Changes Ahoy
Former PlayStation president Shawn Layden predicts the end of gaming as we know it
Does the games industry stand on the precipice of change?
Apple Vs Epic
The US Supreme Court sides with Apple in its ongoing battle with Epic
The court has decided to block a federal injunction that would have forced Apple to change its payment practices
Google Goes Blockchain
Inside Google’s blockchain content policy
The tech giant has recently revealed its policy on in-app blockchain and NFT and commentators are digging deep as to what it all means
Privacy
Apple enters the ATT endgame as its quest for privacy enters its final battle
Now they'll require developers to explain their use of certain APIs with non-compliant apps rejected by App Store Connects from Spring 2024
Apple Vs. Consumers
Apple's "anti-competitive" App Store woes continue with a $1 billion class action lawsuit
The suit accuses the company of acting anti-competitively with its imposition of a 30% fee on in-app purchases
Paid Games' Performance
Google Play or App Store? June data shows stark contrast in platform popularity of paid games
Curated Data.ai stats reveal the most downloaded paid games and top revenue generators per platform
Goliath Games
June’s three most lucrative mobile games all came from China
Sensor Tower reports on the 10 biggest revenue generators worldwide
Mavens
Mobile Mavens: What do app downloads direct from Facebook mean for the industry?
We round up expert industry opinions on the potential of an app store within Facebook
Q&a
AppGallery's Jaime Gonzalo: "Alternative app platforms are providing developers with improved revenue-generating opportunities"
AppGallery aims to provide users with high quality content while ensuring that game developers feel supported
Alternative App Stores
Meta to get into the app store game as Facebook allows app downloads
The EU's Digital Markets Act is opening up app store monopolys and big players are getting ready to reap the rewards
Feature
Five tips for scaling your mobile game in a post-ATT market
SuperScale CEO Ivan Trančík offers advice on running effective user acquisition campaigns and improving monetisation in a challenging market
Apple Vs Epic
Apple and Epic ask US court to reconsider the ruling in their dispute
The ongoing battle between the companies takes yet another turn
Q&a
Uptodown CEO Luis Hernández on the rise of alternative app stores
Alternative app store Uptodown offers developers a new home for their apps
Data Deluge
Surfshark analyses data acquisition by top mobile games, from knowing your location to reading your texts
More than 500 apps were analysed in the full study
Alternative Storefronts
Razer adds Supercell titles to in-game rewards programme
Razor Gold is the first third-party storefront to sell in-game currency for Supercell titles
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news including new mobile platforms, app store invasions, celebrity developers and… Have you seen my $2bn? I could have sworn it was right here…
Moving To Mobile
Axie Infinity: Origins is available on the Apple App Store right now…in select countries
The NFT/Web3/blockchain hit is set to rise again as Sky Mavis works towards cross-platform feature parity
Ios 17 Incoming
Will Apple’s iOS sideloading be a Europe exclusive?
Could major regional differences be coming in iOS 17?
An Epic Battle
Apple emerges victorious in antitrust appeal against Epic Games
But the ruling also opens the door for developers to include links in apps and side-step App Store fees
About Apple
Is Apple set to allow app sideloading in iOS 17?
