Game Design
Ludo.ai evolves into complete game design hub with major update
Ludo says the new update supports “every stage of game design."
Five New Games
New release roundup: Professor Doctor Jetpack, Drive Ahead! Carcade and more
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Job News
Unity appoints Jarrod Yahes as its new CFO
Jarrod joined Unity from Shutterstock where he served as CFO for five years
Mena
Playable Factory on making mobile ads that work
MENA games industry insider Stephen Sandmann speaks with Playable Factory COO Orkuncan Aydın on developing mobile ads and growth in the MENA region
Earnings Report
Playtika reports Q3 revenue of $620 million as DTC platforms drive 8.3% growth
Revenue from the top three games grew 1.1% but decreased 0.8% year-over-year
Sponsored
Navigating the Storm: How Creative-Level Attribution is Changing Mobile Marketing
Jesse Lempiäinen, the CEO & Co-founder of Geeklab explores the challenges of attribution in marketing and how the company's new creative-level attribution framework can help
Sale Sorted
Take-Two sells Private Division and almost all its games
Take-Two will continue to support cross-platform RPG No Rest for the Wicked
Mystery To Solve
Clash of Clans launches true crime podcast to solve Hammer Jam heist
Fans are encouraged to follow the investigation and share their theories when new episodes drop
Mobile Matters
Take-Two Interactive generated $1.35 billion in Q2, but it’s still stuck in the red
The company reported a loss of $365.5 million for the quarter
New Partnerships
ByteBrew teams up with Google Cloud to support developer community with analytics suite
Google wants to "push the boundaries of what's possible in game development."
Tiktok Webinar
Unlock your games next level with TikTok - registration open for exclusive free webinar
Leveraging TikTok platform expertise and Q5 momentum to maximise LiveOps player engagement and monetisation, boosting your game's success
Indie Insights
Incredible Indies: Bringing the monster-catching game Miraibo Go to life
Miraibo Go had over 400,000 pre-registrations and launched recently on mobile and PC
Games Industry Survey
21% of game developers in Europe hit by layoffs with 54% now utilising AI in daily work
New employment survey shows that 39% of developers work on pet projects, but 10% have left game development for other industries
Pokemon Power
Pokémon TCG Pocket has second best mobile launch in the franchise, beaten only by Pokémon Go
The latest Pokémon release has earned an estimated $33.7 million in its first seven days
Major Milestone
Call of Duty: Mobile hits one billion downloads
AppMagic estimates show the title has generated consistent revenue each year since launch
Jordan Schedule Reveal
Full schedule revealed for Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan 2024
On 9 - 10 November, join us for 14+ hours of conference sessions and the chance to connect with all the key MENA representatives
Podcast
Unlock new revenue streams and transform mobile game monetisation with Aghanim's all-in-one DTC platform | 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…
Growing Team
Steel Media adds two new biz dev hires as Pocket Gamer Connects expands globally
Suzanne Smith and Mark O'Leary join business development team
New Game
Garena and Tencent team up to publish tactical FPS Delta Force in MENA, Southeast Asia and South America
The game will feature cross-progression for PC and mobile when it launches next year
Ready To Return
Rainbow Six Mobile is returning in three "phases" towards global launch
The dev team plans to go through technical and engagement testing during return to soft launch
Dma Dominance
Report: EU readies Digital Markets Act’s first-ever fine against Apple
There may be periodic penalties for noncompliance, according to people familiar with the matter
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Steer Studios' Jamil Dar on how to get a career as a lead artist
In this series, we highlight the talented team members working in the games industry and how they got their break
Funds And Finances
Radical Forge raises £2.6m to hire more staff and take on "bigger contracts"
Bright Paw developer receives investment from Mercia Equity Finance’s Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II
Title Trademark
HoYoverse’s Petit Planet: Another trademark, another game?
