Slumbering Success
Pokémon Sleep earns $100 million with its eyes shut
Living the dream: With one week to go before its first anniversary, Pokémon Sleep has caught plenty of Zs but even more cash
Staff
Aaron Astle
Job Title
News Editor
About Aaron is the News Editor at PG.biz and has an honours degree in Creative Writing.
Having spent far too many hours playing Pokémon, he's now on a quest to be the very best like no one ever was...at putting words in the right order.
Articles by Aaron Astle
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Android To Apple
Pre-registrations for SuperGaming’s eagerly awaited Indus on iOS are now open
The India-focused battle royale has already attracted 11 million pre-registrations on Android
Triumphant Trio
Zenless Zone Zero has earned almost $25 million in five days
AppMagic estimates suggest HoYoverse’s latest launch is behind those of its Genshin and Honkai stablemates, despite 50m+ downloads in 72 hours
Hot Five
Hot Five: Apple fees hit ads, Squad Busters’ first month reviewed, and Pokémon Go's eight years on top
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Gotta Play Them All
I played Pokémon Go for 365 days… And it's still only Niantic’s second-best game…
PG.biz's Aaron Astle goes in deep on Pokémon Go to mark its eighth birthday, and finds a game that still has plenty of room for improvement
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Zenless Zone Zero to Zen Koi Pro+
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Nintendo Know-how
Nintendo doesn’t trust AI to make its games
President Shuntaro Furukawa would rather keep making games the Nintendo way rather than hand the reins to AI
Battle Over Bots
Skillz files lawsuit against rivals Voodoo over alleged "straight-out lies", bots, and rigged tournaments
Their latest suit claims Voodoo has falsely advertised Blitz - Win Cash and harmed Skillz market share
Billions Buyout
Keywords Studios sells for £2.1 billion in £24.50-per-share EQT buyout
The deal concludes the company's recent $145.8 million M&A strategy and it will now be acquired itself
Zenless Zenith
Zenless Zone Zero to launch globally with DOUBLE Honkai: Star Rail’s pre-registrations
The game finally lands across the world today and tomorrow and we've got the latest launch figures and exactly WHEN it'll hit your timezone
Expansion On Hold
Rumour: Apple is delaying its plans for an East Coast campus by four years
The tech giant has taken on over 600 workers in Raleigh, North Carolina to date
Collab Cometh
Goddess of Victory: Nikke is delivering its "biggest minigame ever" via Dave the Diver collab
Shift Up’s shooter is going retro with a neew pixel-graphics game mode starting July 4th
Distribution Divestment
Thunderful Group sells off distribution business as it focuses on games
The move forms part of a strategy to become a "pure-play games company", not a distributor
Acquisition Alliance
Nodwin Gaming to build an esports "alliance" through 100% acquisition of Freaks 4U Gaming
Nodwin currently holds a 13.51% stake and will increase this in tranches to 57%, then 100%
Apple Ads
Apple 30% fee extends to Instagram and Facebook ads worldwide today
The fee was imposed on the US earlier this year and rolls out globally today, July 1st
Billion Blitz
World of Tanks Blitz celebrates 10th anniversary and $1 billion in revenue
Blitz takes a more creative approach than its PC counterpart, aiming itself more at a Gen Z audience
Hot Five
Hot Five: Garena Free Fire snipes $4BN, Pokémon dev Game Freak’s first mobile exclusive, and Supercell’s next project imminent
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist, Purple, All in Hole: Sinkhole Puzzle, and more
We highlight five new games that have broken cover this week
Acquisition Ahead
CyberAgent to acquire NitroPlus in $104 million deal
Digital advertising firm and games publisher will support new subsidiary's efforts for global IP expansion
Fintech Funds
LinQ raises $2.3 million in seed funding to publish real-money games
Drive by DraftKings, Sharp Alpha Advisors, MiddleGame Ventures, and a16z Speedrun participated in the funding
4d Future
Roblox looks towards "4D generative AI" future
UGC platform creator opens up on its AI plans
Job Losses
Reports: One Punch Man: World developer Perfect World lays off as many as 1,000 staff
The Chinese media firm is is also said to have halted worked on One Punch Man: World and Perfect New World
Gambling Crackdown
Northern Ireland’s APG wants "stringent, legally mandated regulations" imposed on loot boxes
The group has called for gambling mechanics in games to be "severely limited" now that the results of a public health inquiry are in
Safety Startup
Tencent, Google and Meta vets raise $45 million in Series A towards online safety startup k-ID
The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners
Classic Celebration
Garena Free Fire celebrates seventh anniversary with $4 billion in lifetime revenue
The celebration includes "classic features" with a focus on nostalgia
Mobile Manoeuvre
Pokémon developer Game Freak’s first mobile exclusive is new IP, Pand Land
Game Freak and WonderPlanet "sometimes clashed" during development but ultimately "achieved balance" with this seafaring RPG
China Cha-ching
Dungeon & Fighter Mobile’s first month of iOS revenue was twice that of Honor of Kings
Nexon and Tencent's RPG generated $270 million on iOS in its first month, becoming China’s most-downloaded game
Pgc Helsinki
Fingersoft CEO Jaakko Kylmäoja on how "the best game required the best environment"
Speaking a Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2023, Kylmäoja highlighted Fingersoft’s office culture as one of its most important strengths
Ai Approach
Square Enix still sees "tremendous potential" in AI but is wary of the "many risks involved"
CEO Takashi Kiryu has spelled out a more risk-averse approach to AI in the latest shareholders' meeting
To The Races
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby gets an English version - is a Western release imminent?
