Tencent Turnaround
China approves 32 overseas licences including Nexon and Tencent’s Mobile DnF
While an unstable landscape for games, China continues to prove a lucrative one
Staff
Aaron Astle
Job Title
News Editor
About Aaron is the News Editor at PG.biz and has an honours degree in Creative Writing.
Having spent far too many hours playing Pokémon, he's now on a quest to be the very best like no one ever was...at putting words in the right order.
Articles by Aaron Astle
Peak Performance
Match Factory! surpasses $20M… With 99% coming from iOS
Peak Games’ Match Factory! has taken the 3D puzzle world by storm since its August 2023 release
Mega Mobile
A huge 72% of 2023 game revenues came from mobile
Xsolla’s State of Play report reveals the latest gaming trends and a trajectory akin to e-commerce
Hot Five
Hot Five: Layoffs stack up, strategic investments are abound, and Nintendo finds cause for mobile celebration
Our quick-fix start-the-week roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Fire Emblem Burns Bright
7 years of Fire Emblem Heroes: Evolving beyond an SRPG into Nintendo’s only billion-dollar mobile game
Fire Emblem Heroes is seven years old today, and I’m still playing…
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from RPG gachas to Web3 tower defence
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Ip Investigation
The Pokémon Company will "investigate" IP infringement after questions raised around Palworld
Palworld's monster designs are being compared with Pokémon's as questions around IP and copyright swirl
Atelier Arrival
Koei Tecmo’s Atelier Resleriana launches worldwide today
The first mobile main series Atelier game releases globally four months on from Japanese launch
Nierly Over
Square Enix to shut down Nier Reincarnation in April
The third entry in the Nier series is approaching end of service, coming just after the third anniversary in Japan
Pgc London
AI vs NFTs… What’s really the next big thing in games?
Panellists at PGC London discuss the various technologies prevalent in recent years and where they may be going next
Pgc London
King’s senior UX writer Greta Septinia talks conversion and "actionable microcopy" in Candy Crush
At PGC London, Greta Septinia discusses content design at King
Pgc London
Working with voice talent: How to prep VAs and tap into their abilities
Maria Borys-Piątkowska discusses finding and working with voice talent at PGC London
Pgc London
Top insider tips on successfully pitching your game to publishers
Nocturne Games venture partner Bobby Wertheim reveals his pitching guide at PGC London
Pgc London
You were laid off… What now?
An insightful PGC London panel discusses experience with layoffs and what to do next
Pgc London
NFTs, loot boxes, bad language… Changes are coming to PEGI’s age rating system
Games Rating Authority director general Ian Rice and Video Games Industry Memo editor George Osborn discuss PEGI age ratings at PGC London
Pgc London
The power of the minutia in virtual reality, treating players like developers, and "spying" on them
CM Games’ Serg Kharchenko speaks spying on players and treating them as " a part of the development team"
Pgc London
The future of Gen AI: "I don’t see how this doesn’t become a key part of the workflow"
PGC London panel discusses the future of games development with artificial intelligence and its potential threat to the jobs market
Pgc London
Newzoo’s Tom Wijman: There’s absolutely something to be said for having your mobile games on PC and console
Newzoo’s Tom Wijman’s talk at PGC London reveals all about the pros and cons of porting mobile games to other platforms
Pgc London
PGC Panel: Nurturing a community, social media strategies and "actually calling your players"
A PGC London panel discusses the tools and platforms devs can use outside of games to improve player retention
Pgc London
Corbomite Games' Oded Sharon on why every game maker should have "their own Chief AI Officer"
Corbomite Games CEO Oded Sharon discussed the evolving uses of AI at PGC London 2024
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from pirate pals to wrestling rivals
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Flagship Funds
Leslie Benzies' Build A Rocket Boy studio raises $110M for "flagship" trio of projects
RedBird Capital Partners leads investment in Build A Rocket Boy’s Everywhere, MindsEye and Arcadia
Google Says Go
Google lays off 1,000+ employees in stealth as AI takes on the workload
Employees from ad sales, hardware, AR, Pixel, YouTube and more have been quietly let go through the month
Successful Defence
Homa wins Craft Island court case against Voodoo, ending almost three years of uncertainty
Voodoo had accused Homa of "maintaining confusion" through similarities between Homa's Craft Island and their own Lumbercraft
Layoffs Looming
