Our most-viewed features, opinion pieces, and interviews
From our Mobile Game of the Week and Soft Launch lists to interviews and developer insight, there has been no shortage of features on PocketGamer.biz this year.
Analysis and expertise, both from our own voice and the mobile games industry community, is close to the heart of what PG.biz does. We want see more of this on the site in 2022, and will be reaching out with a push to bring together the different arms of PocketGamer.biz, PG Connects, and the Big Indie Pitch.
But in the meanwhile, let’s take a look at the features that caught your eyes in 2021.
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1
The 10 biggest earners of all time in mobile gaming
Kicking off our top five list is our feature discussing the 10 highest-grossing mobile games of all time, based on Sensor Tower’s revenue estimates between January 1st, 2014 and July 31st, 2021 across the App Store and Google Play Store.
Games range from Fantasy Westward Journey (the mobile iteration of a 2001 PC MMORPG) to match-three RPG Puzzle & Dragons, and many of the top earners come from franchises, like Fate/Grand Order and Pokémon Go.
Then, there are top performers like Clash of Clans and Honor of Kings that stand up on their own.
It is noteworthy to mention that each entry on the original list was free-to-play with in-app purchases, suggesting that this might be the best monetisation strategy in most cases.
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2
The success of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
In January we discussed Sensor Tower’s report that Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes had generated 1.2 billion in lifetime revenue.
This accounted for 98 per cent of all revenue from the last five Star Wars mobile games, with $732.5 million coming from US players alone.
With 78.5 million installs at the time, representing almost 78 per cent of downloads from the last five Star Wars mobile games, Galaxy of Heroes amassed the largest audience in the US too.
Notably, Russia ranked as the runner-up in terms of downloads.
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3
The Brawl Stars interview
Next on our list is an interview with Supercell game lead Frank Keienburg, who spoke about the four-year anniversary of Brawl Stars.
Keienburg discussed the game’s successful launch as a new IP, expanding into uncertain markets (at the time) like South Korea, and the importance of live ops.
Conversation topics included game content, community feedback and a record number of daily users. Keienburg then talked about the process of getting a game approved in China.
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4
The 10 biggest video game acquisitions ever
With updates on acquisitions frequenting the news section of PocketGamer.biz, we decided to cover the 10 biggest acquisitions across all of gaming this summer.
Within the first six months of 2021, the games industry had already experienced $60 billion worth of deals; of which 44 per cent of that figure was accounted for by mobile games.
Namco, the creator of arcade games like Pac-Man, acquired the Japanese division of Atari back in 1974. Then in 2005, Namco was acquired by Bandai for $1.7 billion with Namco receiving 43 per cent of Bandai’s shares.
Since 2006, the company has been branded as Bandai Namco and has become one of the biggest game publishers in the world.
Higher on the list came Activision Blizzard’s acquisition of King in 2016, valued at $5.9 billion.
King continued to operate independently without immediate changes in upper management, but the purchase gave Activision Blizzard a stronger foothold in the mobile games market.
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5
The Clash Royale interview
The final spot on our list is a Supercell interview with community manager Drew Haycock.
He discussed the five-year anniversary of Clash Royale, the importance of its community and the development of its competitive scene.
Live ops were highlighted as ‘a huge part’ of ensuring Clash Royale maintains an active user base, and Haycock attributed the game’s success primarily to its gameplay.
By February 2021, Clash Royale had surpassed $3 billion in lifetime revenue.
Staff Writer
Aaron is the Staff Writer at PG.biz and has long enjoyed a good turn-based strategy game. He has spent many more hours playing Fire Emblem Heroes than he cares to admit.
