[Last week in games] Aptoide becomes first non-Apple iOS store, Netflix moving games boss Mike Verdu to new role, and more!
News in games that caught our eyes in the last week [10 to 16 June 2024]
INDUSTRY NEWS
61 new overseas licence approvals in China bring the total to two-thirds of 2023 (pocketgamer.biz)
INVESTOR
The Sandbox raises $20 million to empower creators in the open metaverse (pocketgamer.biz)
£2.3m programme funds new Games Innovation Zone in the UK (gamesindustry.biz)
Astrocade raises $12M for AI-based social gaming platform (venturebeat.com)
MARKET DATA
Squad Busters hit $10m in its first week, say data firms (mobilegamer.biz)
Data digest: Sensor Tower, Niko Partners, Tenjin, SocialPeta insights plus numbers for Wuthering Waves, Pizza Ready and more (mobilegamer.biz)
NEW GAMES
Battle Crush will open Early Access on June 27th, with pre-registrations currently ongoing (pocketgamer.com)
New games now: Valorant, Star Wars: Hunters, Tetris, Monster Hunter, Assassin’s Creed, new Netflix and Apple Arcade releases, more (mobilegamer.biz)
Civilization VII looks like 2K’s next big game announcement (arstechnica.com)
Quetzal lets you dive into an Aztec-themed deckbuilding card battler, out now on iOS and Android (pocketgamer.com)
New World Aeternum is heading to the consoles with crossplay on October 15 (venturebeat.com)
Skate: 'Pre-Pre-Alpha' Gameplay Revealed In New Trailer, Console Playtesting This Fall (gameinformer.com)
Riot announces Valorant console beta test at SGF, starting June 14 (venturebeat.com)
Co-Op Action RPG ‘The Dragon Prince: Xadia’ Releases on July 30th for Netflix, Pre-Orders Now Live (toucharcade.com)
Guerrilla Games announces Lego Horizon Adventures for late 2024 (venturebeat.com)
Battle Vision Network tasks you with matching colours across turn-based battles, coming to mobile next year via Netflix (pocketgamer.com)
Dragon Prince: Xadia invites you to fight alongside your series faves across a new aRPG, coming soon to Netflix (pocketgamer.com)
South of Midnight gets an extended gameplay reveal at Xbox Showcase (venturebeat.com)
Zynga will launch Game of Thrones: Legends on mobile on July 25 (venturebeat.com)
Story-Driven Puzzler ‘Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure’ Gets July 25th Release Date for Netflix, PC, and Consoles (toucharcade.com)
Hotel Galactic Is A Sci-Fi Management Sim With Studio Ghibli-Inspired Visuals Coming To Consoles And PC (gameinformer.com)
Polaris Is A Co-Op PvE Shooter Coming To PC This Year With Fully Destructible Environments (gameinformer.com)
Dark and Darker Mobile's first global beta test is coming very soon (pocketgamer.com)
DC Dark Legion lets you build a team of your favourite superheroes and supervillains (pocketgamer.com)
Resident Evil 7 iOS and iPadOS Pre-Orders Now Live, Base Price and DLC Upgrade Revealed (toucharcade.com)
All In Hole: Sinkhole Puzzle tasks you with helping a sinkhole collect food (pocketgamer.com)
Avatar Legends: Realms Collide opens pre-registration sign-ups along with a brand-new trailer (pocketgamer.com)
Olympics Go! Paris 2024 is out now, just in time for the real thing! (pocketgamer.com)
PUBLISHER NEWS
Sony avoids F2P as its live service model takes shape (gamesindustry.biz)
Squad Busters takes the spotlight amidst a slate of anime themed mobile adaptation (pocketgamer.biz)
Among Us developer launches indie game fund, OuterSloth (venturebeat.com)
Aptoide becomes first non-Apple iOS store (gamesindustry.biz)
Sumo Group to reduce staff by up to 15% (gamesindustry.biz)
Voodoo has acquired social media app BeReal for €500m (mobilegamer.biz)
Polygon unlocks community grants worth $640 million for blockchain builders (venturebeat.com)
Netflix moving games boss Mike Verdu to new role (gamesindustry.biz)