Views Week
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team look forward to the year ahead and ponder player-friendly monetisation
New Acquisition
NetEase acquires Halo Infinite co-developer Skybox Labs
NetEase is continuing its expansion beyond mobile platforms
Australian Open
Tennis Clash and Tennis Australia announce partnership for the Australian Open
Players can win real-life prizes by taking part in virtual tennis tournaments
Pledges
Netmarble joins United Nations Global Compact
Netmarble has taken steps towards greater equity and sustainability by joining the United Nations Global Compact initiative
2023 Predictions
The Top 10 mobile games industry trends for 2023 and beyond
A data-driven look at 2023 with MobileGroove's Peggy Anne Salz. From subscription models, multiplatform and the metaverse, to the hottest overseas markets
China Gaming Market
NetEase and Tencent to resurrect discontinued games
Can't make new games? Try some old ones. The Chinese giants are rereleasing a slate of lapsed IPs in the wake of the licensing slowdown
Business
Sea Ltd freezes salaries for most staff at end of 2022
As the year wrapped up, Sea Ltd, owner of mobile developer Garena, froze salaries for staff and paid out lower bonuses for 2022
Monetisation
Vampire Survivors developer takes new approach to monetisation
In a Steam update, poncle, the developers of popular roguelike action game Vampire Survivors discussed their difficulties in bringing the game to mobile
Games Done Quick
Games Done Quick founder Mike Uyama leaving the organisation
The group raises funds for charitable causes through gaming speedruns
Opinion
Storytelling in free-to-play games: The good and the bad
While games draw acclaim for their storylines, downplaying the importance of narrative can make games more accessible
Openly Optimistic
Why mobile developers should be optimistic about 2023
In spite of 2022’s mobile revenue dip, 2023 is on the up. Kim Soares highlights the industry’s continued upward trajectory when omitting pandemic blip
Investment
Turkish developer Ace Games lands new $8m investment
The Turkish developer Ace Games, whose stakeholders include publisher Playtika, received $8m in investment late last year
About Ua
Matej Lancaric shares his tough love UA strategies, ATT response and more
Suggested UA channels include Meta, TikTok, Google Ads and others, while Facebook gets short shrift
Acquivision Blizzard
CMA extends the deadline for Microsoft / Activision-Blizzard investigation
The group requires more time to decide if the UK should approve the deal
Stocks
Apple’s market value dropped below $2tn over Christmas. What’s gone wrong?
Apple’s stock price has taken a battering and the previously untouchable giant of smartphones has an uncertain 2023 ahead
Fairy Tales
Pokémon Go announces Twinkling Fantasy Event
The event will highlight the game’s roster of fairy and dragon types
Streaming
Nvidia GeForce NOW comes to cars with auto maker partnership
Nvidia’s game streaming service is coming to cars, in partnership with manufacturers such as Hyundai
The Fashion Metaverse
H&M launches a new game within metaverse platform Roblox
The game was created by British metaverse studio Dubit
Genshin's First-ever Exhibition
Genshin Impact hosts its first art exhibition with life-size characters
The Paris-based exhibit features more than 16 original pieces of concept art
Skyrocket Your Business
Take your business to the next level in 2023 with Steel Media!
Ready to propel your business to the next level? See how working with Steel Media can help you achieve your goals this year!
A Year At Homa
Victor Vielliard reflects on Homa’s "landmark" 2022, from 1 billion downloads to 20 new games
Social media milestones, game installs, funding and more highlighted in LinkedIn post
Collaborations
World of Tanks: Blitz continues collab spree with Terminator 2 in-game event
Hot off the back of their holiday event, World of Tanks: Blitz are offering another collab event based around the Terminator 2 movie
Trouble For Mages?
MAGES chairman and director steps down following $4.7 million loss
Chiyomaru Shikura will take an executive producer role within the company
Revenue
Genshin Impact surpasses $4bn in lifetime revenue
Genshin Impact hits new revenue highs, bringing in over $4bn of revenue within two years of launch
Aiming For Acquisition Approval
The list of nations approving Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition grows
Among the approving nations are Brazil, Serbia and Chile
Chinese Market
TikTok developer ByteDance makes additional layoffs
New layoffs run in the hundreds and are across various divisions including gaming
Ftc Vs Microsoft
Are the FTC and Microsoft talks at a standstill?
