NCsoft to buy 70 per cent stake in rewards firm JustPlay for $204m
The Korean giant’s plans to expand into mobile continue with its swoop for the Berlin-based loyalty platform.
Supercell explains Clash Royale’s big comeback
Game leads James Back and Aleksandar Markovic said at GDC that a combination of exciting new content, easier progression and simplified systems helped – creators also got a namecheck, too, albeit briefly.
Epic and Google’s new Play Store deal is not the decisive victory they claim it is
Is a measly 5-10% off really what Epic has been fighting for all these years?
Jobs digest: moves at Scopely, Small Giant, Lego, Miniclip, PlaySide, Voodoo, Supercell, more
There’s also recruitment news at Netflix, Tripledot, Cygames, Tactile, Double Twizzle, Fortis, Sixteen Tons, CrazyLabs and many more in our latest round-up.
New game digest: Assassin’s Creed, The Division, Final Fantasy, Honor of Kings, Kingdom Rush, more
There's also Subnautica, some new Apple Arcade games and a load of new indie titles.
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.
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.
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.
