King Calls
King appoints ex-TomTom and Zalando exec Eric Bowman as CTO
Steve Colins steps down from the role to explore AI and return to investment world
Staff
Aaron Astle
Job Title
Features & Data Editor
About Aaron is the Features & Data Editor at PG.biz and has a First-Class 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
Dubai Gamexpo Summit 2023
Super Evil Megacorp’s Taewon Yun: "Gen AI is like a goldmine surrounded by a minefield"
Super Evil Megacorp chief business officer Taewon Yun’s talk at Dubai GameExpo Summit 2023 powered by PG Connects focused around AI and Web3
Iteration Inspiration
Report: Tencent's top studios developing Palworld-like mobile games
TiMi and Lightspeed studios are reportedly developing mobile games inspired by Palworld
All About Ads
Intrinsic ads make players 5% more likely to consider in-game spending
Anzu and Happydemics find intrinsic ads to have the highest recall rate, brand identification and purchase consideration
Securing Spending
32% of spending players in mobile games plan to cut back in 2024
Mistplay’s 2024 Mobile Gaming Spender Report reveals that 54% of big spenders make three or more purchases per month
Team Tencent
Tencent "focusing on fewer bigger budget games" as it shifts away from IP strategy
Publishing giant moves Assassin's Creed Jade team to DreamStar as part of new focus on internal products and fewer big franchise bets
Revenue Rivals
Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile generates $1.4m in first four days
Shooter launched globally on March 21st after racking up more than 50 million pre-registrations
Hot Five
Hot Five: Epic’s app store plans, Turkey’s tax exemptions, and Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile finally releases globally
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Netflix exclusives to fantasy worlds
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Taking A Bite
US files lawsuit against Apple’s "monopoly power to extract more money from consumers"
It's happened… Apple is accused of driving up prices, withholding information from developers and more
Partnership Power
Marblex partners with CARV to deliver data-driven Web3 experiences
Netmarble’s blockchain company Marblex to be elevated by CARV’s data capabilities
Expanding Experiences
Roblox’s $35M Creator Fund to support short-form video content
Roblox’s fund expands on the types of content supported by its programme, now going beyond gaming
Investing In Innovation
The Inevitable Games Fund will invest up to $100 million in innovative Web3 games
King River Capital, Immutable, and Polygon Labs join forces to invest in the Web3 sector
Flexion Finances
Flexion revenue climbs 64% as Epic gives the gaming market a "boost of confidence"
Distributing Monopoly GO! to alternative app stores was one among many 2023 wins at Flexion
Monster Metrics
Monster Hunter Now is actually BEATING Pokémon Go in these key metrics…
Monster Hunter Now may have a smaller audience, but that audience is more monetised
Jobs News
Mobile Movers: All the latest appointments and job moves from around the industry
Moving and shaking - there's new roles at Supercell, Keywords Studios, Microsoft, Griffin Gaming Partners, AdInMo and The Games Fund
Gaming Glory
Hybridcasual generates 800% more revenue per user than hypercasual
Adjust and AppLovin’s The Gaming App Insights Report highlights hybridcasual’s impressive year after analysis of the top 5,000 gaming apps
Organic Opportunities
SuperScale's ebook serves organic growth tips, making mobile games more sustainable
Longevity is a rarity in the mobile gaming space with 83% of games not making it to their three year anniversary
Roblox Ramps Up
Roblox’s Avatar Auto Setup and Texture Generator are the latest AI tools for the 3D space
Roblox reveals two AI-powered tools at GDC
Multiplatform Multiplayer
Multiplatform and multiplayer games overtake single format and single player
Unity’s 2024 Gaming Report reveals a rise in multiplatform development and with a focus on multiplayer
Profit Power
Huuuge Games' profits up 35.1% in 2023 despite falling revenue and DAU
Revenue was down 11% but cost cutting measures helped Huuuge achieve another year of rising profits
Retention Vs Revenue
In-app purchases decline but ad revenues is up 26.7% despite falling player retention
Unity’s 2024 Gaming Report finds retention rates and IAPs are down, but there's still plenty of room to make money
Powering Prototypes
Game development time slowed in 2023 despite AI tech, but 71% celebrate its strengths
Unity’s Gaming Report 2024 reveals a slowdown from 218 days to 304 in average development
Hot Five
Hot Five: Monopoly GO’s next-level UA, Supercell’s psychological analysis, and AI use for NPC dialogue
