On The Up
June's China game approvals make it 2023's biggest month yet
In an incredibly consistent year, approvals have eked ahead to 89
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
Eyes Open
Anzu and Lumen’s two-year study finds that in-game ads come out on top
In-game ads have higher viewability and lead to higher purchase intent, study finds
Event Excitement
Mobile version of World of Tanks is makings its Tankfest debut this week
World of Tanks Blitz is joining the PC version in being featured at the yearly Dorset event
Sunny Days
Netspeak celebrates fourth anniversary with more than 1.5 million Sunshine Days downloads
In-game milestones include 32 million harvested plants and over 1,000 items sold
Summer Celebration
Genshin Impact to host real-world summer events in Paris, New York and Berlin
The game’s first-ever summer festival is coming this July
Moving On
Nicola Sebastiani has left head of mobile position at PlayStation
Pursuing a new opportunity
Web3 Wonder
Hybrid Web3 game NFL Rivals approaches 1 million installs in 6 weeks
15% of revenue generated through Web3 item resale between players
Gaming In Japan
Why we want more Square Enix mobile games in the West
Bravely Default: Brilliant Lights deserves a chance to shine outside of Japan. And that's not all…
Deal Disruption
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard sued by FTC
The Federal Trade Commission aims to block the acquisition sooner rather than later
Teaming Up
Activision Blizzard piles in to support Microsoft’s CMA appeal
UK regulator to face Microsoft and Activision Blizzard together in cloud gaming appeal
Gotta Catch 'em All
Pokémon Home goes Scarlet and Violet compatible with special rewards included
Mobile takes centre stage for console interconnectivity
Mobile Minions
Minion Rush reaches tenth anniversary with over 1 billion installs
The endless runner celebrates its runaway success with new promos and challenges
Ai Integration
41% of beta users are utilising Roblox’s AI Code Assist
Roblox’s AI tool is changing the game for developers
Data Deluge
Surfshark analyses data acquisition by top mobile games, from knowing your location to reading your texts
More than 500 apps were analysed in the full study
Super Squad
Supercell’s Squad Busters sees overhauls and improvements in second beta
A combination of Supercell IP come together
Here For A Hoot
Niantic reveals new tools and launches mixed reality Wol with 8th Wall
Wol the owl is AI-enabled, guiding users through a redwood forest
Awards Ahead
BAFTA Game Awards 2024 applications open early
Entries submitted late will be charged a fee to compete
Legends Landing
Pokémon Masters reaches 50M downloads with Legends: Arceus crossover on the horizon
This marks the first time characters will come from Hisui to modern-day Pasio
Creating Connection
BebopBee raises $4 million in funding to inspire "real-world connection" through mobile game brands
Investment from Bitkraft Ventures, Courtside Ventures, Andover, Goal Ventures and more
Coming Soon
NetEase showcases Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings games and a Vikings crossover
19 games were shown off in the English presentation of the company's latest roundup
China Chimes In
China approves Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition
Yet another approval counter to the UK’s decision
Moving To Mobile
Axie Infinity: Origins is available on the Apple App Store right now…in select countries
The NFT/Web3/blockchain hit is set to rise again as Sky Mavis works towards cross-platform feature parity
Stellar Star
Honkai: Star Rail pushes MiHoYo ahead of NetEase for revenue with only Tencent ahead
Honkai: Star Rail starts stronger than Genshin Impact
Graphical Goodness
Virtuos Labs’ new Warsaw studio aims to create "best-in-class" graphics
Peter Sikachev takes on the role of new studio’s rendering lead
Cars And Comedy
What the Golf? dev Triband launches new Apple Arcade game What the Car?
The latest comedy game from Copenhagen-based indie studio
Preliminary Performance
Krafton reports record Q1 with $407.8M in sales
Plus a 3% year-on-year increase
Anzu Addition
Meta veteran Nerissa MacDonald joins Anzu global sales role
Bringing more than 20 years’ experience from Adform, Sizmek and Meta
Ios 17 Incoming
Will Apple’s iOS sideloading be a Europe exclusive?
Could major regional differences be coming in iOS 17?
A Yes From Ukraine
Ukraine grants approval of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition
Ukraine is less concerned about cloud gaming than the European Commission
Pokemon Partnership
Niantic partner with Kung Fu Tea to keep Pokémon Go players refreshed
More than 350 bubble tea shops to collaborate with Pokémon Go
Chess With A Change
SuperDuperSecretCo raises $1m to make a chess battle royale game
Dual economy will make Web3 elements optional
Successful Surfing
Subway Surfers Blast launches in first partnership between Sybo and Outplay Entertainment
The fourth entry in the franchise changes gameplay to puzzle-adventure genre
Sci-fi Star
Honkai: Star Rail pre-installs available now on App Store and Google Play
A reflective round-up of developments on the next, eagerly awaited miHoYo game
Anzu Ads
In-game ads by Anzu.io triple Cooking Fever’s ARPDAU
Nordcurrent’s flagship title has 400 million total downloads
Celebrating In Style
1 great night, 22 winners: The Mobile Game Awards reveals 2023’s mobile standouts
From storytellers to mobile legends, who won big at this year’s Mobile Game Awards?
About Apple
Is Apple set to allow app sideloading in iOS 17?
Predicting the future of Apple after changes to European law
Golf Gaming
What the Golf? adds levels inspired by Among Us in latest update
New levels are exclusive to the Apple Arcade version for now
China Changes
Why you should be optimistic about mobile gaming in China
Game licence approvals offer new opportunities to Tencent, miHoYo and others
China Changes
Chinese game licences in 2023 could surpass the past two years combined
Niko Partners points out the positives of recent changes in China
Football Funds
Soccer Manager creator Invincibles raises £1m for two new games
Investment is the latest in repeat funding from Mercia
Adverts With Ai
Adludio raises $2.5M for mobile ad platform with AI technology
Investment from Mercia’s venture capital trust
Sporting Ai Soccer
FIFA’s new mobile game is built around AI footballers
It marks their first game independent of long-time partner EA
Collaborations
Fire Emblem Heroes may have just teased another Engage crossover
Nintendo has repeatedly pushed mobile as a cross-promotional tool
Nintendo Announces
Nintendo and DeNA officially establish joint venture Nintendo Systems
The latest step in a seven-year partnership
Here For Hybrid
Accessibility "crucial" for successful hybridcasual games
An analysis of the hybridcasual market by Sensor Tower and Homa reveals new key tips
Various Visits
Tim Cook represents Apple in visits to miHoYo and other Chinese partners
Meeting creators behind games like Genshin Impact
Executive With Experience
Debbie Bestwick to step down as Team 17 CEO after more than a decade
She will continue working with the company in a new role
Ai Integration
Moonlander.ai delivers multiple AI tools under one game dev SDK
The kit aims to lower the barrier to entry for aspiring developers to make use of AI power
Passionate Players
CS:GO reaches new player record as gamers aim to test Counter Strike 2
1.5 million gamers played concurrently on 25 March
Pokemon Power
Indian Pokémon Unite tournament boast biggest prize pool ever
The esports event takes place between April and June with $75,000 up for grabs