On The Up
June's China game approvals make it 2023's biggest month yet
In an incredibly consistent year, approvals have eked ahead to 89
Very Big Indie Pitch
Smash Head Studio's roguelite action platformer wins the first ever Dubai Big Indie Pitch
Winners breakdown
Milestones
Goddess of Victory: Nikke passes $400m on mobile
Latest figures put it in spitting distance of heavyweights like Diablo Immortal
Rewarded Play
Zebedee and adjoe partner to bring bitcoin rewards to games
The partnership will let players earn blockchain as they spend time in-game
Investment
Flexion gains new shareholder in Alta Fox Capital
The Texan firm has invested an undisclosed amount in the publisher
Trading
Hero Wars developer Nexters to restructure as GDEV Inc
The company resumed trading on the NASDAQ this year
Accelerating Diversity
Ten game makers named for the Wings Elevate 2023 accelerator program
The Netflix sponsored program features ten game makers all from gender diverse development teams
Investment Fund
Lumikai launches new $50m game fund backed by Supercell, Krafton and more
The fund focused on investing into early-stage game makers
Harry Potter
$360M grossing Harry Potter: Magic Awakened finally gets a global release on June 27
The game generated over $228 million in it's first two months alone from initial China release in 2021
Developer Funding
Avatar tech company Genies unveils $1 million developer engagement fund
The fund is for developers building AR experiences for a new social network
World Rainforest Day
Playtika will secure over 314 thousand acres of land in the Amazon
The latest House of Fun Impact initiative is in partnership with environmental rewards program Dots Eco
Launches
Tencent extraction shooter Arena Breakout set to release on July 14
The shooter promises a hardcore experience for mobile players
Legslation
Finland’s Neogames industry body weighs in on controversial new immigration law
The latest proposed reforms continue to draw strong criticism from companies who rely on foreign talent
Investment
Mobile fashion title Drest acquires £15m in new funding round
The mobile dress-up game has collaborated with numerous fashion brands
Ea Reorganisation
EA Games breaks into two companies: EA Entertainment to look after mobile games
Mobile remains under Jeff Karp as part of the newly formed EA Entertainment as FIFA Mobile hits $1 billion in revenue, EA Sports becomes an entity in itself
Magazines
Game acceleration platform Homa launches new physical and digital magazine
The studio will feature exclusive insights in both an online and print format
Ai Powered Ugc
Yahaha launches AI driven, cross platform co-creation tool
The studio has attracted significant interest and investment
Angry Birds
Angry Birds educational games are on the way
The games come as part of a new partnership between Rovio and Legends of Learning
Eyes Open
Anzu and Lumen’s two-year study finds that in-game ads come out on top
In-game ads have higher viewability and lead to higher purchase intent, study finds
Milestones
FIFA Mobile passes $1bn revenue threshold
The game was first released in 2016 and is based on the highly successful console franchise
Legislation
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen and other game execs decry Finland's "catastrophic" new three-month immigration law
Finnish Game leaders call out new rules that would require unemployed skilled workers to leave the country
Job News
Keywords Studios appoints Robert Kingston as CFO
Kingston brings more than 25 years of experience to the role
Ubisoft Mobile
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot on Ubisoft’s increasing presence on mobile
Guillemot outlined their success and future plans for mobile at their Ubisoft Forward event
New Mobile Games
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and AEW to partner for new mobile title
The game will be a free-to-play title
Report
Indian mobile gaming market report predicts rise to $8.6bn in value
The report was produced in collaboration with AppTweak and Appsflyer
Event Excitement
Mobile version of World of Tanks is makings its Tankfest debut this week
World of Tanks Blitz is joining the PC version in being featured at the yearly Dorset event
Delays
New Zealand competition authorities to delay decision on Activision Blizzard acquisition to July 17th
The delay comes as the US FTC and UK CMA both levy actions against the landmark deal
Thank You
Meet the fantastic companies supporting tomorrow’s Dubai GameExpo Summit
A massive thank you to our fantastic sponsors and partners, the Dubai GameExpo Summit wouldn’t be possible without your support!
Newzoo Report
79% of all gamers play on their phones, with 35% only gaming on mobile devices
47% of gamers play on multiple platforms, but mobile dominates single-platform play
Job News
Kris Davis and Olivier Courtemanche appointed co-heads of PlayStation mobile
The new appointments follow Nicola Sebastiani’s decision to leave the company
Investment
Turkish mobile startup Fuse Games receives $2m investment
The studio is making a big play of the use of artificial intelligence in the creation their games
Sunny Days
Netspeak celebrates fourth anniversary with more than 1.5 million Sunshine Days downloads
In-game milestones include 32 million harvested plants and over 1,000 items sold
Consultation
Indian NGO Prahar calls for ban of Tencent's Undawn
The organisation previously lobbied for the BGMI ban
Webedia Gaming Europe
Webedia expands gaming interests with Webedia Gaming Europe
Catalina Lou has been appointed to the role of senior vice president of global gaming
Gaming Africa
Senegal sets up a new gaming hub
The country is aiming to become a focal point for West Africa’s gaming industry
Summer Celebration
Genshin Impact to host real-world summer events in Paris, New York and Berlin
The game’s first-ever summer festival is coming this July
Payments
Japan to stop Apple and Google charging through proprietary payment systems
Alternative payment systems will need to be offered
Moving On
Nicola Sebastiani has left head of mobile position at PlayStation
Pursuing a new opportunity
Partnership
Animoca Brands partners with Japanese Web3 company Matsui
Animoca has been trying to expand its global reach after divesting from the US
Play With Pride
38% of Finnish gaming professionals identify as LGBTQIA+
The country had a higher proportion of LGBTQIA+ workers in the game industry than the worldwide average
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news including MiHoYo's star performance, gaming in India and never-ending legislation woes…
Monopoly Go!
Monopoly GO! had the biggest casual launch of the last five years
New figures from Scopely show that Monopoly GO! is already off to a flying start
Job News
Playdigious appoints Abrial Da Costa as CEO
Da Costa brings more than two decades of experience to the role
Events
Why Toronto is the place to be for PG Connects 2023!
The provincial capital of Ontario is the next setting for PG Connects in 2023
Now Hiring: Sunday
Sunday: Your Next Opportunity for a Career Leap
Looking for your next role in mobile games? Find out more about the company, culture and team at Sunday - the Hamburg headquartered publisher with a bold vision for the future
Sneak Preview
Network with the likes of Jawaker, Unity and Sandsoft Games at Dubai GameExpo Summit next week!
Get a sneak peek of some of the companies joining us in Dubai next week! Don’t miss your chance to connect with the biggest names in the industry
Milestones
Diablo Immortal passes $500m milestone
It’s only the 15th game to pass this threshold in its first year
Sensor Tower Report
Honkai: Star Rail races past Genshin Impact in overseas revenue
MiHoYo’s latest game continues to be a massive success according to the latest data
Fluent Report
48% of Gen Z-ers have at least four gaming apps downloaded
A new report by Fluent delves into the world of app downloads
New Studio
Krafton opens new deep learning-focused studio, ReLU Games
The studio will be Krafton’s 11th independent developer