Cygames’ racer has seen huge success in Japan with over 21 million downloads and $2 billion in revenue
Promotional Power
Monster Hunter Now on mobile cross promotes spin-off on PC and console
A new story and limited-time quests in the mobile hit promote the Monster Hunter Stories re-release
Hybrid Hire
Cat Escape maker Sunday appoints ex-SYBO Christian Balazs in shift away from hypercasual
Sunday has made a "pivotal" hire in a move to broaden into hybridcasual games
Hot Five
Hot Five: Japan’s newest stars, Nordic numbers, and Tripledot Studios’ acquisition
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Golden Genre
RPGs dominated Japan's Golden Week thanks to Fate Grand/Order, Monster Strike, Genshin Impact and more
Golden Week 2024 generated less mobile revenue than in 2023, but RPGs continued to excel with 9 out of 10 top ten placings
Platform Party
Eggy Party to expand onto console with crossplay Nintendo Switch release
NetEase’s hit party game is releasing on Nintendo Switch on July 19th
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from draconic dangers to pixelated platformers
We highlight five new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Pokemon Power
Niantic’s going back to basics for Pokémon Go’s eighth anniversary
July 6th will mark eight years since Pokémon Go first rocked the world
Jumping Into Jojo
KLab resumes development of 2020 mobile game based on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Klab has formed a new partnership with Wanda Cinemas Games to get this project completed
Finding Funds
Brainspark Games raises £1.4 million towards building educational AI mobile games
The funding comes from its seventh Innovate UK Investor Partnership grant and a match-funded angel investment
Legal Upset
Apple on track to fall foul of DMA legislation with a potential penalty of $50M per day
Leaks suggest that Apple has failed to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, costing the firm 5% of its daily global revenue
Platform Plans
Hello Kitty Island Adventure journeys beyond Apple Arcade as PC and Switch versions announced
During yesterday’s Nintendo Direct event, Hello Kitty Island Adventure made an appearance confirming an upcoming expansion to the Switch
Jumping In Japan
Wuthering Waves, Gakuen Idolmaster, Squad Busters: Which new mobile games won Japan over this May?
Plenty of new mobile hits launched last month, from Supercell, Kuro Games, Bandai Namco and others
Summoner Celebration
Summoners War celebrates 10th anniversary with $3 billion in lifetime revenue
Summoners War first launched in 2014 and has been downloaded over 200 million times since
Steering Strategy
Savvy's Steer Studios expands into console development
The company began building up its new division at the start of the year
United Unity
Unity is "undoing so many of the missteps" made as new CEO Matthew Bromberg changes company culture
He has stepped into the CEO role as interim CEO Jim Whitehurst moved to executive chair of the board
Matriarch Of Mischief
Clash Royale launches a brand-new mode Goblin Queen’s Journey with three exclusive cards
New cards unlocked in the Goblin Queen’s Journey will be playable in other game modes too
Partnership Power
Anzu and dentsu partner to advance intrinsic in-game advertising with "contextually relevant campaigns"
Ads will be deliverable to specific audiences based on behaviour and interests
Racing Ahead
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby trots to 21 million downloads from limited Asia release
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby first launched in Japan in 2021 and has remained in Asia ever since
Legislation Looming
Fortnite and The Epic Games Store will be arriving on iOS in Japan in 2025
The Epic Games Store will be available as an alternative to Apple’s App Store in Japan next year, based on new legislation
Hot Five
Hot Five: Zenless Zone Zero's 40m pre-registrations, Squad Busters' $10M in week one, and what iOS 18 REALLY means for games
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz