Games industry round-up: The hottest stories across the mobile, blockchain and influencer sectors

• 1 Mobile games news and insight

  Here are the top stories from the world of mobile games, courtesy of PocketGamer.biz

  Drastic drop in Google Play downloads rocks indie devs after discovery algorithm fiasco

  Google Play has made some changes to its search algorithm, resulting in a huge drop in downloads for indie developers.

  Which marketplace has been better for indie developers: The App Store or Google Play?

  Indies discuss their prefered mobile marketplace and what improvements they’d like to see.

  App Store users have spent over $4 billion on Supercell’s Clash of Clans

  Supercell’s hit mobile game has made some sweet bucks, but it’s not the only one.

  How DomiNations kept going for three years and made $150 million in the process

  It’s three years old yet DomiNations still made an impressive $50 million in the last year. PocketGamer.biz speaks to Big Huges Games CEO Tim Train on building success for the long-term.

  How a brush with closure led to Broken Rules' hit Old Man’s Journey

  Development comes with its ups and downs, and the story to Old Man’s Journey was anything but smooth for developer Broken Rules.

  
  

• 2 Influencer news and insight

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

  Caffeine CEO Ben Keighran on what sets the platform apart from other streaming services

  InfluencerUpdate.biz speaks to Caffeine CEO Ben Keighran six months after the platform's launch on opening an EU office and setting itself apart from other broadcasting services.

  Second streamer suspended for use of homophobic and/or racist language

  Two prominent Twitch streamers have been banned for using homophobic and racial slurs during broadcasts.

  BBC turns to YouTubers to boost teen appeal

  A pair of popular YouTubers have been hired by the BBC to front a string of new shows aimed at the young teens audience.

  Captiv8's influencer index is now free for everyone

  Data and insights outfit Captiv8 has made its influencer database available at no cost.

  What can IGTV learn from failed online video platforms?

  MobCrush's Phil Ranta shares his thoughts on Instagram's new video service IGTV, alongside some advice on what the platform can do to succeed.

  
  

• 3 Blockchain games news and insight

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

  How new RPG Cryptic Conjure is looking to shake up blockchain gaming

  “We’re impressed with designer, Jason Wishnov’s creative vision for Cryptic Conjure” – Fazri Zubair, CTO of Lucid Sight.

  Alto.Io on building the blockchain game ecosystem with its Cryptogame Challenge

  In March 2018, Altitude Games announced it would introduce a new company to help developers to build items and games in the realm of blockchain.

  Value of blockchain game tokens declined 27% in Q2 2018

  While the average performance across the 20 tokens is poor, down 27 per cent on average, four of them have demonstrated growth, albeit from a low base in most cases.

  BitGuild’s Jared Psigoda on making a blockchain game platform for everyone

  BitGuild is a decentralised gaming platform for blockchain based games, allowing users to play different games.

  Zombie Battleground breaks $250,000 Kickstarter target in two weeks

  In mid-June, its game Zombie Battleground was added to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter with the goal of raising $250,000 by its deadline in August.