[Last week in games] Squid Game: Unleashed out now, Netflix removes GTA 3 and Vice City from gaming library, and more news!

Dec 19, 2024

INDUSTRY NEWS

What impact have layoffs had on the games industry over the past two years? (gamesindustry.biz)
Apple unveils the most-downloaded games and apps of 2024 (venturebeat.com)
Here’s why Netflix is making Squid Game: Unleashed completely free (mobilegamer.biz)
Loot Box State of Play 2024: Another trip around the world of regulation (gamesindustry.biz)
Analyst Bulletin: Mobile Game Market Review November 2024 (gamerefinery.com)
Investigation claims "network of illegal casinos" lets children gamble with their Roblox account details (gamesindustry.biz)
Apple pushed hard by EU to make iOS and iPadOS more interoperable (theverge.com)
The Games Awards 2024 grows 31% to record 154M livestreams (venturebeat.com)
The future games industry will favor two consoles (venturebeat.com)

Dark Passenger raises $3M for veterans of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 (venturebeat.com)
Former CD Projekt dev art Dark Passenger raises $3m (gamesindustry.biz)
Big Time Studios launches $150M Open Loot Fund for Web3 gaming (venturebeat.com)
Agave Games raises $18M in funding to expand Find the Cat mobile title (venturebeat.com)
Aonic group receives $160M investment to support its growing studio roster (venturebeat.com)
Nazara's Nodwin Gaming acquires AFK Gaming (venturebeat.com)
Active investors in game devs could fall in 2025 (venturebeat.com)
Sony becomes Kadokawa's largest Shareholder with $318m investment (pocketgamer.biz)
Moon Beast Productions raises $4.5m to ‘revolutionise’ action RPGs (pocketgamer.biz)
Simulation Theory raises $2M so computers stop wasting compute resources (venturebeat.com)
Coplay raises $1.2M to build AI copilot for game devs that (venturebeat.com)
Israel's Vgames raises $142m for gaming investments (techinasia.com)
Turkish developer Agave Games gets $18m funding (pocketgamer.biz)

Black Friday video game sales dip in the UK (gamesindustry.biz)
Game devs are 52.5% of the blockchain gaming industry (venturebeat.com)
The top grossing mobile games of 2024 (pocketgamer.biz)
Data digest: Hill Climb Racing hits 2.5bn, mobile's biggest advertisers, 2024's top iOS games, hybridcasual and South Korea stats, more (mobilegamer.biz)
Apple reveals most downloaded games and apps on the App Store for 2024 (pocketgamer.biz)
Asian developers dominate as 2024's top 10 new mobile games surpass $3 billion (pocketgamer.biz)
Two-thirds of Chinese mobile gamers play mini-games: A major opportunity for developers (nikopartners.com)
EA Sports College Football 25 climbs sales rankings in quiet November (venturebeat.com)
Fingersoft’s Hill Climb Racing series hits 2.5 billion downloads (pocketgamer.biz)
EA Sports College Football is now the US' best-selling sports game of all time (gamesindustry.biz)

Hello Town lets you merge and revitalise an old shopping complex while raising a cat, now in pre-registration (pocketgamer.com)
Scarlet Girls opens pre-registration for the post-apocalyptic idle RPG on Google Play (pocketgamer.com)
BTS World Season 2 officially launches with pre-registration rewards now available (pocketgamer.com)
Tile Tales: Pirate takes you on a tile-sliding puzzle adventure to a mysterious island (pocketgamer.com)
Grid Legends: Deluxe Edition is out now on Android and iOS (pocketgamer.com)
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon is leaving Netflix, but the devs are exploring options to keep it available on mobile (pocketgamer.com)
Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown re-released with new features, controls and UI (pocketgamer.com)
Bendy: Lone Wolf is another take on the Ink Machine franchise coming to mobile in 2025 (pocketgamer.com)
Stella Sora is Yostar's upcoming anime-style RPG with plenty of light action, now open for pre-registration (pocketgamer.com)
Ragnarok Idle Adventure translates the MMORPG to a casual format, with closed beta ahead (pocketgamer.com)
Ark: Ultimate Mobile Edition available now, with a whole new trailer alongside it (pocketgamer.com)
Squid Game: Unleashed out now, free for Netflix members and non-subscribers (pocketgamer.com)

Esports World Cup Foundation offers $20M in partner club expansion (venturebeat.com)
Netflix removes GTA 3 and Vice City from gaming library after one year (pocketgamer.biz)
Play launches token and partners with Telefónica Group on Web3 gaming (venturebeat.com)
Zentry brings Ragnarok Landverse to Ronin Web3 network (venturebeat.com)
11 Bit Studios lays off unknown number of staff, cancels Project 8 console game (gamesindustry.biz)
Sophon launches mainnet blockchain with $500M in locked value (venturebeat.com)
Linden Lab has spent $1.3B building Second Life and paid $1.1B to creators (venturebeat.com)