Hot Five
Hot Five: Mystic Games gets blunt about blockchain, YouTube Playables roll out, and Candy Crush dethroned
Our quick-fix round up of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Q&a
Mystic Games Matthew Buxton: "There are definitely more people building Web3 games than playing them."
The studio's latest mobile game aims to do Web3 right, but what needs to happen for the genre to truly break through?
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 the insignificance of mobile when AR meets AI and… pure… unadulterated… horror!
Pgc Helsinki
Check out the Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki Career Zone!
This dedicated recruitment space presented alongside Game Factory Talents could help YOU get your dream job in games
Google Updates
Apocalypse postponed: Google is delaying its bidding deadline
Božo Janković goes in deep on Google’s latest move regarding real time bidding auctions for apps
Pgc Helsinki
Razer’s Michael Mucci on alternative payments and Pocket Gamer Connects: “With Supercell, we are just getting started”
The head of account management at Razer tells us what’s going on with Gold and more
Acquisition
Is Jagex in line for its sixth new owner in a decade?
The RuneScape developer has been the subject of numerous acquisitions with the next set to be its highest value purchase yet
Job News
Rovio Stockholm appoints Johannes Mang as head of studio
Mang brings more than 20 years of experience to his new role
Huuuge Financials
Huuuge Games generated $141 million in the first half of 2023
Despite the success, this represents a year-on-year fall from H1 2022
Thank You
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki kicks off on Tuesday! There’s still time to join us
A massive thank you to all the fantastic sponsors and partners that help bring PG Connects Helsinki to life! It wouldn’t be possible without you
Getting Into Games
YouTube Playables public gaming test kicks off for select users
Playables was revealed as a staff-only test. Now selected public users are getting a taste of the service
Data Deluge
Almost half of the simulation genre's $2.7 billion revenue comes from the US
Where simulation games do well and how much they’ve made so far this year
Ea Games
EA downplays the importance of mobile
CEO Andrew Wilson spoke about the company’s future at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference
Pgc Helsinki
Hadar Telem discusses measurement approaches in the post ATT privacy era
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki takes place on September 12 - 13. We catch up with some of the stars from the mobile industry who'll be taking part
Puzzle Power
The puzzle genre has generated $42 billion in revenue, with swap games accounting for $25 billion
Candy Crush has been identified as the most successful mobile puzzle game of all time
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2023
Digital Turbine’s Duncan Blackett talks quality installs, alternative distribution and more
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki takes place on September 12 - 13. We catch up with some of the stars from the mobile industry who'll be taking part
Pgc Helsinki
Web3, blockchain, metaverse, VR and AI giants head to PCG Helsinki
Because it's not just mobile gaming that's the hot topic at next week's event
Pgc Helsinki
Oxana Fomina on monetisation events that influence game performance
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki takes place on September 12 - 13. We catch up with some of the stars from the mobile industry who'll be taking part
Out And About
Mind Body Trivia is the latest game getting players outside
A trivia game focused on sports, the unique spin is an incentive to go out walking
Gust Gacha
Atelier Resleriana is Koei Tecmo’s first mobile game of the decade
Featuring characters from the Atelier Ryza series on Switch and PlayStation
Pgc Helsinki
Mobile masters turn out in force for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
Get the inside scoop on the mobile focused talks and tracks taking place at PGC Helsinki next week
Chinese Restrictions
China bans iPhones and other foreign-branded mobile phones for government officials
The move appears carefully timed, impacting Apple's share price pre-iPhone 15 reveal
And The Winner Is…
RPGs, puzzles, idle games… Who's on top as 2023’s biggest mobile genre?
Mobile has a clear winner but top revenue earners vary greatly across mobile, PC and console platforms
Blumhouse Games
Blumhouse Games appoints horror expert Louise Blain as creative lead
Blain joins the leadership team alongside president Zach Wood and CFO Don Sechler
Tappa Report
Using notifications and in-game keyboards to win the user engagement game
Examining the state of player engagement, and what developers can do to increase it
Supersized Sum
Pokémon Go catches them all
The mobile giant now has seven more species on board than any other Pokémon game
Chinese App Stores
China’s app stores begin compliance with China’s latest regulations
Tencent and Xiaomi are among the app store owners now complying with the government’s regulations
Changes Ahoy
Former PlayStation president Shawn Layden predicts the end of gaming as we know it
Does the games industry stand on the precipice of change?
