Kotick Conclusion
Leadership changes under Microsoft as Bobby Kotick departure date confirmed
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard means leadership changes and a transition period ahead
Fashion Fanatics
Tilting Point, Hilfiger Ventures and Brandible prepare to launch AI fashion game
FashionVerse will aim to leverage modern technology to scale the fashion world
Billion Brilliance
Royal Match and League of Legends: Wild Rift among 19 games to cross $1 billion in revenue in 2023
A total of 26 mobile apps surpassed the milestone this year
Metacore Manoeuvre
Metacore appoints new CTO in first key hire at Berlin studio
Sérgio Laranjeira’s former roles include senior director of engineering at Delivery Hero and engineering manager at Zalando and N26
Resilient Growth
New Zealand games industry revenue surges past $270 million in 2023
The NZGDA report finds that PC is the dominant platform for developers followed by mobile, VR, and consoles
Kaiju Closure
Tencent’s Team Kaiju closes
Team Kaiju is believed to have secretly closed this June, with most staff reassigned to other projects
Epic Response
Epic Games blasts Google's settlement with US states as "no true relief for consumers or developers"
Epic Games has released a settlement following the reveal of Google’s $700 million settlement
Cma Concerns
UK's CMA to resume cloud gaming and mobile web browser investigation
Investigations into Apple and Google will resume on January 24 2024
2023 Yearly Review
The year that was: How Pocket Gamer Connects 2023 is shaping the future of the games industry
Looking back on a year of growth in the games industry through the eyes of Pocket Gamer Connects
A Good Year
Australian game revenue soars to $345.5 million in 2023
The IGEA report showcases the country's positive growth and struggles within its local sectors.
Google Grumbles
Google agrees to pay $700 million and change app store rules after antitrust settlement
The results of Google’s loss against 50 US attorneys general are finally revealed
Legacy Leak
Apple TestFlight "teraleak" exposes thousands of beta apps as far back as 2012
TestFlight is designed to enable internal and external beta testing on Apple devices
Legal News
Activision Blizzard to pay $55 million in gender discrimination settlement
Agreement puts end to lawsuit filed by the Department of Fair Employment and Houses in 2021
Festive Surprises
PG Connects Advent Calendar: A Daily Festive Treat
Celebrate the festive season with a special treat each day from Pocket Gamer Connects. Click through to find today's surprise…
Finding Flexibility
Embracer Group secures credit and loan extension to 2025 as it restructures to clear debt
Embracer Group finally cashes in good news for the end of 2023
Esports Glory
China's Wolves wins $1 million Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship
Runner-up GodLike becomes most successful Indian team in the competition after finishing second
Zenless Zenith
Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse opens closed beta for latest game Zenless Zone Zero
Title likely to see a full release in 2024
Sprouting Seeds
Barnyard Games raises $3.4m in seed round to make games for Fortnite
Menlo Ventures led the round with participation from BetaWorks, Alumni Ventures, Charge VC and others
Careers Zone London
Joint venture between PG Connects and Games Factory Talents creates career opportunities in London
Get a career boost at PG Connects London this January with support from Games Factory Talents.
Acquisition Ahoy
Keywords Studios acquires The Multiplayer Group for £76.5M
Keywords has bought The Multiplayer Group from its former owner Improbable following interest in "blue-chip client base"
Impressive Growth
China's gaming industry bounces back with over $42.6 billion in domestic revenue
The Red Dragon's video games market has successfully bounced back, overcoming challenges in foreign markets
Json
ByteBrew enhances live ops offering with new features for mobile developers
ByteBrew introduces remote config conditions and JSON editor in their latest launches on their all-in-one platform
Recruitment Drive
Fortis Games bolsters senior team with string of hires from GameClub, Twitch, Mojang and more
Former GameClub CEO Dan Sherman joins as chief business officer while head of strategic programs Jing Wang takes on new role as VP of product
Regional Realities
India leads the charge while pricing concerns hinder Asian uptake in new monetisation report
Niko Partners' report shows that in-game purchases accounted for 87.8% of player spending in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Here We Go
W4 Games raises $15 million to boost Godot engine development and services
Irish start-up aims to double headcount over the next 18 months
Uk And Euro Snapshot
The largest segment in the European games market is mobile. Be part of the action at PGC London this January!
