Ubisoft Layoffs
Ubisoft lays off a further 124 employees
Ubisoft has lost over 1000 members of staff since September 2022
Funding Fun
GFR Fund to invest $53.5M in games, generative AI, tech and entertainment
Pre-seed investments are the focus, with Fund III also set to bolster prior investees
Funding In India
Following 200M downloads, Blacklight Studio Works concludes its maiden funding round
The round was led by investment firm Udyat Ventures among others such as Kratos Studios and Dexter Ventures
Early Results
Warcraft Rumble approaches $4M in four days with almost half of all revenue from the US
The numbers are in. Blizzard’s latest makes waves on mobile despite being locked out of China
Saudi Foresight
Animoca Brands partners with Saudi Arabia in $50M deal to bring Web3 to NEOM
The future of NEOM just got a Web3 update
Mobile Report
China generated over $42 billion in mobile user spend in 2023
Mobile ad spend is projected to hit $362 billion this year
Sega's Sonic Foresight
Sega Sammy Group teases first "Rovio x Sega" mobile game
The group’s financial report highlights future IP ambitions for Sonic, Persona 5 and more
Funding Success
TapNation generates $16.1 million in latest funding round
The round included the participation of Re-Sources Capital and Paluel-Marmont Capital
First Round Funding
Istanbul-based game studio SuperGears successfully completes first investment round led by TMRW foundation
SuperGears first investment round is based upon a valuation of $10 million and will add Crytek founder Cevat Yerli to the board of directors
New Partnership
Gardenscapes joins forces with alternative game distribution platform Catappult
The partnership will see the hit match3 title brought to alternative app stores
Pgc Stories
PGC Stories: "PGC London was where we met the people who acquired our first games startup"
Quicksave CEO Elina Arponen and Popcore senior ASO manager Marina Roglic share their PGC memories
Stillfront Financials
Stillfront Group drew almost $154 million in revenue in 2023’s third quarter
The figure represents a 7% decline from the same period last year
Opportunities For Indies
Meet with developers, publishers and investors at the Pocket Gamer Connects London 2024 fringe events
Get an exclusive look at the abundance of unmissable opportunities at PG Connects London!
Share Your Story
Share your Pocket Gamer Connects Memories and win 2 tickets to the show 2024
Celebrate over a decade of doing business at PG Connects and be part of the experience by sharing your PGC Stories with us
New Studio
Netease power up Fantastic Pixel Castle with ex-Riot and Blizzard veteran Greg Street
The new studio is working on a new MMO with ex staff from World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, Fortnite, Overwatch, Valorant and League of Legends
Investment In India
Kratos Studios launches Kratos Games Network to invest in game studios
The $6 million fund aims to target ten to fifteen studios by March 2024
Fan-tasmagoria
Under the microscope: Here's what's wrong with Silent Hill: Ascension
Genvid’s Massively Interactive Live Event has attracted considerable criticism from fans just days after launch, but it's not too late to turn this ship around
Korean Market
South Korea’s in-app purchase revenue has reached almost $3.6 billion in the year to date
Sensor Tower's report reveals that revenue remains above pre-pandemic levels, but downloads are down
Podcast
Skillprint’s Chethan Ramachandran: Combining neuroscience and AI for adaptive play | 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…
Ea Financials
EA mobile game revenue declines 5% in Q2
Mobile generated $304 million in revenue in the latest quarterly report, down from $320 million in the period prior
Development In Mena
Artisan opens new studio in Riyadh
The studio has been created in cooperation with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment
Conference Highlights
First speakers announced for PGC London - our flagship conference in January
Get a sneak peek at the star studded line-up who will be sharing their insights with us in January 2024 at Pocket Gamer Connects London
Favourable Foresight
Indian gaming market predictions fall by $1 billion, but steady growth continues
The region’s previous $8.6 billion projection has fallen to $7.5 billion
Unmissable Tracks
Experience cutting edge content at PG Connects London
Insightful talks, the best kept industry secrets and much more will be revealed at this January’s PG Connects conference in London
A Happy Birthday
Goddess of Victory: Nikke celebrates an incredibly lucrative first anniversary
After a year on the market Shift Up’s star performer comes out victorious despite complaints and controversy
Brazil Budge
PTW to expand into Brazil, producing the company's 44th office
Joao Albani will lead the new office expected to employ upwards of 100 local workers
Visit London
Start planning your trip to London for Pocket Gamer Connects London 2024!
