Mobile Matters
Mobile games an "integral element" of EA’s growth strategy but barely acknowledged at Investor Day
CFO Stuart Canfield did, however, discuss mobile’s potential to reach a wider audience
Investment News
Nazara secures $108m to fuel further M&A
Nazara has also acquired an additional 19.35% share in Sportskeeda parent company Absolute Sports
Mini Games Big Numbers
Behind the scenes of WeChat Minigames and how it has generated $2.3 billion in the first half of 2024
Jakub Remiar shares insight into the current state of WeChat Minigames and its prominence in the Chinese mobile market
Interoperability
EU orders Apple to open up its iOS ecosystem to rivals
European Commission to set out rules and processes for Apple to ensure interoperability of iOS features across devices
Milestone
Electric Blue: Gecko Dash mobile game surpasses 500,000 downloads
The game was created to stop endangered gecko species from going extinct in Tanzania
Super Acquisition
Playtika to acquire Dice Dreams developer SuperPlay for up to $1.95 billion
Deal will see publisher pay $700 million up-front and a further potential $1.25 billion based on successfully hitting financial targets
It's In The App
The EA Sports App takes the publisher beyond games and into social networking
App will soft launch in Spain this autumn in partnership with La Liga
Transmedia Strikes Again
EA working with Amazon MGM Studios on The Sims movie
Margot Robbie's production company LuckyChap to co-produce the film
Ai Ahead
EA's Andrew Wilson: AI is at the very core of our business
EA CEO Andrew Wilson talks three strategic categories for the company’s 100+ AI projects
Game Closure
Kabam to shut down Disney Mirrorverse after making $34m in mobile revenue
Action RPG no longer available for download and in-app purchases have been disabled
Air Ai
EA reveals experimental Project Air and states AI "is not merely a buzzword for us"
A short demonstration was given during EA’s Investor Day 2024 showcasing the new mobile experiment
Funding News
Patron's $100 million Fund II gets backing from investors to support founders
Fund II will build on Patron's $90M Fund I success which backed 21 companies
Strict Laws
Australia sets new rules for games with loot boxes and gambling-like content
Games with interactive simulated gambling will automatically receive an R18+ rating
Content Creation
User-generated content key to EA’s growth strategy towards "over one billion" players
EA fans have created 60 million hours of user-generated content in the past year
Podcast
Unicorns, camels and hogs: How smart ad monetisation saves your app from getting eaten alive | Podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team and guests give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode…
Industry Spotlight
Jobs in Games: Sandsoft's Mohammad AL Khatatbeh on how to become a senior game developer
In our Jobs in Games series, we highlight the talented team members currently working in the games industry
Hybrid Working
Ubisoft wants workers back in the office three days a week
“Being together in person also helps solve problems and make decisions more effectively"
Copyright Case
IBM awarded $44.9 million in patent infringement lawsuit against Zynga
Patents have now expired and no changes to the publisher's titles will be required
New Marketplace
Epic Games to launch new content marketplace Fab in October
The new platform will offer an 88/12 revenue share that prioritises creators and helps them build sustainable businesses
Repeat Revenue
Less than 2% of mobile gamers make an in-app purchase
Unity report finds that most repeat purchases happen within 30 days of original spending
Production Plan
Enhanced burn-down chart: How to estimate game production timelines more accurately and reliably
Cubic Games project manager Gennady Khmyznikov discusses the team's experiment with the enhanced burn-down chart
Ad Appeal
Unity: Global rewarded ad engagement rose by 3.2% in 2023
Unity’s Mobile Growth and Monetisation Report 2024 finds 38.1% of users will watch ads when out of resources
New Offerings
Supercell teams up with Hasbro to bring Transformers to Squad Busters
The collaboration marks the games first cross-promo event as Optimus Prime and Elita-1 join the Squad Busters roster
New Partnerships
Krafton partners with Bollywood star Deepika Padukone as new brand ambassador for BGMI
The actress's involvement reflects Krafton’s commitment to engaging a wider audience and aligning with popular culture
Case Study
How The Experimentation Group and Shallot Games increased Coffee Golf’s RPI by 75%
Tom Storr shares how consultancy group The Experimentation Group and Shallot Games successfully turned Coffee Golf around
Jobs In Games
Golden Whale appoints Thomas Aigner as SVP of business development
Aigner will leverage his expertise to strengthen the company's market presence and drive growth
Green Gaming
PUBG Mobile, Beatstar, Hay Day, Merge Mansion and more take part in Green Game Jam
The fifth Green Game Jam looks to tackle pollution and climate change
Speaker Reveal
Rovio, Supercell, Raw Fury and No More Robots lead new wave of speakers at PG Connects Helsinki 2024
Just some of the 160+ experts leading our 21-track schedule
Opening Up?
