Monetisation Masterclass
PocketGamer.biz MasterClass: Monetisation models, resources, and taking players on a journey
Fundamentally Games CEO Oscar Clark shares insights into the art of pricing while actually making a good game
Content Creator Collab
Monster Hunter Now looks to bring "meaningful integration" with MrBeast collab
The game’s first collab outside the Monster Hunter IP is with YouTube’s biggest creator
Awards Season
BAFTA's Tara Saunders on mobile gaming's awards snub and how the event is evolving for 2025
BAFTA's chair of the games committee discusses the importance of the awards as entries for the 2025 edition open
Vote Now
Final chance: Vote for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 in association with Gamelight
Deadline is midnight, Friday July 26th (and Mid-Term tickets end today!)
New Game Approved
HoYoverse’s next game Astaweave Haven among 105 Chinese approvals this July
This month’s domestic approvals in the country are at their highest since March
Safety First
Roblox claims to be "overwhelmingly positive experience" despite over 13,000 child exploitation incidents in 2023
The platform reported 13,316 incidents last year as work to navigate the "complexities" of online child safety continues
Esports Growth
Olympic Esports Games set to commence in 2025
Saudi Arabia will host the first edition next year
Live Service Look
Digital Extremes CEO believes "terrified" game makers drop live service titles too soon
Warframe is still in service after 11 years and continues to expand to new platforms
Milestone
Hero Wars: Alliance celebrates $1.5 billion in revenue
The game has garnered more than 150 million installs on mobile
Pgc Jordan
Save up to £305 on PG Connects Jordan - ends TODAY!
Time's running out for Super Early Bird prices for November's unmissable global games industry conference
Interview
"It is crucial that investors recognise the importance of investing in and believing in the local industry"
Raheebeen Studios founder Ahmed Alshaikh talks about the funding opportunities and efforts to support local developers in the KSA
Industry Insights
Why market benchmarks matter: How to work with analytics at launch
Rockbite Games founders Avetis Zakharyan and Gevorg Kopalyan share how to get the best out of your analytics
Masterclass
Register now for today's Game Monetisation Design Webinar
Deep dive learning online for user engagement, retention, monetisation and game economies
Layoffs
Humble Games denies shutting down after reportedly laying off all staff
36 employees said to be impacted by decision as publisher says it's going through another restructure
Pokemon Power
Pokémon Unite catches $83 million on mobile as it celebrates first three years
Pokémon Gold mascot Ho-Oh rises to the occasion via time-limited event for third anniversary
New Boss
Netflix recruits Epic exec Alain Tascan as president of games division
He replaces former VP of games Mike Verdu, who exited the role last month
Monetisation
Best practices for in-game shops: How to convert players into spending
An excerpt from Balancy's new digital book 'Best practices for in-game shops'
Funding Round
Mobile market intelligence platform AppMagic raises $3 million
Firm aims to develop new platform features and expand global sales force in key markets
Monetisation Design
Fundamentally Games' Oscar Clark on designing long-term games revenue
The Fundamentally Games CEO breaks down the best practices of monetisation design
Pastures New
ZeptoLab CEO Max Petrov to leave company after almost 12 years
Petrov became CEO in 2022, focusing on strategy, business and culture
Layoff News
Forte Closes Rumble Entertainment following Phoenix Labs closure
It's the second studio closure in two months
New Studio
Pixelberry vets form Candlelight Games with "heartfelt" narrative games on the way
The new studio’s founders bring experience from leading roles on Pixelberry's flagship title Choices
Studio Closure
NetherRealm is shutting down Mortal Kombat Onslaught
The closure comes just a year after launch
Netflix Games
How Netflix's co-CEOs are calibrating games investment growth with its business impact
“[It’s] worth noting that, that engagement and that impact on our overall business at the current scale, it's still quite small"
Investmen Report
Early-stage VC games funding hits 12-month high but growth and later stage investments still "very depressed"
Konvoy Ventures report notes "very depressed" VC investment landscape for growth and late-stage games companies
Ai Concerns
SAG-AFTRA could strike over AI protections for games performers
The union and games companies are said to remain “far apart” in their negotiations.
Women In Games
PLAYSTUDIOS’ Ravid Sela on the importance of data-driven decisions in ad monetisation
As part of Liftoff's Women In Games Series, PocketGamer.biz speaks to Ravid Sela, Ad Monetisation Manager at PLAYSTUDIOS.
Stories To Tell
How Netflix Stories drives new fans into the streaming giant's TV shows
Netflix Stories director of story Sarah Springwater shares details on the platform's interactive fiction games and how they engage fans and new players
Ai In Games
Artificial Agency raises $16 million to alter NPC behaviour in games
The Artificial Agency team is made up of ex-Google DeepMind researchers
Interview
"The golden opportunity in Egypt is its talent pool"
2024 Studios co-founder Ahmed Najeeb discusses what his studio is up to and the opportunities and challenges facing Egypt's games industry
Hot Five
Zenless Zone Zero surpasses $50m, Wuthering Waves sails past $100m, and why market research can lead to "mediocre" games | Hot Five
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 21
The future of B2B games media | 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 21...
Week That Was
Monopoly GO! comes full circle, hot takes, Lilith Games' secret sauce and more job losses | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Hypercasual Web3
“Hypercasual might be dead in web2 but it’s a money pit in web3”
CEO of Mirai Labs Corey Wilton discusses bridging the gap between web2 and web3 games and how hypercasual may be the key
Milestone
Loop Hero hits 1 million downloads on Android and iOS
The game's first chapter is free to play with the full adventure available for $6.99
Legal Proceedings
Byju’s denies wrongdoing and files for appeal amid $19 million debt dispute
The company has denied any wrongdoing and is filing for an appeal
Funding Round
Artificial intelligence tools creator X&Immersion raises €1.1 million in funding
The funds will go toward international grown and a new AI content creation platform
Global Beta Test
Dark and Darker Mobile game from Krafton subsidiary set for global test this August
The test is open to players in the United States, Japan, Türkiye, and South Korea
Full Circle
Monopoly GO! Goes full circle as Scopely and Hasbro launch a new board game
The board game will feature unique qualities from the hit mobile game
Acqusitions
Nazara completes acquisition of Paper Boat Apps
Since acquiring a stake in PBA in 2019, children's learning app Kiddopia has grown significantly
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Subway Surfers City to Lego Play
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Job Losses
Report: Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm lays off mobile team
One report claims at least 50 staff impacted by the move
Jobs News
Kickstarter names former Exploding Kittens sales manager as new head of games
Previous incumbent Jonathan Ritter-Roderick moves to head of creator strategy in newly formed performance team
Ea Awakens
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes goes cross-platform with early access PC launch
Joining the PC side of the Force
Web3 On Mobile
Stardust launches web3-based social and game rewards platform Starbase
Starbase has launched its first set of games and over 25 missions and challenges
Indie Games
Check out 50 indie games from Brilliant Indie Treasures
A showcase of the games sector's talent, plus what developers think of the current industry turmoil
Ark Ahoy
Ark: Ultimate Survivor Edition coming to mobile later this year as original nears $50m in revenue
All of Ark: Survival Evolved’s DLC will be included in the package
Mobile Games Awards
Vote for Most Impactful Web3 Company at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 in association with Gamelight
Voting ends on July 26th
Mobile Games Awards
Vote for Best Developer at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 in association with Gamelight
Voting ends on July 26th
Smashing Sales Strategies
Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai warns of market research producing "average and mediocre" games
"Targeting isn’t as reliable as people claim, and market research is based on past results"