Industry Enthusiasm
90% of developers plan to launch at least one game in 2025
Metaplay’s The Game Development Renaissance report suggests more than two in three devs are optimistic about the industry this year
Speaker Spotlight
Filuta AI's Filip Dvorak on the rise and rise of AI
Filuta AI founder Filip Dvorak explains why generative AI is not the holy grail of artificial intelligence and why composite AI may offer developers even greater opportunities
Startup News
Meta and Creative Assembly vets form AI engine startup Studio Atelico
Tech aims to help developers build games powered by generative AI
Free Ebook
Free AI Gamechangers ebook: Essential industry insights on AI in games
Download our 29-page collection of interviews with CEOs and experts sharing real-world insights on making AI work for your business
Best Of 2024
Aaron Astle’s top stories of 2024: 7 years of Fire Emblem Heroes, the art of Farm Heroes Saga, and Pokémania's return
From ongoing legacies to smash-hit new games, PocketGamer.biz news editor Aaron Astle revisits his top stories from 2024
Roblox And Ai
Roblox Studio chief on how AI will revolutionise UGC
Stefano Corazza reveals how AI-powered tools are transforming UGC development economics and scaling creator content
Year In Review
The biggest mobile games industry trends of 2024
A look back at the stories and trends that shaped the year
Funding News
Databricks raises $10bn to bring company valuation to $62bn
The funds will go towards acquisitions, expansions and developing new AI products
Podcast | Episode 40
Games industry trends 2024 review | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 40...
New Partnerships
WHO teams up with Goodville to launch new virtual health assistant ‘Sarah'
Players can interact with Sarah through an in-game chat
Ai In Games
Google’s AI Genie 2 brings images to life by transforming them into playable 3D worlds
“Games play a key role in the world of artificial intelligence research”
M&a Advice
Acquiring and selling games: Trends and strategies in 2024
ZiMAD’s M&A manager Yana Vesnina shares on M&A strategies that have shaped 2024
Ai Ads
Reforged Labs begins open beta for generative AI-created mobile game ads following $3.9m investment
The open beta allows developers to upload gameplay and automate animated, voiced game ads
Waves And Workflows
Niantic to offer AR services outside games with Niantic Spatial Platform
The Pokémon Go maker is combining technologies to deliver new "spatial experiences"
Layoff News
AMD cuts 1,000 staff as it pivots to AI
“As a part of aligning our resources with our largest growth opportunities, we are taking a number of targeted steps"
Game Design
Ludo.ai evolves into complete game design hub with major update
Ludo says the new update supports “every stage of game design."
Netflix Ai
Netflix appoints Mike Verdu as VP of GenAI for games
Streaming giant eyes potential for AI to power its games business
New Partnerships
SAG-AFTRA and Ethovox partner to build AI voice replicas and empower actors
The Ethovox model creates digital voice replicas based on extensive voice data
Developer Tools
Unity's Supersonic launches new AI-powered Game Idea Generator
The tool will generate and refine game ideas to provide key building blocks and initial code for development on the Unity engine
New From Ncsoft
NCSoft to establish four new subsidiaries developing games and researching AI
The corporate split-off was approved during a board meeting but awaits green light from shareholders
Negotiations Underway
Negotiations resume as over 120 games sign SAG-AFTRA's interim contracts
“We’ve had over 120 contracts signed and there’s no sign of things slowing down."