This could be a brand-new title or a rebranding of Astaweave Haven, which was trademarked in June
The Battle Endures
Google accuses Microsoft of wanting to "free-ride" on Play Store’s success amid Epic Games legal battle
Microsoft came out in support of Epic Games last week - now Google has responded
Fine Tuning
Behind the scenes: How the little details in game development can make the biggest impact
Rockbite Games’ founders Avetis Zakharyan and Gevorg Kopalyan share why the team obsess over little things and easter eggs in their mobile games
Company Spotlight
Company Spotlight: Neon River
Find out more about the headhunting firm that specialises in recruiting senior executives into mobile games companies around the world.
Acqusition Rumours
Take-Two in talks to sell adtech division Chartboost
AppLovin and LoopMe are potential buyers
Bloom Boom
Pikmin Bloom celebrates record-breaking third year budding $63 million in lifetime earnings
53% of all in-game revenue was earned over the past year
Esports In Mena
YaLLa Esports invests $12.5 million to accelerate growth in the MENA region over the next two years
YaLLa Esports will host five major esports tournaments in Qatar and UAE by 2026
Revenue Result
Microsoft makes $24.7bn profit in Q1 after video game cutbacks
Microsoft’s games business increased its revenue to $5.6bn for the quarter, but that didn’t spare Xbox from job cuts
Very Big Indie Pitch
The Big Indie Interviews: Cozy Game Studio on their award-winning casual farming game Spirit World
Taling cats, mindfulness and European folklore combine in this PGC Helsinki pitch competition winner from a Danish indie developer
Marvellous Mena
"Africa needs an educated society, and EdTech is a vital tool for achieving that"
Enechawet Games’ CEO and co-founder Abiy Hailu talks opportunities in EdTech, leveraging emerging technologies in game development and publishing challenges
Podcast | Episode 35
Facebook Instant Games is back! And Games First 2024 takeaways | 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 35...
Earnings Report
Roblox hits $1.1 billion bookings in Q3 as it cuts losses
Daily active users grew 27% year-over-year to 88.9 million
Funding News
Levellr raises $1.75 million for Discord management tools
Company appoints SuperAwesome co-founder Dylan Collins as chairman; aims to add Reddit integration in 2025
Netflix Ai
Netflix appoints Mike Verdu as VP of GenAI for games
Streaming giant eyes potential for AI to power its games business
Hot Five
Hot Five: Pokémon vs Palworld, Fingersoft layoffs, and Facebook Instant Games’ in-app purchases on iOS
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Ad Advice
Creative fatigue in mobile games marketing: How to identify and combat it
AdQuantum’s Anton Kuzmin shares how you can avoid creative fatigue and keep your audience engaged
Earnings Report
Meta's VR/AR division struggles with $4.4 billion loss as expenses rise to $4.7 billion in Q3
Revenue for Reality Labs was $270 million, driven by hardware sales
Week That Was
Nintendo's curious Palworld case, Pokémon TCG Pocket launches, and Instant Games' big news | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Vote For Pocket Gamer Awards
Voting now open for the Pocket Gamer Awards 2024
Cast your vote and celebrate the best in mobile games
Instant Games
Remember Facebook Instant Games? It’s back
The long-awaited introduction of in-app purchases on iOS is another example of a new era for games
New Studio
Supercell invests in Barcelona-based studio Penguin Armada
PC-first developer working on top-down PvP title
Union Support
Sony faces backlash from CWA over studio closures amid layoffs
The union says it plans "to raise the anti-competitive impacts of Sony's increasing monopoly with the appropriate antitrust regulators"
Five New Games
New release roundup: Pokémon TCG Pocket, Frostpunk, Bloons Card Storm, and more
We highlight five new games that have broken cover over the past week
Funding News
3D animation platform Swoove Studios secures $7.5 million in seed round
This brings the studios' total funds raised to $11 million since 2020
Games First Takeaways
4 takeaways from Supercell’s Games First Helsinki 2024
We round up the insights from a day of deep dives into the industry and game design practices
Storytelling 101
Narrative design in mobile games
Tactile Games’ Jedidjah Noomen on writing for the small screen
Trick Or Treat
Pokémon Sleep turns spooky with 107% revenue spike as Halloween event gets underway
Popular Alolan Pokémon Mimikyu has debuted in-game for Halloween alongside bundles and an event