Predicting the future of Apple after changes to European law
Stellar Star
HoYoverse’s Honkai: Star Rail to release in April 2023
Mobile and PC releases are coming ahead of PlayStation launch
Generated In Japan
Japan Fair Trade Commission reveals Apple and Android revenue and distribution
Their new report shows ¥1.59 trillion generated on Apple in 2021, ¥1.04 trillion on Android
Data
Google Play and iOS App Store reached 142 billion downloads in 2022
According to the latest data, first-party app stores reached 142 billion downloads in 2022, with games still dominating
Trends 2023
Mobile Games Industry Trends 2023: Revenue models
MobileGroove's Peggy Anne Salz looks at the hottest new ways to monetise games, from subscription models to independent game stores
An Apple A Day
Apple fined over $1 million by Paris Commercial Court
The tech giant is accused of imposing abusive commercial clauses on French app developers
Alternative App Stores
"It's essential to the flourishing of digital culture." Adrian Hon on the importance of alternative app stores
With Apple opening up to alternative storefronts the Six to Start CEO discussed the benefits of widening sales opportunities
Alternative App Stores
Apple prepares to allow alternative app stores in the EU
Hell freezes over as third-party app store move brings Apple into compliance with the Digital Markets Act
App Store Updates
Apple adds new price points to App Store and support for foreign currency
Apple had previously required developers to adhere to a set amount of price points for their games and apps, this latest update adds many new ones
Pre-registrations
Call of Duty Warzone mobile surpasses 25m pre-registrations
Warzone Mobile was also the fastest Activision-Blizzard and King mobile game to surpass 15m pre-registrations
Special Report
The mobile gaming market is on track for a record breaking year
Data.ai delves into the performance of the market throughout the third quarter of 2022
Job News
Space Ape appoints Derek De Filippo as marketing lead
De Filippo previously served as business manager of games for the App Store
Sensor Tower Report
Player spending forecast to fall 2% year-on-year in 2022
Google Play game revenue is predicted to fall 8.3%
Explore The Alternative
Huawei explores alternative app store advantages at Pocket Gamer Connects
Huawei at Pocket Gamer Connect: Alternative app stores equal high returns & improved customer retention for games developers
Ad Fraud
iPhone recorded more ad-related fraud than Android in Q2
The higher LTV of iPhone users makes them a prime target for fraud
A New Look
TapTap announces a rebrand, including new mascot
The Google Play alternative debuts a bold new look
App Store Price Hike
Apple is raising App Store prices next month
The price increase will impact those in Asia and Europe
Market Dominance
1% of publishers are responsible for 91% of app revenue
The publishers also generated 79% of downloads in H1 2022
User Acquisition Survey
Digital Turbine releases App Install Marketing Survey results
Video ads prove to be the dominant user acquisition channel
Guest Post
Linda Ouyang: Overcoming the challenges facing today’s small, independent mobile game developers
95% of iOS developers generate just 2% of revenue.
Hot Five
Hot Five: Unity's John Riccitiello describes some devs as "fucking idiots" amid merger with ironSource, bypassing app store fees, and Tencent denied new games licenses
The hottest news articles on PG.biz
Bytedance And Meta Reign Supreme
Apps are earning more revenue than games for the first time ever
Spending in non-game apps has grown more than twice the rate as games
Outside The Stores
Popular mobile games are bypassing Apple, Google fees for in-app purchases via web stores
GameRefinery explores how Clash of Clans, Marvel Strike Force, Star Trek: Fleet Comamnd and others are circumventing app store fees
Alternative Revenue
ONEMT: quality users who drive revenue show up through the alternative app stores
Flexion CEO Jens Lauritzson explains how the company helped ONEMT give their game a revenue boost
Ctrl Alt Match
Flexion Mobile signs agreement with Magic Tavern
Developer's top-grossing Matchington Mansion hits the 'alternative app stores' in just six weeks thanks to Flexion
Eu Vs Tech Giants
EU approves Digital Market Act with implications for Apple and Google
The new legislation comes into force in Autumn
Spotlight From The Store
Smaller European developers are given the spotlight in new App Store series
Developers selected on the basis of growth potential and more
Predicting And Projecting
Sensor Tower: player spending on mobile games reaching $117 billion by 2026
Apps to outpace games in terms of spending, but gaming predicted to remain the largest individual category.
Browser Bash
Google and Apple’s mobile browser dominance investigated by UK regulator
UK competition regulator announces plans to take action against the tech giants' hold over browsers and cloud gaming
Hot Five
Hot Five: Playtika layoffs could reach 250, Supercell invests $60mil into Love & Pies, and Square Enix commits to NFTs
The hottest news articles on PG.biz
Apple And Apps
68% of mobile games devs find marketing more difficult following Apple ATT
Tenjin and Growth FullStack speak to PocketGamer.biz on their latest report which states 99% of developers plan to use alternative Android stores this year