Formulated
Gumi’s The Alchemist Code racks up five million downloads worldwide
The Japanese mobile games developer is celebrating with special in-game events
Staff
Iain Harris
About Iain is a freelance writer based in Scotland with a penchant for indies and all things Nintendo. Alongside PocketGamer.Biz, he has also appeared in Kotaku, Rock Paper Shotgun, PCGamesN and VG24/7.
Articles by Iain Harris
Chicken Little
PUBG Mobile’s first week revenues on iOS only a fifth of Fortnite’s
Players outside of China spent $700,000 in its first week of monetisation
Making Of
Hack and slash: The making of MIHOYO's Honkai Impact 3rd
MIHOYO president Forrest Wei Liu breaks down Honkai Impact 3rd's world
Connect
CyberAgent’s new release Princess Connect! Re:Dive propels games revenues to $368m in Q2 2018
Company credits Princess Connect! Re:Dive for the improved financial performance
Marvellous
Marvel Future Fight breaks the 70 million players mark
Netmarble celebrates the milestone by extending its in-game event campaign
Amazing
Games Week Berlin 2018 brings in 15,000 visitors
The seven-day rendezvous featured over 12 individual events including A MAZE/ Berlin
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Little Lost Fox's Niamh Fitzgerald on Valleys Between and finding the balance
"Some of my favourite days are ones where I get to focus on game design or technical art"
On The App
Mobile games revenues to hit $70 billion in 2018
Revenues will account for more than half of the $137.9 billion made across all platforms
On The App
Games featured on iOS 11’s Games Tab see 450% more installs
Largest increase in percentage was seen in the Medium List which resulted in a 451 per cent increase
Finnternal Promotions
Next Games promotes from within for management team
Finnish games developer also promotes former Head of Games Sami Nurmio to Head of New Projects
Lost And Found
Nintendo taps up Cygames for new RPG game Dragalia Lost
New RPG will be released this summer
Not Bad
Fortnite made $223 million across all platforms in March
Revenue was up 73 per cent from February according to SuperData
Switching It Up
Nintendo’s mobile games brought in $359.5 million in the last year
Overall revenue increased 116 per cent to $9.66 billion
Going Up
Chinese publisher 37 Interactive doubled its mobile revenue to more than $500m in 2017
Overseas revenue for mobile games also jumped up 80 per cent
Updated
Bidalgo launches self-serve tool for optimising Google universal app campaigns
The mobile app user acquisition platform aims to help marketers grow apps
New Hires
Recruitment drive at ad sales firm Venatus draws in 10 new staff
The company increased revenue 50 per cent year-on-year in 2017
Lift Off
Game Insight taps up Tamatem to publish Airport City in the Middle East and North Africa
The Arabic version of the game will be released on iOS and Android
Not Bad
Osmo surpasses one million educational AR game sales on iPad
Developer wants to scale up its operations
Co-op
Vungle brings its video ads platform to Samsung Galaxy Apps Store
The initial rollout will be in the US and South Korea
They Nominated Who
45 Android apps and games up for 2018 Google Play Awards
Well-being, accessibility and social impact make their debut as categories
Smashing
Latest Apple, Google and Samsung mobiles smash game monetisation record
DeltaDNA study delves into which devices’ players spend more money
Indie Mavens
Is there an opportunity for indie developers on chat app platforms like Facebook Instant Games?
