PocketGamer.biz

In this interview, Scopely's Eunice Lee speaks with us about the company's 15-year journey from a small LA startup to a global live-service games business. She discusses how Scopely has scaled over time, shifting its approach to building and operating games around long-term player engagement and an expanded global portfolio. https://lnkd.in/exphj7MF

Delighted to share that I've been promoted to Features & Data Editor on PocketGamer.biz! The new title reflects an increased focus on interviews and features. To date, I've spoken with big industry names like King, Scopely, Rovio Entertainment, Cygames, Metacore... The list goes on! I'm looking forward to taking on even more interviews in the future - from interesting indies to the well-established giants. As for the 'Data' side of this new title, I've long enjoyed a good dive into the numbers behind a game, whether that's a new release, during an anniversary, or a spending spike after a successful update. I foresee many more graphs in my future 💹 👀 Thanks to my colleagues like Craig Chapple, Paige Cook, Isa Muhammad, and Dave Bradley for making this THE place to be in B2B games journalism 💪

In this guest post, Karen Levy Atias, director of creative business operations at Supersonic from Unity, shares her thoughts on how creative strategy shapes growth in hybridcasual games and why attracting the right players matters more than simply driving installs. https://lnkd.in/ehbhYNXr

Investment firm Merak Capital launched its Exel by Merak Gaming Accelerator back in 2024 with roughly $82 million, targeting early-stage game studios, publishing platforms and adjacent services. But how, exactly, does it work? The program has run twice, graduated dozens of startups, and reopened applications in April, with up to $300,000 per team. Yet questions about equity, eligibility, relocation, weekly structure and what exactly studios get in return continue to surface. As studios across the Middle East and Africa weigh up whether to apply for its third cohort, we've broken down the structure, the money, the commitments and the areas studios most commonly misunderstand. https://lnkd.in/eJ9R_h5r

Scopely VP of art howard shin is heading to Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona on June 15th and 16th to give a behind the scenes look at how the developer designed one of the world’s most successful mobile games ever in Monopoly Go. Scopely has a major presence in Spain with more than 1,100 staff in the country, which played a key role in the development of the multi-billion dollar hit. Shin will provide insights into the game’s visual identity was crafted in his talk entitled: “Designing For Billions: Crafting A Distinct Visual Identity For A Hit Global Game.”

FunPlus chief business officer Chris Petrovic is heading to Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona on June 15th and 16th to discuss the games industry’s “new normal” in a star session at the show. As the session description explains: The games industry is entering a pivotal era where consolidation is accelerating, capital is more selective and the studios that survive will be those with the sharpest strategic instincts. Drawing on two decades of hands-on experience across M&A, growth strategy and operations, in this conversation Petrovic will share candid insights on where the industry is heading, what investors are actually looking for right now, and what founders and executives must get right to scale sustainably. The fireside chat will be moderated by PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple.

In this guest post Oxana Fomina explores how Magic Sort, Knit Out, and Pixel Flow are redefining sort puzzle monetisation and what their different design approaches show about the player. https://lnkd.in/ei6egNjC

"It’s too early to say that winter is turning to spring, but I think we are beginning to see a new, perhaps slightly more realistic investment landscape beginning to emerge." In his first column for PocketGamer.biz, Ukie CEO Nick Poole OBE takes a look at the games industry investment landscape and whether the sector is set for an upswing over the next 18 months. Link to the full column in the comments. 👇