[Last week in games] Roblox wants to reward you for evading app store fees, Pokémon TCG Pocket reportedly surpassed over $200m in first month, and more news!
News in games that caught our eyes in the last week [December 2-8, 2024]
INDUSTRY NEWS
Monopoly Go and other top grossing mobile games accused of breaking loot box ad rules (mobilegamer.biz)
Acquiring and selling games: Trends and strategies in 2024 (pocketgamer.biz)
Mobile games see high returns on hybrid monetization models (venturebeat.com)
From Casual to Complex: 7 Trends that Shaped Gaming 2024 (deconstructoroffun.com)
Demi Lovato set to headline PlanetPlay's latest green initiative, will appear in Subway Surfers and more (pocketgamer.com)
New report claims gamers spend more time watching videos about gaming than playing games (gamesindustry.biz)
Hunter x Hunter fighting game refused classification in Australia for ‘implied sexual violence’ against minors (polygon.com)
INVESTOR
Nazara continues M&A push with Funky Monkeys and LearnTube investments (pocketgamer.biz)
Playgama raises $3M to build the go-to HTML5 game distribution platform (venturebeat.com)
Tencent becomes major stakeholder in Wuthering Waves’ creator Kuro Games (pocketgamer.com)
MY.GAMES sells hybridcasual publisher Mamboo to better focus on midcore (pocketgamer.biz)
Lumina invests $2M in Fortnite UGC studio Creator Corp (venturebeat.com)
MARKET DATA
Indus picks up five million downloads and concludes first international playtest in Manila (pocketgamer.com)
Fortnite’s latest event breaks its record, with more than 14 million players (polygon.com)
November’s top grossing mobile games (mobilegamer.biz)
November’s top mobile game downloads (mobilegamer.biz)
Apple's App Store ecosystem in China hits $519 billion in developer sales (pocketgamer.biz)
Pokémon TCG Pocket reportedly surpassed over $200m in first month (gamesindustry.biz)
CrazyLabs celebrates seven billion downloads (pocketgamer.biz)
Dungeon & Fighter: Mobile smashes $1bn in six months in China (pocketgamer.biz)
Call of Duty tops revenue chart for October 2024 (gamesindustry.biz)
Data digest: Pokémon Pocket rockets past $150m, Apple's $1bn suit, Match Factory and Block Blast numbers, more (mobilegamer.biz)
Pokémon TCG Pocket matches 91% of Pokémon Go’s launch month revenue through the power of playground rumours (pocketgamer.biz)
NEW GAMES
New game digest: Plague Inc's successor, SuperPlay's next game, Netflix loses GTA duo, Animal Crossing dies, more (mobilegamer.biz)
Warframe for Android pre-registration is now open for all players, even more news about 1999! (pocketgamer.com)
Infinity Nikki, one of 2024’s most hyped upcoming games, will be available for pre-download starting Tuesday (polygon.com)
The King of Fighters AFK launches early access in Canada and Thailand for Android and iOS (pocketgamer.com)
Go Go Muffin lets you MMO idly through a vibrant fantasy adventure, out now on iOS and Android (pocketgamer.com)
Girls’ Frontline 2: Exilium officially launches, offering stunning T-Dolls, action-packed combat and more (pocketgamer.com)
Journey of Monarch takes you on a cel-shaded RPG across a fantasy world, out now (pocketgamer.com)
Grand Mountain Adventure 2 is bringing back skiing and snowboarding action early next year on Android and iOS (pocketgamer.com)
Tencent and Morefun Studios unveil 3D action-fighting game based on Chinese myths (venturebeat.com)
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete is out now on Android and iOS (pocketgamer.com)
Lioncode launches test for 'bullet heaven' game Wildkeepers Rising (venturebeat.com)
Cat's Mouse Jam lets you drive little mice on catbuses across a charming puzzler, now open for pre-registration (pocketgamer.com)
Eldrum: Black Dust is a text-based RPG set in a dark fantasy world, out now for iOS and Android (pocketgamer.com)
BioWare releases Dragon Age: The Veilguard character creator as free, stand-alone app (polygon.com)
PUBLISHER NEWS
NetEase said to cut jobs due to game underperformance (techinasia.com)
Report: Lilith Games cuts 40 staff as Project Party undergoes changes (pocketgamer.biz)
Portal launches marketplace and wallet to tackle Web3 fragmentation (venturebeat.com)
Zynga on Match Factory, hybridcasual, D2C growth, turning Take-Two IP mobile and more (mobilegamer.biz)
Report: Staff laid off at NetEase after relaunched Hyper Front fails to meet expectations (gamesindustry.biz)
SuperPlay secures licence to launch Disney Solitaire (pocketgamer.biz)
Ubisoft shutting down XDefiant in 2025, laying off half of its team (polygon.com)
Next up for Netflix games: an AI-powered Stardew Valley-alike and dual-screen gaming (mobilegamer.biz)
Roblox wants to reward you for evading app store fees (polygon.com)
In-game advertising firm Gadsme opens first US office (pocketgamer.biz)
Deceive Inc studio Sweet Bandits shuts down (gamesindustry.biz)