The leading games industry conference is returning to London this January – start planning out your days around the conference with this helpful guide to London attractions!
Acquisition Achieved
Modern Times Group takes 100% ownership of PlaySimple
Modern Times Group has seen a successful 2023 and goes from strength to strength with this latest deal
Linking Locations
Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link’s closed beta confirms geolocation gameplay
Square Enix has confirmed an upcoming beta test for iOS, with an Android test to follow
Job Losses
AdVenture Capitalist dev Hyper Hippo lays off over a quarter of staff
Redundancies hit various departments, including production and marketing
Adventurous Achievement
Seven Knights Idle Adventure pushes Netmarble to second biggest Korean mobile publisher
Idle Adventure has generated $40 million just under two months of global launch
Layoffs
Bungie axes staff throwing rumoured Destiny Mobile into uncertainty
After acquiring the company 15 months ago and in the face of difficult times for gaming at large, Sony are cutting costs and key staff
Lawsuit Landing
AviaGames accused of using bots to win its own cash prizes
A lawsuit from Big Run Studios and Skillz alleges that AviaGames Bingo Clash not only copied their Blackout Bingo but use bots to deprive winners
Modern Times, Mo' Money
Modern Times Group Q3 results show "even more encouraging" growth
MTG’s Q3 financials buck trends to reveal 6% year-on-year revenue growth
Jaws Of Defeat
Ubisoft London studio to close following loss of Hungry Shark development duties
After having the game they created handed to Ubisoft Barcelona, the move has proved to be the end of the line for Hungry Shark's originators
Investment Round
Casual games hub Playbite nabs $1 million in funding
US-based company aims to expand on its userbase of "several hundred thousand" monthly active users
Free To Paid
Facebook and Instagram to introduce ad-free subscriptions in EU
Meta aims to appease EU privacy regulators with €9.99 per month subscription fee
Investments
Developer Funstop secures $1.5 million funding from Indian investors
InfoEdge continue their investment in home-grown talent as part of India's increasingly vibrant mobile tech scene
Happy Halloween
Five horror games to play this Halloween
From dreamlike sidescrollers to AAA horror, mobile has got every base covered
Game Publishing
India's Nazara Technologies launches publishing division to support local and international developers
The company aims to launch up to 20 games across a variety of platforms over the next 18 months
Japanese Journey
SinoAlice to close down in Japan two months after SinoAlice Global's end date
Another Square Enix mobile game approaches the end of the road as the Japanese game - thought safe - is similarly getting the chop
Halloween Special
Pocket Gamer Connects London Spooky Super Early Bird tickets are ending soon!
Don’t get spooked - there’s not long left to secure the best deals for PG Connects London!
Capcom Financials
Monster Hunter Now powers surge in Capcom's mobile revenue
The company expects to see mobile revenue double in the next six months
Finding Funds
Riot veteran MJ Wong prepares Web3 AstrArk for gamers who "should be better treated"
$5.4 million has been raised in funding towards the launch of two Web3 games
Looking For Loyalty
RPGs have the most loyal fans, but how do different genres drive monetisation?
Mistplay’s 2023 Mobile Gaming Loyalty Report assesses which genres and models are working best
Homa Hire
Homa appoints Michal Kowal as director of publishing to strengthen hybrid and hypercasual games
Kowal joins after eight years at BoomBit and 12 in the industry
Chapple Comeback
Craig Chapple returns to PocketGamer.biz as Head of Content
Chapple will work with the team on providing industry leading news, expert interviews and insightful analyses
Ubisoft Financials
Ubisoft generated $885.2 million in revenue in the first half of 2023
The company broke records during the period
Seasonal Specials
Big games pull out all the stops for Halloween special events
What better time to put on a crowd-pleasing special than the unifying, international, scary spectacle that is Halloween? Here's how the big names are celebrating this year
Rovio Financials
Rovio saw a 5.6% decline in revenue in the third quarter of 2023
The company is "focused on finding out synergies that our life with Sega may entail to bring out the best in Rovio."