Mobile Milestone
Wuthering Waves sails past $100 million in under two months
According to AppMagic data, players in Japan have contributed 23% of its mobile earnings thus far
Job Losses
160 jobs axed as Scottish animation firm Axis Studios goes into administration
Decline in new projects and increasing labour costs led to "severe cash flow problems" before collapse
Early Echo
Echo Chess maker Echo Chunk raises $1.4 million in pre-seed round with a "passion" for AI
Participants include Andreessen Horowitz, Zynga’s Mark Pincus, Opendoor’s Eric Wu, and Roblox’s Stef Corazza
Advertising Ascent
Global advertising revenue to hit $1 trillion in 2026
PwC projects global in-game advertising will reach $147.9 billion in 2028
Top Dogs
Nominations open for PocketGamer.biz's Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024
Let us know who you think should be included and why
Updated Emulation
Nintendo emulator Delta adds iPad support in its latest update
The new update lets users switch between iPhone and iPad
Change Of Heart
Apple approves the first PC emulator on iOS
Apple initially rejected the emulators submissions but weeks later UTM SE is now freely available on iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS
Rpg Revenue
Zenless Zone Zero surpasses $50 million in 11 days
HoYoverse’s latest launch gets a big start, but revenue is declining
Jobs In Games
Sandsoft appoints Mariana Chucri as VP of finance
"My goal is to help the company meet and exceed its strategic objectives."
Finding Funds
Former Zen Match devs raise $3m in pre-seed funding round for new studio Grand Games
Developer has already soft-launched Magic Sort and is set to release Car Match later this month
Investment News
Square Enix leads $3.1 million investment round in Soccerverse
The new funds will be used to help accelerate the game's growth
Antitrust Heat
India's antitrust investigation hits Apple for market abuse
Apple has denied wrongdoing stating it's a small player in India as Android devices are more dominant
Hot Five
Super Smash Bros. creator on unpolished games, Zenless Zone Zero hits $25m, and how Rockbite Games survived another day | Hot Five
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 20
How to survive to 2025 | 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 20...
Week That Was
Week in Views - Industry survival tactics, bold statements and big brands with big plans
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Pgc Helsinki
Isabel Davies: EU’s Digital Fitness Fairness Check could cause "big overhauls" in 2025
The regulation of free-to-play is a complex topic due to its ever-changing nature, but next year’s check could really change the game…
Esports On The Rise
Saudi Arabia set to host first Olympic Esports Games
The proposed partnership will span 12 years, with Olympic Esports Games held regularly in events everafter
Pgc Helsinki
FastSpring joins Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki as exclusive Diamond Sponsor
Conference returns to Finland on October 1-2, 2024
Only Way Out
Xbox announces price hikes as Game Pass struggles continue
This September, Microsoft will replace its standard subscription tier on Xbox consoles
Cash Injection
Embracer bats its $1.5 billion debt back into 2026 and beyond with new €600m credit deal
The embattled publisher has bought itself more cash and time as it continues to restructure
New Offerings
Stumble Guys' latest update includes new game modes, SpongeBob spin-offs and more
Both features will give players new opportunities to demonstrate their skills and improve progression
New Tools
Roblox launches advanced analytics tools for developers
Developers can now enhance their analytics by adding a few lines of code to unlock new dashboards
Financial Outlook
Goddess of Victory: Nikke propels developer Shift Up to $2.5 billion valuation
The Seoul-based company has just issued and sold nearly 7.3 million shares at 60,000 won each
Pgc Helsinki
The latest speakers announced for PG Connects Helsinki 2024
Just some of the 160+ experts leading our 21-track schedule
Transforming Trends
Live ops, hypercasual and artificial intelligence: Keeping up with the trends in 2024
The games industry moves fast, but brand collabs can still be the way to go with careful planning
Players Assemble
Has your game made the Pocket Gamer People's Choice Award 2024 shortlist?
