Big Data
MZ launches massive free open data project Satori
Developers encouraged to use new platform with big money competition
Model Strike
ASA orders Mobile Strike ad takedown following complaints that it objectifies women
Use of plus-size models not an excuse
Inmobi Up
Mobile advertising firm InMobi sees operationally profitable 2016 following big boost in China
Even a $1 million fine couldn't bring it down
Cut-price Sale
Baidu sells mobile gaming business for $173 million
Getting out of the games space?
Health Through Play
Therapeutic mobile game developer Tilak Healthcare raises $2.7 million
French digital healthcare startup get big investment
Still Switched On
Color Switch surpasses 150 million downloads in 15 months
Still going strong with 20 million downloads in last three months
Key Deals
Acquisition spree spurred Keywords revenues up 67% to €97 million in 2016
Services provider bought eight companies last year
Revved Up
Creative Mobile’s Nitro Nation racks up 30 million players
Players have travelled further than the distance between the sun and Jupiter
Moving On
Apple Designer to leave after 21 years with the company
Had worked on the original iPhones and iPads
Jobs News
Romanian outsourcing studio Amber recruits former Samsung VP as CEO
Developer launches new live ops service
Disrupting The Market?
Rakuten and Blackstorm want to disrupt Japan's mobile industry with launch of HTML5 social game platform RGames
Post-app store technology outfit teams up with Japanese ecommerce giant
Battle Royale
Gameloft and Ubisoft gunning for Clash Royale with Blitz Brigade and Tom Clancy's ShadowBreak
Supercell's smash hit gets competition
Inkle Hires
80 Days developer Inkle hires a new Senior Artist and Concept Artist
Laura Dilloway and Anastasia Wyatt bring the headcount to six-and-a-half
Uk Games Fund
UK Games Fund awards 15 developers up to £25,000 each in third round of funding
Dumpling Design, Stormcloud Games, Quite Fresh and Crash Lab all funded
New Platforms
Final Unity 5 update gets Google Daydream, Nintendo Switch and Vulkan support
Latest release also offers improved graphics performance for Metal
Lan-arrrrrrrrr
FX Networks launches AR-centric game Archer P.I. alongside next season of Archer TV show
Will run for two months alongside the cartoon
Gumi Nordic Vr
Gumi and Nordisk Film partner for €100,000 incubation program Nordic VR Startups
Offering seed funding and advice to Nordic VR developers
Business Reality
Imagination Technologies shares plummet as Apple reveals intentions to design its own graphics chips
UK firm asks for evidence that new designs don't infringe on its own
Liquidation Proceedings
Peripheral maker Mad Catz ceases operations after filing for bankruptcy
No buyer found for peripheral maker
Fake News Day
April Fool's round-up: The best gags from the games industry
Celebrating Fake News in style
Return To Sender
Fishy consortium enables Supercell to pull-off reverse Tencent takeover
Audacious timing for ambitious move
Women In Games
Women In Games launches Ambassador program to encourage women in Europe to join the games industry
Working with schools and industry to promote the industry
Big Dreams
China's iDreamSky establishes $30 million fund to publish indie games globally
Wants to find the next Monument Valley
Fastlane To Youtube
Space Ape Games taps over 20 YouTube stars as characters in Fastlane: Road to Revenge
The kids will love it
Harmonix Layoffs
Harmonix suffers series of layoffs affecting at least 17 staff
Seven more reported to have occurred in prior months
Not So Luckey
Oculus designer and co-founder Palmer Luckey leaves Facebook
It's unknown if he was kicked out or left of his own accord
Glu Job Cuts
Glu Mobile reportedly cuts 25 jobs and closes Portland studio
Was working on a new celebrity game
Last Chance
Final hours of Super Early Bird rate for PG Connects San Francisco 2017
Tick tock, tick tock
Midas Touch
Koei Tecmo establishes mobile-specific brand Midas
Wants its games to "shine like gold"
Seriously Profitable
Best Fiends franchise generates more than $65 million in revenue
Seriously making $100,000 a day
Switch Japan
Nintendo's Switch has sold 500,000 units in Japan
Sales are up week-on-week to 78,441 units
Vasco Who?
Little-known developer Vasco Games surpasses one billion downloads on mobile since 2013
62 million downloads in its first year from 130 games
Bullish Future
Finnish developer Koukoi seals partnership with Fox to develop Ferdinand mobile game
Studio eyes up further licensing deals
To The Future
Global Android app store spend will overtake iOS in 2017
App Annie takes a look at the markets of the future
Mobile First
iOS the most popular platform for UK games developers in 2016
Arcade the go-to genre for mobile studios
Oceans & Pirates
South Korean dev Joycity bags license for Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War
Looks a lot like Oceans & Empires
Casual Wars
Disney and Genera Games reveal first ever casual puzzle Star Wars game Star Wars: Puzzle Droids
You can never have enough Star Wars games
Compete In Shadows
Cygames partners with Next Generation Esports for first North American Shadowverse tournament
$10,000 prize for the overall winner
Crossy Mouse
Disney Crossy Road celebrates one year anniversary and 31 million downloads with new toy line
Get a blocky Mickey for $2.99
Blast Off
Shane McCafferty and Jim Squires team up to launch new Canadian studio Rocketship Park
Already working on first game Block Droppin'
Gamee Investment
Social gaming platform Gamee raises $2.15 million
Initial Capital and Credo Ventures lead the way
Of Swords And Ltv
MMO Logres of Swords and Sorcery gears up for Western launch after eight million downloads in Japan
Not huge player numbers, but an enormous LTV
Down With The Sickness
Ndemic Creations hires ex-PocketGamer.biz writer Matt Gilman as Project and Community Manager
Makes the jump from journalism to community management
Get Updated
Mobile developers can now respond to App Store user reviews in iOS 10.3
Smoother, faster, better
Free No More
Apple now rejecting any app or game that references its own price on the App Store
No more releasing free versions of the same game
Estonia Event
Tallinn GameDev Days Conference returns in April 2017
Includes two tracks based around the motto of 'Back to the Future'
Crikey
Lineage 2: Revolution was the top grossing game worldwide in February 2017 despite only being launched in South Korea
Monster Strike and Clash Royale didn't stand a chance
Netease In 2017
Fantasy Westward Journey players exchange over $7.3 million worth of in-game currency daily
Pearl Research has all the details from NetEase's media event in February 2017
Innogames Hiring
InnoGames hires ex-Goodgame Art Director Rick Schmitz as Team Lead Artist
Working on a currently unannounced game
Big Move
Bigpoint CEO Khaled Helioui steps down as Youzu outlines new mobile and investment strategy
Exec aims to pursue new personal goals