Parental Control
New Roblox safety features give parents more control
Some updates are launching today, with all changes expected to be fully implemented next year
Warcraft Wave
Warcraft Rumble is making the move to PC with monthly mobile earnings down 92% in first year
Blizzard Entertainment plans to launch the game on Battle.net to allow simultaneous play with World of Warcraft
Funding For Games
Merak Capital launches $80 million fund to support MENA games start-ups
The accelerator consists of a brief virtual bootcamp, followed by a 14 to 16 week core program
London Fringe Events
Thrive in 2025 - Maximise your networking at Pocket Gamer Connects London
Fringe events to level up your networking for indies, developers, publishers, investors and more
Layoff News
AMD cuts 1,000 staff as it pivots to AI
“As a part of aligning our resources with our largest growth opportunities, we are taking a number of targeted steps"
Legal Proceedings
Apple sued for £3 billion over 'anti-competitive' iCloud concerns
The tech giant is accused of charging excessive fees and locking 40 million UK customers into its iCloud service
Six Month Milestone
Solo Leveling: Arise hits 50m players and $139m revenue in first six months
But player spending in Netmarble’s RPG is on the decline
Dual Listing
Art outsourcer Winking Studios begins trading on the London Stock Exchange
Market cap projected at £66 million
Investment Round
Former Supercell devs at Bit Odd raise $18m investment
Funding round led by Griffin Gaming with participation from Makers Fund, Index Ventures and others
Studio Support
SayGames to invest $30 million in hybridcasual studios over next three years
Publisher will back studios worldwide over the next three years
Jobs News
Ubisoft recruits new chief people officer
Sébastien Froidefond will lead the company's global people strategy
No-brainer?
Miniclip purchases Easybrain from Embracer for $1.2bn
Casual games developer moves on after it was purchased for $640 million back in 2021
Mobile M&a
Microsoft eyes potential mobile studio acquisition
"We’re not going to grow the market with $1,000 consoles"
C-level Drama
Report: Disney eyes EA's Andrew Wilson as potential CEO
Wilson is one of three external candidates that are being considered for the job
Sweden Stands Strong
Swedish games industry revenue hit $3.3 billion in 2023
Domestic sales saw a rise of 6.4% year-over-year
Xsolla Report Autumn 2024
Xsolla releases Autumn 2024 Report on the future of mobile gaming and game development
Latest Report highlights key topics including the growth of web shops, the Influence of women gamers, and the impact of the Digital Markets Act
Investment News
Funstop Games secures $5 million to accelerate game development and expand globally
The studio will use the funds to accelerate its development efforts and expand its portfolio
Investment News
Starform secures $6 million to bolster shooter game Metalstorm
The studio plans to use the new funds to expand its team and reach new players
Web Shop Waves
Neon raises $14 million to create web shops for developers
Funding comes from Thrive Capital, Renegade Partners, a16z Speedrun and others
Mobile Manoeuvre
Capcom partners with Tencent's TiMi for Monster Hunter Outlanders
The new open-world title aims to bring main series gameplay to mobile
Monster Money
Monster Hunter Now’s Carnival Global a "roaring success" with 151% revenue surge
The paid event was a global adaptation of Now’s first in-person event, Carnival 2024: Shibuya
Mena Market
MENA start-up investments decline 52% to $134 million in October
UAE start-ups raised $61.8m across 15 deals, while Saudi Arabia-based start-ups secured $50m from over 21 deals
New Studio
Tencent’s Lightspeed Studios opens new Japan studio
Experienced game director Hideaki Itsuno will helm Lightspeed's Japan studio
Development Decisions
Nintendo’s game development costs see "inevitable" rise but bigger budgets "do not necessarily equate to better ideas"
Nintendo board members discuss the company’s design philosophy, to create original games that "consumers will be satisfied with"
Ready To Raid
Modern Times Group acquires Raid: Shadow Legends maker Plarium for $620m
Plarium generated $613m in revenue during the 12 months ending September 30th, 2024
Investment News
Animoca Brands raises $10m to expand metaverse platform Mocaverse
This latest round follows previous funding totalling $31.88 million
Safety And Security
Roblox is updating child safety measures with two key changes being introduced by the end of 2024
Roblox will make unrated games undiscoverable and limit social hangouts to users 14 and up
Record Revenue
Krafton achieves record-breaking quarter with over $500 million in revenue
Mobile led the way in contributing over $300 million in revenue
New Partnerships
Angry Birds team up with Talking Tom to battle in new crossover event
The collaboration will run from November 7th to November 28th 2024
Jordan Event Report
Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan 2024 - A record breaking success in the MENA Games Industry
Dead Sea conference draws 2,500+ professionals from 30+ countries as MENA region cements its place in the global industry
Potential Bribary
Nine NetEase Games employees allegedly arrested for money laundering and bribery
General manager Xiang Lang is among those reportedly under investigation
Breaking Free
Amplitude Studios becomes independent of SEGA
“We part on good terms and wish our friends at SEGA the best for all their future projects."