Thunderful Group to lay off 20% of workforce in the first half of 2024
Approximately 100 staff members will be exiting the company as a restructure gets underway
Mag Millions
MAG Interactive’s Q1 EBITDA up 671,033%
UA challenges lead to 21% net sales decline
Gotta Earn 'em All
Pokémon Masters surpasses $300 million in lifetime player spending
After Pokémon Go, Masters marks The Pokémon Company’s second-biggest mobile game by revenue
Tencent Tumble
Tencent's external investments have dropped 87% in two years
From healthcare to AI start-ups, the number of Tencent investments in external companies decreased from 299 in 2021 to just 39 in 2023
Macrosoft
Microsoft talk AI and topple Apple, making them the world’s biggest public company
Microsoft shares were up 3% last week while Apple’s were down by 3%, enough of a tip to put neck-and-neck Microsoft over the top
Whiteout Wonder
Whiteout Survival surpasses $400 million in 11 months
Century Games’ frosty survival title has slid its way onto nearly 30 million mobile devices
Out Of The Loop
Double Loop may be closing before its first launch but Scopely is taking on its staff
Double Loop has struggled through a "hostile funding and marketing environment" in recent years
Class Confrontation
Into Games is raising £100,000 to take on class disparity in UK games
With working-class jobseekers eight times less likely to get a start in gaming, Into Games wants to make a change
Rallying Relief
Capcom and Square Enix donate millions in relief funds to support victims of Japan earthquake
Donations of ¥120 million and ¥50 million from two of Japan's gaming giants will support victims of the earthquake and rebuilding efforts
Hot Five
Hot Five: Global layoffs continue, playtime rises, and Monster Hunter celebrates 20 years
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from bopping tank tunes to Chinese martial arts
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Star Stats
2023 saw record highs in time spent on mobile and almost half a million app installs every minute
Here are five key stats to know from data.ai's State of Mobile 2024
Executive Exit
Unity restructure sees six ironSource co-founders step down
New CEO Jim Whitehurst clears the decks with key ironSource figures moving to non-executive roles while Tomer Bar-Zeev will continue to serve on the Board of Directors
Sybo Celebration
Subway Surfers character crafting compo brings winning design in-game for 12th anniversary
Sybo’s endless runner is approaching 12 years, with a Craft-a-Character competition to celebrate
The Greatest Genres
RPGs dominate consumer spending, generating 30% of all 2023 mobile game revenue
data.ai’s new report reveals reveals that the genre generated $24.5 billion - a huge 30% of revenues - from only 3% of total game downloads
Regional Revenues
China and US accounted for more than 50% of the $107 billion spent on mobile games in 2023
data.ai’s latest report reveals all about regional revenue and download differences
Brand Ability
Cooking Fever’s TGI Fridays crossover reached four million in two weeks
Nordcurrent and TGI Fridays have partnered to bring the restaurant chain in-game for 2024
Monopoly Go, Go, Go!
Monopoly GO! topped 2023 download AND revenue charts in the US
Sensor Tower reveals the top performers of 2023, from mainstays like Pokémon Go to fresh contenders like Block Blast
Ceo Change
WildWorks CEO Clark Stacey steps down after 21 years
WildWorks is best known for 2010 Flash game Animal Jam which has reached 175 million players on browser and mobile
Streaming Success
Video games dethroned as the UK’s top entertainment sector
Video streaming services such as Netflix have pushed video ahead of gaming in annual UK revenue
Monster Milestone
20 years of Monster Hunter: Capcom celebrates two goliath decades in 2024
From humble origins to worldwide brand, from PS2 tech excitement to 3DS handheld, mobile and more, Monster Hunter has built up quite the legacy these past 20 years
Shiny And Supportive
Pokémon donates ¥50 million to support those impacted by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake
The January 1 earthquake has caused particular damage to Wajima, Suzu and Noto
Next For Netflix
Netflix considers new monetisation tactics for gaming arm
With so small a fraction of Netflix subscribers playing its games, the streaming giant reportedly looks to make more money from its efforts
Hot Five
Hot Five: Tencent’s newest gameplan, PlatinumGames’ pullout, and investing into Indian Esports
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Tamagotchi escapades to exercise encouragers
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Promotion Plan
Netmarble plans to appoint vice president Byung Gyu Kim as co-CEO this March
Byung Gyu Kim will rise to the role provided he is met with approval at the upcoming shareholders’ meeting