Documentation
Zynga, Playrix and Niantic were all potential entries on Microsoft’s shopping list
News comes as part of the revelation Microsoft considered buying Sega
Thanks For Coming
The Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects was our biggest and most successful debut event in a new territory – here’s what you missed!
1300+ attendees, 800+ leading companies, 60+ countries represented and over 100 expert speakers congregated in Dubai at our first event in the city
Features
Subway Surfers to introduce first AR features into the long-running title
Sybo introduced the “Subway Studio” feature as part of their latest update
Roblox On A Roll
Stefano Corazza: Roblox’s generative AI has seen a "promising start" but is only just beginning
Roblox Studios head Stefano Corazza reveals progress in Roblox AI usage
Metaverse
Roblox is introducing experiences for users 17 and over
Users over 17 accounted for 38% of Roblox’s daily active users in 2022
Q&a
King's Vanesa Tate on re-crafting the soundtrack to Candy Crush Saga
After a decade of Candy Crush the team decided to revamp its soundtrack. But with a game this popular any changes required an expert touch
Coming To Kwalee
Kwalee hires Adrian Garton as VP of HR in mission to find the industry’s "best talent"
Garton has more than 25 years’ experience in HR
Success In Funding
Animoca Brands subsidiary Anichess raises $1.5 million in seed round
The company is working on a decentralised chess game
Mini-games
WeChat’s mini-games have over 400m monthly active users
The all-in-one social media app and platform is used extensively throughout China
On The Up
June's China game approvals make it 2023's biggest month yet
In an incredibly consistent year, approvals have eked ahead to 89
Conference Round-up
Investment and AI: more highlights from GameExpo Summit
Our inaugural conference in the UAE revealed essential insights and perspective about the regional and global games industry (part II)
Event Highlights
Global trends, influencers and esports: insights from GameExpo Summit
Our first live event in Dubai delivered essential facts, figures and opinions about the worldwide game development scene (part I)
Q&a
King's Luken Aragon talks 10 years of keeping Candy Crush on top
Their 10 Years of Fun campaign recently reasserted Candy Crush's dominance and won our best marketing/PR award at the MGAs
Week That Was
Week in Views - What caught our eyes in the last seven days
The Pocketgamer.biz team take their pick of this weeks big news including EA's big break up, new looks, new opportunities and new challenges…
Big Festival
BIG Festival is here! Inside Latin America’s biggest gaming event
The festival kicks off next week, and we’ll be on the ground reporting from the show
Interview
Elena Grigoryan on My.Games’ new global outlook
The company has refocused from its European homeland and into the wider world, including MENA
Milestones
Goddess of Victory: Nikke passes $400m on mobile
Latest figures put it in spitting distance of heavyweights like Diablo Immortal
Rewarded Play
Zebedee and adjoe partner to bring bitcoin rewards to games
The partnership will let players earn blockchain as they spend time in-game
Gaming In Mena
The MENA region scores 26,200 app downloads per minute
Data.ai examines the state of mobile in the region with impressive numbers throughout
Q&a
Pride Month 2023: How diversity and creativity go hand in hand at King
King's Sabrina Carmona, Head of Farm Heroes Saga outlines how they promote diversity and inclusivity throughout their gaming portfolio
Investment
Flexion gains new shareholder in Alta Fox Capital
The Texan firm has invested an undisclosed amount in the publisher
Q&a
How Monopoly GO! became the #1 mobile board game in the world
Scopely general manager Massimo Maietti discusses launching the biggest casual game of 2023
Trading
Hero Wars developer Nexters to restructure as GDEV Inc
The company resumed trading on the NASDAQ this year
Accelerating Diversity
Ten game makers named for the Wings Elevate 2023 accelerator program
The Netflix sponsored program features ten game makers all from gender diverse development teams
Investment Fund
Lumikai launches new $50m game fund backed by Supercell, Krafton and more
The fund focused on investing into early-stage game makers
Harry Potter
