Financial Findings
Huuuge Games’ adjusted net profit rose 80% in the first three quarters of 2023
Q3 2023 was Huuuge’s fifth consecutive quarter of rising YoY EBITDA and they've 'huuuge' hopes for the future
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
Crowd Of Clans
Supercell’s Clash of Clans team doubled in size in 2023
Supercell set out at the start of the year to grow its team and clearly, it has succeeded
Predicting Prosperity
China’s gaming rebound is go and on track for $47.8 billion revenue this year
Niko Partners projects a 5.2% YoY rise in gaming revenue
Production Power
Layer AI seed round raises $1.8M to bolster generative game art production
The AI-powered productivity tool sees support from The Games Fund, GFR Fund and others
Statistical Significance
Unity’s Supersonic platform launches two big updates enhancing KPI insights
Supersonic updates its A/B testing page and ‘All Games’ page
Tumultuous Times
Almost half of all mobile games are axed in development and 83% don’t last three years
SuperScale’s new report reveals the vast majority of mobile games are shuttered by their third anniversary
Liberating Livestreams
Everything you ever wanted to know about Noice: Is this the future of livestreaming?
Noice is aiming to boost stream engagement through audience participation and its predictive interactive gameplay
Signing Up For Supercell
Supercell to hire "first ever" Brawl Stars producer alongside new staff for Clash Royale and mo.co
Supercell has been expanding its team in recent times and wants to make three more key hires
Studio Shuttering
Supercell-backed studio Papukaya is closing down after three years
The Helsinki-based studio aimed to reach non-gamers with experimental titles
Profit Power
NetEase profits up 23.4% as Justice and Racing Master drive strong Q3
Q3 financials reveal 11.6% revenue increase with over 80% from games and related services
Hot Five
Hot Five: Unity 6, Monopoly Go’s major milestone and Supercell’s creator support
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Warcraft Rumble to pixelated monster catchers
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Pioneering Peridot
Niantic bringing generative AI to Peridot for "surprising" AR encounters
Peridot taking augmented reality to a new level with AI pets reacting to the real world
Major Monopoly Milestone
Monopoly Go changes the game with a record-breaking $1 billion in seven months
It's the fastest ever casual game to hit the important $1 billion milestone
Financial Findings
Embracer's Q2 sales up 13%... but 900 employees are out
As the company rounds out a tough year bet sales have risen 13% while mobile sales rose 2%
Mobile Media
Ad networks down in 2023, with only four of the top 20 players showing an increase
Apple Search Ads and Google lead on respective platforms, with only Meta ads making the top five on each
Major Milestone
June’s Journey’s $1billion revenue makes German gaming history
Wooga’s flagship has reached the $1 billion mark just after sixth anniversary - the first game from Germany to do so
Skills Shortage
68% of UK games developers are suffering from skill shortages
TIGA’s new report reveals that most game studio hires are of pre-established industry workers
Sale Rumour
ByteDance is reportedly in talks to sell Moonton
After its massive 2021 acquisition, ByteDance is supposedly looking to roll back and focus on "core business"
Military Move
14% of Playtika’s Israeli employees summoned to military reserves
Approximately 150 of Playtika Israel’s 1,100 employees have joined the country’s military reserves
Gravity Gravitas
Gravity’s mobile revenues rise 95.7% YoY with worldwide Ragnarok success
YoY results show a strong performance in 2023, but figures are down from the last quarter
Web3 World
SBI Holdings reveals ¥100BN fund to bolster Web3 in Japan
Sega and Square Enix are already well underway on their blockchain journeys, and up to 200 other devs could join them through SBI’s support
Rising Revenues
Nexon’s Q3 2023 smashes records with 78% revenue rise in North America and Europe
This marks the sixth consecutive quarterly report with double-digit growth
Meta Manoeuvres
Tencent backs Meta’s VR push into China after a 14 year ban
Meta and Tencent are teaming up to bring a new lower-spec VR headset to China, pitched between Quest 2 and 3
Uk Acquisitions
BFI: More than 50% of UK games developers are now owned by overseas entities
The US accounts for 49% of overseas transactions followed by China’s 15%
Publishing Power
Top Chinese publishers accounted for 38.7% of October’s mobile revenue
Tencent, NetEase and miHoYo continue to triumph and Goat Games rises up the ranks
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s latest beta, Gardenscapes’ alternate distribution and a reset for Unity
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from 3D Zynga puzzles to Warhammer card battles
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Zeal For Zelda
With a Legend of Zelda movie on the way, why not a mobile game too?
