Redundancies
Montreal-based Ludia lets 45 staff go in new round of layoffs
The company has clarified the impact its restructuring will have on its employees
Staff
Iwan Morris
Job Title
Staff Writer
About Iwan is a Cardiff-based freelance writer, who joined the Pocket Gamer Biz site fresh-faced from University before moving to the Pocketgamer.com editorial team in November of 2023.
Articles by Iwan Morris
New Features
Niantic adds Campfire to Pokemon Go in social gaming push
The new feature aims to draw players of their biggest game into their social ecosystem
Shock Report
Google accused of misleading its advertisers on over 80% of ad placements
“Repackaging shitty, brand-unsafe outstream as instream is a big problem," quotes a new report with potential refunds running into billions
Updates
Unity goes deeper into AI as it announces two new tools
The game creation platform has positioned the use of generative AI as increasing focus of its offering
Financials
MAG Interactive sees in-app purchases soar 54% year-on-year in latest financials release
The company is known for titles such as Wordzee
Report
Midcore makes up 35% of total gaming revenue on iOS in the United States
The findings come as part of a report from analytics firm Liftoff
Restructuring
Hi-Rez announces layoffs in studios, dissolving Rogue Company: Elite developer First Watch Games
Right now it's not entirely clear who will take over development of the mobile title
Investment
SuperScale raises $5.4m in Series A funding round
The scaling firm raised €5 million as part of the funding
Documentation
Zynga, Playrix and Niantic were all potential entries on Microsoft’s shopping list
News comes as part of the revelation Microsoft considered buying Sega
Features
Subway Surfers to introduce first AR features into the long-running title
Sybo introduced the “Subway Studio” feature as part of their latest update
Mini-games
WeChat’s mini-games have over 400m monthly active users
The all-in-one social media app and platform is used extensively throughout China
Interview
Elena Grigoryan on My.Games’ new global outlook
The company has refocused from its European homeland and into the wider world, including MENA
Milestones
Goddess of Victory: Nikke passes $400m on mobile
Latest figures put it in spitting distance of heavyweights like Diablo Immortal
Investment
Flexion gains new shareholder in Alta Fox Capital
The Texan firm has invested an undisclosed amount in the publisher
Trading
Hero Wars developer Nexters to restructure as GDEV Inc
The company resumed trading on the NASDAQ this year
Investment Fund
Lumikai launches new $50m game fund backed by Supercell, Krafton and more
The fund focused on investing into early-stage game makers
Launches
Tencent extraction shooter Arena Breakout set to release on July 14
The shooter promises a hardcore experience for mobile players
Legslation
Finland’s Neogames industry body weighs in on controversial new immigration law
The latest proposed reforms continue to draw strong criticism from companies who rely on foreign talent
Investment
Mobile fashion title Drest acquires £15m in new funding round
The mobile dress-up game has collaborated with numerous fashion brands
Magazines
Game acceleration platform Homa launches new physical and digital magazine
The studio will feature exclusive insights in both an online and print format
Ai Powered Ugc
Yahaha launches AI driven, cross platform co-creation tool
The studio has attracted significant interest and investment
Milestones
FIFA Mobile passes $1bn revenue threshold
The game was first released in 2016 and is based on the highly successful console franchise
Legislation
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen and other game execs decry Finland's "catastrophic" new three-month immigration law
Finnish Game leaders call out new rules that would require unemployed skilled workers to leave the country
New Mobile Games
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and AEW to partner for new mobile title
The game will be a free-to-play title
Report
Indian mobile gaming market report predicts rise to $8.6bn in value
The report was produced in collaboration with AppTweak and Appsflyer
Delays
New Zealand competition authorities to delay decision on Activision Blizzard acquisition to July 17th
The delay comes as the US FTC and UK CMA both levy actions against the landmark deal
Investment
Turkish mobile startup Fuse Games receives $2m investment
The studio is making a big play of the use of artificial intelligence in the creation their games
Consultation
Indian NGO Prahar calls for ban of Tencent's Undawn
The organisation previously lobbied for the BGMI ban
Payments
Japan to stop Apple and Google charging through proprietary payment systems
Alternative payment systems will need to be offered
Partnership
Animoca Brands partners with Japanese Web3 company Matsui
Animoca has been trying to expand its global reach after divesting from the US
Events
Why Toronto is the place to be for PG Connects 2023!
The provincial capital of Ontario is the next setting for PG Connects in 2023
Milestones
Diablo Immortal passes $500m milestone
It’s only the 15th game to pass this threshold in its first year
New Studio
Krafton opens new deep learning-focused studio, ReLU Games
The studio will be Krafton’s 11th independent developer
Partnerships
Hutch to partner with Forza's Turn 10 for standalone racing game
The studio behind Top Drives is set to tackle working with Microsoft's top driving team
Markets
Tencent and NetEase regain momentum as licences return
But licences volumes are still below their equivalent levels from 2017
Milestones
TikTok becomes first app to surpass $1 billion consumer spend in single quarter
The milestone puts it above competitors such as Tencent's Honor of Kings.
Closures
Co-developers of Subway Surfers, Kiloo, to shut its doors
The studio’s staff were served a notice of termination to take effect at the end of June
Funding
Million Victories secures $6.5m in funding
The money came as part of a series A funding round
Funding
UK video game industry to benefit from additional $5m boost
The boost comes as part of a larger plan to boost creative industries by $50bn
Artificial Intelligence
ChatGPT app reaches 351,000 downloads in the UK
The generative AI platform has proved a winner in mobile app form
Announcements
Is Samurai Shodown coming to mobile on Netflix Games?
A now-private video, widely shared, indicates the SNK title would be released soon on Netflix Games
Legislation
Google's ads business under threat from EU Commission
The European Commission has sparred with Google before
Launches
Krafton launches pre-registrations for Clash-like Defense Derby
The title will be developed by RisingWings
Legislation
India to enact new laws prohibiting three types of mobile game
The new regulations are both a clarification, and an incredibly broad set of factors to be interpreted
Restructuring
Embracer announces restructuring programme after disastrous Q4 financials
After a massive $2bn deal fell through at the eleventh-hour, Embracer is in damage-control mode
Closures
Mobile sports game developer Nifty to close after five years
The announcement was made in a LinkedIn post by CEO Jon Middleton
Partnerships
WeMade acquire 20% stake in external developer StandEgg
StandEgg will be the first external developer to work with WeMade, and will produce two titles based on Anipang
Sales
Improbable sells off defence business in pivot to metaverse
The company has worked in mobile previously
Financials
MiHoYo made more money than either EA, Activision Blizzard and Embracer
The Genshin impact developer is cagey with financials
Pre-registrations
Kabam opens preregistration for cross-platform title King Arthur: Legends Rise
The game will be Kabam’s first cross-platform title