New Offerings
Papergames launches new international brand Infold Games
The brand focuses on creating video games that foster emotional connections and immersive experiences
Podcast
Multiscription’s Teis Anker Mikkelsen on scaling subscription for gaming platforms | 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…
Anniversary
The Gaming Lab Jordan celebrates 13 years of innovation
Nour Khrais of Maysalward on 13 years of empowering Jordan's youth and the history of their annual App Challenge
Ditching Fatalism
Using first-party data: Your gold mine of insights, opportunities, and strategic potential
There's no point in fretting about tighter privacy. Nefta’s Fernando Pernica has all the advice you need to make best use of the data you already have
Ugc Investment
“I would love to invest in a studio that’s making a play on Roblox and Fortnite”
Nordic Game Panel discusses Roblox, Fortnite and the games industry's cross-platform future
Winners Revealed
Homa, Madbox and TapNation named as top tech startups by the French government
Winners will get support from a dedicated manager, increased visibility, regulatory assistance, and access to events, alongside tailored support from the French Tech Correspondents network
Record Revenue
Bandai Namco’s sales soar while profits plummet, as mobile hardly gets a mention
Record net sales were achieved in fiscal year 2024 but operating and recurring profits fell
Tiga Stands Firm
TIGA urges UK government to embrace graduate visa for international students
TIGA CEO Dr Richard Wilson says “International students bring different ideas and perspectives, benefiting both domestic students and universities."
Financials
Serbia's 15 most successful gaming companies made €175m in 2023
The Serbian Games Association reports revenue is up 17% year-on-year with 475 new positions being opened this year
Strategic Growth
Netflix to launch in-house ad tech with global rollout set for 2025
The move will see the streaming platform compete against other industry giants with ad servers such as Amazon and Google
Epic Disney
Disney will let Fortnite creators use its IP to make games
Entertainment giant will offer developers "the opportunity to create their own wholly unique Disney-themed gaming experiences"
Congratulations
Unity for Humanity Grant winners revealed
The results of Unity's annual competition are in, with winners and honorees receiving bespoke grants from a pool of $500,000
Pgc Helsinki
Want to be a speaker at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki this October?
Build your brand with an audience of games industry professionals
Skills Gap
Evolving the leadership at Sumo to bridge the industry skills gap
Jenny Muhlwa shares her insight into the gaming industry's skills gap and how Sumo’s Evolve leadership programme aims to deliver the goods
Hot Five
Hot Five: AppLovin revenue surges 48% Y/Y, Plarium and Big Fish up for sale, and a look inside Merge Mansion's growth
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Financials
Tencent first quarter revenue sails past $22.5 billion - up 6% year-on-year
The company enjoyed huge growth in Q1, highlighting the performance of Honor of Kings and the Supercell portfolio as key components to their success
Job Cuts
Phoenix Labs cancels projects and lays off staff in new restructuring
"This restructure has not come easily, and truly has been the last resort to ensure Phoenix Labs can survive, and thrive in the long term"
Podcast | Episode 12
Xbox's mobile games store and Unity vs. AppLovin | 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 12…
Week That Was
Week in Views - From Aristocrat's big gamble to Take 2's big game…
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Earnings Report
Take-Two's mobile bookings make 53% of their total and GTA 6's release date gets locked in
Their latest financials show fiscal year net revenue remained flat year-on-year at $5.35 billion, while net losses increased to $3.74 billion
Anniversary
Minecraft celebrates its 15th birthday with discounts, in-game surprises and daily rewards
There's multiple celebrations afoot in Minecraft, not least the game's first ever special offer pricing
Subbed Off
There’s no room for a successful subscription service in games
Despite offering a great deal, it makes little sense for platform holders and developers and doesn't fit with player habits at scale
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from a battle royale to a console classic remake
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Gaming Trends
2023 games revenue forecast drops to $183.9 billion, down $3.9 billion
Newzoo's latest report reins in their previous projected total, alongside dips in mobile gaming revenue
Key To Communications
Powerful PR: How great comms can boost your game's success
ZiMAD’s Anastasia Zaiceva explores the importance of communications in the gaming industry and how success can depend on the quality of your comms
Award Winners
All the results from The Finnish Games Awards 2024
Last night the Finnish games industry's annual blowout celebrated the great and good in games live from Ravintola Töölö in Helsinki
Talent Time
Nominations for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 are live!
