Not Bad
Osmo surpasses one million educational AR game sales on iPad
Developer wants to scale up its operations
You Make My Heart Sing
Jam City unveils new story-driven match-three IP Wild Things: Animal Adventure
Takes inspiration from Gardenscapes
Co-op
Vungle brings its video ads platform to Samsung Galaxy Apps Store
The initial rollout will be in the US and South Korea
China Gathering
Tencent to publish new Magic: The Gathering games in China
Deal also includes Southeast Asia territories
They Nominated Who
45 Android apps and games up for 2018 Google Play Awards
Well-being, accessibility and social impact make their debut as categories
Smashing
Latest Apple, Google and Samsung mobiles smash game monetisation record
DeltaDNA study delves into which devices’ players spend more money
Indie Mavens
Is there an opportunity for indie developers on chat app platforms like Facebook Instant Games?
We caught up with Strange Flavour CEO Aaron Fothergill and Perchang’s co-founder Ben Murch to find out
Big Deal
New mobile ad tech firm WeQ secures $50 million to challenge Facebook and Google ‘duopoly’
Claims exclusive global publishing network and machine learning can support UA campaigns
Business News
Eden Games majority owner Millennial Esports enters $10m credit facility
Publisher withdraws initial $1.1 million
Not Too Shabby
Featured iOS apps can see up to 800% more downloads
A report by Sensor Tower delves into the download rates of featured iOS games
Jobs News
Ex-Sega Networks CPO Joseph Kim heads to Universal’s games publishing arm as senior VP
Will oversee slate and product management, marketing, user acquisition and revenue optimisation of all apps and games
Final Fight
Capcom Vancouver shuts down Puzzle Fighter
Goes offline for good on July 1st
Flying Into Cinemas
Rovio confirms Angry Birds Movie 2 for September 20th 2019
Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones joins cast as film's main villain
I'm Out
Hearthstone director Ben Brode leaves Blizzard
Plans to start his own studio
Hot Five
Something's wrong in Finland, Rovio's post-IPO blues, and former Scopely and EA execs head up new studio
The hottest articles from the past week
Event News
Super Game Chain to co-host Blockchain Gamer Connects San Francisco
Palo Alto software company heads up the May 14th to 15th industry event
Replay Value
Facebook tests playable ads on news feed
Audience Network release planned for later this year
Fold On A Minute
Nintendo Labo lands in the US, Australia and Japan
New arts and crafts style accessory will find its way to Europe on April 27th
Artistic Flair
Services Spotlight: Art outsourcer 5518 Studios
CEO Michael Casalino on working on Snoopy Pop and outside of games
Giving Loot The Boot
Top games ruled to be breaking Dutch gambling laws with loot boxes
The authoritative body investigated 10 unnamed titles after concerns were raised by players, parents and addiction care workers
Head Of The Pack
Tencent leads the way in $22 billion spent on games deals in last 12 months
The internet giant participated in over $4 of every $10 invested in games companies and was involved in over three-quarters of all games M&A
Hack And Slash
Platinum partners with DENA for Okami spiritual successor World of Demons
The hack-and-slash title will make its way to iOS this summer with an Android release set for later in 2018
Special Offer
Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco mid-term tickets end today
Book now to save up to $250 on every ticket bought by the end of Thursday, April 19th
Jobs News
Ex-Fullscreen senior director joins livestreaming platform Mobcrush
Nina Kammer appointed head of sales
Watch This
Twitch pulls in 82% of viewership hours of top 20 streamed games in Q1 2018
Twitch and YouTube Gaming generated 2.5 billion viewing hours
Boom!
Guns of Boom partners with Machete actor Danny Trejo for special event and promotions
Free-for-all battle mode introduced featuring actor's likeness and voice acting
Victory Royale
Fortnite mobile grosses $25 million in first month
Daily revenues top $1 million
Funding Round
Mobile ad tech firm AppOnboard secures $15 million investment
Total funding raised to date stands at $20 million
Tech Line-up
Line launches new mobile games developer tools to combat clones and track player behaviour
Also includes automated QA and testing platform
Big Spenders
US iPhone users spent an average of $58 on apps in 2017
The figure marks a 23 per cent increase from the previous year
Bust
Free-to-play casino games land four gaming companies with online gambling lawsuits
Legal action follows a similar ruling that found Big Fish Games’ casino experiences to have violated Washington state law
Survival
Endemol Shine UK soft-launches new survival game starring Bear Grylls
Legendary Games, All 4 Games and Nelson X Creative Ltd also listed as a part of the project
New Studio
Former Scopely and EA execs head up new narrative-focused studio Ordinal Games
Start-up wants players to create stories and take a share in revenues
Departure
EA Mobile senior VP Mike Verdu departs
Exec cites travel and lengthy commute as reasons for exit
It's Indie Game
EA's Katherine de Leon Superstar Session to open Indie track at PG Connects San Francisco 2018
Zynga, Super Evil, Skillz, 231 Play, MoPub, Liftoff and more also confirmed for May 14th to 15th conference
Hot Five
Japanese mobile games trends for 2018, mobile stock winners and losers, and Tencent opens up mini-games platform
The hottest articles of the past week
New Digs
Big Blue Bubble moves to new digs in Ontario
The Jungle Guardians developer now shares a studio space with Voices.com and Autodata
Dramatic Debut
BitGuild, WAX, Pixowl and more set for Blockchain Gamer Connects San Francisco 2018
Blockchain stars set to take the stage in May
The Animal
Marvel Strike Force dev FoxNext teams up with Dave Bautista to promote animal charity
The Guardians of the Galaxy actor chose to promote Frankie’s Friends as a part of True Heroes campaign
Moving On
EA shuffles executive team
Patrick Söderlund names chief designer officer, Laura Miele appointed chief studios officer, and other changes
Mental Health
New study claims mobile apps can help treat anxiety and depression
The study used data from Litesprite’s beta test of Sinasprite to determine the effectiveness of mobile games in combating mental health issues
Live And Kicking
Four years on: Square Enix Montreal on the evolution of Hitman Sniper
Senior producer Dominic Allaire discusses how the studio learned to use live ops to sustain a premium game
Impact
New mobile RPG Honkai Impact 3rd racks up 35 million downloads
Players who download the game will earn launch rewards and bonuses throughout April
Heading East
Mobile game blockchain distribution platform ALAX opens Hong Kong office
Set for token-based fundraiser on April 17th to 23rd
Big Indie Pitch
What The Golf? takes the crown at this year’s Big Indie Pitch at GDC 2018
Take a look at the winners from the Big Indie Pitch at GDC 2018
Studio Expansion
Keywords expands North America HQ in Montreal
Services provider continues rapid growth
Instant Gaming
Chat app gaming: Let us know what you think
We're on the look out for article submissions and interview opportunities
Holding Down The Fort
Epic brings down Fortnite for emergency maintenance
Players complained about login issues across mobile, PC and console
Rewarded
More rewarded ad conversions lead to higher user engagement, retention and spend
Tapjoy’s latest report finds that the more rewarded ads a player completes in their first two weeks the better the results
Super Giveaway
How does Marvel Strike Force monetise?
A well-worn equation well used