Charts
Tencent tops September mobile publisher grossing chart
Fellow Chinese firm NetEase was second place
Doing A Disney
NBCUniversal shutting down game publishing division to focus on licensing
VP of games and digital platforms Chris Heatherly set to step down
Huuuge Deal
Traffic Puzzle generates $1m in revenue in first eight weeks powered by Huuuge Publishing
First title published by the new division
Devcom 2019
Devcom 2019: “The best way to get a successful outcome of a publisher signing you is by letting them know your gaps”
Maximum Games CEO Christina Seelye details key elements of obtaining a publisher
Legal Advice
Update: Annapurna Pictures seeks bankruptcy protection
The company owns Annapurna Interactive, publisher of indie titles such as Florence and Donut County
Be Connected Be Discovered
Facebook tops mobile app publishers worldwide for Q2 2019
Google dominates the App Store however
Jobs News
Rogue Games swoops for trio of marketing, UA and design hires
Publisher appoints new UA marketing manager, game designer and marketing art manager
Auto Success?
Why Dragonest partnered up with Tencent to publish Drodo Auto Chess in China
"A good product needs to be known by as many people as possible"
Decade Of Publishing
Merge Games opens $4 million indie games fund
“It has always been fresh ideas that have made the business thrive”
Expansion
Zordix launches new indie-focused publishing division
“Zordix Publishing will be a key strategic move for us, and we look forward with great excitement”
Ultimate Game Changers
Lion Studios launches $300k indie mobile games contest
Games new and old welcome; Submissions close on August 15th
Going Public
AppLovin wants to raise $1bn in 2020 IPO
Marketing platform and publisher has ambitious plans
Casual Expansion
WeQ: Investment in ad tech, development and publishing sets us apart from hyper-casual competition
Ad tech company has acquired Booster Studios to develop and publish in-house and third-party hyper-casual games
Key Changes
GameMaker firm enacts strategic changes as it halves mobile licence fee and closes publishing division
Free trial now includes all of the engine's features but has been limited to 30 days; publishing division has closed
Going Boldly
The secret of Scopely’s success? How we think about IP, says CEO
Javier Ferreira on being audience-first
Idle Hit
BoomBit releases Idle Coffee Corp globally
The publisher delves into the development and release of the new mobile game
Full Tilt
Tilting Point revenue quintupled to $45 million in 2018
Company president Samir El Agili discusses the philosophy behind the company's explosive growth
Telling Tales
Sam Barlow talks publishing and selling narrative games ahead of his next title Telling Lies
"The games market is still one of extremes with the huge $100 million games at one end and the indie games at the other"
Indie Spotlight
“Then it started blowing up": How TerraGenesis transformed indie developer Edgeworks
We speak with Edgeworks Entertainment CEO Alexander Winn about growing a hit mobile game and landing a big publishing deal
Impressive Numbers
Voodoo outpaces hyper-casual rivals with 771 million downloads in six months
Lion Studios and Playgendary follow in second and third
The Final Step
Financing your indie games development studio - part four: Due diligence
Game Dragons director and industry veteran Philip Oliver gives you the lowdown on that big deal
Stack
Appodeal is now a part of umbrella ad tech solution brand Stack
Stack wants to help mobile publishers compete with an encroaching ad network industry
Art Of The Deal
Financing your indie games development studio - part three: Structuring an investment deal
Game Dragons director and industry veteran Philip Oliver gives you the lowdown on that big deal
Location
Scopely’s recent success is bringing the publisher a new Culver City headquarters
An 80 per cent annual revenue increase has pushed the publisher into opening new doors
Indie
Family-focused publisher Natsume debuts its new indie program with Cosmic Defenders
"We are proud to support and collaborate with inspiring developers who are building the future of video games"
Pitch Perfect
Financing your indie games development studio - part two: The killer pitch
Game Dragons director and industry veteran Philip Oliver gives you the lowdown on dealing with investors and publishers
Born Again
Rising from the ashes: Former Flaregames CEO Klaas Kersting on why he’s founding Phoenix Games
“There’s a cyclical pattern of consolidation with every new platform, and we’re at the stage now with mobile where it’s more competitive and expensive than ever"
New Studio
Former Flaregames boss Klaas Kersting sets up Phoenix Games group
"Phoenix Games moves beyond what's possible with single-game publishing deals, promoting a more long-term, strategic approach"
Studio Finance
Financing your indie games development studio - Part one
Game Dragons director and industry veteran Philip Oliver gives you the lowdown on dealing with investors and publishers
Layoffs
Update: EA's latest layoffs include the closure of its offices in Japan and Russia
Publisher vows to help newly-redundant staff find new roles in the local games industry
Royale
Mobile was monumental in earning Tencent $19 billion in games revenue
Mobile success offset a decline in PC games revenue
Voodoo Development Magic
Voodoo Development Magic: How UK studio Neon Play made a splash with hyper-casual hit Roller Splat
This special series focuses on how developers have built mobile's biggest hits, with help from publisher Voodoo
Financial
Team17 wraps up 2018 record revenue and profit results
Worms wranglers turned indie publisher posts year-end revenue of $57.38 million
Mobile Auto Chess
Hit PC mod DOTA Auto Chess is coming to mobile minus the DOTA
Mobile game will be called 'Auto Chess' and will drop DOTA 2 characters
Gold Rush
PlayStack’s new mobile game Dig That Gold gives away real 24k gold bars to players
Publisher partners with UK start-up Project M on title
Ranked
Tencent and NetEase top App Annie's Top 52 app publishers list for 2018 as APAC companies dominate
33 of the top 52 companies hail from APAC
China
Tencent starts the road to recovery after a rocky 2018 with a $40 billion boost in share value
The publisher’s share value has already grown 10 per cent in 2019 so far
Music To My Ears
Music games developer Gismart launches new investment initiative for mobile
Looking to invest $1 million on a case-by-case basis
East To East
How a China partnership turned Steppy Pants into a number one chart topper in Japan
Super Entertainment co-director Stephen Last discusses how a collaboration with Yodo1 produced significant returns
Studio Expansion
Mobile publisher Rogue Games brings in $1.25m from seed funding round
Venture firm Grishin Robotics led funding
Spooky
Cultist Simulator will make a terrifying transition to mobile this spring
After selling 100,000 copies on PC, Cultist Simulator will let you perform dark deeds on the go
Another One
Merchandise outfit Numskull launching a new games publishing business
Rising Star Games co-founder Martin Defries at the helm
Dear Mobile
Updated: Publisher Playdius rebrands as Dear Villagers
A change in direction for the publisher of A Normal Lost Phone and Bury Me, My Love
Indie Publishing
US publisher Versus Evil starts 2019 with five new games and an indie fund
Versus Evil has also launched an indie development fund for
China
Tencent and NetEase see non-China mobile game revenue soar 500%
China's biggest publishers look abroad as the nation's market remains unpredictable
Interview
How hard is it to bring a PC hit like Human: Fall Flat to smartphones anyway?
We speak to 505 Games’ Steve Woodward and Thomas Rosenthal to find out more about the wobbly platformer’s port
International
Chinese publisher East2West opens its USA branch in San Francisco
"Our current lineup, which will be announced shortly, is already impressive"
War Chest
THQ Nordic raises $225 million through share sale for further mergers and acquisitions
European publishing firm's M&A shows no sign of slowing down
Mark Zuckerberg Likes This
Facebook top apps publisher for mobile downloads in Q4 2018
800 million downloads in three months
Wired
Plug In Digital raises $2.25M to push publishing efforts on mobile and PC
Plug In Digital looks to strengthen its services, partnerships and publishing opportunities