Make sure your favourites take home the trophies. Submissions for all 22 categories is now open and closes on June 17th
Net Casting
Aristocrat Leisure eyes potential sale of Plarium and Big Fish Games
Casino firm is undertaking a strategic review of its non-social casino games as Product Madness stays off the chopping block
Gaming For Good
Niantic celebrate Earth Day success with 3.4 million players taking part
The numbers are in and this year's Niantic eco-drive proved to be bigger than ever
Earnings Report
Ubisoft posts record bookings for FY24 as mobile division shrinks
Mobile accounted for 4% of net bookings
Xsolla State Of Play
Xsolla Releases Quarterly Insights Report
The Xsolla Report: State Of Play offers insight on the future of gaming and game development and a preliminary analysis of spring 2024 metrics and upcoming trends
Metrics Boost
Behind the scenes: How adding sandwich offers to an idle merge game boosted three metrics at once
AppQuantum's Oleg Nalimov shares how new innovative offers were key to Gold & Goblins renewed success
Going Global
Honor of Kings set for June 20th global launch after $15 billion+ revenue in China
Tencent takes another stab at taking its blockbuster MOBA to global markets
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: Can Xbox's mobile games store succeed?
We ask industry experts for their thoughts on Microsoft's upcoming marketplace that aims to compete with Apple and Google
Blockchain Breakthrough
Immutable Games' Guild of Guardians launches today on iOS and Android
The long-awaited blockchain game has already earned over a million pre-registrations and a limited launch in Canada
Interview
"Merge Mansion is a very young game. We still have big plans and many surprising twists in store"
Metacore’s CBO Tapio Tuomola on four years of success for Merge Mansion and what's coming next…
Epic Breach
Epic Games hit with €1.1m fine for unfair commercial practices in Netherlands
The ACM has set a deadline of Monday, June 10 2024 for Epic to address the violations
Gaming Trends
65% of Gen Z gamers spend over 3 hours a day playing video games
The study from ZBD also shows that 34% find online gaming too toxic while 57% prefer playing casual mobile games
Rising Stars
Genshin Impact still pulls in the big bucks while Squad Busters' soft launch teases blockbuster success
Sensor Tower's monthly gaming pulse for April reveals which games are the ones to watch
Partnerships
Ukie partners with Tencent Games for Video Games Growth Programme
Applications are now open for applications for companies wishing to be part of the programme
Jobs News
PlayStation names new CEOs Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino
The duo replace Jim Ryan, who exited the company after 30 years
Platform Expansion
Mobile legend Stumble Guys is now on PlayStation 4 and 5 with cross-progression
With more than 50 million players every month and boasting more than 600 million downloads, the mobile smash also confirms a Switch version coming soon
Podcast
Tripledot Studio’s Akin Babayigit on understanding the business behind great games | 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…
Road To Victoy
Squad Busters puts on another 10m pre registrations in 11 days
Supercell's upcoming global launch has just passed its 30m total pre registrations target way ahead of schedule
Acqusitions
PlanetPlay's parent company acquires Playmob to battle climate change
PlanetPlay CEO Rhea Loucas says, "Through the combination of our gaming and sustainability efforts, we can all collectively make a difference for our planet"
In Depth
Matej Lančarič's Squad Busters deep dive: Under the skin of 2024's biggest launch yet
UA and marketing expert Matej Lančarič examines the changes made throughout the game's development and its ongoing global launch strategy
Job Cuts
Playtika eliminates CRO and COO positions in new job cuts
CEO Robert Antokol will now oversee all former COO and CRO direct reports
Resignation
Marc Whitten is out at Unity
His resignation is on the table and he'll be paid off at the end of the year with, as yet, no plans for his replacement
Layoffs
Square Enix braces for layoffs in US and Europe
IT, publishing and Square Enix Collective teams set to be hit by redundancies
Job Losses
Australian dev Mighty Kingdom layoffs of 28% of staff
Studio expects annualised cost savings of $2.1 million