Anniversary
My.Games marks Rush Royale's fourth anniversary with special birthday event and $370m revenue milestone
Since its launch, Rush Royale has garnered over 90 million downloads
Funding For Games
Beam Ventures launches in Abu Dhabi with $150m fund to support game studios
The firm will also launch an accelerator program that focuses on early-stage web3 gaming and AI start-ups
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Rababa Games' Mohammad Al-Aghar Rawashdeh on how to get a career as an environment artist
In this series, we highlight the talented team members working in the games industry and how they got their break
Sale Boost
Zynga sells Chartboost to LoopMe
Publisher had previously bought mobile ads and monetisation platform in a $250 million deal in 2021
New Studio
Clear Angle Studios opens new studio in Culver City
The new studio has already supported five major film productions and three games industry projects
More Games
Arkadium unveils six new games to end the year with 18 releases
Platform invests heavily as browser-based gaming grows in popularity
Job News
Duolingo taps former Halo franchise head Bonnie Ross as board member
Ross has over 30 years of experience in the games industry
Pocket Premium
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete surpasses $3m with highest daily spend since 2017
The premium edition has now replaced free-to-play Pocket Camp
Job News
Bitkraft Ventures recruits ex-JetSynthesis Gaming CEO Anuj Tandon as partner
Investment firm aims to expand presence in India’s fast-growing games market
Global Goals
Square Enix’s global growth strategy too often overlooks mobile
After shutting down multiple mobile games in recent years, Square Enix launches Emberstoria - another Japan exclusive
Infold Income
Infinity Nikki is series’ strongest launch with $4m in four days on mobile
It has been outperformed by Infold Games’ other 2024 title, Love and Deepspace
New Partnerships
Xsolla partners with StarNest to launch game development academy in Azerbaijan
Xsolla is also considering establishing its regional headquarters in Baku
Esports Growth
PUBG Mobile commits $10 million to 2025 Esports circuit prize pool
Next year's event will feature over 20 tournaments across various regions
Podcast | Episode 39
Mobile's hot new releases and the loot box investigation unpacked | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 39...
Mena Market
UAE leads MENA start-up investments in November with $146m across 11 deals
Saudi Arabia followed with 23 startups raising $94 million
Ubisoft Buyout
Tencent and Ubisoft in talks over potential management-led buyout
The PUBG publisher also aims to block hostile takeovers as it awaits the family’s agreement
Hot Five
Hot Five: Infinity Nikki goes global, Royal Kingdom beats Royal Match, and Pokémon TCG Pocket makes $200m in first month
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week That Was
Royal Kingdom’s $2.4m debut, Infinity Nikki’s launch and Pokémon TCG Pocket rivals Pokémon Go's early success | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Acqusitions
Reforged Studios acquires South Africa’s Yellow Lab Games
Yellow Lab Games will continue operating independently
New Studio
PTW opens new studio in Charleston
The company said the new studio will feature “state-of-the-art" facilities for next-gen testing
Ai In Games
Google’s AI Genie 2 brings images to life by transforming them into playable 3D worlds
“Games play a key role in the world of artificial intelligence research”
Milestone
Block Blast! surges past 40m daily active users
The game has garnered over 200m downloads since its launch in 2021
Funding News
Cyprus-based studio Top App Games secures $10m funding
The studio aims to launch new mobile titles and explore new genres
New Games
New release roundup: Infinity Nikki, Animal Crossing, Emberstoria, Airoheart, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Royal Revenue
Royal Kingdom makes $2.4m in 14 days, quadrupling Royal Match’s early earnings
The US market has spent almost $1.1 million in two weeks
Lawsuit
Apple faces £785 million UK lawsuit over App Store commissions
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has allowed the suit to proceed
Incredible Indies
Incredible Indies: BAFTA nominated studio Other Tales shares on the development of its latest game Miniatures
Other Tales’ co-founder Tanja Tankred discusses the studios journey so far as it recently launched its second title
Browser Games 101
GameDistribution: Expand Mobile Game Reach with Zero Acquisition Costs
Learn more about the opportunities for developers and publishers in the cross-platform browser market, with the help of GameDistribution by Azerion
Investment News
Fortnite UGC studio Creators Corp gets $2 million investment from Lumina
The team has developed over 15 games and boasts over 220m active users
Expansion Plans
In-game advertising firm Gadsme opens first US office
Company looks to expand in the US and Europe with new branch and multiple hires
Pokemon Power
Pokémon TCG Pocket matches 91% of Pokémon Go’s launch month revenue through the power of playground rumours
Secret missions, 90s nostalgia and online speculation set TCG Pocket apart from the competition
Plagiarism Accusations
NetEase's Onmyoji accuses HoYoVerse of plagiarism over trailer similarities
The new Honkai: Star Rail's latest Sunday update is set to release today
Women In Games
Pixel United’s Kelly Kang on Building EverMerge’s Early Ad Monetisation Strategy
Liftoff invites Kelly Kang, Senior Director of Ad Monetisation & Partnerships at Pixel United to discuss her achievements, challenges, and future aspirations.
