Gaming

John Wright Joins Kwalee As VP of Mobile Publishing: Trades Unity For The Billion Download Studio

Published

2 years ago

October 2, 2023

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Wright’s leadership will reinforce Kwalee as the publisher of choice for top mobile game developers, drawing from his legacy at Luna Labs and ironSource.

Kwalee, a UK and global mobile, PC and console games developer and publisher, is thrilled to announce the appointment of John Wright as the new VP of Mobile Publishing. John joins the Kwalee team on the 2nd of October and will revamp the studio’s strategy to sign, launch and scale the games of external studios.

A passionate gamer and 15 year mobile industry veteran, Wright’s mobile journey saw him swiftly climb the ranks at app monetisation and distribution platform ironSource, relocating from London to the HQ in Israel during a pivotal phase in his professional growth. After returning to the UK, Wright re-entered the startup ecosystem by joining mobile app marketing outfit Luna Labs as their VP of Operations. With his leadership, Luna Labs witnessed significant and rapid growth. When ironSource acquired Luna Labs, Wright came full circle back to his former company, this time as the Head of Operations for Luna. Following ironSource’s merger with Unity, Wright transitioned to become the Head of Client Success for the Luna division within the wider Unity organisation.

Kwalee’s mobile publishing team is a proven hitmaker, backed up by a large in-house studio, helping developers scale games successfully with marketing, monetisation and game design expertise. John Wright joins after Kwalee achieved the milestone of 1 billion downloads in 2023 and has won Best Publisher (TIGA and Mobile Game Awards, 2022).

His strategic priorities as he starts the new role are to deepen the support offered by the publisher to developers, improve its efficiency to best serve the global community of mobile gamemakers, as well as emphasise Kwalee as the number one choice for developers close to home in the UK.

During his tenure at ironSource, John was a director in the newly formed and industry renowned “unified team” during the advent of the Hyper Casual boom, collaborating with industry players such as Ketchapp, Rollic and Homa. He helped them achieve exponential growth as an early innovator, seeing the value in combining the strategies of monetisation, mediation and user acquisition activities. John Wright has an enviable record of launching over 100 mobile games globally and managing over $1 billion in client spend.

His vast experience includes joining early-stage startups in pivotal business roles, growing them quickly, and leading large, multi-disciplinary and remote teams. Known for his ability to inject vitality into businesses, John will use his partner-side expertise to drive growth at Kwalee as he moves developer-side.

David Darling, founder and CEO of Kwalee, remarked, “John and I have a strong relationship already, working closely together, having first met a decade ago when we launched TENS!. Seeing his trajectory and achievements since, especially with Luna Labs and ironSource, it’s clear why he’s the best fit for us. We’re eager to tap into his vast experience, enhancing our developer relationships and publishing capabilities.”

John Wright shared his enthusiasm about the new role, stating, “Having worked with Kwalee as a partner and admired their innovation over the years, I’m thrilled to move across the table. We know it’s a challenging landscape post-IDFA, so small to medium-sized studios need a heavyweight publishing ally to help them achieve the highest level of multi-million dollar success. At Kwalee, I will champion developers. Our relationship will be symbiotic, understanding their needs as partners and clients.”

Embracing the rich British mobile developer community while setting sights on global expansion, John is poised to steer Kwalee’s Mobile Publishing into its most profitable and successful era yet.

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Battle of the Tribes

POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

Wladimir P.

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Celebrated strategy game The Battle of Polytopia confirms its first ever World Championships has exceeded expectations with over 10,000 sign-ups in its qualifying rounds. While no stranger to tournaments, previously hosting smaller scale, local tournaments called ‘Polysseums’, developer Midjiwan’s first step into global esports has been met with extreme success. The inclusive esports event has a $10,000 prize pool and will conclude on 6 December 2025, 14:00-21:00.

The finals will take place in front of a live-studio audience, with expert commentary and a chance to peek behind the scenes at Midjiwan itself. First place will receive $4,000, the runner-up will take away $2,000, the third and fourth place finishers will get $1,500, and the fifth and sixth place $500.

The Polytopia World Championship 2025 is being hosted by eSports platform, Challengermode, who Midjiwan has relied on for its monthly local tournaments since 2022. Midjiwan also partnered with Black Molly Entertainment to help organise and manage the event. Black Molly Entertainment have years of experience managing eSports tournaments, with notable events including the Geoguesser World Cup and CS:GO Pinnacle Cup Championship.

Midjiwan has worked closely with its community to ensure engagement is high with each round, building a bespoke ‘Spectator Mode’ into the game so fans can watch each game live through the game itself. In the spectator mode the viewer has visibility of all players simultaneously, with stats on how many cities, technologies, kills and more available for quick access.

Christian Lovstedt, CEO of Midjiwan commented:
“Polytopia has always been about welcoming all kinds of players into the world of 4X strategy. That’s why our championship is open to everyone – not just pros with sponsors. We’ve been thrilled at the amount of interest this tournament received from our community, reaching participation numbers way beyond our expectations. We’re excited to bring the finalists to Stockholm and can’t wait to see the strategies that emerge.”