Unity 6 Unveiled
Unity 6 goes live: Under the hood of the game engine's latest AI, web and mobile tools
We sit down with Unity VP of product Ryan Ellis to talk everything Unity 6, the Runtime Fee and more
Funding News
AI-powered player feedback platform Live Aware Labs lands $4.8 million investment
The platform helps game developers capture, analyse, and act on player experiences in real-time
Ai Insight
How AI will shape the games industry: Exclusive insights from our AI Gamechangers newsletter
Get our AI Gamechangers newsletter for interviews and news about AI's impact on the games scene
Social Games
SLAY's CEO on the rise of the social games market
Fabian Kamberi talks AI-enabled penguins and scaling to more than five million users
Building Worlds
Third Dimension raises $6.9m towards generative AI 3D world builder
The tool is being designed for locations real and imaginary, for films, the military and video games
Bolstering Buddies
Clout Kitchen raises $4.45m towards League of Legends AI "buddies"
The Backseat AI service offers real-time insight to users seeking to improve their gameplay
Ai Funds
OpenAI raises $6.6 billion making it one of the most valuable companies in the world
The AI and research development company is most widely known for its ChatGPT service
Indie Insights
Incredible Indies: “Players crave new and exciting experiences and AI enables us to deliver that level of variety and freshness”
Bryan Salt shares how he used AI tools to help create his latest word game Catnip
Ai Toolset
Gaxos unveils AI-powered development suite for faster asset creation and UGC with guardrails
Director of operations Manny Benor demonstrates a new dev platform that corals leading generative AI models for prototyping and customisation
Treasure Trove
AI-powered Treasure Play to reward players for finding new games
The platform aims to support mobile developers’ growth ambitions with UA and engagement tools
Ai Adventures
Duolingo to introduce AI-powered Adventures months after job cuts
Duolingo reveals Adventures and Video Call, new learning modes using AI technology
Week That Was
Playtika’s big acquisition of SuperPlay, EA’s all in on AI and Flappy Bird is back | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Practical Ai
Practical AI: How Ludo’s generative AI tools aim to help democratise game development
The Practical AI series kicks off with Ludo CEO Tom Pigott on the company's generative AI platform and the pace of progress in the space
Ai Ahead
EA's Andrew Wilson: AI is at the very core of our business
EA CEO Andrew Wilson talks three strategic categories for the company’s 100+ AI projects
Air Ai
EA reveals experimental Project Air and states AI "is not merely a buzzword for us"
A short demonstration was given during EA’s Investor Day 2024 showcasing the new mobile experiment
Opening Up?
OpenAI wants to raise $6.5bn at $150bn valuation
Investors eye structural changes and removal of profit cap, according to reports
New Partnerships
Hyperfusion partners with The Game Company to power cloud gaming in MENA and GCC
Both companies are focused on giving players a “near-lag-free" gaming experience
Ai Integration
Kinetix launches its $1 million fund initiative to accelerate AI-UGC in games
The AI emote creators will offer selected developers up to $75,000 to bring its user-generated emote technology to their games
Platform Power
Live ops platform Magify raises €1 million to enhance AI and reach new markets
Magify has raised further funds towards democratisation, product development and more
Mena Insight
"Awareness remains one of the biggest challenges in the MENA region"
Classy Games Studios founder Jamie McClenaghan discusses building a team in the UAE and the challenges of operating in an emerging games hub
Ai-powered Games
Jabali launches AI game engine Project Makina in closed Beta
Project Makina is a generative AI tool suite designed to simplify the creation and publishing of games
New Partnerships
Nazara partners with government of Telangana to launch AI center of excellence
The AI Center will focus on games and digital entertainment to position the company as a leader in the AI-driven space
Mena Growth
"Our focus on AI ensures we deliver the best possible experiences in our games"
YallaPlay CEO and founder Kareem Seddik talks localisation, leveraging AI in games and the company's focus on real-time multiplayer titles
M&a
Pole to Win snaps up co-development studio Ghostpunch Games for $13 million
Florida-based company has worked across platforms with partners such as EA, Gearbox Software, Bethesda Game Studios and 2K
Engaging Audiences
How to engage with a broader audience in today’s tougher games climate
Proxima AI’s CEO Alex Song on how developers should adapt to market changes and the increasing role of social media
Ai Impact
Xsolla's Chris Hewish on the impact of AI for creative workflows
“To ensure that real creative jobs aren’t lost it’s important to establish measures that balance AI integration with human oversight”
Legal Advice
The EU’s AI Act: What does it mean for game developers?
The act - in place since 1st August 2024 - is designed to ensure safety and transparency, but with that responsibility comes the necessity for careful compliance
Funding
FRVR raises $12.7 million towards AI engine and games democratisation
Iberis Capital led the funding round, while further participation came from Indico Capital Partners, Lince Capital, Hiro Capital and others
Proof Is In The Profit
Web3 tech firm Improbable makes its first profit after metaverse pivot
The company shifted focus to the metaverse in 2022, and achieved its first ever annual profit in 2023