Closed
Nexon removes LEGO Quest and Collect from iOS and Google Play stores
The title had been in soft launch since June 7th 2017
Not Bad
Italy's games market generated $1.8 billion in 2017
46 per cent of the country's gamers play PC
Jobs News
Ex-Sega Networks CPO Joseph Kim heads to Universal’s games publishing arm as senior VP
Will oversee slate and product management, marketing, user acquisition and revenue optimisation of all apps and games
Final Fight
Capcom Vancouver shuts down Puzzle Fighter
Goes offline for good on July 1st
Flying Into Cinemas
Rovio confirms Angry Birds Movie 2 for September 20th 2019
Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones joins cast as film's main villain
Oops
Twitch, Nintendo, Vainglory and others blocked in Russia amidst Telegram crackdown
Attempts to ban messenger app result in other websites and services going offline
I'm Out
Hearthstone director Ben Brode leaves Blizzard
Plans to start his own studio
Going East
Fortnite heads to China
The battle bus ventures East
Weekly Charts
Weekly UK App Store charts: Voodoo's Helix Jump usurps Fortnite as top downloaded iPhone game
Rankings for the week of April 9th to 15th
Event News
Super Game Chain to co-host Blockchain Gamer Connects San Francisco
Palo Alto software company heads up the May 14th to 15th industry event
Replay Value
Facebook tests playable ads on news feed
Audience Network release planned for later this year
Fold On A Minute
Nintendo Labo lands in the US, Australia and Japan
New arts and crafts style accessory will find its way to Europe on April 27th
Innovation
Ubisoft start-up programme backs blockchain and augmented reality devs
Initiative aims to support entrepreneurs working on exciting games-related technology
Giving Loot The Boot
Top games ruled to be breaking Dutch gambling laws with loot boxes
The authoritative body investigated 10 unnamed titles after concerns were raised by players, parents and addiction care workers
Head Of The Pack
Tencent leads the way in $22 billion spent on games deals in last 12 months
The internet giant participated in over $4 of every $10 invested in games companies and was involved in over three-quarters of all games M&A
Hack And Slash
Platinum partners with DENA for Okami spiritual successor World of Demons
The hack-and-slash title will make its way to iOS this summer with an Android release set for later in 2018
Good Loot
Fluffy Fairy Games and TreasureHunt named Europe’s hottest games start-ups in Red Herring Top 100
The games studios have been invited to the US to showcase their companies in June
Blam!
Nordcurrent acquires Ukrainian studio Blam Games
Team of 40 joins Cooking Fever publisher
Event News
International Game Show 2018 PlayX4 heads to South Korea in May
Event houses B2B and B2C exhibitions
Special Offer
Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco mid-term tickets end today
Book now to save up to $250 on every ticket bought by the end of Thursday, April 19th
Jobs News
Ex-Fullscreen senior director joins livestreaming platform Mobcrush
Nina Kammer appointed head of sales
Watch This
Twitch pulls in 82% of viewership hours of top 20 streamed games in Q1 2018
Twitch and YouTube Gaming generated 2.5 billion viewing hours
Office Closure
CrossFire dev Smilegate closes Berlin office after just over one year
Outfit to close down in the middle of 2018
Own Goal
Konami's PES cuts ties with UEFA Champions League
Comes to a close at this year's final in Kyiv
Quo Vadis
Niantic, Wooga, Blue Byte, InnoGames and more set for Quo Vadis in Berlin
Show takes place from April 24th to 25th
All Out
Indian publisher Nazara partners up with Royal Challengers Bangalore for second mobile game
RCB Epic Cricket features multiplayer mode and stars team's players
Boom!
Guns of Boom partners with Machete actor Danny Trejo for special event and promotions
Free-for-all battle mode introduced featuring actor's likeness and voice acting
Oh My
Games publishers reprimanded over penis extender ad
Zynga, Ketchapp and Wish warned over inappropriate ads by UK's Advertising Standards Authority
Going Offline
China’s app crackdown removes 370 livestreaming apps
Major players like Douyu and Huya also under investigation
Victory Royale
Fortnite mobile grosses $25 million in first month
Daily revenues top $1 million
Count On It
Konami readies Castlevania mobile game in Japan
Grimoire of Souls will host a closed beta ahead of its launch on iOS later this year
Funding Round
Mobile ad tech firm AppOnboard secures $15 million investment
Total funding raised to date stands at $20 million
Tech Line-up
Line launches new mobile games developer tools to combat clones and track player behaviour
Also includes automated QA and testing platform
Big Spenders
US iPhone users spent an average of $58 on apps in 2017
The figure marks a 23 per cent increase from the previous year
Bust
Free-to-play casino games land four gaming companies with online gambling lawsuits
Legal action follows a similar ruling that found Big Fish Games’ casino experiences to have violated Washington state law
Survival
Endemol Shine UK soft-launches new survival game starring Bear Grylls
Legendary Games, All 4 Games and Nelson X Creative Ltd also listed as a part of the project
New Studio
Former Scopely and EA execs head up new narrative-focused studio Ordinal Games
Start-up wants players to create stories and take a share in revenues
Departure
EA Mobile senior VP Mike Verdu departs
Exec cites travel and lengthy commute as reasons for exit
Legal Investigation
Report: South Korea’s FTC investigates Google Play over claims it abused market leading position
Storefront accounted for 60 per cent of all mobile app content sales in 2017
Weekly Charts
Weekly UK App Store charts: Fortnite stays on top as PUBG Mobile slips
Rankings for the week of April 2nd to 8th
It's Indie Game
EA's Katherine de Leon Superstar Session to open Indie track at PG Connects San Francisco 2018
Zynga, Super Evil, Skillz, 231 Play, MoPub, Liftoff and more also confirmed for May 14th to 15th conference
New Digs
Big Blue Bubble moves to new digs in Ontario
The Jungle Guardians developer now shares a studio space with Voices.com and Autodata
Dramatic Debut
BitGuild, WAX, Pixowl and more set for Blockchain Gamer Connects San Francisco 2018
Blockchain stars set to take the stage in May
Kitted Out
Tools firm The Game Creators launches AppGameKit AR
The updated AR tools come with additional features and bug fixes
The Animal
Marvel Strike Force dev FoxNext teams up with Dave Bautista to promote animal charity
The Guardians of the Galaxy actor chose to promote Frankie’s Friends as a part of True Heroes campaign
Good Cause
War Child UK launches retro games-inspired campaign to raise awareness for children affected by conflict
Mobile games developers Ustwo, Kongregate and Social Point take part in Re-Play
Unchained
Augmented reality game Reality Clash opens blockchain-based Armoury Store
Players can now buy limited-edition in-game weapons
Awards
Gorogoa and Golf Clash score accolades at the BAFTAs
Pixel Hunt’s Bury Me, My Love was also nominated in several categories
Moving On
EA shuffles executive team
Patrick Söderlund names chief designer officer, Laura Miele appointed chief studios officer, and other changes
Co-op
Nordeus teams up with UK charity to raise awareness for undiagnosed heart conditions
The Top Eleven developer donated its shirt sleeve spot with Stoke City for the football club’s match with Tottenham Hotspur