OpenAI wants to raise $6.5bn at $150bn valuation
Investors eye structural changes and removal of profit cap, according to reports
Profit Plummet
Keywords Studios makes $18.7 million loss despite 6.6% revenue rise
Sinking operating profit has been attributed to "several exceptional items"
Career Tips
Five top tips for building a career in the Nordics
The Nordics are a highly sought-after destination for aspiring game developers here are five essential tips to help build a successful career.
Flappy Fans
Flappy Bird is making a comeback but original creator isn’t involved
"Fans" at the Flappy Bird Foundation are rereleasing the 2013 hit but original creator Doug Nguyen is publicly distancing from it
Women In Games
From Candy Crush to Love & Pies: Trailmix’s Philippa Layburn shares her mobile marketing journey
As part of the Women In Games series, Liftoff speaks to Philippa Layburn, User Acquisition Lead at Trailmix Games about her career, the challenges of UA and the changing face of the games market
Loads Of Layoffs
Microsoft’s latest layoffs reportedly impact Call of Duty Warzone: Mobile and Warcraft Rumble teams
Warzone: Mobile has generated less than 10% of Call of Duty: Mobile’s revenue in respective first six months
Funding News
Campfire secures $3.95 million for AI-native gaming
Sprites is designed to allow developers to build human-like AI characters
Game Cancellation
Scopely aims to retain employees after scrapping unannounced project
The company wants to keep all employees from the cancelled project as long as there is a "role and/or game experience that's a mutual fit"
Hot Five
Hot Five: iPhone 16 reveal, Monster Hunter’s mega year, and The Elder Scrolls: Castles out now
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 28
The Unity Runtime Fee is dead! | 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 28...
Week That Was
The Unity Runtime Fee aftermath, more Xbox layoffs, and Monster Hunter Now's $225m year | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Mobile Mavens
Broken trust, a dark 12 months, but a positive sign: Developers react to Unity axing the Runtime Fee
Our industry experts share their thoughts on the big news, which comes one year after the Runtime Fee was first announced
Monster Milestone
How Monster Hunter Now claimed $225m in its first year through innovation, inclusion and evolving monetisation
Capcom’s monster IP and Niantic’s location-based gaming know-how prove a winning formula
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from an Elder Scrolls spinoff to competitive cosplay
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Excecutive Fallout
Annapurna Interactive faces mass resignation over leadership dispute
Negotiations to spin off the video game division as an independent entity fell through when Ellison withdrew from further talks
Out Of Time
Unity charts a new path forward without the "catastrophic" Runtime Fee
Unity has killed off the Runtime Fee, but is it too late?
It's Over
Unity cancels infamous Runtime Fee
Unity backtracks on the Runtime Fee that sparked anger, confusion and a boycott
Job Cuts
Microsoft cuts 650 jobs in its Xbox games division
The cuts will largely impact corporate and support roles within Activision Blizzard
A New Entry
Sega’s Yakuza Wars is revealed to be a mobile game
The Facebook page appears to have leaked some information on the upcoming title
Job News
Homa appoints ex-BoomBit CTO Szymon Sirocki as new lead mobile architect
Sirocki joins Homa to strengthen its mobile tech stack
Investment News
InMobi lands $100 million for AI-driven expansion and acquisitions
InMobi will use the funds to propel its AI development and deployment efforts
Ai Integration
Kinetix launches its $1 million fund initiative to accelerate AI-UGC in games
The AI emote creators will offer selected developers up to $75,000 to bring its user-generated emote technology to their games