Clever Data
GameRefinery reveals a new way to optimise UA without tracking users
Data Enrichment categorises games and matches with potential fans
Next Big Wave
Potato Play secures $1.75 million in seed funding for Asian hybrid-casual games
"With this seed round, we will be limitless in what we can achieve for developers"
Grindstone To A Halt
Opinion: One year on, Apple Arcade is still great but it's lost momentum
Set to celebrate one-year anniversary on September 19th, 2020
Talking Heads
Facebook, Jam City, ZeptoLab, Neogames and Kwalee all confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020
With just two weeks to go until our online-only conference goes live, find out who you will be learning from digitally
Staying Put
Report: AT&T is no longer selling the Warner Bros games arm
Follows interactive entertainment boom thanks to COVID-19
Banned
PUBG Mobile gets hit with a ban in India
One of 118 Chinese apps to be booted from the country
Farewell
Indie studio Vlambeer is shutting down after 10 years
The developer's upcoming title Ultrabugs is still on the way though
Deutsche Telekom launches cloud gaming platform MagentaGaming
"MagentaGaming will increase user experience for a much broader audience thanks to lower entry barriers for high-quality gaming"
Going Public
Skillz is going public on NYSE via merger with SPAC Flying Eagle
At a valuation of $3.5 billion
Lay Offs
Big Fish Games lays off 250 staff members as it faces a restructure
"The scale that Big Fish developed over many years as a multi-platform publisher has made it difficult to successfully lead in mobile"
Hells Bells
Indie Spotlight: Hellrider 3 dev Andrew Chernyshov on work-life balance
"If developing a new game is a joy, then the actual result is less important"
Gather Round
CD Projekt-owned studio Spokko soft-launches The Witcher: Monster Slayer
Available on the App Store in New Zealand
Another Reality
Niantic partners with 5G telecoms to advance AR
"5G will completely change the gaming industry and bring never before seen capabilities to AR gaming"
Industry Survey
LAST CHANCE to have your say on how you will publish and finance your game with our industry survey
There's only a few days left, but there’s still a chance to win free conference tickets for sharing your views, hopes and observations
Staying Put
Facebook claims Oculus brand isn't going anywhere
Follows confusing announcement from the social media giant
Money Money Money
Gamezop secures $4.3 million in Series A funding
"We are excited to partner with a team that has successfully solved the distribution problem when it comes to HTML5-based gaming"
Public Potential
Huuuge Games files a prospectus for potential IPO
"We are now looking to the next phase of our growth"
Pgc Digital
Learn about the Finnish games industry at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital
One of 15 featured tracks at PGC Helskini Digital, kicking off on September 14th
Fringe Events
Find the next step in your career, or meet your next business partner, publisher or investor online at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020
Fringe benefits: beyond the conference talks and panels, there are multiple events for networking with over 1,500 industry professionals over the internet this month
Unlocking The Audience
Unlocking the power of gaming's resilient audience
Unity Operate Solutions VP of revenue Julie Shumkaer digs into the data on "pandemic players"
Terminated
Apple follows through with threat as it removes Epic's developer account
"We are disappointed that we have had to terminate the Epic Games account on the App Store"
Squad Up
Ubisoft removes offensive imagery from Tom Clancy's Elite Squad
"We have listened to and appreciate the players and broader community who have pointed it out and we apologise"
All Business
Scopely appoints Aaron Loeb as its new chief business officer
"His deep games experience is invaluable to our employees, players and business"
It's A Blast
Toon Blast smashes its way through $1 billion in lifetime revenue
The puzzle game was released in 2017
Big Indie Pitch
Rumor Games finds success through disaster at The Digital Big Indie Pitch #3
We explore the top three games from our recent Digital Big Indie Pitch in association with The Indie Arena Booth Online
Pgc Helsinki Digital
Fnatic Edward Gregory on how to make successful partnerships in esports
"Esports is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world and yet is still in its infancy."
