N. Sane Numbers
Update: Crash Bandicoot: On the Run races to 25 million global downloads
22 million installs in first weekend
On The Up
The file size of US App Store games has increased by 76% since 2016
Double Down and Fortnite experienced the most growth
Winner, Winner
PUBG: New State hits five million pre-registrations in one week
Pre-orders will open on the App Store later this year
Hand It Over
Judge orders Valve to provide Apple with sales figures
As part of the iOS creators Fortnite battle with Epic
To Be Fair
FlowPlay joins the Coalition for App Fairness
To combat Apple and its App Store policies
Money Maker
Player spending on mobile games to hit $138 billion in 2025
The majority will be generated on the App Store
The Epic Continues
Epic takes case against Apple to EU antitrust regulators
The company wants to "restore competition on iOS"
In The Clouds
Gamestream teams with Chunghwa Telecom to launch iOS cloud gaming app in Taiwan
"At Gamestream, we're pleased to see the Hami 5G iOS app available now in the App Store. This perhaps indicates greater receptiveness to cloud gaming on the part of Apple"
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Preparing for Apple's ATT changes
Hot topic was discussed at length during Monetiser track
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Bringing ASO and user acquisition together
"ASO is the process of improving an app's visibility in app stores throughout its lifetime and maximise its appeal to users"
Making Of
How Apple 'featuring' helped The First Tree rival sales to PS4 and Xbox One on iOS
"Having a powerful ending can help people look past the flaws so much easier"
Outta Here
Apple removed 48,000 games from the Chinese App Store last year
Due to them not having an ISBN
Imposter
Among Us clone 'Werewolf Among Us' accumulates 663k lifetime downloads, 100k in a single day
International version 'Murder Party' picks up 19,000 downloads too
Big Spender
European consumers spent $54.6 million on mobile apps on Christmas Day
Globally mobile spending hit $407 million that same day
Getting The Boot
Apple purges 39,000 titles from its Chinese App Store
As a result of apps not having a license
Welcome Back
Huawei returns Tencent's games to its storefront
Following removal due to a revenue share dispute
Getting The Boot
Apple is preparing to remove more apps from the Chinese App Store
Continuing from the ISBN issues earlier this year
No Fair
Facebook claims new App Store policies are anti-competitive
"Apple is behaving anti-competitively by using their control of the App Store to benefit their bottom line at the expense of creators and small businesses"
Changing Times
Indie Mavens: How will Apple's App Store Small Business Program impact developers?
"Let’s be frank: neither Apple nor Valve provide enough of a service to deserve a 30 per cent cut.
Come One Come All
Enrolment begins for Apple's Small Business Program
"Designed to accelerate innovation and help propel your small business forward with the next generation of groundbreaking apps"
Money Money Money
Publishers earning below $1m account for 2% of App Store games revenue
89.8 per cent of companies earn below $100,000
New Games
30 notable mobile games released in November 2020 you may have missed
What just happened?
Fight For Fairness
Epic Games is not fighting Apple "for a lower commission"
"Epic is fighting for fair competition among mobile platform companies, stores, and payment processors"
Helping Hand
Apple to aid small businesses by reducing its App Store commission
"Small businesses are the backbone of our global economy and the beating heart of innovation and opportunity in communities around the world"
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: "There's a huge ripple effect once you don't have detailed information about players," says Tilting Point head Andre Cohen
Apple looks to introduce further privacy rules in early 2021
Pgc Digital
PGC Digital: Apple removing IDFA "could have really negative impacts on the entire industry," says Gamejam CEO Christian Calderon
Apple is set to introduce new privacy measures in iOS 14
Indie Spotlight
Lozange Labs's Matt and Ava Loz on how the App Store editor can make or break a game
"The main challenge in the mobile games market is managing to get any sort of visibility"
Fight For Fairness
Coalition for App Fairness formed to combat Apple and its App Store policies
Includes Epic Games and Spotify
Apple Streaming
Apple revises App Store policies to allow Stadia and xCloud on iOS
New policies include major caveats which Microsoft disagree with
Court Case
Apple files counterclaim against Epic over Fortnite's direct payment option
It is after "restitution and disgorgement of all earnings"
Round Two
Epic asks court to force Apple to reinstate Fortnite
"Apple is a monopolist. It controls all app distribution on iOS"
Delayed Change
Apple delays privacy policy changes to next year
We want to give developers the time they need to make the necessary changes"
Outta Here
Fortnite's removal opens up the battle royale market
The game generated around $1.2 billion on iOS
Terminated
Apple follows through with threat as it removes Epic's developer account
"We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store"
Got Your Back
Microsoft gives its support to Epic in its ongoing feud with Apple
"Developing a game using different game engines for different platforms may be prohibitively expensive and difficult"
Sour Apple
Apple insists that Epic deliberately chose to "cheat" the company after being denied a special deal
Tim Sweeney claimed he asked the change to be for all iOS developers
What About Us?
News publishers are asking Apple to take a lower commission on the App Store
Amazon has a better deal than other companies
Fallout
Update: Fall Guys clone 'Fall Gang: Knockout' accumulates 81,000 downloads before being removed from App Store
The iOS title generated $3,500 after adding a premium option
Retaliation
Epic files injuction to prevent Apple from removing its developer tools from Mac and iOS
"Apple's actions will 'break' Fortnite for millions of existing players"
Taking Issue
Facebook criticises Apple for its App Store commission costs
Follows the removal of Fortnite
Hard Day's Fortnite
Why is Epic going to war with Apple and Google?
Untangling the mess of the Fortnite mobile debacle
It's A Battle
Fortnite generated just $10 million in revenue from Google Play before its removal
It secured 11 million downloads in four months through Google's store
Epic Battle
Epic sues Apple after Fortnite removed from App Store
Two titans of the mobile games industry have gone head-to-head
Grab A Deal
Epic is circumventing Apple and Google's fees to offer discounted V-Bucks in Fortnite on mobile
"Epic passes along payment processing savings to you"
By The Book
The EU is keeping an eye on Apple and the App Store
"The Commission is aware of these concerns regarding Apple's App Store rules"
Stripped Back
Facebook Gaming launches app without Instant Games for iOS
"Unfortunately, we had to remove gameplay functionality entirely in order to get Apple's approval"
Access Denied
Apple claims that cloud gaming apps like Project xCloud violate its policies
Microsoft is still commited to bringing its platform to iOS
Io-no
Project xCloud testing ceases on iOS devices
The app was expired on August 5th
China Game Removals
Mass delisting by Apple China: Over 26,000 games without ISBN removed
Yodo1 looks at the impact of so many games suddenly disappearing from the App Store
Apple Commission
Apple under fire over subscription commission rates on the App Store
House Antitrust Subcommitte reveals internal emails showing deals with Amazon over commission rates