Upstream
Upstream: the mobile games streaming and esports digest – August 15 2022
PocketGamer.biz and Stream Hatchet break down the monthly stats on mobile games making waves on streaming platforms and esports events
Staff
Lewis Rees
About Lewis Rees is a journalist, author, and escape room enthusiast based in South Wales. He got his degree in Film and Video from the University of Glamorgan. He's been a gamer all his life.
Articles by Lewis Rees
The Battle Royale Ends
Unity rejects AppLovin acquisition and reaffirms its commitment to ironSource merger
The company’s board of directors have decided Applovin’s offer isn’t in the company’s best interests
Bold New Moves
Unity attracts major, local investors as it expands into the Chinese market
The move has attracted investments from some of the country’s tech giants
Monetisation's Potential Unleashd
Mobile game subscription service Unleashd expands with two new titles
The services offers free-to-play developers new revenue streams
The Mobile Nation Attacks
Square Enix announces soft launch of Avatar: Generations
The turn-based RPG is set in Nickelodeon’s popular Avatar universe
New Hire
Ex-Crystal Dynamics lead Michael Brinker joins Imagendary Studios
Brinker has been appointed Game Design Director
Financial Report
Rovio H1 2022 report: Good results in a market facing headwinds in Q2
The Angry Birds franchise was – as ever – a particularly strong performer
Igda Riyadh
International Game Developers Association announces its first Saudi Arabian chapter
The new chapter is being created in collaboration with Nine66
Financial Report
East Side Games release Q2 report
The company's tie-ins with popular IPs proved successful
Huuuge News
Huuuge reveals intent to review strategic options
The company has launched an internal review into its processes to increase monetisation.
Gtr 2022
Global Top Round heads to Sweden for 2022 Conference
Ten developers will receive investments starting at $40,000 dollars.
A New Partnership
Xsolla partners with Adikteev to accelerate game monetisation
The new service will help developers market their titles directly to the consumer
Expert Opinion
Should Unity join AppLovin, buy IronSource or just stay as they are? The mobile industry weighs in!
The move could supercharge the new company’s earning potential, at the risk of creating a monopoly
Introducing Madness Ventures
Product Madness unveils game development incubator program
The program will help developers, build, test, and market their free-to-play games
Quarterly Finances
Unity announce 9% revenue growth, but lower annual guidance in Q2 results - no comment on Applovin deal
This call should be of considerable interest due to AppLovin's acquisition plans
Quarterly Report
Roblox revenue increases 30% year-on-year
Daily active users increased 21% while hours engaged increased 16%
Quarterly Report
Korean market key as Nexon experiences a record-breaking quarter
FIFA Online 4 and Dungeon&Fighter Mobile were the company's biggest mobile hits
An Acquisition Battle Royale
AppLovin offers to acquire Unity for $17.5 billion
The acquisition threatens to unravel the Unity IronSource merger
Reports And Forecasts
EA forecasts a 48 per cent boom in mobile revenue in the coming fiscal year
FIFA Mobile sees record-breaking net booking quarter for Electronic Arts
Mobile Dominance
Mobile games more profitable than console AND PC combined, reports Activision Blizzard
Latest financial report shows Call of Duty Mobile, Diablo Immortal and Candy Crush central to $1.64
billion Q2 revenue
Stranger Things Have Happened
Netflix games only engage a slim minority of its streaming audience
Fewer than 1% of subscribers are playing the company's mobile games
Bold New Horizons
PlayStation Mobile seeking to acquire mobile studios to help realise expansion goals
Acquisitions are in the pipeline once the company appoints its new director of business development
Congratulations!
King of Avalon celebrates sixth anniversary
Frost & Flame expansion helps drive $10 million revenue for FunPlus in the last 30 days
Quarterly Report
Playtika sees big success with casual games
A strong quarter for the company
Layoffs
Jam City lays off 17% of staff
150-200 staff lose their jobs of a company-wide restructuring
Good News For New Devs.
Xsolla launches systems to help new developers accelerate growth
Xsolla Accelerator and Xsolla Payout offers educational programs, funding, and streamlines payments
Power To The Developers
Mobile developers can sell to consumers outside of app stores, with the latest updates from Xsolla
Multi-Platform Publishing also makes it easier to port to web and PC platforms for more monetisation options
Global Mobile Market
IP-Power and Eastern markets play a major role in July mobile industry performance
The month saw big success for midcore titles.
Congratulations Patty
4Players appoints Patty Toledo as marketing director
Toledo will help the company expand its brand worldwide
Get Ready To Give
SpecialEffect announce 15th anniversary date for One Special Day campaign
The event will run on October 7th
Stocks And Shares
Tencent reportedly seeking larger stake in Ubisoft
The rumoured stake raise will see Tencent become the single largest shareholder in the company
A Strong Quarter For Mid-core Titles
The highest-grossing mobile games of the quarter revealed
A new study examines the mid-core, casino, and casual markets
A Bad Period For Growth
Most mobile genres see revenue decline in the first half of 2022
The market saw a year-on-year market fall of 9.6 per cent
New Frontiers
Tencent is developing a handheld cloud gaming console
The device is being developed with Logitech
Intrusive Ads
Exclusive: The games sector responds to Google's Ad policy updates
Here’s what the gaming ads sector thinks about the controversial decision
Streaming Giants
New report reveals Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is the seventh most streamed game of Q2 2022
Mobile gaming is doing well on YouTube, despite lagging somewhat on Twitch
Blockchain Gaming
RoboHero launch a self-titled game with metaverse components
The game is implementing NFT heroes and blockchain farming
The Sporting Metaverse
Sports metaverse platform, Stadium Live raises $10 million in Series A
The round was led by KB Partners and Union Square Ventures
Privacy And Partnerships
Appodeal Stack’s in-app bidding solution BidMachine is officially supported by AppLovin MAX
The partnership will allow MAX publishers easy access to Bidmachine's demand
Policy Vs. Profit
Google’s new ad policy could be bad news for hypercasual games
Indie developers might find user acquisition and monetisation hit hard on September 1st
Mobile Majority
More than half of ALL games revenue this year will come from mobile
Global mobile games industry forecast of $103.5 billion in 2022, according to new report from Newzoo
Opportunity
F2P publisher 10K Riders secures half-a-million dollar investment
Cypriot company seeks new mobile game developers
Flip Phones Are Back
Are foldable phones here to stay?
Samsung shares sales figures, revealing 10 million foldable phones sold in 2021
Gender Discrimination In Gaming
Riot Games set to pay $100 million in gender discrimination suit
$80 million going to the women affected and $20 million going towards court fees
The Cost Of Privacy
Apple’s privacy overhaul “leading to massive adverse effects to SMBs”, says Alex Gurevich
“As much to blame for a recession as inflation”
Success In The Industry
L8 Studios closes pre-seed investment round
The round included participation from WePlay Ventures and Lima Ventures
New Hire
Big Fish Games appoints Gary Rosenfeld as head of business development
Rosenfeld will hold the same title for parent company Pixel United in North America
New Appointment
Mattel appoints Mike DeLaet as global head of digital gaming
DeLaet will oversee the company's portfolio of digital games
Quarterly Report
Ubisoft Q1 2022 report shows 9.8% sales decline
Mobile performance is strong, but other platforms have seen cancellations
A New Step For Jagex
Jagex makes its first acquisition with Pipeworks Studios
US-based developer is the Runescape creator's first studio investment