Artificial Intelligence
Buildbox introduces AI narrative tool StoryGames.AI
The company hopes that the technology will help amateur game developers create visual novel-style games
Updates
Samsung Game Launcher mobile game streaming beta starts today
A new feature in their existing launcher promises to streamline UA by making games easier to find and quicker to play
Interview
My.Games Elena Grigoryan: “As we venture into the future our unwavering focus remains on crafting distinctive player experiences”
Chief strategy officer Elena Grigoryan gives us a big update on War Robots and all things My.Games
Interview
Play games, win for real: Tiv CEO Jed Strong outlines the business and benefits of rewarded gaming
Gamers earn from playing the games they love and developers get a new audience and opportunities. What's not to like?
Acquisition
Sega officially welcomes Rovio to its family of studios
However, there are still several stages to go before the deal is finalised
Rebrands
Savvy Games Studios to become Steer Studios in major rebrand
The move is set to put Steer Studios on course for a more independent path
Mobile Data
It's official. Latvians use more mobile data than the residents of any other country
The country’s citizens use an average of 41.76 gigabytes per month. Want to know where your country ranked? The results are surprising…
Government
“Silicon Stoke”: The plan to turn the area into digital development hub gets a fresh push
The proposal for the UK city - first outlined in 2021 - has been raised once more by a controversial Tory MP
New Studio
NetEase launches new studio, T-Minus Zero Entertainment
The studio is led by industry veteran Rich Vogel alongside a team of veterans with a huge raft of hits under their belts
Milestones
Crystal of Atlan is ByteDance’s first homegrown success story
The game is their first major hit that was developed in-house
Milestones
Lilith Games’ Warpath crosses 30 million downloads globally
The WW2-inspired title is one of a number of Lilith’s RTS hits
Partnership
Gcommerce company Scuti partners with audio tech firm Consumable for audio ads
Brands will be able to advertise their products to users browsing the Scuti marketplace
Deconstruction
Under The Hood: Discovering the secrets of successful free to play games
Vikram Khatri shares his system for deconstructing successful free to play games with a view to finding similar success
Monopoly Money
The biggest gaming acquisitions of all time
From Activision Blizzard and Zynga to Bethesda and Playdemic
Tencent Financials
Tencent generated $20.6 billion in the second quarter of 2023
The total represents an 11% increase from the same period of 2022
Partnership
Room 8 Group announces new partnership with Zibra AI
The companies are aiming to revolutionise virtual content creation
Web3 On Mobile
Blockchain infrastructure service Stardust launches wallets-as-a-service
Seamlessly implementing cryptocurrency wallets has been an ongoing stumbling block for web3 developers
Feature
The PR expert's guide to modern mobile games PR
ZiMAD’s Anastasia Zaiceva discusses the role of public relations in the modern mobile market and how it can contribute to the success of your game
Financials
Netmarble financials sees 49% slump in earnings and 8% drop in sales
Their quarter two results echo a difficult year for many mobile companies
Diversity In Gaming
Black Voices in Gaming announces Xperience Excellence Accelerator cohort
The accelerator program is powered by Netflix Games
Acquisition
InMobi acquires consent management platform Quantcast Choice
The acquisition comes amid a growing push for stricter privacy regulations worldwide
Regulators
South Korean regulators to crack down further on unfair practices by Google
The new judgement follows an already hefty fine from Korean authorities
Success In Funding
Play Ventures’ Fund I sees 1.5x return in less than four years
The fund has 20 titles in its portfolio
Web3
Zynga unveils their first web3 game Sugartown
Doubts caused by the crypto winter hasn't stopped big names from investing in the web3 gaming space
Milestones
SuperGaming’s Indus battle royale title passes five million pre-registrations
A closed beta is set to follow its pre-registration success
Investments And Acquisitions
Haveli Investments acquires minority share in Match Masters developer Candivore
The acquisition comes at a cost of $100 million
Q&a
Colossi Games' Manuel Prueter: “We stay bullish for mobile and keep working to entertain players everywhere.”
As their Daisho: Survival of a Samurai notches one million downloads, the Colossi CEO explains how the studio navigates the current gaming market
Netflix Games
Netflix launches first public cloud gaming test
Select subscribers in the UK and Canada can access the company’s games on TV and through connected devices
Revelations
Savvy Games unmasked as Embracer's mystery partner in deal collapse
Axios Gaming's Stephen Totilo has enough evidence to point the finger
Events
Devcom 2023 announces final round of talks and speakers
With the event set to kick-off on Monday the final line-up of talks is now in place
Yokai Watch
Yokai Watch’s 10th anniversary drives the success of its mobile titles
Yokai Watch Punipuni saw a threefold increase in revenue
Insights
How Genshin Impact's devs were driven to tears
MiHoYo's president reveals how comparisons to Nintendo's Zelda Breath of the Wild were a major concern pre-release
Jobs News
August's Mobile Movers and Shakers: Ahmed Sharif joins Sandsoft, Jeaneane Falkler moves to Room 8 and more
August has seen some significant moves by some of the industry's biggest company's - here's the highlights from the last week
Stocks
Playtika investor confidence grows despite recent financials
Estimations of the company's stock have risen since their most recent financial release
Ever Crisis
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis gets September 7 release date
The game finally approaches launch following a successful beta
Mobile Monetisation
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick wants to monetise 100% of its audience
The company is currently monetising only 10% of its players
July In Review
July 2023 was a massive month for new releases and crossovers
GameRefinery analyses the performance of the mobile gaming market throughout the month
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 developer hardships, IP disputes and China's ongoing war against games
Financials
East Side Games sees revenue slide by 32% in first quarter 2023 financials
The dip echoes wider financial shocks across the mobile gaming market in recent financials
Investment
Krafton commits to massive $150m investment in Indian startups
The deal indicates the company’s renewed commitment to what has been a turbulent market for them
Game Design
Breaking the rules: Magical secrets of game design
Fundamentally Games’ Oscar Clark breaks down the core rules of game design and how they drive gameplay
Chinese Restrictions
China’s game restrictions aren't working
A new study by Nature Human Behaviour has found that players are willing and able to circumvent restrictions
Milestones
Indian-made battle royale title Battle Stars passes five million players
The title is being developed by SuperGaming, the company behind the hotly anticipated Indus
Tech Investment
Telltale power up their storytelling skills with Flavourworks acquisition
The UK company's unique video technology will become part of Telltale's future projects
Birds Of A Feather
Sega to finalise Rovio acquisition next week
Sonic and Angry Birds to be one big family as Sega takes 96.3% of shares
Name Change
Golf Club: Wasteland forced to change name four years after launch
The studio hasn’t yet made it clear how the dispute arose or with who
Apple Vs Epic
The US Supreme Court sides with Apple in its ongoing battle with Epic
The court has decided to block a federal injunction that would have forced Apple to change its payment practices
Financials
NCSoft financials show almost 75% drop in profit year-on-year
The majority of the company’s revenue comes from mobile games
Partnership
Xsolla partners with AppsFlyer to streamline cross-platform data-driven insights
The companies are combining forces in order to better serve their clients
Feature
Navigating Google TCF 2.2 requirements with GamesBiz Consulting's Božo Janković
Game on or game over? We take a deep dive into the consent management landscape of Google TCF framework