safe
More than 72% of Android apps are at risk of European GDPR violations
SafeDK is accessing the readability of android apps ahead of the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation
G5 Financials
Hidden object specialist G5 Entertainment grows revenues to $43m in Q1 2018
Net income reported at $5 million
Go Go Go
Pokemon Sun and Moon content coming to Pokemon Go
Content update to include Alolan versions of Kanto Pokemon
Funded
Nokia phone manufacturer to “aggressively expand” in 2018 after raising $100 million
Round of investment was led by Ginko Ventures
Knighted
Netmarble’s Knights Chronicle pulls in 500,000 pre-registrations in one week
Players who sign-up will gain a slew of rewards come games launch
Angry Tv
Long-form Angry Birds animated series set for 2020
Rovio wants to extend IP outside of games and film
Whoops
"Lack of oversight" to blame for Overwatch art in Paladins Strike ad
Hi-Rez art director was swift to assure that the matter was being looked into
Well Now
Epic puts up $100 million for Fortnite esports tournament prize pools
And that’s just for the first season
E For Everyone
ESRB set to drop short form rating for digital games in June
Games developers will still have a free option with IARC
It's Pickle Pixel
Adult Swim buys London-based Pocket Mortys developer Big Pixel Studios
Network plans to increase investment in the games space
Key Speakers
Ubisoft, Campo Santo and Jumpship headline BIG Festival
Isabelle Bismuth, Alan Van Slyke, Chris Remo and Dino Patti set to speak at event
Nice
Cartoon Network soft launches new Powerpuff Girls game in Asia
The horde mode-styled beat ‘em up pits the girls against monsters
Whoot!
Alien Path publisher iCandy buys Indonesian Hollywhoot developer Joyseed
Deal worth up to $263,000
Going Public
Worms publisher Team17 targets $144m in gross proceeds from IPO
Set for flotation on Wednesday, May 23rd
International Expansion
Chartboost opens Barcelona office
New branch will house engineering team
Fortnite Android
Epic eyes summer release for Fortnite on Android
Mobile version of battle royale hit to get smaller install file and new updates
Weekly Charts
Weekly UK App Store charts: Candy Crush Saga knocks Fortnite off top
Rankings from May 7th to 13th
Gameloft Financials
Gameloft revenues fall to $93 million in Q1 2018
Publisher reports 114 million MAUS and 13 million DAUs
Funding News
Riot Games amongst investors in new mobile esports-focused studio Gamelynx
Studio raises $1.2 million
Boom
Game Insight and ESL put up $200,000 for Guns of Boom’s inaugural esports season
Online qualifiers begin June 9th with international events planned for Poland and LA
Up Up Up
Over 25% of iOS 11 game downloads now come from browsing the App Store
A boost in downloads has been helped the launch of iOS 11
Smashed It
Pocket Gamer Connects welcomes 850 games industry professionals for biggest San Francisco event yet
Top talks, lots of networking, more partying
On The App
Mobile revenues up 66% as Ubisoft posts total sales of $2 billion for the financial year
Performance exceeded the company’s original expectations
New Job Klaxon
NCSoft appoints chief development officer for Western operations
Chris Corry will be responsible for overseeing all development in the West
Rip
Sony to cease production of physical PlayStation Vita Games, except in Japan
Creation of games cards to finish by the end of March 2019
On The Move
Farming Simulator dev Giants Software opens new studio in the Czech Republic
Swiss company also set to move offices as part of the shakeup
Acquisition News
Dutch firm OrangeGames acquires majority stake in Habbo Hotel dev Sulake
Former owner Elisa retains minority stake
Take Profit
WWE Supercard and Dragon City help launch Take-Two's yearly profits to $173.5 million
The usual suspects at play again
One V One Me Bro
Street Fighter characters touch down in Power Rangers: Legacy Wars
Cammy, M. Bison, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile and Akuma set to join the fray
Switching It Up
LA-based start-up Wonder working on Android Nintendo Switch-like hybrid device
Wonder is hoping to release the device next year
Dau Royale
PUBG Mobile amasses 10 million daily active users
Most downloaded game in over 100 countries and areas
Zoom
PacketZoom launches new mobile networking tools for real-time multiplayer games
Mobile Connect aims to eliminate a game developer’s need to deploy resources in-house
Netease Financials
NetEase profits tumble 20% in Q1 as Onmyoji and New Ghost lose traction
Battle royale hits Knives Out and Terminator 2: Judgement Day offset lost revenue
God Like
How NadiaSoft plans to mix Eastern and Western influencers for global appeal
The new IP will feature an array of gods and heroes from Greece, China and more