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Web3 RPGs to comforting kittens
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Monster Milestone
Six months of Monster Hunter Now: A well-earned celebration as Niantic catches lightning twice
Monster Hunter Now has generated $150 million in its first six months, making it Niantic’s second-biggest game behind Pokémon Go
Mini Makeover
Supercell axes Clash Mini as "bold changes" get underway, but there’s still hope…
Supercell swing the axe once more… But Clash Mini won’t be shuttered but integrated into Clash Royale
Billion Brilliance
Monopoly GO makes $2 billion in 10 months with "less than a quarter" of that spent on UA
Over 70% of the game's 10 million+ players play the game every day
Crossplay Capabilities
Adjust integrates Google Play Games for PC to enable cross-platform measurement
Marketers can now directly attribute installs to PC campaigns
Shifting Shares
Shift Up’s projected valuation up to $2.3 billion after Goddess of Victory: Nikke’s success
Tencent is currently Shift Up’s biggest investor with a 24% stake
Mena Musings
From esports to Heinz, everyone talks gaming at MENA’s Dubai Lynx
ESL Faceit Group, Emirates and Heinz discuss game industry wins
Apple Arcade Addition
The Battle of Polytopia+ lands on Apple Arcade with DLC perks
Eight years and 20 million downloads later, The Battle of Polytopia joins Apple’s subscription service with DLC included
Mobile Must-have
Mobile games expertise a "must-have" as sector projected to generate $195 billion by 2030
GlobalData’s Mobile Gaming Thematic Intelligence report predicts "most gamers will embrace mobile gaming in the next few years"
Ambitious Ads
Eric Futoran talks balancing player experience, sustainability, and monetisation
Embrace CEO and former Scopely co-founder discusses player engagement, ad engagement, and game mechanics with Half Moon Studios CEO Pieter Kooyman
Hot Five
Hot Five: Candy Crush’s latest game, Apple fights Epic and the DMA, and InnoGames salaries revealed
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from an NFT RPG to a Game Boy Color love letter
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Monster Milestone
Monster Hunter Now climbs to $150 million in time for six month anniversary
Japan remains the biggest spender by far, followed by Hong Kong and Taiwan
Fun At The Fest
Pokémon Go Fest 2024 will span three continents across three months
Pokémon Go Fest is the game’s biggest event of the year, with dates announced in Japan, Spain and the US for 2024
People Power
Capcom to "invest in its people" with a payrise for all employees
It's a great day to be part of the Capcom family as it make an "investment in the people who support the future of the company"
Download Deluge
Hypercasual powerhouse Supersonic verges on five billion downloads in its first four years
Supersonic by Unity has published some of the industry’s most downloaded games, Bridge Race included
Cpi Situation
ATT continues taking a toll: The cheapest CPI on Apple still costs more than the priciest on Android
Android’s most expensive ad form costs $1.22; Apple’s cheapest is $3.09
Revenue Rivals
Honkai: Star Rail’s monthly revenue doubles while Genshin Impact slips back
miHoYo’s two biggest games generated a combined $180.3 million on mobile in February
Pay And Play
Xsolla’s Cross-Play Cross-Pay is the latest platform-agnostic audience builder
As cross-play becomes increasingly prevalent, Xsolla’s new solution helps port mobile games to other platforms
Acquisition Expansion
The Collective Ace Group and By Aliens take on the world with latest acquisition
By Aliens joins The Most Games and Odspeed Games under The Collective Ace Group’s expanding global umbrella, bringing more than 70 games into the fold
The Web3 Way
Gamer Arena nets investment into Web3, AI and esports ambitions
Dutch VC fund Domino Ventures has invested an undisclosed sum into the competitive platform
Earning Equality
InnoGames reveals staff salaries: So how do your compensations compare?
Equal Pay Day is taking place on March 6 in Germany - a day when brave, pro-active companies reveal the pay grades of their staff
Candy For Canada
Candy Crush Solitaire soft launches in Canada
King’s Candy Crush Solitaire is available now in Canada, following a beta in July 2023
Netease Nets A Win
Eggy Party helps drive NetEase games revenue up 9.4% to $11.5 billion in 2023
NetEase generated $11.5 billion from video games in 2023
Ip Intentions
EA's new mobile strategy focuses around "significant library of owned IP"
Mobile continues to be the largest gaming platform and EA sees strong growth opportunities in the segment
Eggcelent
NetEase’s Eggy Party reaches 500 million players in under two years
The party game surpassed 40 million daily active players during the Lunar New Year