Mobile Games News Recap | Week of September 12 to 18, 2022

Discover the weekly recap of the mobile games news on Android and iOS for the week of September 12 to 18, 2022! On the agenda this week: the announcement of Assassin's Creed in open-world on mobile, Warzone pre-registrations, a Marvel game in augmented reality and much more to discover in this recap. We'll let you read all about it below. ⬇️

New mobile games and announcements

This week, the mobile gaming news is once again busy with a lot of major license announcements with the Ubisoft Forward, COD Next and Disney D23 conferences, but also the mobile game releases of the week.

Assassin's Creed Mobile announced in Ubisoft Forward

Let's start this recap with the announcements from the Ubisoft Forward conference last weekend. Among all the news, the mobile games also made the community react, with Assassin's Creed, The Division and Rainbow Six in perspective. Assassin's Creed Codename Jade was revealed in a very Cinematic trailer.

Presented as a bird's eye view, we discover a city in ancient China in 215 BC during the reign of the Qin, the first Chinese imperial dynasty after the end of the Warring Kingdoms period. In this open-world action-RPG, we can also expect to discover the famous Terracotta Army and play free-to-play with an as yet undisclosed business model. Maybe the partnership between Ubisoft and Netflix that I'll talk about later in this recap will bring Assassin's Creed Jade into the Netflix catalog on mobile alongside the live-action series.

We take this opportunity to make a quick update on Ubisoft's PC announcements for the license which cover 3 new games: Mirage which takes place in Baghdad in 861, Rd in Feudal Japan a la Ghost of Tsushima and Hexe, whose name means "witch" in German, which will take place during the period of the witch hunt and will certainly be the darkest episode of the franchise.

Rainbow Six Mobile Beta launched by Ubisoft

While waiting for more information on Assassin's Creed Jade, another Ubisoft license has just opened its doors with the Rainbow Six Mobile beta, currently available on Android. For this phase of test, 16 agents are available via a system of trial tickets that will eventually unlock the character.

In addition to the Bank and Border maps, already available in the previous phases of test, we note the addition of Clubhouse, a map well known to Rainbow Six Siege players. The end date of the beta has not been communicated, so head to the Google Play Store to test Ubisoft's tactical FPS now.

The Division Resurgence beta this fall

Also during the Ubisoft Forward, The Division Resurgence showed us images of its Dark Zone, where players compete in PvEvP to get out alive with a maximum of rewards in the allotted time. The end of the trailer gives us an appointment for the beta, which will take place this fall. To participate in this phase of test, you can register on the Ubisoft website.

Warzone Mobile pre-registration

After the short 9-second teaser we told you about last week, Call of Duty Warzone Mobile was revealed at length during the COD Next conference, the high mass of the Call of Duty license. The announcement trailer shows images of the game, which looks very similar to the first version of Warzone, which will be released on consoles and PC in 2020.

The Verdansk map and the famous gulag, which contributed to the success of the game, are still there. The games of this battle royale will take place with 120 players, with the promise that no bot will spoil your game experience. Scheduled for release next year with no specific date, Warzone Mobile is available for pre-registration, but only on Android.

Marvel Snap gets a release date

Despite ByteDance's budget cuts at its Nuverse studio, some projects will see the light of day, starting with Marvel Snap, which is getting a release date on iOS and Android on October 18. In this card game, you'll have to collect your favorite superheroes to put together the most powerful deck and compete against players around the world in short games of about 3 minutes.

If you're interested in Marvel Snap, you can pre-register on the game's official website and unlock an exclusive Hulk card for Android and an Iron Man card for iOS users. You can find more information about the game in our detailed article about the Marvel Snap release date.

Marvel in augmented reality with World of Heroes

We stay in the Marvel universe with the Marvel: World of Heroes announcement, the Niantic augmented reality new game. After Pokémon, Harry Potter, Pikmin and the NBA, the American studio is once again appropriating a major license with the Marvel superheroes universe.

The teaser doesn't reveal any gameplay elements, but indicates a release in 2023. For more details, we published an article about it: Announcement and trailer of Marvel World of Heroes, the Avengers in AR.

Avatar Reckoning new gameplay trailer

It was during the same D23 showcase that the Avatar Reckoning gameplay trailer was released. Developed by Level Infinite and Archosaur Games, this MMO will allow us to embody a Na'Vi fully customizable, from his physical appearance to his clothes, through weapons and their equipment.

Avatar Reckoning will feature a single-player campaign, but also cooperative missions and PvP modes. For the moment, we don't know the release date, but we bet on the end of the year to coincide with the release of the second movie, Avatar: The Way of Water, on December 14.

Soccer Manager 2023 on mobile on November 8

Fans of strategy and round balls, Football Manager 2023 will be released on November 8, 2022 on more platforms than ever before in the license's history. That's because the sports simulation game from British studio Sports Interactive will be available on Android, iOS, PC, Mac, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 for the first time. The touch version, Football Manager 2023 Touch, meanwhile, will be available only on Switch and on iOS for Apple Arcade subscribers.

