On the podcast: Unity streamlines, PlayStation cuts, The Division mobile, Elder Scrolls Blades, Coffee Stain, more
This week’s inside view of the mobile game business.
Goat Simulator maker Coffee Stain to close its mobile studio
Around 17 staff look to likely to be affected by the closure at the Embracer-owned firm’s Malmö office.
Data digest: Scopely, Tencent and Huuuge revenue stats, Subway Surfers City, Amanotes, Appcharge, more
We've also got Everplay's latest financials, a new study from Newzoo and Sensor Tower's top grossing and top download charts from February.
The Division Resurgence is Ubisoft’s second shot at the mobile shooter market – will it work?
The Division Resurgence producer Pierre-Hugues Puechlong explains how Ubisoft's open-world RPG shooter plans to compete in today's market after years in soft launch.
Bethesda has quietly killed its made-for-mobile RPG The Elder Scrolls: Blades
The game has already been delisted from app stores, and servers will close on June 30. It earned Bethesda around $13.5m since launch in March 2019, says Appmagic.
PlayStation’s mobile arm hit by layoffs
Around 50 staff were cut across PlayStation’s Studio Business Group, we’re told, including an unspecified number in its mobile arm. Work will continue on soft launch games MLB The Show Mobile and Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble, we understand.
New game digest: CookieRun, Field Day, Seven Deadly Sins, Pixel Worlds, Farming Sim, more
There's also a new Dora The Explorer game plus Slime Rancher, Aniimo, Sea of Stars, Vampire Crawlers and Darklord in this week's round-up.
Unity to sell off Supersonic label and close Ironsource Ad Network
The engine maker plans to divest the mobile publishing arm behind casual hits like Bridge Race and Going Balls. It’s also discontinuing Ironsource’s ad network under four years after that blockbuster $4.4bn merger.
What’s going on with Epic’s push into webshops?
Epic webshops are in a MVP-like state so far, says Epic Games Store boss Steve Allison.
Arcade is the new publisher taking on Voodoo, Supersonic, SayGames and Supercent
It has backing from Dubai-based adtech giant and startup incubator AI.tech, and offers UA and publishing know-how as game development becomes commoditised by AI, says boss Alexandre Salem.
Scopely on dealmaking DNA, its next studio swoop and chatter about buying King(!)
What kind of studio is Scopely buying next, and is a shock swoop for King on the cards…? We asked the Savvy-owned mobile giant’s M&A boss, Rob Ricca, about all that plus working with EA, Turkiye, China, PC, console and more.
Jobs digest: moves at Ubisoft, Microsoft-ABK, Scopely, Supercell, Lego, Netflix and more
There are also moves and promotions at Rollic, Trailmix, Mindtail, Mag, Google, Warner and MGVC in our latest round-up.
Savvy set for $6bn Moonton deal
A Bloomberg report says the Saudi Arabia-led buyout of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang maker will close in the “near future”.
How to seize the $50bn China opportunity
Industry experts explain how mobile game-makers can prosper in this very different but potentially lucrative market.
Nazara buys controlling stake in casual game studio Bluetile and rewarded play firm BestPlay for $100m
The Indian tech giant has previously acquired UK publisher Curve and mobile studio Fusebox.
