A Whole New World
Gameloft reveals two new Disney games for mobile
Disney Princess Majestic Quest and Disney Getaway Blast arrive later this year
Staff
Matthew Forde
About Matthew Forde is the deputy editor at PocketGamer.biz and also a member of the Pocket Gamer Podcast. You can find him on Twitter @MattForde64 talking about stats, data and everything pop culture related - particularly superheroes.
Articles by Matthew Forde
Indie Spotlight
Indie Spotlight: Ndemic Creations on how games-as-a-service has become the status quo
"One of the things I love about the games industry is that no one really has a clue what is going on."
Job News
Lightstream appoints Major League Gaming co-founder to board of directors
Sundance DiGiovanni will be the company’s fifth board member
Come Together
Gismart partners with Sony to license music for its Karaoke app
Deal includes songs by The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones and more
The Bell Tolls
Nintendo pulling Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in Belgium amidst loot box concerns
Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp will be taken offline in August
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: CD Projekt Red’s Hollie Bennett on going from midwife to head of communications
"Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s going to hurt. You're going to see rejections, you might not even see responses. That’s okay. It’s not going to happen overnight"
Brazil Tops List
Battle royale Garena Free Fire generated $90 million in Q1 2019
73 million new players have downloaded the battle royale title
Drastic Measures
Report: Nippon Ichi Software unable to pay staff following Disgaea RPG technical issues
Firm looking to sell off stock shares at low price
Build Me Up
Minecraft builds to 176 million copies sold worldwide
Estimated to be the second highest selling game of all time
Job News
Marvelous CEO Haruki Nakayama resigns due to poor health
Shuichi Motoda shall succeed
Pokemon Quest
NetEase to launch first Pokemon mobile game in China
Game Freak and The Pokemon Company onboard
New Research
Tapjoy: Mobile games have gone mainstream in the US
63 per cent of mobile gamers were found to be women
Steve Go
AR game Minecraft Earth arrives on mobile this summer
Players can sign up to a closed beta now
Esports
Gameloft launches esports tournament series for Asphalt 9: Legends
A prize fund of $22,325.00 (€20,000) is up for grabs
Streaming
MainStreaming raises $6 million to stream games in Europe and the US
Company to expand into the games market further
Portability
Nintendo Switch overtakes PlayStation 4 lifetime sales in Japan
Sony still dominates heavily in worldwide sales though
Games To Fund
Games2Win launches Replay games funding initiative for Indian developers
Mentoring, developing, advice and marketing
Winner Winner
Battle royale games have surpassed $2 billion on mobile
NetEase’s Knives Out leads the way
Live And Kicking
Five years on: Pixonic on keeping the War Robots community happy
"We’re working on a secret feature that will be a huge step in War Robots history"
Move Over Sony
Netflix to host E3 panel and teases more games
“There’s definitely more to come!”
What A Rush
Pokemon Rumble Rush revealed for iOS and Android
Evolution of 2017 Pokeland title that was in the works
Loot Boxes
Sweden to review consumer protection measures against loot boxes
Swedish Consumer Agency to conduct investigation into casino-like elements in games
Indie Spotlight
"There are too many games that have been designed around the business model"
"I wanted to create something which was beautiful, accessible, yet deep and challenging"
New Update
PUBG Mobile adds new gameplay management tool to help promote “healthy gaming”
Aimed at young users under the age of 18
That’s A Twist
Detective Pikachu captures biggest weekend opening ever in US for a video game film adaptation
$58 million made from American Pokemon Trainers
Apple Vs Pepper
US Supreme Court declares Apple can face monopoly lawsuits
Dispute to be settled in lower courts
Season 2
Supercell partners with South Korean TV network OGN for Clash Royale League
Handling production in the West and Asia
Investor Meeting
Nintendo and Tencent not expected to bring Switch to China before March 2020
Not included in the company’s sales targets for 2019
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Gameloft’s Hugues Ossart on organising international events and esports
"The most important thing in esports is keeping the player at the heart of the experience"
New Opportunities
SK Telecom partners with Microsoft on 5G, AI and cloud technologies
SK Telecom will adopt Microsoft 365 secure solution
It’s In The Game
EA launches E3 Play app for iOS and Android
Set to take place between June 8th to 9th
Financials
DeNA games sales and profits fall in FY2018
Company hopeful Mario Kart Tour can do the business in 2019
I Choose You
The Pokemon Company partners with DeNA for new mobile game
Game is due to arrive before the end of March 2020
The Debate Continues
Germany considering new minor protections laws against loot boxes and mobile monetisation
The state of Bavaria has proposed new guideline citing the “exploitation of the inexperience and credulity of adolescents”
Instant Games And Hyper-casual
Sports, Facebook and succeeding in China: Inside Instant Games and Hyper-casual at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
Accessibility Debate
How do indie developers address accessibility in video games?
The Indie Mavens share their experiences with accessibility
Charts
Weekly global mobile games charts: Roblox the top grosser on US App Store
Charts from April 22nd to 28th
Trade Trends
Branding, culture and diversity: Inside Trade Trends at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
Growth Track
User acquisition, engagement and retention: Inside the Growth Track at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
Live And Kicking
Four years on: Netmarble on how Marvel Future Fight has continued to assemble fans
"In order to compete with other games, the title should be as fun as if it only came out yesterday"
Speaker Spotlight
PGC Seattle Speaker Spotlight: Hothead Games' Oliver Birch to offer expertise on marketing ‘Idle Games’
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle 2019 will take place on May 13th to 14th
Very Twisty
Detective Pikachu mystery event rolls out in Pokemon Go as revenue continues to climb
Title made $65 million for the month of April
Pokemon Go Competitor?
Microsoft digs up Minecraft AR teaser for mobile
More information will be revealed on May 17th
Paperboy
Apple co-develops first game in over a decade with Warren Buffett’s Paper Wizard
Texas Hold ’em was the company’s previous release in 2008
Superstar Sessions
Emerging trends, player retention and advertising: Inside Superstar Sessions at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th
Financials Calendar
Mobile games industry financials calendar 2019
Rounding up the key dates and reports to keep you on top of the mobile business
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Pocket Gems Alex Muscat on how to get a job as an art director
"It’s important to realise that the artists are the tools - not the software"
Jobs News
Mobile ad tech firm Pocketmath appoints Joanne Joynson-Hewlett as CEO
“It is a time of unprecedented growth and opportunity for Pocketmath”
For The Throne
Game of Thrones: Conquest has largest revenue month in April
Title grew 90 per cent year-on-year
East Meets West
Development, publishing and opportunities in Asia: Inside East Meets West at Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle
Pocket Gamer Connects Seattle will run from May 13th to 14th