Pgc Helsinki
Speaker Spotlight: Julia Iljuk on how to grow your game's revenue
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki takes place on September 12 - 13. We catch up with some of the stars from the mobile industry who'll be taking part
Tiga Analysis
Britain’s large and mid-sized developers are booming
94% of game studios closed between December 2021 and April 2023 had four or fewer employees
Acquisition
Sumo Group acquires UK developer Midoki to boost live service skills
The Tencent subsidiary has picked up the Knighthood developer for an undisclosed sum
Bts World
BTS fail to top the mobile charts with BTS World
The K-pop band’s official mobile game is shutting down on December 26
Big Numbers
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Mobile already has 17 million pre-orders
Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot praises the game's flying start
Football Forms
Formation brings aboard Mediatonic, Channel 4 and Sport England veterans to make the "first football team ownership" game
New roles of senior producer, head of finance, IT consultant and senior graphics designer are filled
Bond, James Bond
"The only Bond game available for mobile" lands on Apple Arcade
Four new games and 40+ updates are coming to the service this month including Tilting Point's James Bond exclusive
Attend And Announce
NetEase’s first ever Tokyo Game Show appearance will feature 10+ games
A new game announcement has been teased for the event
Pgc Helsinki
Speaker Spotlight: Jan Kuhlmann of Xsolla on direct-to-consumer strategies
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki takes place on September 12 - 13. We catch up with some of the stars from the mobile industry who'll be taking part
Pgc Helsinki
Speaker Spotlight: Fingersoft’s Jaakko Kylmäoja on building a game studio with long term loyalty
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki takes place on September 12 - 13. We catch up with some of the stars from the mobile industry who'll be taking part
The Crunch Cometh
Is mass games industry unionisation on the horizon? Survey reports devs working up to 95-hour weeks
A new IATSE survey reveals that only 42.9% of game devs believe they are in sustainable careers, and most experience crunch
Roundup
The Finnish Mobile Market Roundup: PGC Helsinki 2023 Edition
Before next week's show, get up to speed with the latest news from Finland’s famous mobile game development scene
Pitch Like A Pro
How to win at Pocket Gamer Connects' Big Indie Pitch
With PGC Helsinki coming next week we asked previous Big Indie Pitch winner Noah Rosenfield to give aspiring developers a few tips
Approvals Arrive
China approved 31 foreign games in August
2023's year-so-far exceeds 2022's total as The Lord of the Rings and One Piece mobile games get the go ahead
Pgc Helsinki
Speaker Spotlight: Teemu Haila gives top tips on shipping free to play games
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki takes place on September 12 - 13. We catch up with some of the stars from the mobile industry who'll be taking part
Job News
Innogames appoints Christiane Gäb as director of people and culture
In her new role, Gäb will head the company’s HR department
Competitive Gaming
Finnish developer Future Run aims to “redefine competitive gaming”
The Finnish developer has the backing of Supercell, one of the biggest names in mobile gaming
Plucking Pikmin
Nintendo and Niantic team up again for AR browser game Pikmin Finder
The second AR Pikmin title releases to keep gamers busy at Nintendo Live 2023
Interview
Nai Chang of Wooga: “One of the key parts of success is understanding your players”
Wooga’s managing director gives his thoughts on building the hugely successful June’s Journey and the studio’s presence at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
Meta Subscriptions
Meta may offer EU users an ad-dodging subscription service
The move would allow them to circumvent new EU policies regarding data collection practices
Collecting Coins
Zebedee adds six new Bitcoin games to its lineup to keep players earning
The play-to-earn platform gains some new options
Humble Games
Humble Games aims for studio acquisitions and in-house development
Executive vice president Alan Patmore outlines their future plans with mobile likely in the pipeline