Finding Funds
Pixion Games raises $5.5 million for Web3 RPG Fableborne
Investments come from Blizzard, Shima Capital and more
Series Surge
In-game Ads solution Anzu raises $48M in Series B funding
Funding round led by Emmis Corporation and supported by many new high-profile investors
Investment
SuperScale raises $5.4m in Series A funding round
The scaling firm raised €5 million as part of the funding
Documentation
Zynga, Playrix and Niantic were all potential entries on Microsoft’s shopping list
News comes as part of the revelation Microsoft considered buying Sega
Success In Funding
Animoca Brands subsidiary Anichess raises $1.5 million in seed round
The company is working on a decentralised chess game
Conference Round-up
Investment and AI: more highlights from GameExpo Summit
Our inaugural conference in the UAE revealed essential insights and perspective about the regional and global games industry (part II)
Investment
Flexion gains new shareholder in Alta Fox Capital
The Texan firm has invested an undisclosed amount in the publisher
Accelerating Diversity
Ten game makers named for the Wings Elevate 2023 accelerator program
The Netflix sponsored program features ten game makers all from gender diverse development teams
Investment Fund
Lumikai launches new $50m game fund backed by Supercell, Krafton and more
The fund focused on investing into early-stage game makers
Investment
Mobile fashion title Drest acquires £15m in new funding round
The mobile dress-up game has collaborated with numerous fashion brands
Investment
Turkish mobile startup Fuse Games receives $2m investment
The studio is making a big play of the use of artificial intelligence in the creation their games
Gaming Africa
Senegal sets up a new gaming hub
The country is aiming to become a focal point for West Africa’s gaming industry
Funding
Million Victories secures $6.5m in funding
The money came as part of a series A funding round
Funding
Turkish studio Spektra Games receives $1.25m investment
The funding round was co-led by Ludus Ventures and The Games Fund
Investgame Report
Gaming deals cooled down significantly in Q1 2023
Despite decreases across the board, there’s reasons to be optimistic about gaming investment in the year ahead.
Deals
“It’s been a rough night…” Embracer: What went wrong?
With their share price crashing 45% in the last 24 hours what exactly IS going on at Embracer?
Creating Connection
BebopBee raises $4 million in funding to inspire "real-world connection" through mobile game brands
Investment from Bitkraft Ventures, Courtside Ventures, Andover, Goal Ventures and more
Acquisition
Pixel United owners Aristocrat Leisure to acquire NeoGames
Pixel United are the company behind Product Madness, Plarium and Big Fish
New Investment
Saudi Arabia boosts stake in Electronic Arts by 55%
The country has been investing in game makers as part of its long-term economic strategy
Investment
Little Dot Studios invests in CLUB developer Formation Games
With a TikTok series forming part of the investment
Investment
The big Supercell investment roundup
Money to invest? Or looking for funding? Here's all the studios that Supercell has invested in, all in one place
Holding Out For A Hero
Sony brings its Hero Project incubator program to India
The launch follows the program’s rollout in China
New Investment
Outfit7 invests in educational startup Hopalai
Hopalai is the mind behind Kobi, an ereader app designed to make reading accessible for all children
Investment
Phantom Gamelabs joins Supercell’s family of investees
The studio has received an undisclosed amount from the Finnish gaming giant
Funding
Frantic Games raises $2.4m in pre-seed funding
The studio will use the fund to specialise in hybrid casual mobile games
Investment
Tencent takes the lead on European investment. Will the rest of China follow?
The company wants to hedge its bets abroad. Could more Chinese-funded M&A action be on the way?
Investment
Animoca Brands subsidiary Tinytap accrues $8.5m investment
The money comes from Sequioa China and Liberty City Ventures amongst other investors
Chess With A Change
SuperDuperSecretCo raises $1m to make a chess battle royale game
Dual economy will make Web3 elements optional
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
Rebrand & Investment
Grand-Attic games, formerly Hadi, raises $5.3 million
The cash and rebrand came as part of a seed-2 round
Success In Funding
Reactional Music raises $2.05 million in pre-series A funding round
The platform aims to connect music and players for game developers
Konvoy Report
Gaming market to reach $201 billion in 2023
Asia dominated Q1 in terms of deal value, but came second to America in terms of volume
Football Funds
Soccer Manager creator Invincibles raises £1m for two new games
Investment is the latest in repeat funding from Mercia
Investment
Ludus Ventures’ İsmet Gökşen talks mobile investment in Türkiye
We get an investors-eye view of the Turkish mobile market
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!
Investment In Turkiye
Turkish gaming VC firm Ludus Ventures leads $3 million investment round in Paxie Games
The money comes as part of surge of investment in Türkiye
Investment In Turkiye
Turkish developer Gleam Games receives $1m investment
A year on from a previous $1m investment into the studio
Adverts With Ai
Adludio raises $2.5M for mobile ad platform with AI technology
Investment from Mercia’s venture capital trust
Success In Funding
Turkish hypercasual developer Gulliver’s Games gains $1.5 million in second-round funding
The studio developed idle game Restaurant Tycoon
Seed Secured
Mystic Games seed round aims towards bringing Web3 mobile games "into the mainstream"
Veterans from King, Rovio and more looking to democratise digital ownership
Mobile Mena
David Fernandez Remesal of Sandsoft Games: "Why MENA’s gaming growth isn’t just about business"
There's a bigger story at play in the MENA region, changing perceptions, fostering understanding and improving relations all around the world
Stakeholders
Abu Dhabi firm G42 acquires $100m+ stake in Bytedance
The owner of Nuverse and TikTok receive a new stakeholder
Web 3 Ip
Brazilian Web3 dev Jungle raises $6 million in funding round
Web3 mobile shooter expected to launch later this year
Trade Bodies
TIGA calls on UK government for new video game investment fund
They predict a new investment fund for the UK video game industry would provide an economic boost
Independents
Redemption Games breaks from Applovin
The studio behind Sweet Escape will now operate independently
New Report
The Covid boom in numbers
The pandemic resulted in massive increases in private investments and M&As
Saudi Arabian Funding
Saudi Arabia raises stake in Nintendo once again
The country now owns 7.08% of the company
Views Week
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news to talk big games moving to mobile, big money being made, and big trouble for some big names
Dress Up
House Of Blueberry Raises $6M To Grow Fashion In The Metaverse
“Our ultimate vision is to become the largest digital fashion house in the world…”
Investment
Turkish studio Yamy receives investment from UP Venture Capital and $4m valuation
Another example of foreign investment into the Turkish mobile gaming scene