A closer look at both the UK and European games markets ahead of PG Connects London 2024
Latest In Leadership
Thunderful Group appoints four new executives in leadership shift-up
Thunderful Group’s CGO will stay on as an advisor during the transitional period
Podcast
Aampe’s Jim Laurain on the smart steps that inspire players with messaging that matters | Podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team and guests give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode…
New Partnerships
Kwalee and Fahy Studios partner to develop global hit games in the KSA
"We are on a journey to build Saudi's first global hit game."
Layoff After Layoff
A third of the workforce slashed in 2023 as Hasbro lets go another 1,100 roles
Hasbro’s toyline sales slump is to blame, not its video games
Industry Pioneer
IGDC founder Rajesh Rao departs after 15 years and announces successor
“I will still be around, but it is time for the torch to be handed over."
Ad Application
Ad creative analysis: How to enhance ad performance in 2024
Tenjin and ObtainAds have joined forces for a report on the current state of the ad creative space and where it’s going next
Rising Stars
Black Clover M was November's breakout hit. Warcraft Rumble steps up while Genshin Impact rules
Data.ai's monthly gaming pulse for November reveals which new games globally are the ones to watch
Netflix Of Games
Netflix has nearly 90 games in development as it touts cross-platform vision
Entertainment company's long-term vision is to "make games playable on every device", says games VP Mike Verdu
Allstar Series A
Zynga and Activision Blizzard-backed Allstar raises another $12 million for content creation tools
Investors from Zynga and Activision Blizzard have previously backed Allstar; now Drive Capital has led a $12 million Series A round
On Top
Pocket Gamer Awards 2023 winners revealed
Over 350,000 PocketGamer.com readers voted across 20 categories competing for the honour of being crowned Mobile Game Of The Year by the consumer site
Support From Supercell
Supercell co-founder supports $1.6M funding round in Chinese publisher MyGamez
Supercell co-founder Mikko Kodisoja, Small Giant Games co-founder Timo Soininen, Reworks co-founder Ilkka Teppo and former Riot China head of operations Daniel Wang are on board
Sweeney's Success
"The end of these ridiculous 30% fees is near." Tim Sweeney crows victory in Epic Vs Google battle
Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney has been taking to social media and more to celebrate his win over Google
Pgc Stories
PGC Stories: "It was an amazing experience for both of us and gave me the confidence to do more"
Bidstack VP of gaming Antoine Jullemier and CM Games evangelist Serg Kharchenko share their favourite PGC memories
Expanding Reach
Africa and India are in Microsoft's sights for ad-supported game streaming
The Xbox giant is planning on using ads to reach new players and expand its audience
End Of An Era
E3 is dead. And for good this time
The legacy of E3, with over a quarter of a century of gaming reveals, platform victories, surprise success and crushing defeat has comes to an end
Wordy Wonka
Chocs away! Word With Friends 2 lands Wonka movie multimedia promo
Zynga and Warner Bros. Pictures partner for cross-promotional campaigns
Magic Mag
MAG Interactive records biggest year yet after Wordzee marketing push
MAG Interactive recorded net sales of $34.6 million this year, at a 10% yearly increase
A New Hub
Sandsoft launches Barcelona Hub for new mobile titles
The company expects the new studio to grow steadily and create 60 new roles over the next three years
Guilty Google
An Epic victory: Google found guilty of illegal monopoly in Epic lawsuit
The Epic vs Google case has reached a verdict with a unanimous jury vote finding in favour of CEO Tim Sweeney's anti-App Store crusade
Coming To Conquer
First mobile-exclusive Civilization game gets a rebrand under soft launch
Conquests and Alliances is officially rebranded as Civilization: Eras & Allies
Puzzle Power
Zach Gage and Orta Therox’s puzzle platform Puzzmo acquired by Hearst Newspapers
Gage is the dev behind SpellTower, Wordbind, Knotwords and more
Data Decisions
Apple’s privacy push continues with big implications come "Spring 2024"
Developers must be ready for Apple’s privacy manifest requirements and third-part SDK policy changes
Popularity Surge
Battlegrounds Mobile India is the fourth most searched game of 2023
After garnering an impressive $58.9 million, BGMI now sits above acclaimed titles such as Baldur's Gate 3 and Diablo IV in Google's annual 'most searched' rankings
Monster In The Making
Monster Hunter Now is a roaring success, making $100 million in under three months
Another milestone for Monster Hunter Now solidifies Niantic’s latest success