$360M grossing Harry Potter: Magic Awakened finally gets a global release on June 27
The game generated over $228 million in it's first two months alone from initial China release in 2021
Developer Funding
Avatar tech company Genies unveils $1 million developer engagement fund
The fund is for developers building AR experiences for a new social network
World Rainforest Day
Playtika will secure over 314 thousand acres of land in the Amazon
The latest House of Fun Impact initiative is in partnership with environmental rewards program Dots Eco
Launches
Tencent extraction shooter Arena Breakout set to release on July 14
The shooter promises a hardcore experience for mobile players
Legslation
Finland’s Neogames industry body weighs in on controversial new immigration law
The latest proposed reforms continue to draw strong criticism from companies who rely on foreign talent
Investment
Mobile fashion title Drest acquires £15m in new funding round
The mobile dress-up game has collaborated with numerous fashion brands
Ea Reorganisation
EA Games breaks into two companies: EA Entertainment to look after mobile games
Mobile remains under Jeff Karp as part of the newly formed EA Entertainment as FIFA Mobile hits $1 billion in revenue, EA Sports becomes an entity in itself
Q&a
YOOM’s Nir David: “The potential for AI in gaming is vast, touching nearly every aspect of the industry”
Nir David explains how YOOM is utilising AI to create high quality digital characters
Magazines
Game acceleration platform Homa launches new physical and digital magazine
The studio will feature exclusive insights in both an online and print format
Ai Powered Ugc
Yahaha launches AI driven, cross platform co-creation tool
The studio has attracted significant interest and investment
Angry Birds
Angry Birds educational games are on the way
The games come as part of a new partnership between Rovio and Legends of Learning
Eyes Open
Anzu and Lumen’s two-year study finds that in-game ads come out on top
In-game ads have higher viewability and lead to higher purchase intent, study finds
Milestones
FIFA Mobile passes $1bn revenue threshold
The game was first released in 2016 and is based on the highly successful console franchise
Legislation
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen and other game execs decry Finland's "catastrophic" new three-month immigration law
Finnish Game leaders call out new rules that would require unemployed skilled workers to leave the country
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Dubai GameExpo Summit 2023: Christina Macedo of Ready Games
We get up close with the speakers at this week's Pocket Gamer event, live from Dubai
Job News
Keywords Studios appoints Robert Kingston as CFO
Kingston brings more than 25 years of experience to the role
Ubisoft Mobile
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot on Ubisoft’s increasing presence on mobile
Guillemot outlined their success and future plans for mobile at their Ubisoft Forward event
New Mobile Games
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and AEW to partner for new mobile title
The game will be a free-to-play title
Speaker Spotlight
Speaker Spotlight: Dubai GameExpo Summit 2023: Soham Tacker of Gamerji
We get up close with the speakers at this week's Pocket Gamer event, live from Dubai
Report
Indian mobile gaming market report predicts rise to $8.6bn in value
The report was produced in collaboration with AppTweak and Appsflyer
Event Excitement
Mobile version of World of Tanks is makings its Tankfest debut this week
World of Tanks Blitz is joining the PC version in being featured at the yearly Dorset event
Delays
New Zealand competition authorities to delay decision on Activision Blizzard acquisition to July 17th
The delay comes as the US FTC and UK CMA both levy actions against the landmark deal
Thank You
Meet the fantastic companies supporting tomorrow’s Dubai GameExpo Summit
A massive thank you to our fantastic sponsors and partners, the Dubai GameExpo Summit wouldn’t be possible without your support!
Newzoo Report
79% of all gamers play on their phones, with 35% only gaming on mobile devices
47% of gamers play on multiple platforms, but mobile dominates single-platform play
Job News
Kris Davis and Olivier Courtemanche appointed co-heads of PlayStation mobile
The new appointments follow Nicola Sebastiani’s decision to leave the company