FIFA 2023 Companion App on September 22

If you'd rather put on your boots than give instructions from the bench, you might be more interested in our next news. While FIFA 23 will be released on PC and consoles on September 27, 2022, the Web App will be available on September 21, and the Companion App on September 22, provided you have created a FUT club in FIFA 22. You will be able to start opening packs and buy or sell cards to other players to build your team and be ready on the big day.

Lucky Luna game released on Netflix

On the Netflix side, the release of the week is the colorful platform game: Lucky Luna. Go through the many 2D levels to discover the story of this universe inspired by Japanese folklore, which marks by its pixel-art graphics and its immersive musical atmosphere.

Although the evolution is gradual, with different gameplay mechanics being learned throughout the adventure, your character will never learn to jump. It's up to you to use your ingenuity to find solutions and make your way through Lucky Luna labyrinthine dungeons, available on iOS and Android, but only for Netflix subscribers.

ScourgeBringer released on Android and iOS

Two years after its release on consoles and PC, ScourgeBringer is now playable on Android and iOS. In this roguelike with a nervous gameplay on a background of frantic music developed by Flying Oak Games, we feel very strongly the inspirations of games like Dead Cells, Celeste or The Binding of Isaac.

So, expect a challenge to succeed in progressing in ScourgeBringer and defeating the numerous enemies that populate this world visibly hostile to your presence. As for the gameplay, we note the use of the dash, which is activated with the virtual stick rather than with a dedicated button as in many games of the genre, which allows for smoother movements.

Updates and partnerships of the week

Let's take a look at the mobile game updates of the week with the first Tower of Fantasy major update and the new PUBG Mobile map.

PUBG Mobile 2.2 update and all its new features for the fall

Let's move on to this week's updates with PUBG Mobile's Update 2.2, which brings the new Nusa map, which is 1 square kilometer in size and covered with zip lines for easy movement. Two new weapons make their appearance: the NS2000 shotgun and the tactical crossbow. The latter can be used to repair damaged zip lines, but also to burn buildings with its flaming tiles.

Finally, the Gear Front game mode adds 8 new skills to boost gameplay in faster games. The details of these skills are available in our article dedicated to the PUBG Mobile 2.2 update.

Major update of Tower of Fantasy to version 1.5: Artificial Island

Just over a month after its official launch Tower of Fantasy is already welcoming its first major update. For the occasion, Tower of Fantasy 1.5 offers a brand new playground to the explorers of the planet Aida with the introduction of theartificial island. In this new zone, you can create your base and face the two world bosses. However, you will have to reach level 50 to access the Artificial Island.

Finally, Tower of Fantasy 1.5 update allows to summon a new simulacra: Claudia. Equipped with Guren, her one-handed blade, she increases physical damage and has a very fast attack speed. We have also written an article about the Tower of Fantasy 1.5 update.

AFK Arena X The Witcher

While Captain Tsubasa Dream Team launches a collaboration with Barça on the soccer side, AFK Arena continues its partnership with The Witcher by integrating the characters of the wizard Geralt of Rivia and the powerful witch Yennefer of Vengerberg into its fantasy gacha universe. While the former uses his swords to defeat his enemies, the latter shines more with her ranged spells.

Esport and Industry

In the mobile games industry, Ubisoft is still in the news with its partnership with Netflix, while Riot Games is investing in the future by creating new studios dedicated to mobile games.

A funny and offbeat ad for Tower of Fantasy

The unusual news of the week comes from the Philippines, where a commercial from Tower of Fantasy is broadcasted on social networks. It presents us the daily life of a man using his toothbrush in inappropriate contexts, like cutting potatoes or combing his eyebrows for example. Suddenly, a Tower of Fantasy simulacra appears to tell him that he can change his equipment, one of the major gameplay mechanics of Level Infinite.

Ubisoft X Netflix: 3 games from the French studio coming soon for the platform's subscribers

Passed a little unnoticed in the avalanche of announcements of the Ubisoft Forward, three games from the French studio will soon appear on mobile for Netflix subscribers. The first will be the excellent Valiant Hearts: The Great War in January 2023. It will be followed within the year by The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot, then a game from the Assassin's Creed license. However, we don't know if we're talking about Assassin's Creed Jade, presented at the very beginning of this review, or a completely different game.

Despite all the efforts of Netflix to invest in the mobile gaming market, the numbers are not there, with only 1.7 million daily players out of the 221 million subscribers to the SVOD platform. To strengthen its position, Netflix is banking on the social features integration. Some titles already allow you to choose a nickname different from the Netflix ID and rankings should soon be available. There are even rumors that multiplayer modes are planned in some games.

Riot Games creates a studio in China dedicated to mobile games

With the success of Wild Rift breaking records in Asia and offering a truly interesting League of Legends experience on mobile, Riot Games continues to move forward in the smartphone games market. This week, we learn that the North American game developer has chosen to create a whole chain of studios in China dedicated exclusively to its mobile productions.

The goal of these studios will be to advance the research and development of Riot's already released games, but also to explore new titles, mainly on Android and iOS. With the success of Wild Rift in Europe, North America, but especially in Asia, it's not surprising to see Riot Games looking to expand its mobile games catalog.

Thank you all for reading this far, and see you next week for more mobile gaming news!