Google hit with $1bn EU fine for Play Store and search shenanigans
Google has 60 days to comply, after which it risks "periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its total worldwide turnover".
On the podcast: Tencent, Playtika and SuperPlay shenanigans, further Google Play changes, Monopoly Go, MTG, DCKO, more
This week’s inside view of the mobile game business.
Devolver has rereleased former Netflix exclusive Poinpy for free
The game is free to download and has no microtransactions or ads, but players can ‘tip’ creator Ojiro Fumoto with IAP if they want to.
Mighty Doom dev Alpha Dog is back as an independent studio
It was closed by Microsoft in 2024 but founder Shawn Woods has resurrected the outfit, which is now open to opportunities.
Data digest: Meowdoku and Learnings’ sudden rise, Honor of Kings, Disney Emoji Blitz, Netflix Playground, more
There's also a load of new investment and M&A data from Drake Star in this week's round-up.
Monopoly Go earns Hasbro $44m as its games business grows 17%
That’s up slightly on the $41m Hasbro earned from Scopely’s hit game in the prior quarter.
Raid: Shadow Legends, casual arm PlaySimple and web store revenue drive rising MTG profits
Direct to consumer revenue accounted for 38% of the group's revenue in Q2, and UA spend was up 10%, representing 39% of revenue.
Unity 7 is coming Q1 2027
A beta arrives in December, with a full release targeted for Q1 2027.
Former Kabam devs Drop Fake reveal new DC Universe fighting game DCKO
DCKO is expected to release for iOS and Android devices in 2027.
Tencent could acquire Playtika-owned SuperPlay for up to $1.5bn, says report
With SuperPlay outperforming expectations, Playtika is caught in expensive earnouts.
An ‘unscripted’ Fallout Shelter TV show is in the works
Bethesda also confirmed the game has reached 250m players.
The soft launch games you need to know about from EA, Hoyoverse, Playrix, Zynga and more
Take a peek at the games in testing from the mobile games industry’s top publishers.
New game digest: Ratchet & Clank, Madden, College Football, Digimon, Word Play, Aniimo, more
We've also got new titles from Bytedance, Century Games, Boombit and Easybrain in this week's round-up.
Scopely’s Looney Tunes World of Mayhem is shutting down in October
AppMagic figures suggest the game has raked in over $100m from 40m+ downloads since launch in December 2018.
Google Play opens up to third party app stores from next week
The latest legal shenanigans between Epic and Google pave the way for alt stores on Android, as Tim Sweeney asks: “When will the other guys finally open up and stop blocking and taxing competition?”
Platforms are “not doing their job” when it comes to discoverability, says Ustwo Games boss
“You know, you pay 30% to a platform for a number of things, and one of them is to help you reach an audience. And right now, that's not really working.”
