To keep you up to date on the biggest news in mobile gaming, we round up the five most-read stories on PocketGamer.biz each week.
Read on and digest...
1. Adjust and Applovin Lay off 12 per cent of workforce
Unity lays off 4% of workforce following "resourcing levels against our company priorities"
Niantic lays off 8% of its workforce, as it cancels four projects
Let's not beat around the bush. Last week was a very pronounced time for substantial layoffs at some of the biggest mobile gaming firms, with Adjust and AppLovin, Unity, and Niantic shedding a sizeable force of their employees amid anticipation of economic downturns.
Frankly, PocketGamer.biz does not imagine this will be the last of layoffs to come.
2. Digital Bros, parent company of 505 Games, acquires Puzzle Quest publisher
Digital Bros has announced the acquisition of D3 Go!, best known as the publisher of the Puzzle Quest franchise, for an undisclosed amount, in a bid to amplify 505 Games’ F2P efforts.
This move brings the nine-strong Puzzle Quest franchise, including Marvel Puzzle Quest, into the 505 fold.
3. Google and app developers reach lawsuit agreement, with $90 million developer fund
Google has announced a settlement with developers in a lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, that accuses the tech giant of hindering the ability of developers – especially smaller studios – to earn substantial revenue by closing the app ecosystem.
As a result, Google has stated its intentions to establish a $90 million dollar fund to support US developers who earned less than $2 million in annual revenue between 2016 and 2021.
4. Former Supercell devs raise €5 million in Round A
Finnish gaming company BIT ODD, founded by some of the key creatives behind games such as Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, has raised €5 million in a financing round led by Index ventures.
The studio is attempting to stand out from other developers with a focus on “the wonder and weirdness of gaming”, which they feel has been lost in recent years.
5. 101 Studio becomes ByteDance’s first games unit closure
TikTok owner ByteDance has closed 101 Studio, its Shanghai-based game development studio first acquired three years ago.
More than 100 hundred staff from the roughly 300 total have been let go as the studio has struggled to challenge the dominance of Tencent Holdings and NetEase in the mobile games space.