This has been a busy week for mobile gaming, with some big Pokémon Go Community Day laughs, Hearthstone updates, Genshin Impact events and more!
Every week the gaming industry has breaking news that takes the community by storm. Viral moments like an Overwatch 2 player getting banned for profanity, big (and bad) news such as Take-Two layoffs, and even big surprises like when Hi-Fi Rush shadow-launched on Xbox Game Pass. Mobile gaming regretfully appears to get shafted when it comes to being reported in the news. What’s also interesting is mobile gaming has become so popular, that even one of the most popular gaming YouTube channels, the Angry Video Game Nerd, has just released his first-ever mobile review on My Horse Prince this week.
This is where we here at CGMagazine have decided to aggregate some of (what we consider) to be the top mobile news stories of the week. Ranging anywhere from big Pokémon Go (or other Niantic) events all the way to a new title launch, this week in mobile gaming saw many intriguing occurrences happen while Genshin Impact continues to surge with numerous live events running at once this week.
This Week in Mobile Gaming for April 20
Pokémon Go Drops Pokémon Community Day for #69 on April 20
In a fit of mania (or marketing genius), Niantic has decided to spice things up with April’s Pokémon Go Community Day. This year, the community day lands on 4/20, and Niantic agreed it was best for business to offer Bellsprout as the champion of the community day. Bellsprout is notably listed as creature #69 in the National Pokédex, and fans have been having a blast with the ‘coincidence.’ Like other Pokémon Go community days, Bellsprout can be shiny, and when fully evolved during the event, Victreebell will learn a special move.
While Reddit seems to think Victreebell learning ‘Magical Leaf’ on 4/20 is hilarious (it is), fans have also taken note of how lucrative this community day is over on TikTok. To get more players engaged, Niantic has implemented a 3x stardust catch bonus with each creature caught instead of the former community day bonus of 2x. Fans can find further information on the official Pokémon Go website.
The Free Delta Game Emulator For iPhone & iOS has Launched
Mobile gaming has transcended the phone and has gone console. This happened a couple of months ago when Apple had a big debut that revealed Resident Evil 4 Remake was coming to the iPhone 15, but this week, the Delta Game Emulator launched on the iOS Store. Now, fans can potentially take full console libraries with them.
Delta developer Riley Testut told The Verge that it was “identical to the version debuting with AltStore PAL.” The iOS Store listing also details some of the features present in the emulator, including compatibility with Bluetooth controllers (including Xbox and Nintendo), keyboards, and even save states. Fans can check out the listing on the iOS Store.
Hearthstone Unleashed Battleground Duos For Season 7!
With season seven of Battlegrounds kicking off this week, it makes for some exciting co-op mobile gaming in Hearthstone. With the seasonal launch, Blizzard has pulled back the curtain on a new game mode, Battleground Duos! The rules are simple: you can grab a friend or match with a random and then head into matchmaking that pits you and a teammate against three other teams of two.
With the launch comes new Duos-specific Heroes and cards that take advantage of the mode’s new gameplay, with four heroes, 16 minions, and three tavern spells total added to the game mode. These cards notably can’t be used in regular play. Hearthstone‘s full season seven announcement can be found on their official website.
War Robots Celebrates 10th Anniversary With A Live Show & CEO ‘Thank You’ Message
With the unfortunate closure of Gundam Evolution, there is still a mobile gaming title that has been going strong for giant robot fans to duke it out in, and it will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. Of course, we are talking War Robots. CEO of MY.GAMES, Elena Grigorian said, “War Robots is a unique example of the game that not only successfully performs for 10 years in a very competitive market, but continues to grow year to year,” sharing that she is pleased with the mobile gaming growth of their title.
With the message of thanks to fans, War Robots is also launching a live show that will premiere in four days. The timer countdown appears here, and fans can watch the video live from that very link. Executive Producer of War Robots, Boris Burangulov, said, “There is only one way to develop and grow a unique game – gather unique people around it. All this success wouldn’t be possible without our team, their talent and passion,” expressing his thanks for the team and the fans. Fans can catch the War Robots live show on April 23 if interested.
Genshin Impact Has 3 Events Running At Once, Right Now
Our final story on mobile gaming for the week involves Genshin Impact. Hot on the heels of the April 12 release of update 4.6, it appears that with the update launch, Genshin Impact has entered a period where multiple events are active at once. We first have to mention the events that have recently ended which have entered the judging period. The “I’ve Become a Cat!” and the “4.5 Fan Art Contest” will be judged on April 23 and 24 respectively, for those that are waiting to see if they placed.
On the other side of the coin, Genshin Impact still has three events running, including the exciting Phantom of the Night event that just launched today. Fans can complete the Phantom of the Night storyline event before the April 25 end date to earn a new wallpaper that features the new playable character, Arlecchino. To find more info, fans can head here to the event page.
Aside from Phantom of the Night, fans can still participate in the “Explore Nature” event until June 15 and the “4.5 Ley Line Overflow” until April 22. For more details on all of the exciting events Genshin Impact has in store for its players, fans can visit the official HoYoverse website for more details.
That just about wraps this week in mobile gaming! Stay tuned next week to see what’s happening in the world of on-the-go gaming!
