Granting Games
Spring has sprung. 86 new Chinese game licences flower this March
The 2023 tide continues to turn with as the volume of new Chinese licence approvals continues to grow
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
Stellar Star
HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail to release in April 2023
Mobile and PC releases are coming ahead of PlayStation launch
A Game Of Risk
81% of biggest mobile games are vulnerable to basic cyberattacks
Promon finds that a mere 1 in 357 games could identify malware
Racing Ahead
Ace Racer zooms to 1 million downloads as devs showcase new technology
The tech behind NetEase’s graphically enhanced new game was shown off at last week’s GDC
Seed Secured
Mystic Games seed round aims towards bringing Web3 mobile games "into the mainstream"
Veterans from King, Rovio and more looking to democratise digital ownership
Collaborations
NetEase’s Vikingard re-collaborates with MGM’s Vikings
The mobile strategy game and historical drama series crossed over once before back in September of 2022
Microsoft Merger
EU delays decision on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard
Relax. The $69 billion acquisition decision has been pushed back to May 22
British Gaming
Study finds one in three Brits are gaming during remote working hours
Ages 35 to 44 most likely to use work devices for personal activities
Platform Partnership
ByteBrew partners with Mintegral to offer ad measurements and tracking tools to users
The 2021 startup has accrued 5,000 devs so far
Major Milestone
Bitcoin Miner surpasses 1 million players and becomes the biggest play-and-earn game
A week of celebratory events set to take place
Audio Ads
Odeeo and Any Ever partner to offer new touchpoint for audio campaigns
Establishing in-game audio ads in Germany
Reported Restructuring
UK-based Team17 is supposedly laying off employees from art and design teams
The publisher is currently aiming to restructure
Web 3 Ip
Brazilian Web3 dev Jungle raises $6 million in funding round
Web3 mobile shooter expected to launch later this year
Roblox Reveals
Stefano Corazza: AI will enable new Roblox users to create much faster
Roblox Studios head Stefano Corazza discusses the future of AI on Roblox
Back On Track
Genshin Impact revenue reached an 11-month high in February as Chinese devs flourish again
Sensor Tower data found 40 of the top 100 revenue earners last month were in China
Women In Gaming
International Women's Day 2023: Bringing attention to women’s role in gaming
International Women’s Day is here and we'll be celebrating all week
A Team Of Veterans
Former Riot Games execs raise $55 million in Series A for new studio Believer
Investments came from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bitkraft, 1Up Ventures and more
Buying Back
Modern Times Group has repurchased 176,970 of its class B shares
The company’s repurchase programme aims to increase shareholder value and optimise capital structure
Readying An Rpg
Immutable partners with Mineloader to speed up development of Guild of Guardians
Focusing on Web2 and Web3 aspects and economies
Mena Mobile
Driven by mobile, MENA games revenue predicted to reach $2.8 billion by 2026
Estimated 2022 games revenue was $1.8 billion
Monster Magala
Street Fighter: Duel announces Monster Hunter crossover with Gore Magala challenge
A monstrous crossover is on its way
Gotta Catch 'em All
Pokémon Masters EX gives players a free Champion of choice in 3.5 year anniversary celebration
Anniversary characters include Marnie, Hop and Bede
Shoryuken
Tencent’s Street Fighter: Duel arrives in the West
Tencent’s plan to release China-exclusive games abroad takes shape as A Plus Japan take on its European release
A Plus With Pikachu
Pokémon Go Plus + hardware works with your favourite Pokémon apps
The dedicated Pokémon accessory is back, powering up your Pokémon Go and Pokémon Sleep experiences this summer
Plans For Progress
Sky Mavis has "more aggressive" plans for Axie Infinity this year
Following a difficult 2022, during which $625 million was stolen from its Ronin Network
Artificial Intelligence Intrigue
Are AI chatbots coming to Tencent and NetEase games?
Many technology firms are considering services like that of ChatGPT
Forming A Partnership
WeMade partners with Nine66 to boost reach and develop talent in Saudi Arabia
The partnership represents a commitment to support gaming ecosystems
Chinese Culture
Tencent and other Chinese gaming companies to help promote Chinese culture
Big name companies are aiming to deliver "broader value"
New Reports
Embracer Group sees 128% sales increase but hardly any rise from mobile
The Q3 financial report reveals 2% rise in mobile revenue
Eyes On Ai
What could generative AI do for Roblox?
Roblox CTO Daniel Sturman envisions a "force multiplier for generative AI"
Hypercasual Hits
FreePlay doubles downloads in past year to reach one billion installs milestone
Coming from a portfolio of 18 titles
Acquisitions Abound
Paul Wedgwood’s Supernova Capital acquires Mi-Clos Studio and Little Red Dog Games
Ownership of IPs like Out There and Rogue State included
Immersion And Ai
Inworld AI’s report finds 99% of gamers are excited for AI NPCs
78% of players would talk to NPCs more if they were smarter
A Taste Of Mobile
Fanta rebrand includes mobile game launch to better reach Gen Z
Fanta Digital Ride n Sip includes motion control gameplay
Diving Into Data
72% of UK adults play video games every day
ExpressVPN research delivers the state of play, with millennials playing more than Gen Z
Generated In Japan
Japan Fair Trade Commission reveals Apple and Android revenue and distribution
Their new report shows ¥1.59 trillion generated on Apple in 2021, ¥1.04 trillion on Android
Personalised For Players
Idomoo delivers 18 million personalised videos for Assassin’s Creed’s 15th anniversary
Engagement is impressive with nine out of 10 viewers watching their entire personalised video
Emblem, Engage
Fire Emblem Engage DLC to feature Heroes’ original mascot
Heroes original character Veronica started out as the mobile game’s antagonist
Monetisation Model
F2P scores a win with Retro Goal’s monetisation strategy changes
Football-style game will still be free from ads
Creating In Canada
Krafton Montreal opens with reveal of The Bird That Drinks Tears adaptation
The studio is being led by Patrik Méthé, with their first game being based on a series of novels
Audio Advertising
Odeeo saw 300% YoY revenue growth in 2022 with 10 billion ad opportunities
The in-game audio ad platform’s team grew from 5 to 35 people
Download Deluge
Sand Balls publisher SayGames surpasses four billion lifetime downloads
Amassed across 100+ mobile games with one billion of these downloads in 2022 alone
Hiring Hand
Dubit hires new head of studio Regine Weiner, formerly of Epic Games
Regine Weiner was previously a part of Fastlane, Rival Kingdoms, Samurai Siege and more
Apple's Ads
Apple’s French fine reveals the secrets of its targeted advertising
The CNIL claims Apple is breaking French law and the probe has brought interesting insight to light
Changes Ahead
Google opens the door to alternative app stores in India
Following requirements by the CCI Google have made the first moves to allow in-app billing outside Google's own Play Store.
Sinking Shares
Shares in EA have plummeted more than 10% this week
Following news of cancellations and a delay
Crossover Incoming
Supercell reveals crossover game Squad Busters with characters from various IPs
Clash of Clans, Hay Day and more to be represented
Farmside In February
Team17 and Topia Studios’ Farmside is coming to Apple Arcade this month
Players to begin building their dream farms on 17 February 2023
Cross-platform Promo
Mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes required to unlock items in Switch 'sister' title Engage
The cross-promotional mobile-to-console tactics continue
Closed Beta Co-op
Could HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail recapture Genshin Impact’s success?
Final Closed Beta for the latest entry in the Honkai series coming to iOS, Android and PC