The Weekly
The Weekly: EA's crazy vision of the future, the 10-year-old app developer and Game Freak's Gear Project
Rounding up the week's industry analysis and news from around the internet
Highest Bid
Appodeal launches new ad exchange platform for mobile developers
AppodealX available as part of Appodeal SDK 2.0
Mobile Masters
Amazon brings Summoners War, Hearthstone and Vainglory together for Mobile Masters Invitiational eSports tournament
Top teams and streamers come together to battle it out for a $65,000 prize pool
Sow The Seeds
Discord reportedly valued at $725 million after quietly raising $50 million funding round
Also hires former Twitch veteran Andy Swanson as Head of Publisher Relations
Pokemon Party
Pokemon GO clears 750 million downloads as Niantic prepares first anniversary celebrations
Time to crack open a cold Pokemon with the boys
New Dawn
NaturalMotion taps EA Red Crow GM to head up Dawn of Titans development
Jeff Hickman joins as Senior VP of Action Strategy
Bandai Docomo Partnership
Bandai Namco Europe partners with Docomo Digital to push into emerging mobile markets
New HTML5 games being developed for the venture
Large Congregation
Kongregate surpasses 100 million downloads across its mobile games portfolio in four years
Currently has 15 million MAUs
Studio Closure
Sources: EA closes Chillingo office in UK
Macclesfield studio shut down but publishing label remains active
Winding Down
NaturalMotion winding down commercial tech licensing business for third-party developers
Focusing on live operations and new game development
Just The Essentials
Android creator raises further $300 million funding to disrupt smartphone space
Big cash injection following debut smartphone launch
A Win For Indies
Indie games clean up at Apple Design Awards 2017
Blackbox, Mushroom 11 and Severed among the winners
From Australia To India
Mech Mocha partners with Halfbrick to release Indian version of Jetpack Joyride
Bangalore outfit will adapt the game for Indian audience
Hey There
Former Chillingo Marketing Director opens new consultancy
HeyStephenHey to offer marketing services throughout a game's lifecycle
New Studio
QA and localisation outfit Pole To Win opens Tapei office
Branch will focus on QA, translation, localisation and customer experience
Jobs News
FoxNext Games promotes Rick Phillips as its new President
Will oversee publishing group and licensing deals for games
Goooaallll
Hugo Games signs up Liverpool FC for upcoming football game Soccer League
Joins PSG, Juventus, and more as featured teams
King Of Clash
Clash of Clans is having its best grossing performance on the App Store in 16 months after major update
Nine days at the top thanks to the Builder Base update
Birds To Vr
Angry Birds 2 lead programmer Jonas Johansson unveils social VR studio Neuston
Bringing his mobile and console experience together into VR
Speak Now
Want to speak at PG Connects Helsinki 2017 on September 19th to 20th?
Submissions for fourth Finland event are in full swing
Planet Of The Apps
Apple pushes into reality TV with new Apple Music show Planet of the Apps
Will.i.am could help you develop your app
Top Move?
Apple may dump App Store top grossing charts in iOS 11
Could have wide impact on industry and consumers
Surfin' With Persson
Subway Surfers developer Sybo hires ex-King Head of Studio as its new Head of Games
Pushing the studio to the next level
Instant Success
Monument Valley 2 storms the App Store download charts to take top spot
Strong start for sequel to popular puzzle game
Power Of Teamwork
SpatialOS developer Improbable hires ex-Disney and GitHub execs as CCO and CMO
Bill Roper and Jason Jhonson join the team
Roll Out
Transformers: Earth Wars clears 10 million downloads just in time for first anniversary
Space Ape to host events and launch new content during anniversary month
Merge Funding
Mobile VR manufacturer Merge VR starts $1 million Merge Developer Fund
Free dev kits for its Merge Cube also available
Run Don't Walk
505 Games-published toys-to-life racer Runimalz soft-launches in Italy
Starter packs and figurines available from GameStop
A True Pro
Apple refreshes iPad Pro range with heavily rumoured 10.5-inch model
The rumours come true six months after they started
Develop:brighton Early Bird
Develop:Brighton Early Bird ticket prices end June 7th
Last chance to save 20%
Next Sale
FoxNext acquires former Kabam team at Aftershock
Aaron Loeb appointed President of Studios for FoxNext Games
Ios Ar
Apple unveils augmented reality development framework ARKit for iOS devices
Only works on iPhone 6S and up
Security Breach
Mobile game halts live services due to ransomware
Developer refunds players for IAPs and apologises to fans
New Era
The App Store is getting a design overhaul
Apple wants to improve discovery of new apps and adds room for how-to guides
Premium Sequel
Monument Valley 2 revealed as it goes live on the App Store
Sequel to hit game announced during WWDC 2017
Ice And Fire
Report: Amazon plots return to smartphone market with Google Android-powered Ice devices
Sets eyes on India
Legal Matter
Apple caught in Australian watchdog ‘error 53’ sting alleging staff misled customers over free repairs
Court documents claim staff allegedly misled investigators about rights to free repairs or a replacement
Here We Go
How and when to watch Apple’s WWDC 2017 keynote
The secret is in Safari and Edge
Uk Mobile Charts
Weekly UK App Store charts: New games flood the download charts but Figdet Spinner remains top dog
Rankings from May 22nd to May 28th
Nest Egg
New early stage investment fund Rooks Nest Ventures launches with £28 million
Interested in mobile games industry start-ups
The Weekly
The Weekly: Swiping right in Reigns, Supercell's least powerful CEO, and awkward multiplayer moments
Rounding up the week's industry analysis and news from around the internet
Esports Fighter
Capcom partners with Skillz to bring competitive play to new mobile Street Fighter game
Publisher sets eye on the eSports scene
Zennies To The Max
HTML5 gaming platform ZENIgames launches service with its own blockchain cryptocurrency
Players earn Zennies which can be spent on IAPs and playing games
West Meets East
European influence growing in China’s lucrative mobile games market
Atomico report breaks down how the sectors cross over
China Esports Revenues
Mobile eSports revenues in China expected to climb to nearly $7 billion in 2017
Triple the amount the games generated in 2016
Shaking The Nest
Rovio's Board of Directors appoints Mika Ihamuotila as new Chairman of the Board
Kaj Hed steps down after nine years as Chairman
Classic Move
Nintendo Switch online subscription will cost $20 and give players access to catalogue of free retro games
Paid online services delayed to 2018
Hit It For Six
Sony's mobile studio ForwardWorks preps debut game harnessing Everybody's Golf IP
Drecom Inc acting as developer on the studio's first game
Special Indie Offer
PG Connects San Francisco’s tasty offer for indies
How does 50% off the cost of a table in the exhibition area at June’s big mobile, VR, AR and MR event sound? Don’t miss out on this strictly limited offer...
Mobile Boost
Women make up 62% of the mobile games market in the US
New report claims some mobile games attract a bigger audience than the biggest US ad-supported TV networks