What’s New, Mobile World? | April Digest

Welcome to the monthly news digest by Apptica! In these series, we are compiling the most significant news from the field of mobile applications and games.  

Let's sum up the results of April to identify current trends in mobile gaming and see what’s new with the mobile industry leaders!

Most Resonance News

This April both iOS and Android platforms declared ‘war’ against outdated applications and games. Apple has informed developers that apps that haven’t been updated in a ‘significant amount of time’ will soon be removed from the App Store.

Also Google Play will soon be cleared of old mobile games and apps. Google has warned developers that the store will hide outdated applications and block their downloads starting from November 1, 2022.

Mobile Games

In the middle of spring, mobile gaming companies have blossomed and presented lots of cool releases.

First of all, this month Activision Blizzard has finally revealed the Diablo Immortal release date! On June 2, this game will launch for both iOS and Android platforms and have an open beta on PC.

Ubisoft has announced the launch of the version of Rainbow Six Siege for mobile devices. This free-to-play tactical first-person shooter will have a closed alpha starting on May 3rd – but only for those living in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Playcore has released a ‘play-to-plant’ mobile game that helps to preserve the environment. The income from in-game purchases will be spent on planting real trees, which means that its users will be able to help our planet by simply playing the game!

Also in the beginning of April the legendary Angry Birds mobile title was reborn: it was re-released after almost three years of absence in the mobile stores. The remastered version includes new levels, zero ads and lots of nostalgia, of course!

Another exciting news: Amazon is launching new mobile titles for the first time since 2015! Its upcoming mobile games, Super Spy Ryan and Do, Re & Mi, are designed specifically for little kids and are completely safe for them to play.

Last but not least: Niantic, the PokemonGO creator, has revealed its new AR mobile game called Peridot. The title will allow players to find and raise Peridots – unique magical creatures that feel real and interact with the player's surroundings.

M&As

This April, several interesting deals were concluded as well. Two giants from different spheres – EpicGames, the Fortnite developer, and Lego –  have announced a partnership. They are planning to build a safe metaverse with an immersive digital experience, aimed at kids.

Against the background of falling audience and stock price, Netflix said that it is going to take up mobile games more seriously. In absolute numbers, in the first quarter of 2022 Netflix's audience has decreased by 200 thousand people. That is why the streaming giant acquired Boss Fight Entertainment, the company’s third gaming studio purchase since last summer.

Also this month Rovio, Angry Birds creator, stated that it is looking for more M&A deals in future. The studio is not known for acquiring other companies often. However, this April, its CEO, Alex Pelletier-Normand, said that Rovio is ready to make the ‘right acquisitions’.

Funding

• Superbloom, a newbie in the mobile sphere, has raised $3M in funding. This studio is going to create mobile games with a lifestyle focus aimed at women: the company believes that female audiences are underserved.
  
• Directive Games has raised $20M in funding to create a 4X strategy mobile game on the blockchain. The new title called Civitas is going to be a community-driven city-building game which will be available not only on iOS and Android devices, but also on PC.
  
• The Playmint company has raised $4M for web 3 MMO. This UK-based game studio will use the funding to continue working on its game, TheCrypt – its new chapters come out every month – as well as on other titles.
  
• PlayableWorlds has raised $25 million for its upcoming cloud-based MMORPG. The Series B funding round was led by Korean video game publisher Kakao Games Corp.