Master The Meta
Master the Meta: How Razer is transforming its business beyond hardware
News and insights from the Master the Meta team
Most Read
Hot Five: Mintegral strongly denies ad fraud, examining Fall Guys' success, and Disney Emoji Blitz hits four years
The hottest articles of last week
Solving Problems
Walmart partners with Microsoft for TikTok bid as ByteDance insists the company prepare US contingency plans
"We are confident that we will reach a resolution that ensures TikTok is here for the long run"
Networking Heads
From A to Z - which top companies will you be meeting online at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020?
Network completely over the internet with the world’s top games companies: an incredible lineup - from top publishers to talented indie studios - awaits you online
Diversity Matters
POC in Mobile: KingsIsle Entertainment games designer Victoria Brown on the importance of networking
"The more connections and relations that you can build will help open up more opportunities in any job that you would want to pursue"
Money Money Money
Bitkraft Esports Ventures secures $165 million for games industry investments
"We are grateful to our investors for their confidence in our team's ability to identify talent, trends, and opportunities in the gaming and esports space"
A Good Deed
WildWorks plants 16,000 trees in Zambia with WeForest
"A great way to get kids to care about something is to bake it into the games they love to play"
New Identity
Oculus rebrands as Facebook Reality Labs
"Together, AR and VR will change how we work, interact, and play, with novel use cases we haven’t even begun to imagine"
Deeper Magic
Facebook's angry yet radical reaction to Apple's IDFA changes
IDFA tracking is out. Probabilistic modelling inbound
Jobseekers Welcome
FREE entry for games industry jobseekers with Careers Week at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020
Ready for the next step in your career? Be the first to find new job adverts at next month's online-only conference
Farewell
TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer steps down amidst ongoing tensions with the US government
Will be replaced by Vanessa Pappas
Smiley Face
Live and Kicking: Why retention is key to the success of Disney Emoji Blitz four years on
"If we don't listen to our players and create something worth playing and investing in, we don't deserve them"
Left Behind
Fortnite players on iOS are being isolated from other platforms as the new season launches
Apple has prevented the game from being updated
Event
Mid Term discount offer for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020 ends tonight - Thursday August 27
Last chance to save for next month's global games industry event ends just hours away!
Worthy Cause
Summer Games Done Quick raises $2.3 million for charity
Brings the total raised to $28.5 million
Talking Heads
King, Paradox Interactive, Jam City, DECA Games and Jagex all confirmed to speak at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Digital 2020
With just one month to go until our online-only conference goes live, find out who you will be learning from digitally
Big Better
Zynga on the post-IDFA value of hypercasual mobile games
President of publishing Bernard Kim on market dynamics
For Charity
YouTube Gaming is hosting a mobile games tournament with a $50,000 prize for charity
Features Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, and PUBG Mobile
Busan B2b Bundle
G-STAR confirms digital event and Pocket Gamer Connects partnership
The biggest games conference in South Korea, taking place in November, will be accessible online to everyone (and you can save 20% with Pocket Gamer Connects ticket bundles)
Strong Team
Adjust makes three key hires as it continues to expand across the Americas
"We're in a strong position to build on the exponential growth we've seen in mobile-first markets like the US and LATAM"
Night And Day
Indie Spotlight: Why Cleaversoft founder Rich Siegel thinks going console first is the best route to mobile
"If we had finished one year later, E3 would have been cancelled and EarthNight would not have reached even a fraction of its current audience"
Awards!
Hear the best in the business speak at next week's Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2020 - all online and totally FREE!
Tune in this Tuesday September 1st to see which studios, creators and publishers are making waves in mobile games
Catch Em All
Pokemon GO could be getting a subscription service
"A subscription category has been added in this version"
Walk Away
Lab Zero loses numerous employees following reports of inappropriate behaviour by its studio head
"He threatens and insults people and our partners, both directly and in public"