The Polytopia World Championship 2025 kicked off in September, with its ‘Battle of the Tribes’ qualifying round – weekly battles where players competed to be the best in each of the game’s 12 tribes. After an exciting six weeks, the top player from each tribe faced-off, reducing the qualifiers to six finalists. These six winners are listed down below.

Tribe	Qualifying Player
IMPERIUS	ArthurL248
BARDUR	slimmingboy
OUMAJI	Dreamlander3000
HOODRICK	Theetat
XIN-Xi	LeLiberateur
LUXIDOOR	Meisterlampe

Recaps of each round of the tournament prior to the finals can be watched on the official Battle of Polytopia YouTube channel.

Part 1: Polytopia World Championship 1st Qualifiers Wrap-Up – BARDUR, IMPERIUS, KICKOO, ZEBASI
Part 2: Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Oumaji Hoodrick Yadakk & Quetzali – World Champoinship 2025
Part 3: Final Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Xin-Xi, Luxidoor, Ai-Mo & Vengir – World Championship 2025
Face-off stream: https://youtube.com/live/GnU6mWPoJiY?feature=share

To watch the finals live on December 6,visit here: https://polytopia.io/stream/

To stay up to date on the Polytopia World Championship 2025, or purchase one of the limited tickets for the live event, visit the official website or join the Official Polytopia Discord.

The post POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Betiator

Delasport Unveils a Crash Game for Sports Betting

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

George Miller

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Leading iGaming supplier Delasport teases a one-of-a-kind sports betting crash game called Betiator – a new in-play experience that merges live sports with the tension and excitement of crash games.

Inspired by the groundbreaking casino genre, the company once again pushes the whole industry to a new phase in evolution by allowing sports bettors to play in the same easy and fun way as fellow casino players. Crash games are booming in the casino world, showing that players crave more emotional, fast, and visually engaging formats – and Betiator brings that same adrenaline-charged energy to the sportsbook.

It changes the scene by introducing a truly innovative way to bet on sports, keeping players at the edge of their seats during the game. Designed to excite both sports bettors and casino players, it marks a defining moment for innovation.

This product comes as a logical next step in the evolution of live betting and the company’s goal to disrupt the iGaming industry. It demonstrates Delasport’s successful commitment to unique innovation: a strategy they call “Going Beyond Content” –building on the success of products and features like SuperPot, My Sportsbook, My Combo, Double My Winnings, and many more.

“Sports bettors deserve the same level of innovation and excitement that casino players get all the time,” Delasport’s CEO Oren Cohen Shwartz says. “At Delasport we’re taking the whole game to a new playing field with Betiator. Live betting won’t feel outdated anymore as we’re bringing in the thrill of the casino to sports betting.”

While details about Betiator remain under wraps for now, Delasport promises a completely new way to experience live sports. Operators and partners eager to see it in action can schedule exclusive demos and discover more at ICE Barcelona 2026, taking place January 19–21, where Betiator will make its official debut.

The post Delasport Unveils a Crash Game for Sports Betting appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Central Europe

game’s 2026 industry barometer – the mood in the German games industry is beginning to brighten

Published

2 weeks ago

December 3, 2025

George Miller

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• Nearly one third of games companies in Germany foresee an industry upswing in the coming year

• More than half expect a positive business development for their own company in the next twelve months

• Around one in three games companies anticipate new hires

After three challenging years, games companies in Germany are looking ahead with increased optimism. Nearly one in three companies (29 per cent) anticipate a positive development in the games industry in the coming twelve months, as compared with just 17 per cent one year ago. 31 per cent of games companies expect a negative development in the industry – a considerable drop from last year’s level of 45 per cent. These are the results of game’s annual industry barometer, which was published by game – The German Games Industry Association. Games companies in Germany look towards their own business development in the coming year significantly more positively, with over half (53 per cent) expecting business to be good in 2026, similar to last year’s number of 52 per cent. Only 12 per cent anticipate a downturn in business, compared to 15 per cent last year. In their personnel planning, the companies nonetheless remain initially cautious: around one third of games companies in Germany (32 per cent) anticipate hiring new employees in 2026, the same percentage as last year.

‘Confidence is returning to Germany’s games industry,’ says Felix Falk, Managing Director of game. ‘Following a difficult phase both here and abroad, positive signals, such as the strong gamescom 2025, and important policy initiatives, like the increased federal games funding and the announced federal tax incentives, are bringing improved prospects and greater optimism compared to a year ago.’

About game’s 2026 industry barometer

The data is based on an online survey conducted by game – The German Games Industry Association between 12 and 21 November 2025, involving a total of 202 German games industry association members, including in particular developers and publishers.

The post game’s 2026 industry barometer – the mood in the German games industry is beginning to brighten appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.