Sleepy Smartwatch
Pokémon Sleep sleepwalks to $120 million in time for smartwatch update
Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, Fitbit and Google Pixel Watch are now compatible with the app
Lawsuit Triumph
Plaintiff drops game addiction lawsuits against industry giants
The lawsuits were filed against Epic, Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games, Roblox, Microsoft, and Sony
Forward The Foundation
FunPlus doubles down on licensed IP as it soft-launches Foundation: Galactic Frontier and DC: Dark Legion
Soft launch coincides with release of DC: Dark Legion
Pre-seed Power
22 year old raises $3.7 million for Roblox tool platform Gamebeast
CEO Zander Brumbaugh is building his no-code tooling platform for game devs and the military
Brand Boost
Vivid Games secures $1.36 million strategic investor deal to grow Real Boxing brand
The Polish developer seeks to grow Real Boxing’s presence in Europe
New Game Launch
FIFA-licensed Matchday Champions launches globally in early access
The game will allow players to collect, craft, and manage their dream squads
Afk In Asia
AFK Journey surpasses $150 million with Asian market dominance
Chinese players contribute 22% of AFK Journey’s revenue despite being late to the starting line
Partnership Extension
Nitro Games expands Warframe mobile partnership with €5 million deal
The agreement expands the ongoing order between the two companies
Podcast | Episode 29
Playtika acquires SuperPlay, and the secret multi-billion dollar games platform WeChat Minigames | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 29...
Pgc Helsinki
Full schedule revealed for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2024
Join is on October 1st and 2nd for two days of PGC Helsinki and the Big Screen Gaming Summit, featuring a total of 21 tracks
New Offerings
Netflix shares new look at Squid Game, Street Fighter IV and Rebel Moon mobile games
Squid Game: Unleashed is a competitive mobile game based on the popular TV series
Crossovers
Monopoly Go assembles the Avengers in Marvel crossover event
Players can immerse themselves in the event from Thursday, September 26th
Imminent Launch
Unity 6 global launch set for October with preview now available
“Developers have been telling us for a long time that they want more stability and more performance, which we are addressing with Unity 6"
Pokemon Vs Palworld
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company file lawsuit against Palworld eight months later
Audiences quickly compared Palworld to Pokémon in character designs and certain game mechanics
Mobile Matters
Mobile games an "integral element" of EA’s growth strategy but barely acknowledged at Investor Day
CFO Stuart Canfield did, however, discuss mobile’s potential to reach a wider audience
Investment News
Nazara secures $108m to fuel further M&A
Nazara has also acquired an additional 19.35% share in Sportskeeda parent company Absolute Sports
Interoperability
EU orders Apple to open up its iOS ecosystem to rivals
European Commission to set out rules and processes for Apple to ensure interoperability of iOS features across devices
Milestone
Electric Blue: Gecko Dash mobile game surpasses 500,000 downloads
The game was created to stop endangered gecko species from going extinct in Tanzania
Assisted Networking
Final few days: Connect with publishers and investors at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2024
The deadline for fringe event submissions at our Finnish conference is Friday, September 20th
Super Acquisition
Playtika to acquire Dice Dreams developer SuperPlay for up to $1.95 billion
Deal will see publisher pay $700 million up-front and a further potential $1.25 billion based on successfully hitting financial targets
It's In The App
The EA Sports App takes the publisher beyond games and into social networking
App will soft launch in Spain this autumn in partnership with La Liga
Transmedia Strikes Again
EA working with Amazon MGM Studios on The Sims movie
Margot Robbie's production company LuckyChap to co-produce the film
Ai Ahead
EA's Andrew Wilson: AI is at the very core of our business
EA CEO Andrew Wilson talks three strategic categories for the company’s 100+ AI projects
Game Closure
Kabam to shut down Disney Mirrorverse after making $34m in mobile revenue
Action RPG no longer available for download and in-app purchases have been disabled
Air Ai
EA reveals experimental Project Air and states AI "is not merely a buzzword for us"
A short demonstration was given during EA’s Investor Day 2024 showcasing the new mobile experiment
