Unity acquires Playnomics, Twitter unveils mobile app promo suite, and F2P might not be the only ticket in town

Welcome to PocketGamer.biz's weekly rundown of the past 168 hours in the gaming industry.

A lot can happen in a given week, and it's natural for some stories to slip past the most eagle-eyed among us. Luckily for you, we’re here - as ever - to present the stories that we feel made the biggest impact over the past seven days.

If you’re looking for a quick snapshot of the major trends and news in the mobile gaming space, you’ve come to the right column. Now grab a hot cup of your caffeinated beverage of choice, sit back, and let us guide you through the week that was.

PG Connects

• PG Connects is coming to Helsinki on June 16-17, and we have Frogmind, Grand Cru, King, Remedy, Ubisoft and many more signed up already. Looking to attend? Head over to our Eventbrite page to book your spot.

Tools and Platforms

• Windows Phone 8.1 began its global rollout, and is now available to registered developers.
• No one knows how popular Oculus Rift will be when its released, but it's reportedly sold 85,000 dev kits.
• Location-based gaming isn’t an easy genre to break into, but Niantic Lab's John Hanke shared some thoughts on building Ingress as a game and a platform.
• The Interactive Software Federation of Europe received a huge boost this week as both Supercell and King both joined up.
• And we saw the launch of a new community aimed at putting indie devs directly in touch with the gamers who love their wares.

Monetisation

• F2P might not be the only ticket in town, as Out There dev Michael Peiffert pointed out his game was profitable ‘3 weeks after release’.
• We also looked at this point with our Charticle, which examined Faster Than Light’s impact on the top grossing charts.
• Our chart of the week, meanwhile, showed that Google Play topped iOS by 45 percent in global downloads - and it's gaining ground on revenue as well.
• While our Monetizer fixed its gaze on Royal Revolt 2.
• And SuperData research found that Candy Crush has ‘topped out’ as the industry returns its focus to core gamers.

Industry voices

• Looking to lend your voice to Game Connection Europe? The conference has opened up a call for speakers open until April 30.
• Latis Global spoke on how it intends to promote Korean indies - and give them a chance to catch up with Gamevil.
• Crooz’s Kenji Hiruta shared his thoughts on going global, as he pointed out that simplicity and high quality are ‘universal’ qualities.
• Scott Foe, meanwhile, stopped by to share his thoughts on why the industry owes a huge debt to homosexuals.
• A theme picked up by our Mobile Gaming Mavens, who called on devs to share stories of diversity.
• We might be done with Kickstarter, as 148Apps’ Carter Dotson argued that the great crowdfunding crash is upon us.
• And Kirk Mckeand gave us a look at the making of Out There.

User acquisition, retention, and discovery

• Twitter unveiled its new mobile app promotion suite - complete with direct download links and MoPub integration.
• While King announced it’s ready to make a move on China as it brings Candy Crush to Tencent’s WeChat platform.
• Meanwhile, GungHo proved it has more than Puzzle & Dragons going for it as Princess Punt Sweets crossed north of 8 million downloads in Japan. 

Funding, acquisitions, personnel, and shutterings

• There’s no stopping Unity, as it announced the acquisition of player engagement platform Playnomics.
• And former Disney SVP Javier Ferreira signed up with mobile startup Scopely as its COO.