Games industry roundup: GDC 2019, Blankos Block Party and TikTok

• 1 Mobile game news and insights

  

  Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle passes $1.6 billion during its best month ever

  Forget GDC, the most read story last week was the news that Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle has racked up some $1.6 billion in lifetime revenue and continues to grow.

  GDC 2019: NetEase takes on Call of Duty Mobile with new shooter Disorder

  Hot on the heels of Activision and Tencent’s plans to bring Call of Duty Mobile from China to the West, Chinese publishing rival NetEase has plans to launch another shooter of its own. It’s not a battle royale, but NetEase might hope the squad-based shooter can replicate some of the success it’s seen with the smash hit Knives Out.

  GDC 2019: Tencent’s WeChat opens doors for developers to create games on the platform

  Messaging app WeChat is used by more than one billion users and now its opening up its Mini Games service for developers in a move that expands the ever-growing chat app games market.

  Voodoo Development Magic: How UK studio Neon Play made a splash with hyper-casual hit Roller Splat

  UK developer Neon Play shifted back to hyper-casual games development last summer, a move that has paid dividends for the studio. It’s title Roller Splat, published by Voodoo, has racked up more than 10 million downloads and has been the top game in 57 countries.

  GDC 2019: International Mobile Gaming Awards winners revealed

  The IMGAs returned to GDC last week, with indie darling Mountains picking up the Grand Prix award thanks to its work on Florence. There were 16 awards up for grabs in total and you can see all the winners right here.

  GDC Roundup

  As a bonus to our top five, don't forget to catch up on all the key GDC news for the mobile games industry in our handy event roundup.

  
  

• 2 Blockchain game news and insights

  

  Here are the five hottest stories from our sister-site BlockchainGamer.biz for the last week.

  Blankos Block Party reveals UGC and customization gameplay

  From when it was first revealed, Blankos Block Party managed to draw in hundreds of thousands of views on its teaser trailer. It’s through this enormously successful initial reveal that we can see that players are excited to see more.

  Check out our exclusive SXSW Blankos Block Party giveaways

  We’re thrilled to bring you this exclusive interview with the Mythical Games team in the lead-up to SXSW. We speak to the company’s Head of Blockchain, Rudy Koch, and its CCO — Jamie Jackson.

  Loom to integrate TRON and EOS

  We have seen a number of blockchain game projects go from one chain to multi-chain. Examples of this include the 0xGames team, EverDragons, and Blockchain Cuties, each citing a need for player interoperability.

  Blankos Block Party giveaway — and the winners are…

  It’s been a truly exciting first few months in the blockchain gaming world. From beginning betas and pre-sales to very exciting trailers coming out of SXSW and GDC.

  Blockchain Game Alliance now open for new members

  Since being announced back in September 2018, the Blockchain Game Alliance set its sights on advocating for and supporting blockchain developers.

  
  

• 3 Influencer news and insights

  

  Here are the five hottest stories from our sister-site InfluencerUpdate.biz for the last week.

  What is TikTok? A marketer’s guide to the new kid on the block

  TikTok is taking Gen Z by storm. It’s collaborative, it’s addictive and it was the fourth most-downloaded app last year, beating Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. Here's everything you need to know about getting involved with this elusive platform.

  GDC 2019: YouTube head of gaming and YouTuber MatPat discuss Google Stadia creator experience

  Last week, Google unveiled Stadia, a new cloud-powered streaming platform. During the announcement, YouTube head of gaming Ryan Wyatt took to the stage with content creator MatPat to discuss the platform's potential for gamers and creators.

  Patreon introduces tiered price plans for its creators

  Patreon announced that it is stepping back from its one size fits all pricing to make way for a multi-tiered payment system - a basic Lite plan and a more in-depth Pro plan. Only new users will be affacted by the change.

  Instagram introduces check-out feature to allow in-app purchases

  Instagram has revealed it is implementing a checkout feature to its mobile apps. The checkout feature supports the platform's expansion into commerce, allowing users to store payment information on Instagram and make purchases directly through posts.

  Research shows how much influencers are paid per post, and how many care about disclosing it

  A new study conducted by Vuelio has revealed how much some influencers are paid per post. It also revealed how many influencers care about accurate and clear disclosure in their sponsored posts, which may not be as many as it should be.