New Studio
NetEase to found new European studio, Anchor Point
The Barcelona-based, veteran-founded new studio will form part of the NetEase Games group
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
In-car Gaming
Angry Birds lands in cars in collab with Mercedes-Benz
Rovio’s flagship games will be playable in your Mercedes E-Class
Legal
Now NetEase aren't suing Activision Blizzard
The suit was actually raised by a serial litigator naming NetEase, while Activision Blizzard express their puzzlement in a new statement
Esports
Snapdragon Pro Series partners with Activision to bring Call of Duty: Mobile to Mobile Masters
The title will join other mobile heavyweights Garena: Fire and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Investment
Animoca Brands subsidiary Tinytap accrues $8.5m investment
The money comes from Sequioa China and Liberty City Ventures amongst other investors
Funding
Mobile games veterans raise €4m in seed funding for new studio, Cosmic Lounge
The studio is headed by former King, Seriously and Rovio staffers
Legal
NetEase to sue over Blizzard breakup for $43.5m
The lawsuit comes months after their fallout, attempted make up, and heated disagreements
Licencing
Are China’s game approvals back to “business as usual”?
Rounding up the latest on China's licencing freeze saga
Markets
Mobile tops game revenue in Serbia, one-third of developers are women
The latest report by the SGA shows Serbia’s gaming industry is growing once more
Report
Over-50s are top mobile players, but feel "overlooked"
Smartphones are now older players preferred means of play
Venture Capital
The top VC firm for Q1, Bitkraft Ventures, expands to Asia
The firm was the top investor in Drake Star's recent report
Management Moves
Ten Square Games nominates Andrzej Ilczuk as new CEO
Ilzcuk is the current COO, while the current CEO steps down
Spinoff
NetDragon to merge and spin-off education business
The new entity will focus on AI-supported education
Studios
New eco-friendly studio TreesPlease reveals debut stealth-launched title Longleaf Valley
The studio has unveiled it's first title
Licencing
China's game regulator approves 86 new games including Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
The game is immensely popular in Southeast Asia
Game Accelerator
My.Games to partner with Amazon and Google for Game Drive Program
The business accelerator program is in its third year
Report
M&A is coming back swinging in 2023, Drake Star report concludes
New report offers key insights into changes in the VC climate for Q1
Social Media
Facebook makes Messenger more alluring with games during your calls
At least 14 free games are available inside Facebook Messenger as of now
Leadership Changes
CEO Mikkel Weider leaves Nordisk
The CEO ended his tenure by mutual agreement with Allan Mathson Hansen appointed in interim
Acquisition
Aquiris to become Epic Games Brasil
The studio had an existing publishing deal with Epic for their mobile title Horizon Chase
Streamers
Netflix underpins commitment to games but says 'no' to in-game ads in Q1 2023 investor call
55 games released and 41 more planned as the company outlines plans to build a fan-engaging games pillar alongside film and TV
Report
Street Fighter: Duel tops charts in UK and US, but Honor of Kings hasn’t quite cracked Brazil
The latest Data.ai charts tell a more encouraging story than last year
Hires
Bungie veteran Joseph Staten is the creative director of Netflix's mysterious new gaming IP
The head of creative for the Halo franchise jumped ship from Microsoft earlier this month
Report
9 out of 10 mobile titles not compliant with privacy regulations
90% of 269 titles ignored user privacy in some form
Liftoff Report
Hypercasual's not dead… But it is slowing down
So what happens next when hypercasual is down but competitive play is up?
Releases
Niantic & Capcom team up for Monster Hunter Now
The game is set to release in September 2023
Deal Diary
Sega & Rovio: Four key dates to watch
The deal isn't out of the woods yet. Here are the important moments to pencil into your calendar
Redundancies
Ten Square Games cuts quarter of staff and slashes two major projects
The moves are being made due to economic pressure and an unstable mobile market, claim the company
Collaborations
The last time that Sonic and Angry Birds teamed up
Thanks to cross-promotion deals between the two friendly companies, today's Rovio and Sega deal isn’t without precedent
Acquisition
Sega + Rovio: How did we get here?
Now that Sega is acquiring the Angry Birds developer, we retread the steps both parties took towards the big deal
Releases
Bandai Namco and DeNA to release Takt Op Symphony for Western audiences
The title will be available in English officially for the first time
Rebrand & Investment
Grand-Attic games, formerly Hadi, raises $5.3 million
The cash and rebrand came as part of a seed-2 round
Collaborations
PUBG Mobile launches Be@rbrick collaboration
The popular collectible figurine franchise is the next major collab for the battle royale smash
Strategy
InnoGames to undertake a “strategic realignment” and job cuts
The studio - home to Forge of Empires - is owned by Modern Times Group
Events
Scottish Games Week returns October 30 to November 3 2023
Back once again, it's Scotland's biggest and best games conference and networking event
Creative Block
Creative firm Talenthouse inches from failure
The company secured a high-profile investment from Animoca Brands in 2019
Partnership
Milky Tea Games partners with new majority owner, Aonic
The studio was behind one of the Apple Arcade’s launch titles
Launches
Scopely follows Savvy acquisition announcement with launch of Monopoly Go
Their first game since their big news acquisition last week
Esg
Tencent pushes “Tech for good” in latest ESG report
The company's environmental, social and governance report highlights their 2022 achievements
Milestones
My.Games’ War Robots hits $750m milestone on its ninth anniversary
The pvp mech combat game was developed by Pixonic
Rumours
Could Playtika be a target for a buyout?
After a strategic review last year resetting the company's course, buyers are reportedly showing interest
Charity
Make your game part of the Play for Türkiye relief bundle via Itch.io
Proceeds from the bargain bundle will go to charities assisting those affected by the Turkish earthquakes
Releases
NetEase’s cutesy battle royale, Eggy Party, to launch in the Philippines
The take on the Fall Guys formula will launch April 21 for Android
Regulations
Mobile game exclusivity triggers $32m fine for Google
Outdated exclusivity practices are cited as stifling competition
Investment
Ludus Ventures’ İsmet Gökşen talks mobile investment in Türkiye
We get an investors-eye view of the Turkish mobile market
Moves & Merges
BoomHits to merge offices with Skyloft Studios
The two Turkish studios will now operate under one roof
India
Indian battle royale game Indus passes 1.5 million registrations
With a fourth playtest announced in order to further polish esports features
Interview
Dumb Ways to Die’s general managers on what’s next for the brand
We got the chance to speak to two of PlaySide’s GM’s about franchise
Mobile Masterworks
Mobile Masterworks: Clash of Clans
Supercell’s flagship title brought mobile strategy into the third-dimension
Rovio Analytics
Rovio gives insight into its game analytics approach
The company’s director of analytics discussed the topic in a new blog post