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, the latest release dates and everything in between.
This week’s new games digest is sponsored by Playroom, a lightning-fast backend multiplayer toolkit for games. Build and scale games effortlessly, with zero server setup and no maintenance required.
Thrill Match (Every Dog Games)
We were alerted to this one by consultancy firm Naavik, which describes the game as ‘Royal Match but Coin Master’.
It’s built by Every Dog Games, a new studio backed by Tennis Clash maker Wildlife and led by two former social casino game execs at Zynga. It has soft launched in the nordics, Ireland, Netherlands and Brazil.
FamilyScapes (Playrix)
Another interesting one mentioned in the same Naavik piece is Playrix’s new soft launch, a ‘scapes game that leans into a family drama type narrative. It appears to be in soft launch on Android only in the US, Canada, Australia, Indonesia and India.
Invincible: Guarding the Globe (Ubisoft)
This game’s Twitter feed suggests this licensed idle RPG is in soft launch ahead of a full release in Febraury 2024. But a peek at Sensor Tower and Appmagic suggests it has actually been stealth-released worldwide, right in time for the second season of the Amazon Prime show.
Amico Home (Intellivision Amico)
Retro games brand Intellivision was supposed to have released its new/old home console the Amico by now, but appears to have run out of money. So it has released this Android app instead, which is intended to replicate the experience. It’s all a bit messy, and the brutal video review above describes the Android app as “a broken mess”. A date for the public beta on iOS is imminent, says Intellivision.
TV Studio Story (Kairosoft)
Prolific Japanese developer Kairosoft has been cranking out these cutesy business sims ever since it broke through with Game Dev Story in the early days of mobile. You build a TV empire in this latest spin on the formula.
Dynasty Warriors M (Nexon)
This mobile edition of the long-running Koei Tecmo hack-and-slash series is out worldwide on iOS and Android, but seems to have had zero PR or marketing support.
Downwell+ (Devolver)
We’ve covered this before but it’s worth mentioning again because it’s absolutely fantastic. Superb shooter-platformer Downwell+ is live now on Apple Arcade, the debut game from Japanese indie creator Ojiro Fumoto. Fumoto is also responsible for the excellent Poinpy on Netflix.
Please, Touch The Artwork 2 (Thomas Waterzooi)
Bafflingly, this hidden object-like indie game was described as a “spiritual sequel” in a press release this week, despite being a literal, actual sequel. Still, it’s coming to iOS, Android and PC in early 2024.
SpongeBob SquarePants – The Cosmic Shake (Handy Games)
As spotted by TouchArcade, the latest SpongeBob tie-in is from Handy Games, a port of the console game that was released earlier this year. It’s a 3D platformer that’s out in pre-order on iOS and Android now, ahead of its launch on December 12.
Homesteads: Dream Farm (Tilting Point)
This is not a new game, but perhaps a sign of the times – Tilting Point has released this farming game on new browser game platform Pley.
Death’s Door (Acid Nerve)
This stylish adventure is the first of three new games on Netflix this week. It’s yet another culty banger from Devolver.
Farming Simulator 23 (Giants)
This one also dropped on Netflix in the last week – another Farming Simulator game, but on mobile. You know the drill.
CoComelon: Play with JJ (Moonbug)
This animated show for preschoolers is now in videogame form on Netflix, and comes from kids game specialist Moonbug.
Fitment (Alina Matson)
This one’s new to us: a mix of cosy Animal Crossing-like aesthetics and gamified fitness. It’s from indie developer Alina Matson and is in ‘early access’ on iOS and Android in a handful of countries.
