mobilegamer.biz digest

Supercell reboots Mo.co, Fortnite is back on iOS, Nintendo's next mobile game, Embracer, Wooga, more

A concise inside view of the mobile game business. This week: * Is it the last roll of the dice for Supercell’s monster hunting game Mo.co [http://Mo.co]…? It was rebooted after struggling to get much traction, and is earning way less than Squad Busters did before that was killed * Fortnite is back on the iOS App Store worldwide (minus Australia), and so of course Epic took a couple of swings at Apple as part of the announcement * Nintendo has a new mobile game coming out, which looks a bit like WarioWare, but based on your photos * A brisk look at what’s going on with Embracer’s mobile arm – essentially CrazyLabs, A Thinking Ape and Deca – which seems to be struggling and might be next to be sold off  * Quick thoughts on those Wooga layoffs and how not to announce job cuts * A rattle through Apple’s Design Awards nominees, which include Inkle, FuturLab, Devolver and the minds behind Arknights: Endfield * Rapidfire jobs, data and new games news * A very noisy passing motorbike right at the end of the podcast that really put me off my stride #47, 21/05/26. Supported by Xsolla.  • Hang on, what's going on here? Every week mobilegamer.biz founder and editor Neil Long goes on a walk and explains what's happening in the mobile game business in under 20 minutes. That's it.

Sega-Rovio woes, Playtika goes casual, Unity's turnaround, pitching investors, data nuggets, more

A concise inside view of the mobile game business. This week: – A look at the grim Rovio news from Sega’s latest financial report, including a clarification over their translation of restructure/rebuild – Playtika’s transition into a casual game maker is complete, according to its latest earnings report, and social casino is yesterday’s news at the Israeli firm apparently  – Unity also put out its financials, and that new Vector adtech seems to be going well, but the firm has not yet sold off Supersonic just yet. It's bullish on its UnityAI tech, too – Some thoughts on what investors want from pitches in the current climate, based on the chatter and panels at last week’s Madeira Games Summit – A rattle through some data nuggets (we skipped soft launch and new game news this week to keep it at a tight 20 minutes) – Background noises including some very light foot-on-gravel sounds, a group of chattering schoolkids passing by and one particularly noisy car #46, 14/05/26. Supported by Xsolla.  • Hang on, what's going on here? Every week mobilegamer.biz founder and editor Neil Long goes on a walk and explains what's happening in the mobile game business in under 20 minutes. That's it.

Supercell buys Metacore amid brutal layoffs, Second Dinner cuts, inside Scopely x Niantic, April’s top games, data, jobs, more

A concise inside view of the mobile game business. This week: – Metacore is to cut up to 160 staff and refocus purely on Merge Mansion as it becomes part of Supercell, which has bought it out and will absorb it fully, like it did with Space Ape – News of 16 staff cut at Marvel Snap maker Second Dinner, though we're told the second game is not affected – An overview of a fascinating fireside chat between Scopely and Niantic that chronicled how that $3.5bn megadeal happened – April's top grossing games and biggest downloads, according to Appmagic, including a surprise appearance from Minecraft – All your usual data, jobs and new game nuggets – A new whooshing sound between sections, annoying and unfixable audio issues in the Supercell part and the very distant sound of the Atlantic ocean #45, 07/05/26. Supported by Xsolla.  • Hang on, what's going on here? Every week mobilegamer.biz founder and editor Neil Long goes on a walk and explains what's happening in the mobile game business in under 20 minutes. That's it.

Xbox's weird 'North Star', Sybo and Subway Surfers, App Store emulators, Peridot's death, soft launches, data, more

A concise inside view of the mobile game business. This week: – A look at what the various statements coming out of Xbox in the last week mean for its vast mobile business, which was barely mentioned at all despite the platform's new 'North Star' being daily active players – Highlights from a chat with Sybo boss Mathias in which I asked about that long-rumoured Subway Surfers movie, how those two new Subway Surfers games are doing and how being part of Miniclip (and therefore Tencent) has changed the studio – A quick look at the world of emulation on the App Store – 60m downloads and counting! – in which one developer notes that Apple's backend is dated and not up to standard given the chunk it takes out of all IAPs – A quick one on the closure of Peridot, Niantic Spatial's virtual pet / AR game which struggled since launch and was not bought by Scopely when it acquired the other Niantic games – All your usual soft launch, data and new game nuggets – Slightly fewer ambient sounds than usual, though there is gravel underfoot and a bit with some drilling #44, 30/04/26. Supported by Xsolla.  • Hang on, what's going on here? Every week mobilegamer.biz founder and editor Neil Long goes on a walk and explains what's happening in the mobile game business in under 20 minutes. That's it.

Apple's undercooked games efforts, Google's big AI claims, Ilkka's BAFTA speech plus data, jobs, new games and more

A concise inside view of the mobile game business. This week: – Probably too many thoughts on Apple's role in, and contribution to, the games business during the 15 years Tim Cook has been in charge – An overview of our GDC chat with Google Cloud games boss Jack Buser, in which he claimed that practically all major game studios are using AI in game development but they appear to be hiding it from players – A rattle through Ilkka Paananen's BAFTA Fellowship speech (and a quick side note about Shuhei Yoshida's gaming habits) – A bit about the great indie auteur Philipp Stollenmayer and a nod to the game comedian James Acaster is narrating, Perchang World – All your usual data, jobs and new game nuggets – Plus! Ambient sounds and birdsong from a really lovely wood near my house, and at least two confused dog walkers passing by #43, 23/04/26. Supported by Xsolla.  • Hang on, what's going on here? Every week mobilegamer.biz founder and editor Neil Long goes on a walk and explains what's happening in the mobile game business in under 20 minutes. That's it.