Eco-conscious Gaming
Demi Lovato partners with PlanetPlay to raise funds for reforestation and ocean conservation
Fans can access exclusive Demi Lovato avatars in games like Subway Surfers, Love & Pies and more throughout this month
Pocket Gamer Awards
Limited tickets remain for Pocket Gamer Awards this Friday! Secure your spot
Last chance: register for the Pocket Gamer Awards live ceremony and party in London on 6 December 2024
Funding News
Playgama lands $3 million to simplify HTML5 game distribution
The company is building a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) ecosystem which includes access to various distributors and platforms
Nef, Ismoo & Stariik Talk
Summoners War X AppGallery Meetup 2024: Exclusive Insights with SWC Europe Cup Champions
Pocketgamer.biz catches up with the top three winners of the SWC 2024 Europe Cup, to talk strategies, the influence of AppGallery, and the recent meetup
Resilient Growth
Apple's App Store ecosystem in China hits $519 billion in developer sales
Developers kept over 95% of the revenue without paying commissions
Fundraising
SpecialEffect raises £600,000 for gamers with disabilities in One Special Day campaign
The annual campaign has raised over £3 million across eight years
Global Trends
Global Trends: Mattel163 CEO Amy Huang on accessibility, user acquisition, and DEI
We catch up with industry leaders to get their insights on the state of play in the games sector
M&a Advice
Acquiring and selling games: Trends and strategies in 2024
ZiMAD’s M&A manager Yana Vesnina shares on M&A strategies that have shaped 2024
Revamped Return
Rainbow Six Mobile returns with Season Ice Storm ending a near eight-month hiatus
Ubisoft’s latest mobile adaptation is now in Phase 1 of its roadmap to full release
Difference Of Direction
MY.GAMES sells hybridcasual publisher Mamboo to better focus on midcore
The decision comes despite Mamboo’s "stable year-over-year growth in revenue and EBITDA"
New Game
SuperPlay secures licence to launch Disney Solitaire
The game is currently soft launched in Columbia and the Philippines
Spending Success
Dungeon & Fighter: Mobile smashes $1bn in six months in China
Nexon’s beat 'em up has hit the mighty $1 billion mark solely in iOS player spending in China
Expansion
Apple set to open new Dublin office
Apple plans to take up roughly 60,000 square feet at its new space in the city centre
Seven Billion Downloads
CrazyLabs celebrates seven billion downloads
CrazyLabs has hit a historic moment in mobile games, with the hypercasual pioneer hitting a huge seven billion downloads
Special Offer
Cyber Monday offer - double discount on Pocket Gamer Connects London 2025
Take advantage of huge savings for our upcoming event with this exclusive Cyber Monday deal
Spending Sensation
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket skyrockets to $200m in first month
The collectible card game is already the third most successful Pokémon title on mobile
Hot Five
Hot Five: Balatro's player spending surge, Supercell’s cultural shift, and Reverse: 1999’s "creative freedom"
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz