Co-op
Skybound teams up with Sky to create narrative focused mobile games
Skybound Stories will create games based on new and existing IPs
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
Scrollin
Bethesda's Todd Howard shows off Elder Scrolls: Blades gameplay at Apple’s iPhone event
Elder Scrolls game set for a fall release this year
All The Range
iPhone XS, XS Max and XR unveiled at Apple keynote event
Previous ranges also discounted or discontinued
Indie Spotlight
The story of Triple Topping Games’ Spitkiss puts polyamory front and centre
“We thought it was an interesting subject and also something you may have a lot of questions about”
Direct
Delayed Nintendo Direct set to go ahead September 13th at 11pm UK time
Last weeks direct was delayed due to natural disasters
Bird Feed
Rovio teams up with Jazwares to create range of toys for Angry Birds
The range of toys will support Rovio’s upcoming entertainment ventures
Here Comes The Boom
Boom Beach blows past $820m in revenue for Supercell
The MMO real-time strategy released back in 2013
Rawr
Ludia’s Jurassic World Alive takes home over $25m in four months
The location-based title averaged $1.2 million per week in revenue for August
Open For Business
Unity and Google Cloud launch open-source matchmaking project
Open Source is games engine agnostic to allow game creators to reuse a common matchmaker framework
X Marks The Spot
From Nintendo Switch to PC: Inside Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki’s Connect X track
Pocket Gamer Connect Helsinki lands in Finland September 11th to September to 12th
New Digs
Nexon swaps up US offices in California to reflect company culture
New Hawaii Street HQ is two floors and 49,307 square feet
Not Too Shabby
Mobile Strike racks up over $1 billion in revenue for Machine Zone
Lion’s share of income hails from the US with 55 per cent
Traded
All things Trade Trends at Pocket Gamer Connect Helsinki
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki will last from September 11th to 12th.
Eastern Delights
A peek into Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki's East meets West track before it happens
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki will last from September 11th to 12th
Monetised
Looking inside the Monetiser track at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki touches down in Finland from September 11th to 12th
R&d
Scotland set for $11.6m games research and development centre
Students also stand to benefit with work experience through InGame partnership
Come Together
NantWorks invests in H1Z1 developer Daybreak and forms new publishing division
Mobile versions of H1Z1 coming
Indie Mavens
Why is the Nintendo Switch so popular among indie mobile devs?
Our Indie Mavens weigh in
Kitted Out
Looking into the Developer Toolkit track at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki touches down in Finland on September 11th to 12th
Super
$1.5m daily August revenue pushes Supercell’s Clash Royale to $2.2 billion in lifetime earnings
The daily intake was up from the $1.2 million per day average in July
Earthquake
Nintendo Direct delayed following earthquake in Japan
The games showcase will be rescheduled soon
Lay Of The Land
Looking across the Live Ops Landscape at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki touches down in Finland on September 11th to 12th
Listed
Chinese mobile games publisher CMGE looking to raise $500 million through Hong Kong IPO
The company originally delisted from Nasdaq in 2015 in the US
Suspended
Tencent suspends Arena of Valor global CM following sexual harassment accusations
Nick Zasowski to undergo full investigation following claims of inappropriate messages being sent to women
Straight Fire
Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Heroes brings in over $417m in revenue
The tactical RPG has made up 78 per cent of Nintendo’s mobile revenue since launch in February 2017
On Cloud Nine
All things cloud gaming at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki touches down in Finland on September 11th to 12th
Summoned
Summoners War draws in revenues of over $1.3 billion
The turn-based strategy MMO title initially launched back in June 2014
Pressing On
Shigeru Miyamoto says Nintendo will push on with fixed price model for mobile games
The Nintendo developer also believes companies should “deliver games at reasonable prices"
On Tour
Critical Force partners up with ElisaViihde and OnePlus for Critical Ops esports push
The OnePlus Masters tour will be held in eight different locations throughout Finland
Hot Five
Supercell on what it takes to make a great game, Wilhelm That joins Dodreams, and the making of Donut County
The past weeks hottest articles
I Choose You
Niantic contributes tech to community improvement through new fellowship programme
The Niantic/ Knights Fellows Program will be a six-month initiative that will allow US communities to use the developer’s tech
Getting Kolsch With The Industry
5 things we learned at Devcom and Gamescom 2018
After six days in Cologne we have returned with wisdom to share
Indie Spotlight
"I had way too much confidence": Ben Esposito on Donut County's six year journey through development
“One of the biggest challenges was the decision to make it by myself"
Making A Splash
Paint Hit scores over 15 million downloads in two months
The hyper-casual paint-based shooter originally launched on June 11th
Oh No
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney dubs Google ‘irresponsible’ over Android bug row on Fortnite
Google had made it public knowledge that hackers could hijack the game's installation software and load it with malware
Gone In An Instant
“The goal really is for developers to be able to build and scale games profitably”
Facebook director of games partnerships in Europe, the Middle East and Africa Bob Slinn on ditching the revenue split on Android
Jobs Jobs Jobs
Hutch bolsters work force with new senior designer and client engineer
Mark Bridle and Martin Pane join from Marmalade Games and ALPixel Games respectively
Tindered
HBO and Nerial partner for Games of Thrones Reigns spin-off
Reigns: Game of Thrones will land in October for mobile and PC
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Jam City's Brooke Costa on how to get a job as a lead engineer
"Everyone makes mistakes, but being able to take responsibility for them and learn from them is not a universal skill"
Live And Kicking
Three years on: Bandai Namco on the evolution of Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle
"That pure fanboy spirit is something I believe I share with our users and something I take into my work on the game"
Indie Spotlight
From assassins to companions: Brie Code on travelling, stress and #SelfCare
“Let’s create deep, heartening connections that we all deserve”
Early Bird Gets The Worm
“In 2030 the market will be in the top five economies in the world” How to get into Indonesia’s mobile market early
Agate’s Shieny Aprilia gave a talk at Devcom on how to get into the industry
Dinners On Them
Tencent’s PUBG Mobile racks up over 100m downloads
The mobile iteration of the popular battle royale game launched four months ago
Starring Role
Revenue up 616 per cent for Supercell's soft-launched Brawl Stars in July
The month saw the Finnish developer add new countries to the soft-launch along with new content
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Nanobit's Jure Rasic on how to get a job as head of product
"I love the feeling when we’re thinking up new ways to entertain and make more fun for our players."
Get Connected
Six reasons to attend Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki if you’re an indie
From Indie tracks and Big Indie Pitches to networking and parties
Crushing It
King’s Candy Crush Saga enjoys highest grossing 12 month period with $930m made
The match-three title made $693 million in the 12 months prior
Sweet
King enters mid-core RPG market with newly launched game Legend of Solgard
The candy crush dev’s has previously failed to garner any traction with previous soft-launched midcore titles
Live And Kicking
Three years on: Square Enix on the evolution of Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius
Producer Hiroki Fujimoto delves into keeping players invested, events and Ariana Grande
Co-op
Jagex launches third-party publishing label Partners as RuneScape revenue crosses $1bn
Will offer up live game publishing and operational services to third-party studios