We caught up with Strange Flavour CEO Aaron Fothergill and Perchang’s co-founder Ben Murch to find out
Not Too Shabby
Featured iOS apps can see up to 800% more downloads
A report by Sensor Tower delves into the download rates of featured iOS games
Closed
Nexon removes LEGO Quest and Collect from iOS and Google Play stores
The title had been in soft launch since June 7th 2017
Hot Five
Something's wrong in Finland, Rovio's post-IPO blues, and former Scopely and EA execs head up new studio
The hottest articles from the past week
Replay Value
Facebook tests playable ads on news feed
Audience Network release planned for later this year
Fold On A Minute
Nintendo Labo lands in the US, Australia and Japan
New arts and crafts style accessory will find its way to Europe on April 27th
Innovation
Ubisoft start-up programme backs blockchain and augmented reality devs
Initiative aims to support entrepreneurs working on exciting games-related technology
Giving Loot The Boot
Top games ruled to be breaking Dutch gambling laws with loot boxes
The authoritative body investigated 10 unnamed titles after concerns were raised by players, parents and addiction care workers
Head Of The Pack
Tencent leads the way in $22 billion spent on games deals in last 12 months
The internet giant participated in over $4 of every $10 invested in games companies and was involved in over three-quarters of all games M&A
Hack And Slash
Platinum partners with DENA for Okami spiritual successor World of Demons
The hack-and-slash title will make its way to iOS this summer with an Android release set for later in 2018
Good Loot
Fluffy Fairy Games and TreasureHunt named Europe’s hottest games start-ups in Red Herring Top 100
The games studios have been invited to the US to showcase their companies in June
Watch This
Twitch pulls in 82% of viewership hours of top 20 streamed games in Q1 2018
Twitch and YouTube Gaming generated 2.5 billion viewing hours
Count On It
Konami readies Castlevania mobile game in Japan
Grimoire of Souls will host a closed beta ahead of its launch on iOS later this year
Tech Line-up
Line launches new mobile games developer tools to combat clones and track player behaviour
Also includes automated QA and testing platform
Big Spenders
US iPhone users spent an average of $58 on apps in 2017
The figure marks a 23 per cent increase from the previous year
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Bontegames' Bart Bonte on creative constraints and the allure of puzzles
The developer discusses his most successful games to date and what the future holds
Bust
Free-to-play casino games land four gaming companies with online gambling lawsuits
Legal action follows a similar ruling that found Big Fish Games’ casino experiences to have violated Washington state law
Survival
Endemol Shine UK soft-launches new survival game starring Bear Grylls
Legendary Games, All 4 Games and Nelson X Creative Ltd also listed as a part of the project
Departure
EA Mobile senior VP Mike Verdu departs
Exec cites travel and lengthy commute as reasons for exit
Hot Five
Japanese mobile games trends for 2018, mobile stock winners and losers, and Tencent opens up mini-games platform
The hottest articles of the past week
New Digs
Big Blue Bubble moves to new digs in Ontario
The Jungle Guardians developer now shares a studio space with Voices.com and Autodata
Kitted Out
Tools firm The Game Creators launches AppGameKit AR
The updated AR tools come with additional features and bug fixes
The Animal
Marvel Strike Force dev FoxNext teams up with Dave Bautista to promote animal charity
The Guardians of the Galaxy actor chose to promote Frankie’s Friends as a part of True Heroes campaign
Good Cause
War Child UK launches retro games-inspired campaign to raise awareness for children affected by conflict
Mobile games developers Ustwo, Kongregate and Social Point take part in Re-Play
Awards
Gorogoa and Golf Clash score accolades at the BAFTAs
Pixel Hunt’s Bury Me, My Love was also nominated in several categories
Co-op
Nordeus teams up with UK charity to raise awareness for undiagnosed heart conditions
The Top Eleven developer donated its shirt sleeve spot with Stoke City for the football club’s match with Tottenham Hotspur
Mental Health
New study claims mobile apps can help treat anxiety and depression
The study used data from Litesprite’s beta test of Sinasprite to determine the effectiveness of mobile games in combating mental health issues
Live And Kicking
Four years on: Square Enix Montreal on the evolution of Hitman Sniper
Senior producer Dominic Allaire discusses how the studio learned to use live ops to sustain a premium game
Impact
New mobile RPG Honkai Impact 3rd racks up 35 million downloads
Players who download the game will earn launch rewards and bonuses throughout April