Mena Expansion
Tencent Games sets up MENA HQ in Dubai
Chinese publisher set to invest in emerging market
Staff
Craig Chapple
Job Title
Head of Content
About Craig Chapple is the head of content at PocketGamer.biz, leading the team's editorial direction and developing the conference agenda for our Pocket Gamer Connects conferences around the world. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.
Articles by Craig Chapple
New Studio
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment opens new San Diego mobile studio
"This new studio is a testament to our continued evolution in the mobile games space"
East Meets West
East Meets West: Tencent and NetEase earn $11bn in H1 2019, and how Supercell's games are performing globally
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
The transformation of Finland's games industry, Nutaku closes in on 40m registered users, and the Top 50 Mobile Game Makers revealed
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
M&a
Playtika acquires Best Fiends developer Seriously
Terms of the deal were not disclosed
Super Stars
As Rush Wars hits soft launch, how are Supercell’s other games doing?
We analyse the recent performances of Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars
What A Rush
Supercell’s new mobile strategy game Rush Wars soft-launches in Canada, New Zealand and Australia
Gameplay revolves around defeating enemy bases
Rush Wars Reveal
Watch Supercell’s Rush Wars reveal right here
YouTube unveiling set for 9am UK time (BST)
Rush Wars
Supercell teases new mobile game Rush Wars
Rush Wars will soft launch on both iOS and Android, may release on Monday, August 26th
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade subscription could be priced at $4.99 a month
Hidden promotional messages also claims free month's trial for new users
Devcom 2020
Devcom returns in 2020 for expanded three-day event
2019 event attracted more than 3,000 visitors for two days of talks
Start-up Fund
Play Ventures closes $40m fund to back games start-ups
$10m more than the planned $30m raise
Adult Games
Gamescom 2019: Adult games platform Nutaku closes in on 40 million registered users
Platform picks up 130 million visitors per month
Hot Five
Dr. Mario World makes $1.4m in first month, Loot Crate goes bankrupt, and JaffaJam wants to shake up hyper-casual
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Finland Report
Finland's transformation from games start-up capital to mobile heavyweight
Ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki on October 1st and 2nd 2019, we take a look at the current state of the Finnish games industry and how it's changed
Narrative Design
Devcom 2019: Why mobile game narrative design is more than text and plot
King Berlin studio narrative designer Valentina Tamer offers her advice
Story Tellers
Devcom 2019: Gamebook’s design and monetisation tips for interactive fiction
Gamebook's Nico Nowarra delves into a few key design decisions it's made and shares some stats from its own soft-launched title
Devcom Kicks Off
Devcom 2019: “Let’s use the power of games to make this world a better place”
MD Stephan Reichart kicks off Devcom 2019 with another speech railing against populism and the far right
Partnership
Animoca Brands and Winfinite firm Versus Systems sign $500k mutual investment deal
Hong Kong publisher may leverage ad tools through its existing partnerships with other firms
Ua Partnership
Tilting Point partners with Slyon Studios on P2R Power Rev Racing UA campaign
Deal is part of the publisher's $132 million annual UA Fund
Investment News
Avakin Life developer Lockwood Publishing raises fresh round of funding
Sumo Digital studio director Karl Hilton joins as head of studios
Top Dog
Dimoso’s Jonathan Lopera joins Zynga to head up London communications team
The team will be responsible for publicising the company’s current and future games, employment opportunities and studio leadership outside of the US
Still Got It
Nida Harb 3 helps drive Stillfront revenue up 46% to $50m in Q2
Earnings before tax more than double to $13.3m
Perfect Growth
Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile and Perfect World power Tencent's smartphone revenue to $3.2bn in Q2
Overall online games business grew eight per cent to $3.9bn
Storytellers
Swag Masha on why it sold to My.Games and how it's carving out a space in the interactive fiction market
"We’ve learned that interactive story games are not a simple sell and if you are thinking about it as easy money - you better pass!"
Jaffajam
New Zealand hyper-casual start-up JaffaJam wants to shake up the sector
Studio soft-launches new title Mountain Madness built on its own BubbleGum toolset
Os Wars
Huawei unveils new Android rival HarmonyOS
The announcement comes amidst US trade war that has seen smartphone manufacturer banned from working with US firms without government approval
Roundup
Games industry roundup: Hangar 13 wants to "surprise and disrupt", Blockchain Cuties launches, and Ninja hits 1m Mixer subscribers
The biggest stories of the last week from the PC, mobile and blockchain spaces
East Meets West
East Meets West: US to overtake China as world's most lucrative games market, and PUBG Mobile makes more than Fortnite
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
Roblox on track for $100m dev payouts, Fyber launches FairBid, and Angry Birds Movie 2 is the highest-rated video game film
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Roblox Developers Conference
$100m dev payouts, 1.2 billion hours of engagement a month: What we learned at the Roblox Developers Conference
The Roblox team discussed the game’s growth, the latest developments on the platform and its predictions for the future
Big Appointment
Bigpoint names Yoozoo Holding Group president Jeff Lu as new MD
Former MD Brian Morrisroe leaves German developer
Financials
Take-Two wants to increase its presence in mobile as Social Point makes “meaningful” impact on sales
'PC and other' contribute to around 20 per cent of sales for the quarter
Header Bidding
Fyber launches new ad mediation platform FairBid
Marketing tech firm says it's in discussions with all major ad networks about gradually migrating from the waterfall to bidding
Roundup
Games industry roundup: The future of conversational games, DragonGlass pauses operations, and Ninja drops Twitch for Mixer
The biggest stories of the last week from the PC, mobile and blockchain spaces
East Meets West
East Meets West: Tencent and ByteDance get in the smartphone game, and India tops worldwide mobile downloads for Q2
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Hot Five
Apex Legends heading to mobile, EA Mobile's declining revenue, and Nintendo offers free Joy Con repairs
The hottest stories from the mobile games industry over the last week
Gotta Catch 'em All
Pokemon Go catches one billion downloads
Half of those were picked up in the game's first two months back in September 2016
Licence Royale
7% of Games Workshop royalty income comes from mobile
Total War: Warhammer 2 and Warhammer: Vermintide 2 cited for their strong performances in boosting royalty revenue
I'll Be Back
Three month Facebook Instant Games review pause coming to an end
Social network giant implements new application process
Chat App Gaming Blow
Facebook pulls Instant Games from Messenger
Move comes as the company claims it wants to make the chat app "faster, lighter and simpler"
To Boldly Go
Scopely’s Star Trek Fleet Command beams up $100m in eight months
Publisher's fastest-growing game to date
Meow
Tilting Point invests $30m in UA for Cat Game
The title has launched globally following successful Canada and New Zealand soft launch
Toys Means Toys
Bandai Namco’s new Tori platform merges physical toys with mobile gaming
Use of physical objects will control the virtual world
Licensing Deal
Animoca Brands’ Pixowl is making an Addams Family mobile game
Mystery Mansion will be based on the upcoming animated film
Financials
Mobile powers My.Games sales to $117m in Q2 2019
Smart devices accounted for 60 per cent of total revenue during the quarter
Flying High
Thatgamecompany’s Sky soars past one million downloads
Title estimated to have generated $175,000
Switch China
Tencent and Nintendo to host joint Switch press conference in China
Press event will take place in Shanghai on August 2nd
Alexa, Raise Money
Doppio Games raises $1.1 million for voice-controlled games
"It's certainly the most creative work I've done in the last 10 years," says CEO
Financials
Mobile fuels games growth at MTG in Q2 2019
Mobile games now represent more than half of all gaming revenue