Strict Laws
Australia sets new rules for games with loot boxes and gambling-like content
Games with interactive simulated gambling will automatically receive an R18+ rating
Content Creation
User-generated content key to EA’s growth strategy towards "over one billion" players
EA fans have created 60 million hours of user-generated content in the past year
Neverdale
Metacore ends Everdale development and returns IP to Supercell
Merge Mansion developer had also recently cancelled soft-launched title Sails of Fury
Podcast
Unicorns, camels and hogs: How smart ad monetisation saves your app from getting eaten alive | Podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team and guests give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode…
Lawsuit Triumph
The Pokémon Company wins $15 million in lawsuit over copyright infringement
Pocket Monster Reissue had infringed company's copyright by using Ash Ketchum and Pikachu in the game
Hybrid Working
Ubisoft wants workers back in the office three days a week
“Being together in person also helps solve problems and make decisions more effectively"
Copyright Case
IBM awarded $44.9 million in patent infringement lawsuit against Zynga
Patents have now expired and no changes to the publisher's titles will be required
New Marketplace
Epic Games to launch new content marketplace Fab in October
The new platform will offer an 88/12 revenue share that prioritises creators and helps them build sustainable businesses
Repeat Revenue
Less than 2% of mobile gamers make an in-app purchase
Unity report finds that most repeat purchases happen within 30 days of original spending
Ad Appeal
Unity: Global rewarded ad engagement rose by 3.2% in 2023
Unity’s Mobile Growth and Monetisation Report 2024 finds 38.1% of users will watch ads when out of resources
New Offerings
Supercell teams up with Hasbro to bring Transformers to Squad Busters
The collaboration marks the games first cross-promo event as Optimus Prime and Elita-1 join the Squad Busters roster
New Partnerships
Krafton partners with Bollywood star Deepika Padukone as new brand ambassador for BGMI
The actress's involvement reflects Krafton’s commitment to engaging a wider audience and aligning with popular culture
Masterclass
Register now for tomorrow's Game Economy Design MasterClass workshop
Grab your ticket now for tomorrow's big workshop and learn all about game economy balance and building sustainable long-term engagement
Jobs In Games
Golden Whale appoints Thomas Aigner as SVP of business development
Aigner will leverage his expertise to strengthen the company's market presence and drive growth
Green Gaming
PUBG Mobile, Beatstar, Hay Day, Merge Mansion and more take part in Green Game Jam
The fifth Green Game Jam looks to tackle pollution and climate change
Speaker Reveal
Rovio, Supercell, Raw Fury and No More Robots lead new wave of speakers at PG Connects Helsinki 2024
Just some of the 160+ experts leading our 21-track schedule
Job Losses
UK VR games developer nDreams set to lay off up to 17.5% of staff
Studio, which was acquired by Aonic in November 2023, was previously said to employ 250 staff
Opening Up?
OpenAI wants to raise $6.5bn at $150bn valuation
Investors eye structural changes and removal of profit cap, according to reports
Profit Plummet
Keywords Studios makes $18.7 million loss despite 6.6% revenue rise
Sinking operating profit has been attributed to "several exceptional items"
Flappy Fans
Flappy Bird is making a comeback but original creator isn’t involved
"Fans" at the Flappy Bird Foundation are rereleasing the 2013 hit but original creator Doug Nguyen is publicly distancing from it
New Partnerships
Hyperfusion partners with The Game Company to power cloud gaming in MENA and GCC
Both companies are focused on giving players a “near-lag-free" gaming experience
Loads Of Layoffs
Microsoft’s latest layoffs reportedly impact Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile and Warcraft Rumble teams
Warzone: Mobile has generated less than 10% of Call of Duty: Mobile’s revenue in respective first six months
Game Cancellation
Scopely aims to retain employees after scrapping unannounced project
The company wants to keep all employees from the cancelled project as long as there is a "role and/or game experience that's a mutual fit"
Podcast | Episode 28
The Unity Runtime Fee is dead! | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 28...
Multi-platform
Join the Big Screen Gaming Summit at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2024
Explore latest trends in the world of console, PC, XR and web3