Interview
"As an industry, we need a success story - a studio that achieves a major hit that captures widespread attention"
FitNot Games founder Abdallah Elshabrawy on the African games market and the region's latent potential
Zenless Zenith
Zenless Zone Zero to launch globally with DOUBLE Honkai: Star Rail’s pre-registrations
The game finally lands across the world today and tomorrow and we've got the latest launch figures and exactly WHEN it'll hit your timezone
Expansion On Hold
Rumour: Apple is delaying its plans for an East Coast campus by four years
The tech giant has taken on over 600 workers in Raleigh, North Carolina to date
Apple Rebound
Apple's iPhone shipments in China surge nearly 40% in May, fuelled by aggressive price cuts
The smartphone giant is likely the driving force behind increase in foreign-brand shipments in China
Collab Cometh
Goddess of Victory: Nikke is delivering its "biggest minigame ever" via Dave the Diver collab
Shift Up’s shooter is going retro with a neew pixel-graphics game mode starting July 4th
Distribution Divestment
Thunderful Group sells off distribution business as it focuses on games
The move forms part of a strategy to become a "pure-play games company", not a distributor
Mavens
Mobile Mavens: The industry wades in on sexist ads, aiming to “drive meaningful change”
Our industry experts discuss why sexist ads are being created and what we can collectively do to combat them
Podcast
Leveraging IP on a shoestring budget with Tilting Point’s Enric Pedró | 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…
Pgc Stories
PGC Stories: "The event was a testament to the incredible talent and creativity flourishing in the MENA region"
King's Aïda Figuerola shares her favourite PGC memories
Interview
Spoilz CEO Musab Almalki on exploring AI in game development, MENA growth and funding challenges
"There's a discernible shift towards mobile gaming, with players increasingly seeking high-quality, localised content."
Acquisition Alliance
Nodwin Gaming to build an esports "alliance" through 100% acquisition of Freaks 4U Gaming
Nodwin currently holds a 13.51% stake and will increase this in tranches to 57%, then 100%
New Appointments
InnoGames appoints Sebastian Goldt as its new CMO
The former director of growth will now oversee all marketing activities for the company behind $1 billion-earner Forge of Empires
Apple Ads
Apple 30% fee extends to Instagram and Facebook ads worldwide today
The fee was imposed on the US earlier this year and rolls out globally today, July 1st
Apple Vs Epic Games
Fortnite and Epic Games Store with Apple for review as EU launch approaches
Apple’s policies require apps to undergo "notarisation" and human review before being allowed through
Euro Legislation
The EU’s DMA fightback continues with Meta the next tech giant in line for big fines
Following Apple’s DMA dodging, now Meta’s “pay or consent” scheme, trading privacy for ads, has been deemed to deliver insufficient user choice
Billion Blitz
World of Tanks Blitz celebrates 10th anniversary and $1 billion in revenue
Blitz takes a more creative approach than its PC counterpart, aiming itself more at a Gen Z audience
Industry Insights
How to grow your game through experimentation
Tom Storr of The Experimentation Group on how to take your game to the next level by boosting its growth potential
Hot Five
Hot Five: Garena Free Fire snipes $4BN, Pokémon dev Game Freak’s first mobile exclusive, and Supercell’s next project imminent
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 18
The EU's App Store crackdown and Square Enix's buzzword bingo | 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 18...
Week That Was
Regulation with teeth, Game Freak’s new IP, and Square Enix’s AI backtracking | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Tough Talk
EU: Apple not launching AI iPhone features a "stunning declaration" that it's "disabling competition"
The latest spat between Apple and the European Commission centres on the tech giant's unwillingness to launch Apple Intelligence features in the region
Five New Games
New release roundup: Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist, Purple, All in Hole: Sinkhole Puzzle, and more
We highlight five new games that have broken cover this week
Party!
Join us at the Pocket Gamer Party Cologne 2024 during Gamescom - FREE!
If you're in town for Gamescom, come along to the Tivoli for networking after dark on Wednesday, August 21st
Finalists Revealed
Voting for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 is live
The finalists are announced and open to industry-wide voting until July 22nd
New Offerings
Crunchyroll expands Game Vault with 15 new titles
The company has also partnered with Mages to bring anime franchises to Game Vault
New Offerings
Netflix Games adds Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit, The Case of the Golden Idol and more in June
Cozy Grove is Spry Fox's first game since the studio joined the Netflix in 2022
Job Losses
Gameloft Toronto lays off 49 staff
Publisher blames "ever-changing market conditions" for the redundancies
Women In Games
Navigating privacy and boosting one of mobile’s biggest hits: Miaomiao Li on her work at Rovio
As part of Liftoff's Women In Games Series, Pocketgamer.biz speaks to Miaomiao Li, Performance Marketing Manager at Rovio.
