An Unreal Recognition
Epic Games recognises Expa and Digi & Game Center as Finland's first Unreal Training hubs
Groups aim to make Unreal Engine education accessible to a global audience
Investment Round
Former Supercell devs at Bit Odd raise $18m investment
Funding round led by Griffin Gaming with participation from Makers Fund, Index Ventures and others
Games First Takeaways
4 takeaways from Supercell’s Games First Helsinki 2024
We round up the insights from a day of deep dives into the industry and game design practices
Layoffs
Fingersoft lays off 14 staff after “substantial decline” in ad revenue
"With this year’s substantial decline in ad revenue, adjustments to our cost structure became essential," says CEO
Pgc Takeaways
4 takeaways from Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki and Finnish Games Week 2024
We look at some of the themes and trends to come out of a week of insightful sessions and networking
Finland's Future
How Finland's games industry is weathering the storm
Neogames Finland director KooPee Hiltunen discusses past successes, current industry problems, and what the future holds for the country's games hub
Finnish Games Week
Finland’s games industry set to come together for a full week of events
Developers head to the home of mobile gaming for Finnish Games Week
Pgc Helsinki
Learn the state of play at the heart of the mobile games industry at PG Connects Helsinki
Discover Finland’s hottest industry trends and gain valuable insight into the latest facts and figures on October 1st
Neverdale
Metacore ends Everdale development and returns IP to Supercell
Merge Mansion developer had also recently cancelled soft-launched title Sails of Fury
Big Plans
“Treating what we are building not just as a game but as a social platform is very rare"
Social First’s CEO Kim Soares on securing funds to fuel the development of a new cross-platform MMO title that champions social connectivity
Hot Five
Hot Five: Squad Busters breaks $50 million, EA’s mobile blueprint, and Finland’s "survive to 2025" mantra
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
State Of Play
The state of Finland’s games market
We speak with Finnish developers and executives about the Finnish games industry's challenges and the 'survive to 2025' mantra
Nordic Spotlight
Over 140 games being made in the Nordics right now
We put the spotlight on the live games and new titles in development from the talented teams across Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland
Busting Out
Supercell's Squad Busters generated $1.1m on launch day
The Finnish studio's first release in five and a half years picked up 8.8 million downloads on day one, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower
Investment Round
Gorilla Capital invests in Lola Panda educational apps developer BeiZ
Funding set to help expand the educational apps, which have been downloaded over 40 million times, into new regions and languages
Soft Launch Guys
Stumble Guys dev Kitka Games soft-launches new mobile title Battle Guys: Royale
New title promises to be "most streamlined, easy-to-learn - hard-to-master" battle royale game of 2024
Platform Power
Supercell-backed HypeHype to give creators 100% of revenue from user-generated content
During the early access period, creators making games on HypeHype will earn all the net revenue from their creations
Intriguing Invitation
Supercell launches eagerly awaited new game mo.co in the US
The Finnish studio has rolled out invites to US gamers to try out its latest game
Welcome To Mo.co
Supercell has announced its latest game. Take "a leap into the unknown" in mo.co
The new monster-hunting game will enter beta testing in the USA in late October
Finnish Fomo
Over 1,200 games professionals gather in Helsinki for the 40th Pocket Gamer Connects conference
Publishers, developers, indies and investors gathered to network, recruit and do business at the heart of the mobile games industry
Igda Leadership Day
IGDA’s Christopher Hamilton: "The community here is just very special and truly amazing"
At IGDA’s Leadership Day Finland’s finest come together to discuss leadership in games
Pgc Helsinki
Check out the Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Career Zone!