Get your players to support you by voting before the July 22nd deadline
Token Talk
Animoca Brands keeps the pressure on as co-founder writes web3 ‘explainer' for the industry
Co-founder Yat Sui's guide comes as part of the company's ongoing campaign to maintain growth and prove validity ahead of a rumoured IPO
Nfc Now
Apple to allow third-party 'tap to pay' alternatives in Europe
The European Commission has accepted the tech giant’s offer to enable access to the iPhone's NFC chip at last
Tech Takeover
Choices: Stories You Play dev Pixelberry Games acquired by AI-based Series Entertainment
The company's acquisition will see "cutting-edge technology" brought to the Choices: Stories You Play series
Pgc Helsinki
Save up to £340 – PG Connects Helsinki Early Bird ends TODAY!
Access to the Big Screen Gaming Summit is included with every ticket with PG Connects Helsinki at the core of the week-long Finnish Games Week
Virtually Huge
Web3 does big business as Infinite Reality acquires Landvault in $450 million deal
This latest purchase plus fresh fund raising raises the company’s valuation to $5.1 billion
Masterclass
Announcing the PocketGamer.biz MasterClass Summer 2024 programme
Deep dive learning online for user engagement, retention, monetisation and game economies
Gacha Giants
From Honkai: Star Rail to Wuthering Waves, gacha giants made $357 million in June
The gacha genre was dominated by Eastern developers last month, with the HoYoverse portfolio putting them out on top
Simulation Star
Gakuen Idolmaster got 1.5x Squad Busters’ downloads during its launch month
The idol title earned 40% of Bandai Namco Entertainment’s domestic mobile revenue during the period
Web3 Wellness
Animoca Brands bookings are up 72% in Q1 as recovery from 2023's decline continues
The company saw a 30% fall in bookings in 2023, but has overturned its fortunes so far in 2024
Jobs In Games
Vladimir Markov joins Top App Games as new CEO following strategic investment
"I believe Top App Games is the next billion-dollar business in the gaming industry," said former My.Games CEO Vladimir Nikolsky
Indie Devs
Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida and Greg Rice dish the do’s and don'ts of indie games development
Day two of Develop: Brighton opened with plenty of advice for indie games developers
Exclusive Deal
Voodoo signs partnership with Audiomob for audio ads
Deal sees ads provider become exclusive audio partner for the top 50% of the publisher's inventory
Unreal Engine Tips
How Ripstone developed The Queen’s Gambit for Netflix: “Unreal can do mobile and it can do it well”
Ripstone’s head of partnerships Jamie Brayshaw takes us through the journey of working with a big IP and developing a mobile game in Unreal Engine
Strategic Sustainability
Netmarble’s mobile gamers have higher satisfaction than its PC cohort
Sustainability Report 2024 finds that a 24/7 inquiry service builds trust and boosts sales
Survival Guide
The games industry survival guide for 2024: Cockroaches, pivoting and bracing for the new normal
Industry experts discuss the state of the industry, how to stay in business during tough times, and the importance of compassion to those impacted by layoffs
Design Tips
How to make your games perfect for mobile
At Develop: Brighton, V Buckenham, creator of mobile games creation platform Downpour, gave some great tips on designing for "the lump in your pocket"
Podcast
Inside Nostra's game-changing lock screen experiences | 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…
Toon Turnaround
Toon Blast surpasses $2.5 billion with newfound revenue resurgence
Peak Games’ 2017 title is on the rise again with its best H1 since 2021
Industry Insights
How mixing science with creativity can boost your game's success
At Develop: Brighton The Experimentation Group’s Tom Storr explained King's approach to iteration and experimentation and how you can do the same
Finding Funds
Felicity Games raises $700K in pre-seed to test 10 games within a year
Funds were raised from DeVC, Visceral Capital, and many angel investors
Disney Deal
Disney and GungHo strike deal to launch Disney Pixel RPG later this year
The gacha RPG will feature characters from across Disney’s properties, from Stitch to Mickey Mouse
Going Cross Platform
For Super Evil Megacorp cross-platform development is all about "the three C’s: controls, camera and character"
Director of product management Tom Westall gave his cross platform dev tips during day one one Develop: Brighton
Facing Setbacks
Kristian Segerstrale: The best companies “are punched in the face a few times”
The Super Evil Megacorp CEO discusses industry challenges and how Vainglory's fall led to a company reset and new strategy
Super Sakurai
Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai warns that game updates "won’t mean anything" without a strong base game
Sakurai believes that game development shouldn't be about fixing everything with live ops later