Game Refinery

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Puzzle Duel was added to Toy Blast in July 2023 and runs every Monday to Wednesday, expanding the LiveOps framework Matchington Mansion Developer Magic Tavern has taken this idea a step further in Matchington Mansion with its 1v1 competitive event, Bake-Off.

Puzzle 130

Puzzle Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile 130

Game Refinery

MAY 30, 2024

Throughout 2023 (and now 2024), Stumble Guys has become a collaborative machine, introducing players to everything from MrBeast , Barbie , Monopoly , Spongebob , Nerf , Rabbids , and many more. Unlike the rest of the nominees, Stumble Guys stood out for not just one collaboration event but an entire year of them.

Mobile 130

Mobile Mobile Co-op Mobile Gaming 130

Mircosoft Game Dev

JANUARY 28, 2025

April Towards the end of 2023 we announced a collaboration with Google and The Forge to improve the performance of our Vulkan mobile backend. Backpack Battles Backpack Battles decided to make inventory management the main game mechanic. The PvP auto-battler with a medieval fantasy theme has quickly gained popularity with content creators!

Engine 40

Engine Engineering Mechanics Co-op 40

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 9, 2023

We’ve seen a recent minor drop in RPD as of January 2023, as while downloads spiked, revenue has maintained consistent growth. Despite Apple’s disruption of mobile advertising with IDFA deprecation a few months later in April, Royal Match still managed to maintain its growth, with a few caveats. Wonder how they will expand their Royal-verse.

Puzzle 69

Puzzle Mechanics Feature Build 69

Deconstructor of Fun

OCTOBER 21, 2024

Hogwarts Legacy was an instant hit, selling 12 million units in its first two weeks after its February 2023 launch, and reaching a total of 24 million units sold with retail sales grossing $1 billion by December 2023. This misalignment often leads to half-baked adaptations that fail to capture the essence of the original game.

Media 119

Media Film Entertainment Games 119

Designer Notes

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

I gave a talk on games and meaning at GDC 2023, which is now available on YouTube: However, I fully scripted the talk ahead of time, so I decided it would be worth taking the time to post the slides online, in three parts to have mercy on your browser.

Mechanics 79

Mechanics Game Designer Game Design Build 79

iHobo

OCTOBER 26, 2022

In 2023, the game I'm most proud of in my long and distinguished career as a game designer will be twenty years old. And that was baked into the design from the beginning. Why is this game so beloved? Weird and wonderful things that are yours to play with - and collect.

Film 73

Film Horror Concepts Animation 73