Behind the scenes at Develop Brighton

Wise words from Kristian Segerstrale, grim industry sexism, pitching a game to Netflix and some (fun?) Apple gossip.

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This week’s stories:

New games now: Two new Disney titles, Touchgrind X, Need For Speed, Temple Run, Vampire Survivors, Metal Slug and more

Also this week: Outfit7's new pet game, another Tencent shooter and some handsome indie games.

2024’s top publishers by downloads (so far)

While established hypercasual firms see either flat or declining downloads, ABI Games and ZEGO Studio have defied the odds.

2024’s top grossing mobile game publishers (so far)

Scopely is up to second in the list, according to Appmagic, while Supercell, Century Games, FirstFun, Joy Net Games and Peak are also notable risers.

Data digest: Zenless Zone Zero launch numbers, DnF dominates, Squad Busters dips and more

Also this week: the rise of WeChat mini-games, ad market analysis, Turkey trends, Kwalee invests and milestones for Toon Blast and Pokémon Sleep.

One indie dev’s extraordinary encounters with industry creeps – and Google Play

"Regarding your concern about escalation, I am the highest form of escalation. Next to me is God. Do you wanna see God?"

Kristian Segerstrale on rebooting Super Evil Megacorp, platforms, funding and gaming’s future

We also play buzzword bingo with the industry legend and Super Evil Megacorp boss as he offers his views on AI, web3 and the metaverse…

2024’s top mobile game downloads (so far)

Block Blast, Pizza Ready and Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle storm the top ten as Free Fire's comeback continues, Royal Match loses momentum and Brawl Stars is boosted into the top 20.

2024’s top grossing mobile games (so far)

Relatively new contenders Monopoly Go, Royal Match, LastWar, Honkai: Star Rail and Whiteout Survival are in among the usual suspects in the first half of 2024, according to Appmagic data.

Jobs digest: new hires at Zynga, Scopely, Wooga, Tactile, TapNation, Sandsoft and more  

There are also moves and promotions at Adjoe, Supergaming, Adjoe, Raptor PR, Innogames and Newzoo.

“Arbitrary, obstructive” Apple has rejected the Epic Games Store twice

UPDATE: Epic says its Games Store has now been approved by Apple - following some very public pressure, criticism and a call to the European Commission.

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Behind the scenes at Develop Brighton

Wise words from Kristian Segerstrale, grim industry sexism, pitching a game to Netflix and some (fun?) Apple gossip.