Sound clever in meetings with this concise snapshot of the new games you need to know about.
Here every Friday you’ll find big games gone global, fresh soft launches and everything in between. We’ll also take a look at how some of the bigger new launches are performing so far. Let’s get into it, then:
Blackpink The Game (TakeOne)
K-Pop band Blackpink’s first official game is out worldwide now. It’s a mix of puzzles, mini games, dress-up and band management from TakeOne Company, which also developed the Netmarble-published BTS game.
It’s already high up in the games charts in major markets like the US, Japan, South Korea, the UK and more.
Axie Infinity: Origins (Sky Mavis)
Sky Mavis, the developer behind this troubled crypto game, announced this week that it is now available on iOS in Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
A “feature-limited” version of Origins has been live on the Malaysian Google Play store since December 2022, and this iOS edition is similarly limited in terms of features.
Still: “iOS Players will be able to use their NFT axies in this release,” said Sky Mavis. “We believe this is the first time that Apple has agreed to make an externally-purchased NFT usable on the App Store.”
It honestly feels like this one’s been and gone already; let’s see if it ever goes global.
Monster Hunter Puzzles (Capcom)
This one just got soft launched on Google Play in Canada – a strange mix of wholesome match-puzzling, Animal Crossing-like village building and, um, Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise.
We assume this will be aimed at Japanese players, and might get eclipsed by the forthcoming Monster Hunter collab with Niantic, which feels like a bigger deal.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition (Rockstar)
The missing-in-action mobile edition of the remastered GTA PS2 trilogy, which landed on console and PC at the end of 2021, got a low-key mention within Take-Two’s financial results this week.
It was first announced as arriving on mobile “in the first half of 2022”, and then was slated for Take-Two’s fiscal 2023. Now it’s just down as “TBA” – so it’s not cancelled, at least. Wild speculation: perhaps it’ll end up on Netflix…?
Campfire Cat Cafe (HyperBeard)
Another cute-casual game from HyperBeard, which has definitely found its niche after some bumpy early years in which the studio almost closed down entirely, twice.
Based in Mexico, HyperBeard is taking plenty of shots on goal – according to Appmagic it has released six new games already this year.
Rainbow Six Mobile (Ubisoft)
Some release date tidbits slipped out in Ubisoft’s financial results: Rainbow Six Mobile will start its 6-week closed beta on 6th June. It’s currently available as a pre-reg game on Google Play.
The last detail we got about this one was over a year ago, when Ubisoft told us that Tencent plus a whopping 11 other studios were working on the game.
The Division Resurgence (Ubisoft)
Again, based on a snippet from Ubisoft’s financial results, The Division Resurgence will go into a “new testing phase” this summer. Like Rainbow Six Mobile, it’s also currently available as a pre-reg game on Google Play, with no release window.
Rytmos (Floppy Club)
Let’s finish with an indie deep cut: this critically-acclaimed musical puzzler has dropped on mobile as a ‘free-to-start’ game – that is, you unlock the full game for a one-off IAP after a couple of free levels.
Do you have a global or soft launch game you’d like to be included here next week? Send me an email.
