Funding Round
Medtech firm Highmark raises $2 million to make games that treat brain injuries
Company also recruits John Gardiner as new CFO
Glitch Fest
Pokemon GO Fest plagued by technical problems
Niantic apologies to 20,000+ registered attendees as it issues refunds for all
The Weekly
The Weekly: Pokemon GO turf wars, designing Monument Valley 2, and developing for Facebook Instant Games
Rounding up the week's industry analysis and news from around the internet
Pokemon Go Fest
Niantic to unleash legendaries in Pokemon GO during special live-streamed real-world event on July 22nd
Players in Chicago will need to work together to take down a legendary
Partnership Perfect
Pocket Gems partners with Universal Studios for new Episode story based on Pitch Perfect
Community writers can win a trip to Universal and face time with Episode writers
Tapjoy Audience Reach
Tapjoy's rewarded video ads now reach over 581 million users thanks to partnerships with major developers
Seriously, Jam City, Sega, Zeptolab and more now making use of the platform
The Walking Deal
"As opposed to adapt, the word expand is better": Skybound's Dan Murray talks video game franchises
Speaking at PGC San Francisco, the Walking Dead boss discusses the challenges and opportunities of making games based on big brand IP
Paying The Billz
Former Kabam COO Kent Wakeford joins eSports platform Skillz's board of directors
Also co-owns an Overwatch eSports team now, apparently
Gamer Chat
Mobile gamer-focused chat platform Plexchat secures $7 million investment
"The lack of community is an existential crisis for mobile games," says Plexchat CEO Shawn Foust.
Financing Education
Games learning platform Kahoot raises extra $10 million in Series A funding round
Mobile app for teachers and students to launch during the new school year
Download Siege
Siege: Titan Wars fires past one million downloads in 10 days
Hits top 100 grossing rankings in 30 countries
Words With Television
Zynga partners with MGM for new Words With Friends TV game show
Could also incorporate other titles in publisher's portfolio
Crash-tastic
Not Doppler's Crash of Cars smashes 10 million downloads four months after launch
Over 750 battles have taken place
Look Ma I'm On Tv
Vainglory to make TV debut on Disney XD as part of new series ESL Brawlers
One episode dedicated to Super Evil's MOBA airing as part of D|XP
Inconvenient Truth
Why the mobile games industry underestimates MZ at its peril
Are you playing FFXV or Brawl Stars?
Acquiring Ua
N3twork buys Eric Seufert’s user acquisition tool Agamemnon
Seufert also joins company to lead its new suite of tools and services
Zooming To Emea
Mobile performance firm PacketZoom pushes into EMEA with new General Manager hire
Amos Ben Yaacov joins from bob to oversee operations
Leaps And Bounds
Motion tracking developer Leap Motion secures $50 million series C funding round
Pushing into Asia and broadening the scope of its product
One For All
Zynga apologises to CSR Racing 2 players over setting random prices for the same car
Some players paid up to $34.99, while others scored the car for $4.99
Not A Forever Franchise
Zynga shuts down mobile Mafia Wars after three months
Another one bites the dust
Ar Awakens
Disney's new augmented reality headset lets players wield their own lightsaber
Teams up with tech outfit Lenovo to produce new hardware
The Weekly
The Weekly: Hitman GO postmortem, mobile game publishing relationships, and AR for the masses
Rounding up the week's industry analysis and news from around the internet
Scaled Down
Autodesk kills off game middleware products
Scaleform, Beast, Human IK and Navigation all given the chop
Mobile Is King
Mobile games revenues surpassed PC and console revenues in 2016 for the first time
DFC Intelligence tells us more
Esl New Hires
ESL hires new CMO and CRO to push into next stage of global growth
Rodrigo Samwell and Martin Hubert join the team
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: Is there an opportunity for smartphones to build on the Nintendo Switch model?
Following recent investments, we ask the experts for their view
Big Deal
Brazil’s Independent Games Festival 2017 attracts 20,000 visitors
3,200 professionals head to event
Tasty
Candy Crush TV show has sweet premiere with 4.1 million viewers
Scores a 1.1 Nielsen rating, whatever that means
Time To Experiment
Experimental games company Velan Studios secures $7 million series A funding round
Round led by Velan Ventures
Pokemon Galore
Pokemon GO players in Japan spent an average of $26 on IAPs in the game's first year
Sensor Tower ranks the top spenders in Niantic's megahit
Epic Accelerator
Epic Games chosen to take part in Disney's 2017 accelerator program
One of 11 companies taking part
Battle Of Legends
Riot Games sues Mobile Legends developer Shanghai Moonton Technology for copyright infringement
Mobile MOBA developer alleged to have ripped design and art from League of Legends
From The Sky
Cloud-based PC game streaming service LiquidSky launches service on Android
Play your PC games on your Android phone or tablet - for a price
Unity 2017
Unity 2017.1 launches with Timeline, Cinemachine, improved analytics, and more
New year-based numbering system finally in effect
Monster Match
GungHo teams up with Capcom for Puzzle & Dragons and Monster Hunter crossover event
New multiplayer dungeon lets three players battle cooperatively
Influencer Marketing
Why influencers are a key part of games marketing and how to work with them
An overview of the space and how to harness these social media stars in your marketing campaigns
Falling Back
Gree closes three studios as it ends Western operations
Japanese publisher retreats after struggling to replicate its native success
The Weekly
The Weekly: Pokemon GO's first year, why everybody still loves Sega, and why some men don't work
Rounding up the week's industry analysis and news from around the internet
Iap Inspector
How does Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire monetise?
IAPs from the players' perspective
Ceasefire
Red 5 Studios shuts down PC game Firefall to focus on mobile adaptation
Previous players will be "greatly rewarded"
Gotta Catch 'em All
One year on: How Pokemon GO has proved it’s more than just a fad
The right game at the right time
Show Don't Tell
The augmented reality-fueled future of mobile marketing will be narrative and personalised
Motive.io's Peter Wittig shares discusses how it aims to empower developers, markets and advertisers to bring immersive experiences to consumers
Influential Opinion
Influencer special: Have your say on influencer marketing for mobile
Contributors wanted
Besieged With Competition
Simutronics on Siege: Titan Wars and 30 years of multiplayer gaming
CEO David Whatley on the journey from MUDs to mobile PvP
Job Losses
AdColony cuts 100 jobs as it shifts to automated ad sales
Company shifting toward reward-based advertising
Acquisition Of Dragons
Chinese developer NetDragon buys LA educational games studio JumpStart
Plans to utilise IP and partnership with Dreamworks
Business News
Razer aims to raise $600 million from Hong Kong IPO
Date and valuation of flotation undisclosed
Catch Of The Day
Steam founder Rick Ellis raises $1.25 million for new studio Sharkbite Games
Eight-person team's first casual mobile game to be released this year
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Glu Mobile's Mark Van Ryswyk on how to get a job as a Studio Head
Glu's Senior VP of Studios shares career insights
Going Viral
Former Gaikai boss David Perry named CEO of Instagram influencer marketing start-up
GoVyrl aims to connect influencers and companies for marketing campaigns