We’re proud to bring you the biggest stories and brightest opinion each and every day here on PocketGamer.biz. So when the year draws to a close there’s no better way to encapsulate everything we’ve all just collectively lived through than to dive in, check the stats and see which tales grabbed our readers’ hearts and minds the most.
Here – chronologically from 2023’s start to finish – are this year’s 10 hottest stories. So roll up your sleeves, open your minds and take trip back in time…
#1 – Epic has apps for iOS and Android ready to go
After a comparatively quiet start to the year, March brought the intriguing bombshell that the Epic Games Store could be heading to iOS and Android. The story certainly caught the attention of industry watchers who’d settled in for was set to become one of 2023’s hardest fought internal struggles – Epic Vs… Well, everyone really.
But could the battle be over before it began? Were Epic about to forge deals and drop an App Store onto iOS and Google platforms without a hitch, lawsuit, sue, or counter-sue? Ahh… We explained that it’s not quite as simple as that, as the rest of the year’s trading of blows would soon confirm. More on this one later…
#2 – 1 great night, 22 winners: The Mobile Game Awards reveals 2023’s mobile standouts
Our annual blowout event for the great and the good in mobile gaming proved a smash hit for the site as usual, with April’s ceremony live from BAFTA in London seeing a gathering of the global games industry to celebrate all that the previous 12 months had to offer.
The awards shine a light on every part of the ecosystem, from the game developers and publishers, through the advertising and monetisation companies, to the tool-makers and support companies that all enable the magic to happen. We also pay homage to true industry legends who have made their mark on this industry.
See and celebrate all of 2023’s winners right here.
#3 – Fortnite is back on iOS
May 2023 brought the gaming good news that everyone wanted, and when we announced that Amazon’s Luna app service was picking up and offering Fortnite on the platform, the story – much like the game itself – was a smash hit.
Yes, getting Fortnite on your iOS iPhone or iPad did require a subscription to Luna, but surely the Fortnite App Store drought couldn’t last much longer and Tim Sweeney would soon be forging a sneaky deal to get his top game onto at least one (or both?) of the two big platform owner’s app stores soon…
Nope.
As we would soon come to learn, Sweeney had a little more than earning a little more for Fortnite on his mind through 2023 as his semi-victory against Apple gave way to complete (but yet to be manifest and let’s not get carried away) victory against Google in November.
In the meantime, if you must play Fortnite on your favourite device, be prepared to jump through a few hoops.
#4 – How Monopoly GO! became the #1 mobile board game in the world
Of all the big names and big games of 2023, one familiar name kept popping up on our radar and proved a smash every time we spoke of it.
Scopely’s winning treatment of the Monopoly franchise garnered praise from fans, keen interest from industry watchers, and the eyes of rival developers and publishers eager to find similar success. Through 2023 it seemed that everything Monopoly GO tried turned to gold as the title DID pass go, collected significantly more than £200 and went directly to the top of the charts.
#5 – Using AI in games development: Part One
Our June series of three insights from iLogos Game Studios founder Alexander Goldybin were all solid gold, as he grasped the thorny topic of the year and laid out the case for the rightful place of artificial intelligence in game production.
This wasn’t the beginning of the end, nor was it quite the easy ride that perhaps some cash-grabbers were hoping for. Goldybin’s features did great work explaining how developers can best utilise all that AI has to offer, boosting human productivity, granting new powers to small teams and generally changing the landscape without breaking it.
AI would – of course – go on to lurk within practically every development conversation, brave investment and bold expansion plan throughout the year.
#6 – Savvy Games Group closes acquisition of Scopely
In July it was official. Scopely, the a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, officially closed its acquisition of mobile developer Scopely and, at $4.9 billion, was of the biggest gaming deals of the year
There were of course bigger… But they’re another story…
What we didn’t know in July of course was just how big the mobile Monopoly GO monster was going to be for Scopely, meaning that all in all 2023 turned out to be quite the year not only for newly-acquired company, but for putting the Saudi Arabia gaming scene on the map.
#7 – The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers of 2023
August saw us undertaking our annual celebration of the great and good of the year with our annual Top 50 Mobile Game Makers list and event reveal, live from Gamescom 2023.
As ever it was a hard fought battle with plenty of new arrivals getting the accolades they deserve and a tough battle between the industry’s major players for who can claim the top spot.
Did you (or your favourite) developer or publisher make it big this year. Let’s not spoil the surprise – dive in and relive our top 50 and discover the best of the best 2023-style right here.
#8 – Unity’s Runtime Fee Farrago
That such a ‘simple’ change – a revision to a fee structure, designed to earn the company more of the multi-million dollar big bucks that their work was earning for high profile users – caused such an upset, shows the incredible depth and love and trust that the company has nurtured for what is – at the end of the day – a software development platform.
But Unity couldn’t have it both ways. After spending years nurturing their community and being the small developers champion, to then ask for more of their profits in return (in order to finally turn a profit themselves) was received as a smack in the face.
Thus began 2023’s biggest story. One that involved upset, disbelief, open rebellion, abject apology, backtracking, backstabbing, and remains unresolved in many people’s eyes to this day.
Naturally PocketGamer.biz was there covering every angle every step of the way. Reminisce on the nightmare introduction of Unity’s Runtime Fee here and relive the whole twisting, turning and always surprising front to back farrago here.
#9 – Monster Hunter Now set to be Niantic’s third biggest game with $14 million in first month revenue
June was cruel to Pokémon Go developer Niantic as they said goodbye not only to 230 employees and a scrapped Marvel AR game, but by October tables were turned and the company was all smiles again.
After struggling to float the AR boat ever since Pokémon Go’s arrival in 2016, the team finally created another monster… Monster Hunter Now has been a regular on our news pages since officially breaking cover in September 2023 and eventually scoring over $100 million, according to AppMagic.
#10 – With the beta period over, what’s next for Supercell’s newest soft launch, mo.co
It seemed that all through 2023, whenever Supercell made a move, the rest of the industry was craning its neck to copy its moves (though when is it not?). From the brutal closure of games that other devs and publishers would kill for, to the reveal and soft launch of ‘the next big thing’, it seemed that Supercell were the company everyone wanted (and still wants) to be.
The reveal and beta period for their new monster-hunting, portal-hopping co-op mo.co, proved to be a major landmark in 2023’s release radar and Supercell’s ongoing battle to flat out win the games war. We’re certain that this one is going to run and run through 2024.
That’s the 10. Thanks for being part of what we do. Let’s do it all again, all through 2024!