Zelda's link to the future… Isn't it time that Nintendo gave the series a chance on mobile?
Download Deluge
Build a Queen’s download dominance highlights app store disparity
Build a Queen was September’s most downloaded Play Store game but didn't hit the top 20 on Apple's App Store
Making Money
The Big Games Industry Employment Survey explores salaries, satisfaction and AI use across Europe
Median salaries across professions reveal today's most lucrative gaming roles
Arcade Access
Backbone's holiday promotion includes three months of free Apple Arcade
New and existing customers are now eligible for three months’ access to Apple Arcade
Financial Findings
Square Enix’s IPs may be flagging on mobile but net sales are 5.3% up
Square Enix’s latest financial report reveals falling mobile revenue but free-to-play, microtransactions and subscription plans aim to turn the ship around
Funding Fun
GFR Fund to invest $53.5M in games, generative AI, tech and entertainment
Pre-seed investments are the focus, with Fund III also set to bolster prior investees
Early Results
Warcraft Rumble approaches $4M in four days with almost half of all revenue from the US
The numbers are in. Blizzard’s latest makes waves on mobile despite being locked out of China
Saudi Foresight
Animoca Brands partners with Saudi Arabia in $50M deal to bring Web3 to NEOM
The future of NEOM just got a Web3 update
Franchise Fortune
Monster Hunter Now is officially a hit, but is it the next Pokémon Go?
Almost two months on from Niantic’s latest launch, we take a deep dive into Capcom’s beloved franchise and promising new collaboration
Sega's Sonic Foresight
Sega Sammy Group teases first "Rovio x Sega" mobile game
The group’s financial report highlights future IP ambitions for Sonic, Persona 5 and more
Meeting Mo.co
With the beta period over, what's next for Supercell’s newest soft launch, mo.co
Now is the perfect time to ponder whether mo.co has what it takes to meet Supercell's exacting standards
Hot Five
Hot Five: Web3 tactics gaming, FunPlus’ latest soft launch and a bunch of new investments
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from time travelling Brits to cat rescuers
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Favourable Foresight
Indian gaming market predictions fall by $1 billion, but steady growth continues
The region’s previous $8.6 billion projection has fallen to $7.5 billion
A Happy Birthday
Goddess of Victory: Nikke celebrates an incredibly lucrative first anniversary
After a year on the market Shift Up’s star performer comes out victorious despite complaints and controversy
Brazil Budge
PTW to expand into Brazil, producing the company's 44th office
Joao Albani will lead the new office expected to employ upwards of 100 local workers
Acquisition Achieved
Modern Times Group takes 100% ownership of PlaySimple
Modern Times Group has seen a successful 2023 and goes from strength to strength with this latest deal
Linking Locations
Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link’s closed beta confirms geolocation gameplay
Square Enix has confirmed an upcoming beta test for iOS, with an Android test to follow
Adventurous Achievement
Seven Knights Idle Adventure pushes Netmarble to second biggest Korean mobile publisher
Idle Adventure has generated $40 million just under two months of global launch
Lawsuit Landing
AviaGames accused of using bots to win its own cash prizes
A lawsuit from Big Run Studios and Skillz alleges that AviaGames Bingo Clash not only copied their Blackout Bingo but use bots to deprive winners
Modern Times, Mo' Money
Modern Times Group Q3 results show "even more encouraging" growth
MTG’s Q3 financials buck trends to reveal 6% year-on-year revenue growth
Japanese Journey
SinoAlice to close down in Japan two months after SinoAlice Global's end date
Another Square Enix mobile game approaches the end of the road as the Japanese game - thought safe - is similarly getting the chop