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"
Podcast
Strengthening ad network bonds for better performance with AdQuantum’s Sergey Sukhov | 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 Marketing
Why attribution and marketing mix modelling aren't delivering results for games marketers
Incrmntal CEO and co-founder Maor Sadra delves into the mobile marketing landscape and analyses privacy challenges and solutions for campaigns
Layoffs News
Report: Microsoft shuts down diversity, equity and inclusion team
An internal email alleges that Microsoft executives faced investigations and evidence of discrimination
Privacy Protection
IGDA argues to Supreme Court that trademark address requirements open up devs to potential harassment
Laws around trademark applicants require registrants to provide their home address
Marketing Matters
Nurturing your audience: Mastering organic marketing strategies
Fundamentally Games publishing content manager Stephanie Field offers in-depth advice on making the most of your marketing strategies
Investment News
Dusk secures $8 million to "reimagine" social multiplayer games
The platform aims to simplify building and playing multiplayer games on mobile by using its Dusk SDK
Pgc Helsinki
Schedule overview revealed for PG Connects Helsinki 2024
Two Days, two events, 21 tracks - everything from AI and investment to retention, revenue and web3
Sdk Update
AdInMo launches InGamePlay SDK 3.0 beta with clickable in-game ad units
Monetisation platform aims to drive more intentional clicks with new customisable visual aids
Mobile Games Awards
Vote for Game of the Year at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 in association with Gamelight
One week left before voting ends on July 22nd
Mobile Milestone
Wuthering Waves sails past $100 million in under two months
According to AppMagic data, players in Japan have contributed 23% of its mobile earnings thus far
Early Echo
Echo Chess maker Echo Chunk raises $1.4 million in pre-seed round with a "passion" for AI
Participants include Andreessen Horowitz, Zynga’s Mark Pincus, Opendoor’s Eric Wu, and Roblox’s Stef Corazza
Legal Advice
Tax benefits for IT and games developers
Futura Digital co-founder Alexandra Kurdyumova and associate Roman Motorin delve into tax relief options for developers
Advertising Ascent
Global advertising revenue to hit $1 trillion in 2026
PwC projects global in-game advertising will reach $147.9 billion in 2028
Top Dogs
Nominations open for PocketGamer.biz's Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024
Let us know who you think should be included and why
Updated Emulation
Nintendo emulator Delta adds iPad support in its latest update
The new update lets users switch between iPhone and iPad
Change Of Heart
Apple approves the first PC emulator on iOS
Apple initially rejected the emulators submissions but weeks later UTM SE is now freely available on iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS