The latest WN CEO Summit took place in Istanbul, Turkey on September 20. 100 executives and top managers of game companies from 16 countries came together to discuss industry-related topics.

Blizzard has laid off some staff from the Hearthstone team, describing the process as organizational changes. But let’s also look at the game’s performance in the mobile market this year and see how the company’s exit from China has affected its revenues.

Candy Crush Saga remains at the top of the mobile charts even more than a decade after its launch. King has now revealed that the game has reached a new milestone.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a massive success for Larian Studios, and the latest report from Newzoo serves as further proof of that. Here is some data about the game and its performance.

The hype around patch 2.0 and the Phantom Liberty expansion has boosted the sales of Cyberpunk 2077. This has helped the game top the top-selling charts on Steam, with its concurrent player count also skyrocketting.

Do big companies struggle with making new hits and why can having successful games in their portfolio affect creativity? These are the main topics of the new episode of Games and Names, a games industry podcast launched by AppMagic in partnership with WN Media Group.

SAG-AFTRA has unanimously voted for a strike against several game companies. Union members are demanding regulations on the use of AI, on-set safety, and retroactive wage increases.

Capcom has big plans to strengthen its position in the mobile games market. The Japanese publisher believes that making more AAA-type titles for the platform could benefit its sales and revenues in the long run.

Devolver Digital has released its report for the first half of 2023 ended June 30. The company posted a decline in both revenue and profit, also outlining its outlook and strategy for the future.

Hideki Kamiya, Japanese game designer and one of the creators of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, is leaving PlatinumGames. He noted that it “was by no means an easy decision to make.”

Unity has finally shared an update to its controversial Runtime Fee model. Following massive backlash from game developers, the company has changed key aspects of the policy, exempting a large portion of customers from any fees and giving others options to choose from.

Embracer Group held its annual general meeting on September 21. The Swedish holding company shared some insights into its financial performance, specific game sales and revenues, as well as its restructuring program and strategy going forward.

Starbreeze Studios has launched Payday 3, a sequel to its successful multiplayer shooter. This comes amid ongoing restructuring at Embracer Group, whose division Plaion acted as the game’s investor and publisher.

When testing ads and creatives, a prototype’s marketability is a thing that shouldn’t be underestimated. In a new column for Game World Observer, ByteBrew Chief Strategy Officer Christopher Lefebvre explains what marketability is and what metrics developers should pay attention to.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released a new statement on its probe into Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The $68.7 billion deal is now as close to approval as possible.

Multiplayer physics-based brawler Party Animals has been launched globally to mixed reviews. Although it had a strong start on Steam in terms of metrics, it also drew a lot of criticism, especially from Chinese players.

Mobile marketing and monetization platform AppLovin has launched a new project to help Unity developers switch to other engines like Unreal and Godot. It can already speed up code translation, and tools for asset and plugin migration are also in the works.

Industry veteran Glen Schofield is leaving Striking Distance, a studio he founded to develop The Callisto Protocol. The game, which was supposed to become a spiritual successor to Dead Space, missed Krafton’s expectations.

Re-Logic, an indie studio behind evergreen sandbox hit game Terraria, has commented on Unity’s controversial decision to introduce per-install fees. The team not only condemned this move, but also decided to support two open source engines.