Crushing It
AI joins the team at King: "Our challenge is to create the right amount of challenge"
A day at King: Using AI in harmony with experts to craft evergreen games with the perfect balance
Going Green
Merge Mansion takes on environmental issues in time for Earth Day
The game's Recycle Runaway event is part of Earth Month celebrations as Metacore joins Green Game Jam 2024
Interview
“The MENA region is definitely a focus for Kwalee and we want to build more partnerships there”
Kwalee’s Sayeed Rahman discusses what the team looks for in its partnerships, expansion into the MENA region and the trends and challenges facing the mobile games industry
Celebrations
Scopely is celebrating Monopoly GO!'s first birthday with in-game events and rewards
The celebration kicks off today with a player contest featuring the diverse musical talents of J Balvin, Bon Jovi, and Natalie Jane
Nintendo Drops Out
Nintendo are a no show for Gamescom 2024
"Players will have opportunities to try out Nintendo Switch games at other events throughout the year"
Happy Birthday
Monopoly GO! celebrates its first birthday and shares its behind-the-scenes story
And with a $3 billion revenue milestone in its sights, the world’s favourite board game-turned-mobile smash deserves a party
Investment News
A16Z doubles gaming investment with $600M fund as part of $7.2B fundraise
“There’s never been a better time to build a game startup than today," said A16Z partner Jonathan Lai
Industry Insights
Navigating the supply maze: Picking the best demand platform in 2024
Mintegral’s Jeff Sue takes us through three demand platform options available today and weighs up your options
Job Losses
GTA publisher Take-Two to cut 5% of staff as it cancels new games
Move will cost up to $200 million
Epic Battle
Apple fights back and denies violating US court order on alternative payments
Tech giant claims new rules were implemented "in good faith"
Investment News
Indie gamers Avalon gear up for global launch with $10 million investment
The studio is focused on creating an MMORPG experience that'll appeal to both web2 and web3 gamers
Loads Of Layoffs
Kwalee layoffs impact up to 10% of workforce, report claims
Kwalee has laid off up to 40 people as industry-wide job cuts continue
Industry Insights
The state of play for the 4X strategy genre
Andriy Zmeul explores 4X strategy games and evaluates their place in the US mobile games ecosystem
Acqusitions
MTG-owned Ninja Kiwi acquires Legion TD 2 developer AutoAttack Games
"We couldn't imagine a better group of people to partner with," said AutoAttack CEO and founder Brent Batas
Brand Boost
Fallout Amazon series boosts Fallout Shelter downloads by 516%
Layer founder and CEO Rachit Moti discusses Fallout Shelter’s rise, including 384% daily revenue rise
Free Webinar
Free webinar today: The DMA Breakdown explains what the latest EU regs could mean for you
1pm to 2pm UK time, a panel of experts will talk you through what’s new and what possible thanks to the EU’s DMA
Purchase Power
Roblox Marketplace opens up, outlining eligibility criteria for hopeful sellers
Roblox reveals which boxes need ticking and which hurdles need jumping in order to sell items to its 71 million users
Developers Contest
Supersonic's SuperSpring contest is rewarding puzzle, simulation, and runner games developers
Game submissions for the contest are currently open from today April 15th, with a submission deadline of May 27th
Uk Ukie
UK video games market hits £7.82 billion valuation with mobile up 4.5%
Ukie’s Consumer Market Valuation Report reveals the UK games industry saw 4.4% YoY growth in 2023
Making Sense Of Slowdown
The IGDA calls for "sustainable measures" to stop mass layoffs and "stop driving talent away"
The International Game Developers Association calculates that more than 8,700 game developers have lost their jobs so far this year
Gaming Trends
Platform barriers tumble down as almost half of gamers play across devices
PC, console, and mobile divides are fading as 47% of players enjoy playing their favourite games across multiple platforms
Hot Five
Hot Five: XCOM Legends’ rumoured shutdown, Squad Busters verges on soft launch, and Royal Match reaches $3 billion
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Virtual Revolution
Atomontage's Virtual Matter: pioneering 3D voxel graphics for social gaming
Interview: the co-founder and president of Atomontage talks cloud gaming, UGC and more
Profile
Company Spotlight: Elevatix
Find out more about the adtech and AI service that's helping talented developers around the globe monetise their creations, freeing them to focus on making great games
Podcast | Episode 07
State of the Finnish games industry, Squad Busters, and App Store emulators | 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 07…
Epic Changes
Epic Games demands Google Play opens up to alternative payment systems after antitrust win
Epic also wants away with scare screens and claims Google's history of "malicious compliance"
Week That Was
Week in Views - Mobile gets blanked at the BAFTAs, Apple goes retro and Nintendo pulls the plug
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Video Ads
Roblox partners with PubMatic to power video ads
Ads will only be served to players aged 13 and up
App Stores
The opportunities and challenges facing alternative app stores
Piyush Mishra of Product Madness and Shalom Michaeli of Digital Turbine share their joint perspective on the potential of alternative app stores
Milestone
NetEase FPS Blood Strike hits 30 million downloads worldwide
The game edges past its latest milestone having clinched the number one spot in downloads in over 15 countries, including the US
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Disney denizens to a gen AI puzzle solver
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Gameexpo Summit
Essential activities for indie developers in Dubai, May 1st and 2nd
Make the most of your GameExpo Summit experience as an indie developer this summer
Spring Survey
Values Value and InGame Job launch the Big Games Industry Employment Survey 2024
The survey is looking to understand how layoffs are affecting confidence in the future of the games industry
Educating Through Games
How On the Edge is using mobile games to tell real-life stories
We spoke with On the Edge’s Brera Razzaq about using mobile gaming as a platform to highlight the battles of endangered species
London Developer Conference
"We’re heading for a further 12 months of unsettled times - but it won’t be all doom and gloom."