This dedicated recruitment space presented alongside Game Factory Talents could help YOU get your dream job in games
Pgc Helsinki
Razer’s Michael Mucci on alternative payments and Pocket Gamer Connects: “With Supercell, we are just getting started”
The head of account management at Razer tells us what’s going on with Gold and more
Roundup
The Finnish Mobile Market Roundup: PGC Helsinki 2023 Edition
Before next week's show, get up to speed with the latest news from Finland’s famous mobile game development scene
Pitch Like A Pro
How to win at Pocket Gamer Connects' Big Indie Pitch
With PGC Helsinki coming next week we asked previous Big Indie Pitch winner Noah Rosenfield to give aspiring developers a few tips
Competitive Gaming
Finnish developer Future Run aims to “redefine competitive gaming”
The Finnish developer has the backing of Supercell, one of the biggest names in mobile gaming
Helsinki Gaming
Finnish Focus: Supercell's pursuit of perfection
With Floodrush getting the chop after less than three months of release, we take a look at the company that's never afraid to fail
Birds Of A Feather
Sega to finalise Rovio acquisition next week
Sonic and Angry Birds to be one big family as Sega takes 96.3% of shares
Mentorship Interview
A culture of collaboration: an interview with Finland's LGIN mentoring network
"It doesn't feel like we are competing with each other. We are competing against the world,” says Suvi Kiviniemi of the Living Game Intelligence Network
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
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
Play With Pride
38% of Finnish gaming professionals identify as LGBTQIA+
The country had a higher proportion of LGBTQIA+ workers in the game industry than the worldwide average
Job News
Fingersoft appoints new CFO
Suni is an experienced CFO, but a newcomer to the games industry
Q&a
Fingersoft CEO Jaakko Kylmäoja on the future of their hit Hill Climb Racing
Fingersoft focuses on staff well being as they gear up for future releases
Finnish Games Report
Mobile is still Finland’s most popular platform, but PC is catching up
2021 and 2022 proved to be banner year’s for Finland’s gaming industry
Soft-launch
Bad Piggies 2 comes to selected countries in iOS-exclusive soft launch
Android release to come later
Finnish Game Awards
Finnish giant Metacore's CEO and co-founder Mika Tammenkoski reflects on a difficult year for the industry
However, Tammenkoski remained bullish about the industry’s potential
Investment
Phantom Gamelabs joins Supercell’s family of investees
The studio has received an undisclosed amount from the Finnish gaming giant
Finnish Game Awards
How did mobile do at the Finnish Game Awards?
Mobile saw big success at the Finnish game industry’s biggest night with Pako Highway scooping game of the year
Rovio Analytics
Rovio gives insight into its game analytics approach
The company’s director of analytics discussed the topic in a new blog post
Mena Investment
After securing Scopely for $4.9 billion, what could Saudi games giant Savvy splash its cash on next?
They may have made a sizeable acquisition this week but Savvy Games Group still has money to burn!
Mergers & Acquisitions
Playtika offers $737.5m to acquire Angry Birds developer Rovio
Israeli-based Playtika have sweetened their offer to acquire Rovio, as the latter remains reliant on their flagship franchise
Regulation
What does Finland’s lootbox law actually do?
Loot Boxes may fallen out of vogue as a target of gamer and regulator ire, but their control and restriction is still being debated by regulators
Awards
ADHD awareness game “Full ADHD” wins Reuters Pharma Award
The game, chronicling the life of a character with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, has received multiple awards and benefited from its mobile form
Success In Gaming
Finland’s highest earners are in the gaming industry, with Supercell founder Ilkka Paananen leading the charge
The country is a hub of the global mobile gaming industry
Trade
Finnish/Saudi-Arabian trade deal could kickstart further economic collaboration to come
Although the recently announced Finland and Saudi-Arabia trade deal mainly covers more fundamental aspects such as travel and freight, it marks closer relations that could increase other economic interaction
Developer Insight
Dodreams CEO: “In-play ads offer long-term stability and creative opportunity”
Dodreams CEO Erik Pöntiskoski tells us how his gaming studio has embraced in-play ad formats, and why mobile games are the perfect place for advertisers to connect with their audience
New Studio
Wildlife Studios open new Helsinki studio Stellar Core Games with veterans from Supercell and Rovio
The studio will be led by Touko Tahkokallio and Serdar Soganci
Finland’s Finest
Get the latest facts and figures from Finland and beyond at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
Europe’s biggest B2B games industry conference is your guide to the latest industry trends
Awards And Achievements
Mobile wins big at the Finnish Game Awards 2021
Pako 3, Kitka Games, and HypeHype celebrated for Small Screen Game of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Creative Achievement, respectively