Match-3 Monarch
Royal Kingdom surpasses $20m in soft launch revenue with November 21st global release date set
Dream Games is building on the Royal Match brand with a new match-3 title
Milestone
Ludus: Merge Arena hits over £2 million in monthly revenue and secures 3 million installs
The game's daily active users grew by 50% in October
Industry Outlook
India’s games industry is projected to reach $7.5 billion by 2028
India has 568 million gamers, 25% of whom are paying users, showing a 17% YoY increase
Creating Content
NetEase launches Eggy Party creator program with cash rewards for top map designers
Each time a new user downloads a map via the creator's code they receive incentives
Universal Appeal
Why the universal language of games means you don't have to rely on localisation
Angry Birds, Tetris and Candy Crush Saga are examples of gameplay attracting global appeal, says YallaPlay CEO Kareem Seddik
Awards Winners
Jordan Games Awards 2024 Winners revealed
Ceremony celebrates the best and brightest across the country
Getting Into Games
Should you be a generalist or specialise?
Our panel of industry experts discuss making your way in the industry at Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan
Pgc Jordan
Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan begins today
Two-day conference features star speakers, the Jordan Games Awards, networking opportunities, and much more
Lawsuit
The Pokémon Company and Nintendo are seeking an injunction against Palworld creators Pocket Pair
Details of the exact patents The Pokémon Company and Nintendo are using in the lawsuit have now been shared
Financial Outlook
Netmarble CEO cites slowed growth in Q3 2024 as revenue hits $478.6 million
The company plans to launch nine new games next year for mobile and PC
New Offerings
Nintendo confirms Switch 2 backward-compatibility with original Switch games
The Japanese firm has now sold 146 million Switch units till date
Financials
Unity reveals its Q3 financials as results “exceed guidance”
This year has also marked many changes for the company with new leadership, the cancellation of the Runtime Fee and the launch of Unity 6
Indian Games Market
M-League launches Blast+ to bring free-to-play games to the growing Indian mobile games market
The new publishing arm will offer various expertise from localisation to live ops strategies
Earnings Report
AppLovin's Q3 revenue hits $1.2 billion marking 39% year-over-year growth
Software platform revenue rose to $835 million a 66% increase year-over-year
Game Design
Ludo.ai evolves into complete game design hub with major update
Ludo says the new update supports “every stage of game design."
Job News
Unity appoints Jarrod Yahes as its new CFO
Jarrod joined Unity from Shutterstock where he served as CFO for five years
Earnings Report
Playtika reports Q3 revenue of $620 million as DTC platforms drive 8.3% growth
Revenue from the top three games grew 1.1% but decreased 0.8% year-over-year
Sale Sorted
Take-Two sells Private Division and almost all its games
Take-Two will continue to support cross-platform RPG No Rest for the Wicked