Chris Dring of GamesIndustry.biz takes to the stage at the London Developer Conference to spell out where it all went wrong and why there's reasons to be optimistic about the future
Profit Power
ByteDance profits reportedly rise 60%, surpassing Chinese competitor Tencent
ByteDance has been pulling back from gaming after TikTok has played a greater role in the company’s surging revenues and profit
Jobs In Games
Mini Motorways developer Dinosaur Polo Club names Amie Wolken as new CEO
Wolken's expertise will be pivotal in leading the future of Mini Motorways and Mini Metro
Web Shop Wisdom
Xsolla’s Andrey Kalugin talks web shops tips to get users out of mobile "jail"
Speaking at the Dubai GameExpo Summit 2023 powered by PG Connects, Andrey Kalugin suggested that devs should tailor their discounts since "whales don’t want to save money"
Record Breaking
Royal Match races from $2 billion to $3 billion earnings faster than any other game
The game is set to over take Clash of Clans on its record-breaking forward push, with no signs of slowing
Gameexpo Summit
Eid Mubarak! Our 30% off Dubai GameExpo Summit tickets ENDS MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!
Save up to £206 as we mark the end of Ramadan with a very special offer!
Industry Insights
“We believe the industry is on track for growth this year and is projected to reach $190 billion by the end of 2024”
Konvoy VC’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Josh Chapman shares his thoughts on industry layoffs, the state of gaming and what can be expected from venture capital funding this year
Subtenant Startups
InnoHub returns as InnoGames rents out office space to aspiring gaming startups
InnoGames is renting private workspaces ranging from 14m² to 200m² in size
Cross Platform
Miniclip moves into PC and console publishing with FuturLab partnership
“We’re proud to say that we are now part of the Miniclip family! It’s exciting for us to charter a course that brings Miniclip into the PC/console space"
Gaming Generations
62% of Gen Alpha gamers play 5+ hours per week, VS only 17% of Gen Z
Livewire’s 2024 Next Gen Attention report compares playing habits of Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha
Blasts From The Past
Apple allows retro games on iOS at last. Here's what you can and can't do
Thanks to the EU's DMA and increasing pressure in the US, Apple have finally gone soft on one of their most hardline App Store policies. Bring on the retro games…
Microsoft's Might
Microsoft saves the day: Activision Blizzard games are set to return to China in new NetEase deal
The untimely end of Activision Blizzard and NetEase’s deal meant that games such as Overwatch and World of Warcraft have spent over a year offline in China
Pgc Stories
PGC Stories: "I got to make friends with great people from MENA and it was an eye opener for me!"
We asked attendees from 10 years of Pocket Gamer Connects events to share their memories and help celebrate out 10th anniversary
Pocket Preservation
End of an era: Nintendo 3DS goes offline, but what does this mean for mobile?
It's game over for both Nintendo's 3DS and Wii U as their servers are finally turned off
Ceo Interview
Saga CEO Rebecca Liao on the launch of publishing division and mass market web3 games
Interview: Saga Origins to publish "provocative" games on mobile as its mainnet comes online
Advertising Quality Control
Voodoo Partners with AppHarbr to Level Up In-Game Ad Quality
AppHarbr brings its best-in-class technology to Voodoo, to eliminate disruptive advertising and create more engaging, secure real-time control