The mobile games industry moves at breakneck speed, and with so much going on every week it can be hard to keep up.
Luckily, we're on hand to break down the past 7 days into bite-size chunks, and it'd be something of an understatement to say that this week was dominated by Apple chatter.
Hot on the heels of Apple's WWDC 2014 keynote, industry experts have been coming forward offering their take on iOS 8's bucketload of new features.
So far, the only thing they've been able to agree on is that iOS 8 is undeniably a mixed bag, containing innovation and danger in equal measure.
Of course, Apple might have been dominating the headlines, but there's still been plenty going on behind the Cupertino curtain.
Let's take a look at what you might have missed.
PG Connects
- PG.biz's Spanner Spencer shares his tips for networking at events, just in time for PG Connects.
- With PG Connects only days away, there's still time to check our schedule which includes talks from Supercell CEO Illka Paananen and representatives from King, Nordeus, Rovio, and Wargaming (among many, many others).
Tools and Platforms
- Apple has released its WWDC 2014 tutorial videos for new kids on the block, Metal and Swift.
- The Cupertino giant has also beefed up iTunes analytics and attribution in an attempt to seize control of user acquisition.
Monetisation
- We found out how Imangi's Temple Run series reached 1 billion downloads.
Industry voices
- Team Football's Steve Huckle explained that small teams can realise big dreams.
- Our own George Osborne asked whether it's the beginning of the end for incentivised video ads on the App Store.
- We shone some light on the making of the text-based exploration game, A Dark Room.
- The Mobile Mavens weighed in on iOS 8, discussing the good, the bad, and the downright dangerous.
- Heyzap's Jude Gomila suggested that iOS 8's more low profile features could have the biggest impact.
- Michael Fedor, head of analytics at US developer and publisher Pocket Gems, unearthed some interesting facts about the differences between male and female mobile gamers.
User acquisition, retention, and discovery
- New figures from Localytics revealed that only one in five apps are opened before being deleted.
- The weekly UK App Store game charts came in, with Blek and Bubble Witch Saga 2 claiming the coveted top spots.
- As Apple moved to ban rewarded actions one source spoke out, claiming the firm wants to "own app discovery".
- Canadian mobile analytics outfit Mobidia revealed that 20 percent of US mobile gamers played a King game in May 2014.
Funding, acquisitions, personnel, and shutterings
- Creative England welcomed Tomb Raider creator Ian Livingstone into the boardroom.
- The firm also revealed that The UK games industry has found its feet again, thanks, in part, to a mobile explosion.
- Chinese app distribution got more interesting thanks to Alibaba's acquisition of UCWeb, in a deal valuing the company at around $4 billion.