Live And Kicking
How Disney Magic Kingdoms has kept the magic alive for four years and counting
We speak to Gameloft game manager Jennifer Gale regarding the anniversary.
Tick Tock
TikTok recieves seven-day extension to sell its US operations
The company has until December 4th
Discount Ends
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Partnered Up
Adjust joins the Adobe Exchange Partner Program
"We are excited to see the business benefits both our current and future clients will see from this new relationship"
Proving Popular
Kwalee's hypercasual library exceeds half a billion downloads
"Our approach to launching hit games is always being refined, we're getting better all the time, and we're already setting our sights on one billion"
New Acquisition
Keywords acquires marketing services provider Gnet
"It's a great pleasure to welcome the Gnet team into the Keywords family"
Breath Of The Who?
The Pathless: From Abzû to Apple Arcade headliner to launch
Giant Squid founder and creative director Matt Nava details the four-year journey
Money Money Money
AppsFlyer receives late backing from Salesforce Ventures in Series D funding round
"AppsFlyer has been the driving force in mobile marketing attribution and has demonstrated true, long-term commitment to represent the app developers within the ecosystem"
Remote Working
Square Enix embraces remote working with its new programme
Eligible employees will work from home at least three times a week
Proving Popular
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity shifts three million copies in four days
Its sales were 324% higher than Hyrule Warriors
Team Work
Supercell backs new studio 2UP Games with $2.8 million investment
"It's a privilege to be supporting 2UP Games on their mission to bring players across the world together around co-op gaming"
Expanding
ByteDance launches mobile games store and publishing arm
“ByteDance is heavily investing in each part of the video game industry"
It's War
PUBG Mobile's 2021 Global Championship will have a $14 million prize pool
The highest amount in mobile esports
Join The Crew
Fortnite is getting a subscription option
Fortnite Crew will cost $9.99 a month
Money Money Money
Ten Square Games experiences great revenue stabilisation after Q3 success
"We are very pleased with our strong performance in the third quarter of this year"
Wanna Learn
Kahoot acquires language learning dev Drops
"We are thrilled to welcome Drops to the expanding Kahoot family as we advance towards our vision to become the leading learning platform in the world"
Treasure Hunting
Lara Croft is coming to mobile devices in Tomb Raider Reloaded
To be released in 2021
Roundtable Discussion
Explore the new rules of in-game advertising with our next PocketGamer.biz RoundTable - sign up now!
The PocketGamer.biz RoundTables return with a free session focused on in-game advertisement, monetisation and the new rules of engagement
Helping Hand
Epic aids nearly 1,000 developers with $60 million through its MegaGrants scheme
Across games, education, media and more
Remote Work
Aquiris business director Sandro Manfredini explains the troubles of building personal relationships over video
"My role was profoundly impacted considering the business in games..."
An Imposter!
There are over 60 apps pretending to be Among Us
"Cybercriminals and, more specifically, malware designers, are paying close attention to the rise and fall of popular gaming trends in order to decide upon their next target"
Blown To The Top
Nexon’s The Kingdom of the Winds: Yeon is #1 Korean action RPG
Crunching the data with App Annie
Wanna Play
Roblox teams with Ernest Cline for Ready Player Two event
"Roblox is the closest thing to the Oasis in real life, and this contest is the closest thing to the treasure hunt in my book"
Top Dog
Small Giant Games names Jose Saarniniemi as its new CEO
He takes over from Timo Soininen on November 27th
Banned
Mojang is letting moderators dish out bans in Minecraft
Firm wants to "provide a positive and enjoyable environment" in its games
Money Money Money
Bandai Namco backs Genies with $3 million investment
The avatar tech firm will expand across Asia
Winner!
Garena Free Fire picks up first Esports Mobile Game of the Year award
The team was "humbled and honoured"
Catch Em All
Niantic brings COVID-19 changes back to Pokemon Go
Will be in effect till at least June 2021
Make An Impact
Genshin Impact was the highest-grossing digital title in October 2020
Mobile spending was up 15 per cent year-on-year
Don't Cross The Streams
Google Stadia: The good, the bad and the ugly of the cloud-streaming platform's first year
Stumbled start or headed for the Google graveyard?
Money Money Money
Zynga experiences record-breaking quarter with $503 million in revenue
"We delivered strong results in Q3, ahead of guidance across all key financial measures, including our highest ever quarterly revenue and bookings and best Q3 operating cash flow"
Hot Five
Hot Five: Embracer Group makes a dozen acquisitions, Lila Games secures $2.8 million in funding, and Square Enix talk beautiful gaming experiences
The hottest articles of last week
Money Money Money
Lightfox Games secures $3.3 million in funding
"The best games are built by small, passionate, talent-rich, multi-disciplinary teams that are open to and quick to react to player feedback"
Welcome Aboard
Big Run Studios welcomes Daren Chencinski as its new SVP of games
“I’m excited and honoured to be part of a studio that’s leading the forefront in creating games for traditionally underserved audiences"
Deal The Deck
KamaGames' Durak picks up 1.5 million downloads in soft launch
"We are both warmed and excited by these early figures"
An Imposter!
Among Us hit 295 million monthly active users in October
Expected to surpass 300 million MAUs this month
Takin' Care Of Business
Mobile Games Jobs Weekly: Nexon nominates former TikTok CEO, Retro Studios hires Marisa Palumbo, and Keywords Studios brings in Fumiko Okura
The movers, shakers and job opportunities in mobile gaming
More Games!
Kongregate adds three games from Disney and Pixar to its portfolio
"Each game boasts a strong, loyal fan base that we want to continue to engage with new content, more live events, and continued focus"
Interview
Pixel Noire Games’ Javier Barnes on how to benchmark, create and validate fun
"If your game is not fun and not engaging to the audience, it won’t go far."
Climb The Ladder
Adjust appoints a new CPO and CRO
Katie Madding and Bill Kiriakis have been promoted
Money Money Money
NetEase experiences a strong third quarter with $2.7 billion in revenue
"The strength of our games business is bolstered by our diverse and growing game portfolio with impressive longevity"
Ipo
Roblox officially files for an IPO
On the New York Stock Exchange
App Challenge Victors
The App Challenge winners revealed at last week’s Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #4
With 23 teams taking part, three teams emerged as victors during Game Development 101 in association with King Abdullah II Fund for Development
In The Clouds
Google Stadia to begin public testing for iOS devices in the coming weeks
Via a progressive web application
So Many Ads
Kwalee will utilise AdInMo's advertising platform for Off The Rails 3D
"It's the ideal title with which to explore the potential of integrated in-game advertising with AdInMo, from both player experience and monetisation standpoints"
Yodo1
Android app stores in China: many stores, one solution
Yodo1 discusses the different app stores in China and how to get listed on them
Oh Joy
Nintendo gets hit with another Joy-Con lawsuit
"This defect significantly interferes with gameplay and thus compromises the Witch and Joy-Con controller's core functionality"
Keep Out
New guidelines will prevent players from bringing politics into Animal Crossing: New Horizons
It follows Joe Biden's use of the game for his political campaign
Fight For Fairness
Epic Games is not fighting Apple "for a lower commission"
"Epic is fighting for fair competition among mobile platform companies, stores, and payment processors"
Money Money Money
Skillz experiences a successful quarter with $60 million in revenue
"These are exciting times at Skillz. During the quarter, we achieved an important milestone by entering into a business combination agreement with Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp"