Microsoft’s acquisition ambitions. Jordan’s rising star, and Monster Hunter Now’s event success | Week in Views

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The games industry moves quickly and while stories may come and go there are some that we just can’t let go of…

So, to give those particularly thorny topics a further going over we’ve created a weekly digest where the members of the PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week.

Microsoft eyes potential mobile studio acquisition

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer recently had a lot to say about the company’s future. There was some discussion about potential future acquisitions, which, given the closure of the Activision Blizzard deal, which really did not happen that long ago, seems crazy to even consider right now.

Of course, Spencer did state that any acquisitions would be well into the future and that the focus would be on creating “geographic diversity”, perhaps with Asian markets in mind.

But how would that actually work? And what about more on mobile? Again, Xbox keeps saying it’s a space it wants to explore, but outside of King and the delayed mobile marketplace, that still hasn’t happened. We’re not seeing any manifestation of this mobile focus. 

In some ways, I wonder if Microsoft’s best mobile option would be to pick a company that isn’t huge, a team that can take a few risks and be creative. But when you look at the past year, Xbox has made some decisions that still seem nonsensical. On console, Hi-Fi Rush was one of the best games to come to the platform in years; it felt fresh and creative, it was a great game. It won a Game Award, Game Developers Choice, and BAFTA, and then Microsoft closed the studio.

Luckily Hi-Fi Rush creator Tango Gameworks got picked up by Krafton, but still, to see Xbox let go of a studio that made a great game – that it openly said it wanted more titles of a similar ilk – and months later discuss new acquisitions, I can’t help but think, could you have given more support to what you already had?

Again, I understand nothing will likely manifest from acquisitions for some time, but I do wonder what the strategy will be whenever the time comes. The Xbox ecosystem is now massively centred around Game Pass, so perhaps we will see more partnerships and a broader focus on cloud gaming in the future. 

Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan 2024 – A record breaking success in the MENA Games Industry

Last weekend we hosted Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan once again, welcoming thousands of aspiring and experienced industry professionals to the show.

In fact, the conference was a record-breaking success. The show garnered more than 2,500 registrations, with attendees representing over 400 companies from 30+ countries. With more than 50 speakers to boot, it was a good chance to learn more about MENA’s rising games industry and how these companies are growing both regionally and globally.

It was great to see first-hand just how much the MENA games industry has grown. The last time I went to Jordan was about six years ago, back when the event was known as the Jordan Gaming Summit. It was an exciting time then and investment in the country and the wider Middle East has grown significantly since then.

The Very Big Indie Pitch, the Jordan Games Awards and the Big Indie Zone were fantastic showcases of the development talent across the MENA region. The winner of the VBIP was Danar Kayfi’s Cat’s Vote, an excellent resource management game in which players manage their family’s happiness by balancing limited resources and casting votes in elections.

Starvania’s Bahamut and the Waqwaq Tree won a special mention at the show. Developed by the team in Saudi Arabia, the title offers stunning visuals and smooth gameplay, which has the makings of a global success.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Games Awards shined a light on the exciting and creative titles coming from Jordan’s own development scene. Game of the Year went to Mad Hook’s Highway Drifter: Hajwala Simulator, while Chickmania’s Jackaro took home the accolade for Best Social Game and Best Audio / Visual Achievement went to Tamatem.

For a glimpse at what’s going on in Jordan’s games industry, you can check out the winners and honourable mentions of the awards ceremony here.

The show was also a great chance for the next generation of developers to network and learn about the industry. The number of students, many of whom are women, shows the popularity of gaming, the growing importance being put onto the industry as a career choice, and the investment going into educating young talent in the sector.

It’s an exciting time for the MENA games industry, which Jordan is at the very centre.

Monster Hunter Now’s Carnival Global a “roaring success” with 151% revenue surge

Monster Hunter Now has taken the Pokémon Go approach with its first in-person event going global. Called Carnival 2024, the paid event introduced exclusive new monsters, armour and weapons first in Shibuya and then to everyone around the world – provided they bought a ticket to participate.

I took part in the weekend-long event and battled plenty of Silver Rathalos, Gold Rathian and a handful of Nergigante – all new additions with their own hard-hitting attack patterns to learn, weaknesses to master and parts to carve. Slaying enough of them netted plenty of rewards and unlocked shiny new gear, some coming to all players for free at a later date but others remaining paid exclusives.

The increased spawn frequency certainly kept me checking back in across the weekend, so much so that the map’s felt slightly empty since. But that just means the next event will be that much more tempting, and surely all but guaranteed after Carnival’s “roaring success”.