The FTC have sued to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, but no “substantive” settlement talks are underway
Company Culture
Blizzard’s end of year roundup pledges greater culture change
Mike Ybarra’s end of year roundup pledged more culture change from Blizzard and a ‘player first’ approach
Racing To Mobile
Game Freak to rerelease Pocket Card Jockey on Apple Arcade
The game was previously released for mobile devices in Japan in 2014
Are Tencent’s Troubles Over?
Tencent predicted to bounce back in 2023
2022 was a turbulent year for the tech giant, but analysts forecast that Tencent will rebound
Advertising
Frameplay’s Cary Tilds on intrinsic advertising and measuring interaction
Monetization in mobile has often been contingent on advertising, but companies like Frameplay are placing their bets on a new way, intrinsic advertising
Esports
PUBG Mobile tops battle-royale eSports charts for 2022
A number of mobile or cross-platform titles made up the Top 5 for battle-royale eSports in 2022, suggesting emerging trends
Snapping Up Players
Marvel Snap surpasses 30 million downloads
The game hit the milestone less than three months after its launch
App Stores
Is Tim Sweeney hinting at the return of Fortnite to iOS?
A cryptic tweet from Epic CEO, Tim Sweeney, may hint at the return of the battle-royale game Fortnite to iOS
Game Closure
Bravely Default: Brilliant Lights to shut down in February
The Square Enix spin-off launched in January 2022
Regulation
China lifts licencing freeze with 44 new approved international games
Chinese regulators granted 44 licences for international games to be distributed in the country, including to major corporation Tencent
Bigger And Better
Our biggest event to date is coming up this month – now’s your time to get involved!
Pocket Gamer Connects London is shaping up to be our biggest event yet. Join us at this record-breaking event January 23 - 24!
2022 Highlights
2022 In Review – December’s Best Bits
As the year draws to a close, we take a look back with our pick of the stories that shaped the last twelve months. Time for December
Winning At Esports
What do mobile eSports games need to do to win?
eSports are on the rise and with mobile gaming taking the lead they're certain to take over there too. But what does a mobile eSports games need to succeed?
2022 Highlights
2022 In Review – November’s Best Bits
As the year draws to a close, we take a look back with our pick of the stories that shaped the last twelve months. Let's look back to November
Future Gazing
The ubiquity of mobile gaming: why more platforms are getting on board
As the global games market grows, what are the trends that are shaping the future? AudioMob peers into the crystal ball and highlights the opportunities for developers
2022 Highlights
2022 In Review – October’s Best Bits
As the year draws to a close, we take a look back with our pick of the stories that shaped the last twelve months. Here's October…
2022 Highlights
BIG Stories of 2022 - Unity, ironSource, Applovin' and mobile's biggest merger
AppLovin’s attempt the scupper a planned acquisition turned it into one of 2022's biggest mobile news stories
2022 Highlights
2022 In Review – September’s Best Bits
As the year draws to a close, we take a look back with our pick of the stories that shaped the last twelve months. Time for… September
Event Latest
Introducing 2023's first game industry event in Istanbul
The Mobidictum Network Istanbul takes place on January 13, giving networking opportunities to developers, publishers and more
2022 Highlights
2022 In Review – August’s Best Bits
As the year draws to a close, we take a look back with our pick of the stories that shaped the last twelve months. This time, it’s August
Views Week
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team reflect on closures and censorship
2022 Highlights
2022 In Review – July's Best Bits
As the year draws to a close, we take a look back with our pick of the stories that shaped the last twelve months. It's time for July
2022 In Review
2022: The Games Market In Numbers
Newzoo estimate that the games market will have generated $184.4 billion in 2022 marking a fall of 4.3% year-on-year
2022 Highlights
BIG Stories of 2022 - How the massive Microsoft/Activision-Blizzard gaming acquisition came under fire
The acquisition may have been largely due to Activision Blizzard’s mobile offerings, but one franchise in particular prompted Sony to intervene