Despite Free-to-Play Explosion, Apple Puts Spotlight on Paid Games

Candy Crush can fend for itself.
Apple's iPad game of the year, Badland.

2013 Was a Huge Year for Android Gaming

And paid apps on both Android and iOS are falling deeper into obscurity.

DoubleDown: Women Bet More Than Men in Social Casino Games

Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, ma’am?

Indie Platformer Badland Finally Comes to Android, but With a New Business Model

Premium downloads don’t work on Android, Frogmind’s COO says.

In Free-to-Play Games, Having Fewer Players Doesn’t Always Mean Less Money

A quirk of gaming economics that underscores the idea of “games as a service.”

News Byte

Rumble Entertainment Scores Another $17.5 Million

Free-to-play mobile and online game developer Rumble Entertainment has raised $17.5 million in a Series B round led by Nexon, the company announced today. That brings its total funding to more than $35 million. Tokyo-based Nexon was a previous Rumble investor, and last month kicked in an undisclosed amount toward ex-Zynga COO John Schappert’s Shiver Entertainment. Rumble’s first game, the RPG Kings Road, launched as a browser game earlier this year, and is planned for a worldwide tablet release in early 2014, a company spokesperson said.

Don’t Like In-App Purchases in Games? Deal With It, Says PopCap.

“That’s just a reality of the industry right now.”
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Swrve Says It Can Help Developers Dodge Fake Purchases Made by App Pirates

Developers “need to know whether they’re attracting great-looking pirates or mediocre-looking real users.”

Q&A: The Drowning’s Creator Ben Cousins on Making a Console-Like FPS Viable on Mobile

Death, guns, mayhem and Japanese free-to-play mechanics.

PlayStation: Mid-Core Gamers Are the Future of Mobile

Sony focuses on a once fuzzily defined audience segment.