Hexa Sort creators Cheer Games raise $4.5m
The funding round was led by Makers Fund, with participation from Play Ventures and a group of angel investors.
On the podcast: Google cuts store fees as Fortnite returns plus Hay Day Match, Halfbrick, Antihero, Rainbow Six and more
This week’s inside view of the mobile game business.
Fortnite will return to the Play Store as Google reduces store fees and ends Epic disputes
Google has revealed lower store fees, more open billing and sideloading options after it ended its legal disputes with Epic. And yes, Fortnite will return to the Play Store, too.
February’s top grossing mobile games
Appmagic data shows a steady upper end of the top grossing chart last month, but huge drops in IAP revenue for Monopoly Go and Candy Crush...
February’s top mobile game downloads
Block Blast, Free Fire and Roblox keep comfortably ahead of a rising Vita Mahjong while PUBG Mobile gets a big boost in Appmagic's latest numbers.
Data digest: February’s top games, Vento gets $4m, Vita Mahjong tops ad charts, Jest lands $7m, Roblox stats, more
There's also big numbers for PUBG Mobile / Game for Peace and Sega Football Club Champions in this week's stats round-up.
Supercell and King alumni Antihero raise $4.5m to launch extraction shooter Misfitz
The pre-seed round is co-led by A16z and Laton, with participation from Sisu.
Can Rainbow Six Mobile succeed where Call of Duty Warzone and Apex Legends failed?
Yes it can, says game director Olivier Albarracin. Here, he explains how Rainbow Six Mobile could survive in the competitive shooter market, and what changed during a long soft launch.
Supercell teams with UK studio Playabit for Hay Day Match
The match 3 puzzler will be entering early access this month in selected markets. Update: a Supercell spokesperson says this early access phase is to get "an early pulse check with Hay Day players".
The soft launch games you need to know about
Take a peek at the games in testing from Supercell, Playrix, Ubisoft, Rovio, Miniclip, Moon Active and more.
New ‘TikTok for games’ firm Minit lands $2m
LVP and Sony Innovation Fund led the pre-seed round, plus angels Stefan Klemm (Goodgame, Bigpoint), Timo Soininen (Small Giant) and Klaas Kerstig (Gameforge, Flaregames, Phoenix).
41 layoffs at Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride maker Halfbrick
The Australian developer and publisher has just launched free-to-start mobile game Bluey’s Quest for The Gold Pen.
New game digest: Subway Surfers, Rainbow Six, Reigns: The Witcher, Overwatch Rush, Ball x Pit, more
There's also new soft launches from Supercent and SciPlay, an RPG about Celtic myths and a K-pop-themed match 3 in this week's round up.
Playtika hits $1bn per year in direct to consumer revenue
It also said it is pivoting to casual gaming, driven by ”outstanding momentum” from SuperPlay’s games.
Tencent set to buy stake in Block Blast maker Hungry Studio
A Bloomberg report claims talks over a deal have been ongoing for months.
Blizzard reveals Overwatch Rush
It’s a top-down, made-for-mobile hero shooter that’s still in early development.