New Partnerships
Nazara and nCore partner to publish FAU-G Domination
Pre-registrations will be available on Google Play and the App Store later this year
Growing Catalogue
"Games are a long-term bet for Netflix"
VP of External Games Leanne Loombe discusses the entertainment company's plans for its games division
M&a
OV Entertainment Group acquires co-development studio Kokku and tech firm 3OGS
Kokku chief exec and founder Thiago de Freitas named CEO of OV Entertainment Group following the deals
4d Future
Roblox looks towards "4D generative AI" future
UGC platform creator opens up on its AI plans
Gambling Crackdown
Northern Ireland’s APG wants "stringent, legally mandated regulations" imposed on loot boxes
The group has called for gambling mechanics in games to be "severely limited" now that the results of a public health inquiry are in
Treasure Hunt
Bringing real life adventure to mobile with augmented reality game Swords
Future House Studios' Adam Sidwell shares development challenges and vision for the fantasy mobile title Swords, featuring real life treasure hunting and grand prizes
Funding For Games
Scaffold secures $1.5 million to support game startups in Canada's Alberta
The initiative is sponsored by the Alberta government
Safety Startup
Tencent, Google and Meta vets raise $45 million in Series A towards online safety startup k-ID
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners
Fragmentation
The great divides of the global games industry
Raptor’s Rana Rahman explores the increasing sense of fragmentation in the video games industry and what impact resisting that reality could have
Classic Celebration
Garena Free Fire celebrates seventh anniversary with $4 billion in lifetime revenue
The celebration includes "classic features" with a focus on nostalgia
Podcast
Metaplay’s Teemu Haila on scaling and saving smaller studios $1 million per year with one SDK | 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…
Mobile Manoeuvre
Pokémon developer Game Freak’s first mobile exclusive is new IP, Pand Land
Game Freak and WonderPlanet "sometimes clashed" during development but ultimately "achieved balance" with this seafaring RPG
Jobs In Games
Games veteran Mike Seavers joins Scopely as their new SVP of technology
The ex-Riot Games, Epic Games and Yuga Labs veteran is “excited about the many Scopely projects underway that I can’t yet share!”
China Cha-ching
Dungeon & Fighter Mobile’s first month of iOS revenue was twice that of Honor of Kings
Nexon and Tencent's RPG generated $270 million on iOS in its first month, becoming China’s most-downloaded game
Legal Advice
Epic's Fortnite fine: The precedent and potential consequences of in-game purchases in the Netherlands
Epic Games were hit with a €1m+ bill for "deceiving children", but what can devs and publishers do to avoid being hit with similar legal action?
Pgc Helsinki
Fingersoft CEO Jaakko Kylmäoja on how "the best game required the best environment"
Speaking a Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2023, Kylmäoja highlighted Fingersoft’s office culture as one of its most important strengths
Ai Approach
Square Enix still sees "tremendous potential" in AI but is wary of the "many risks involved"
CEO Takashi Kiryu has spelled out a more risk-averse approach to AI in the latest shareholders' meeting
Industry Insight
How to start marketing games as a developer: choosing sources and budget
AppQuantum’s Artem Sprygin shares valuable marketing advice and how you can apply it to your own project
New Game
Clash Heroes lives!… As new Supercell game Project R.I.S.E
RISING from the ashes of Clash Heroes and borrowing its assets comes a new "multiplayer, action-focused, social, RPG roguelite”
To The Races
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby gets an English version - is a Western release imminent?
Cygames’ racer has seen huge success in Japan with over 21 million downloads and $2 billion in revenue
Promotional Power
Monster Hunter Now on mobile cross promotes spin-off on PC and console
A new story and limited-time quests in the mobile hit promote the Monster Hunter Stories re-release
Interview
UMX Studio CEO Ali Alharbi on their upcoming game, company expansion and MENA opportunities
"The quest for experts, the uncharted terrain of an emerging industry - these are riddles awaiting solutions"