Astronomical
Update: Fortnite's Astronomical Travis Scott concert gathers 27.7 million unique players
12.3 million concurrents on the first day, the largest number of concurrent users in the game's history
Staff
Ric Cowley
About Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.
Articles by Ric Cowley
Rovio Financials Q1 Fy20
Rovio profits soar to $14 million as UA spending is cut by almost half
Angry Birds 2 sees a very small increase in bookings despite the lack of UA
Most Read
Hot Five: Danganronpa coming to mobile, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp downloads skyrocket, and Brawl Stars launches in China in June
The hottest articles of last week
Pgbiz Podcast
PocketGamer.biz Podcast Episode 2: App Store expansion, Cooking Mama drama, and more!
Our weekly video chat about the goings-on in mobile games
Tilting Bear
Tilting Point signs multi-year publishing deal with GameBear for Nova Empire: Space Commander
China-based developer has generated $25 million from its game since late 2017
Candy Land
Stillfront Group acquires BitLife developer Candywriter for $74 million
Total deal worth up to $195 million including earn-out bonuses
Live And Kicking
Live and Kicking: How Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery graduated to its sophomore year with flying colours
Game director Sarah Wolf looks back over the last two years of magic
Earth Day 2020
Solitaire Grand Harvest launches environmentally-friendly activities for Earth Day 2020
"We want to ensure that, even under lockdown, the 50th Earth Day inspires more people than ever before"
Most Read
Hot Five: How Roblox's CTO is adapting to remote work, Kabam soft-launches Disney Mirrorverse, and Mike Bithell launches an audiobook
The hottest articles of last week
Time's Up
Sega Heroes and Crazy Taxi Idle Tycoon shutting down following Demiurge split from Sega
Servers close May 21st
The Big Two-oh
Gameloft celebrates 20th anniversary with free Gameloft Classics collection
Play NOVA, Modern Combat 2, and High School Hook Ups on your smartphone
Nifty Moves
Nifty Games closes $12 million series A funding round as it reveals NFL licensing agreement
NFL Clash will be the studio's first game
Most Read
Hot Five: Scrabble Go has a huge launch, Super Evil Megacorp saves Vainglory, and the making of Shantae and the Seven Sirens
The hottest articles of last week
Going Digital
I attended my first online conference last week, and I loved it
PGBiz Editor Ric Cowley discusses why online-only conferences are a boon for the whole industry
Here's A Story
Tamatem secures strategic partnership with Nanobit for launch of Hollywood Story in the MENA region
Now know as Fashion Queen
Nerf This
Homa Games partners with Hasbro on NERF Epic Pranks! and more
First of several games to be released
Will Mama Fix It?
Cooking Mama: Cookstar launch spoiled by cryptocurrency mining rumours and potential lawsuits
Game still available in physical form
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Why you shouldn't just "follow your GPS" and listen to your audience when designing live ops
GamePoint live ops manager Wouter Schrijvershof looks at the studio's work on GamePoint Bingo
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Looking at live ops from an analytics perspective
Small Giant Games lead data analyst Peitsa Hynninen
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: East Side Games on how it handles live ops, even when working remotely
CEO Joshua Nilson outlines the company's strategy
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Using AWS to make the most of live ops
AWS Game Tech's Chris Finch and Tabitha Graves dig into the specifics
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Comparing Clash of Clans and Clash Royale's battle pass implementation
Tiazu CEO Joseph Kim tells a tale of two cities
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Chris Heatherly on the state of the global games market
"You're gonna see video games evolve from this core-gamer focused, kinda geeky activity to something that's more culturally accepted broadly"
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Top tips for free-to-play game distribution
Imperia Online's Mariela Tzvetanova talks us through a range of strategies and partnerships you should be looking into
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: A brief overview of the Chinese mobile gaming market
TopOn's Harry Yang takes a glance at one of the biggest markets in the world
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: What investors in Europe and Asia want in the current climate
Fundamentally Games' Ella Romanos leads the chat
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Niantic offers tips and tricks for designing AR games
Laura Warner and Kirsten Koa share their experience
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: How to build and maintain successful, highly distributed teams
Zynga's Michelle Del Rosario on paying the PRICE
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: How Covid-19 is changing the mobile gaming advertising world
Bidalgo's Doron Wagner and Matthew Skurnick dig into the data
Remote Working Month
It's remote working month on PocketGamer.biz!
We want to hear from you about your experiences working from home
Most Read
Hot Five: Why people still play Coin Master, Rovio soft-launches Angry Birds Legends, and how Covid-19 is impacting mobile advertising
The hottest stories of last week
Live Ops Landscape
Get a feel for the Live Ops Landscape at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #1
One of seven tracks at the event
Editor's Choice
Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #1: Eight of the best sessions you shouldn't miss
PGBiz editor Ric Cowley highlights the sessions he won't be missing next week
Monetiser
Learn how to make money from your mobile games with the Monetiser track at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #1
One of seven tracks at the conference
Game Maker Insights
Get the greatest Game Maker Insights at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #1
One of seven tracks at the event
Nifty Hires
Nifty Games hires ex-Scopely executive producer William Schmitt as new general manager
Has also held roles at EA, Activision, and more
Unite Now
Unity unveils weekly online series Unite Now as it cancels all physical Unite events for 2020
Running through spring and summer
Mario Party
Updated: Rumour: Nintendo to celebrate Mario's 35th anniversary with multiple remasters on Switch
64, Sunshine, Galaxy, and 3D World all reported to be making a comeback
Keep Spinning
Why are people still playing Coin Master?
A dive into a game where the rewards aren't the main draw
Charitable Ads
Miniclip, MAG Interactive, Kwalee and more to donate a portion of their advertising inventory to charities
Free ad space for Make-A-Wish (UK), SpecialEffect, BuildAid and more
Mages;acquisition
Colopl acquires Steins;Gate creator Mages for $14.9 million
Bolstering the mobile publisher with a raft of niche IPs
Most Read
Hot Five: Coin Master's best monthly revenue ever, Brawl Stars grows amid coronavirus, and King offers unlimited lives across its games
The hottest articles of last week
Another Dive
Capcom's Shinsekai: Into the Depths is the latest Apple Arcade exclusive to jump to Switch
Adds new game modes to the original release and new port
Develop:brighton Delayed
Develop:Brighton delayed until November 2nd-4th as coronavirus uncertainty continues
Todd Howard still locked in as keynote speaker
Nvm Needs Your Help
National Videogame Museum turns to fundraising to prevent closure caused by coronavirus
Sheffield-based museum looking to raise £80,000 from donations
Most Read
Hot Five: Hay Day Pop soft-launched, how the games industry is tackling coronavirus, and Marvel Duel beta details
The hottest stories of last week
Making Of
Making Of: Sumo Digital lead game designer Nic Cusworth discusses how Spyder went from game jam winner to Apple Arcade release
"Going in, I don't think we realised what a huge challenge it was going to be to bring Spyder to life"
Develop:brighton
Develop:Brighton 2020 still planned to go ahead in July
Organisers are keeping a close eye on the coronavirus situation
Make The Switch
Dodge Roll Games and thatgamecompany bringing mobile titles to Switch in 2020
Exit the Gungeon and Sky: Children of the Light making the leap
Hay Day Pop
Supercell quietly soft-launches casual match-3 puzzler Hay Day Pop
Available in Australia, Finland, and New Zealand