Finding Funds
Riot veteran MJ Wong prepares Web3 AstrArk for gamers who "should be better treated"
$5.4 million has been raised in funding towards the launch of two Web3 games
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
Looking For Loyalty
RPGs have the most loyal fans, but how do different genres drive monetisation?
Mistplay’s 2023 Mobile Gaming Loyalty Report assesses which genres and models are working best
Homa Hire
Homa appoints Michal Kowal as director of publishing to strengthen hybrid and hypercasual games
Kowal joins after eight years at BoomBit and 12 in the industry
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s mo.co launch, Netflix’s gaming strategy, and an AI seed round
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Cut the Rope successor to synthwave strategies
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Ai Advancement
Harmony Games raises $3M in seed round to build an AI puzzle game
The seed round was led by Griffin Gaming Partners
Aplha Agents
Richard Garfield’s auto battler Chaos Agents enters pre-alpha testing
The game was shown off on-stream ahead of the pre-alpha’s launch
Job News
Kwalee appoints Firebrand’s Mark Greenshields to VP of Bangalore studio
Mark Greenshields’ cross-platform experience is expected to be of great benefit to Kwalee
Intriguing Invitation
Supercell launches eagerly awaited new game mo.co in the US
The Finnish studio has rolled out invites to US gamers to try out its latest game
Mobile Manoeuvre
The next Dynasty Warriors game is on mobile, and it’s soft-launching today
Dynasty Warriors M is in essence a mobile port of 2018’s Dynasty Warriors 9
Kingdom Come
Square Enix drops Kingdom Hearts Missing Link tease after nine-month silence
The fan-favourite mobile spin could prove to be Square’s missing link after multiple middling releases
French Findings
French foresight: Only 3% of France’s games were hypercasual last year
The SNJV’s survey reflects upon 2022’s state of play in France
Sales Success
Bilibili passes 300m monthly users as Dead Cells hits five million Chinese sales
Five million paid installs in two years, with a big boost this August
Bakugan Brawl
Bakugan Brawling hits Roblox: Bringing big-name brands to the metaverse
Spin Master EVP and global chief marketing officer Jeremy Tucker discusses delivering IP to attract younger audiences while keeping faithful fans on side
Roblox Reduction
Roblox China faces layoffs as the company undergoes "evaluation"
It's safe to say that the launch of the Chinese version of Roblox, LuoBuLesi, didn’t quite go to plan
Bowing Out
Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light reaching "service completion" after a decade
AKA Square Enix has another mobile game on the chopping block… But at least this one has stood the distance
Strategic Streaming
Netflix plans to win "The Big Prize" of gaming
Netflix co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos, and VP of finance Spencer Wang revealed the future of gaming on the platform
Invest To Win
AppQuantum’s Core is the King will invest up to $1M in selected hybridcasual mobile devs
Core is the King is their new programme to support developers making hybridcasual games
Walking Whereabouts
Monster Hunter Now set to "surpass" Pokémon Go as geolocation games get moving in Japan
Sensor Tower’s latest report reveals location-based games’ performance in Japan
Trends
Chinese gaming trends revealed as 52% of the population play games
Trends, censorship, approvals, mixed genre games and more come under the microscope
Hot Five
Hot Five: Azur Games and Metacore acquisitions, hybridcasual hype, and Niantic’s new star
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: Our weekly pick of the best new mobile games, AR motion battles included
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Loads Of Layoffs
Up to 14,000 new redundancies at Nokia as sales fall 20%
By the end of 2026, an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 jobs will be axed
Monster Milestone
Monster Hunter Now wins big with 10 million downloads in 35 days
Niantic’s latest success: Here's the story so far…
Forge Finds Funding
Riot-backed Forge raises $11M to launch a platform rewarding gamer communities
Makers Fund, Animoca Brands and Bitkraft Ventures led the round
Halloween Hunting
Monster Hunter Now’s first seasonal event embraces Halloween
Niantic’s latest will celebrate its first seasonal event six weeks on from launch
Joys Of Japan
Japan’s mobile playerbase spends above and beyond on new mobile games
Diandian’s report shows how much Japanese players are willing to spend on the hottest new games
Loot Box Laws
South Korea to mandate 'probability displays' and investigate blockchain games on Apple and Google stores
Probability displays for card games will function similarly to the incumbent reveals of gacha and loot box odds
Loads Of Layoffs
Social storyteller and RPG developer Thought Pennies joins layoffs trend
Art director, producer, and design director each appear to have parted ways with the studio
Alternative App Stores
PUBG maker Krafton invests $14.8 million in alternate app store One Store
The South Korean store aims to expand in the West and take on big tech
Where To Work
Metaverse company Roblox wants employees back in the office
Despite pioneering the virtual space, Roblox believes in-person is better for innovation and creativity
Hybridcasual Hype
A casual revolution: Why even console devs want in on hybridcasual
Mobile changes fast, and while brave devs lead the way, there are plenty more happy to follow the lead
Spending And Selling
Epic Games delivers another 120 "fucked up" layoffs with Bandcamp sale
After 800 layoffs last month, Epic offloading Bandcamp has only led to further redundancies
Pokemon Party
Pokémon Go’s new Party Play aims to get even more gamers outside
The new feature sees players team up in groups of four and take on challenges
Bringing Bitcoin
AdInMo’s ZBD partnership will pay players Bitcoin in exchange for ad views
The partnership marks a first for their Rewarded InGamePlay and is available to community members now
Sundering Stereotypes
Gamers actually spend MORE time outdoors, but 58% still think they’re lazy
Research breaks down stereotypes around gamers and their health
Saved From Stress
Almost half of all gamers find a good friend or spouse through gaming
The majority of gamers use games to de-stress and improve skills along the way
Hot Five
Hot Five: Unity’s new CEO, Applovin rumours, and the biggest deal in games industry history is complete
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: Our weekly pick of the best new mobile games from pixel pandas to Roman adventures
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
African Advancement
Sony Ventures to invest $10M via new fund for African startups
Fintech may be Africa’s biggest funding category, but Sony’s focus is on entertainment
Battle Of Behemoths
Monster Hunter Now is Niantic’s second biggest game with $31.44 million in one month
Niantic and Capcom’s latest project is a roaring success by every metric
Runtime Rumour
AppLovin may make a second attempt at buying Unity, rumours suggest
Unity’s Runtime Fee backlash has led to a 40% drop in shares
Parental Perception
UK kids are most likely to make in-game purchases, but only 4% spend on loot boxes
Ipsos’ latest report for Video Games Europe finds in-game spending among children is highest in the UK
Chessboard Champs
Chess is playing the long game: The rise of the auto chess genre
Auto chess has been a popular genre since 2019 and is working its way into more and more games
Runtime Result
Everything you need to know about Unity’s new CEO Jim Whitehurst
With John Riccitiello stepping down after nine years, who's Unity's new boss and how much will it change under his watch?
September Success
China’s top publishers generated $1.96 billion this September
39 out of 100 top publishers were based in China last month
Two Tactics
Too big for your rules? miHoYo tried to dodge Apple App Store fees twice in one month
Apple has scuppered miHoYo’s fee aversion tactics twice - removing apps and disabling features
Hot Five
Hot Five: Niantic has a new star, Epic warns of "degradation in quality", and new games hit the market
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five Great Games
New release roundup: Our weekly pick of the best new mobile games
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Second Studio
Trailmix’s new directors blaze a trail with second studio in Berlin
Annelie Biernat and Christopher Parschat join as studio director and creative director respectively