Mobile app news roundup: Activision, Smule, Nexage and Gems With Friends

Crytek opens China Studio -- German developer Crytek has opened a new Shanghai studio. The studio’s main focus will be on supporting and promoting Crytek’s CryEngine game engine in the region. Rage of Bahamut passes 3 million users outside Japan -- The English version of card-battle game Rage of Bahamut now has 3 million users, reports developer Cygames. KIIP adds local rewards -- Mobile reworks network KIIP has signed a new deal with U.K. restaurant chain Yo! Sushi to provide rewards in the form of free food to London-based users of its service, reports TechCrunch. MIX cross-promotion market launches in China -- China now has its own country specific cross-promotion network for mobile apps, MIX. The marketplace allows developers to trade promotional traffic and provides matchmaking services between developers. PvP comes to Mighty Monsters, Order & Chaos Online -- Uken Games has added a player versus player battle system to its Facebook and mobile game, Mighty Monsters. Meanwhile, Gameloft has also added new PvP combat arenas to its mobile MMORPG Order and Chaos online. Smule’s music apps pass 15 million MAU -- The Guardian reports Smule’s array of music apps, which include the likes of I am T-Pain and Magic Piano, have racked up over 61 million downloads and had 15 million monthly active users in July. [Funding] Nexage raises $5 million Series B -- Mobile advertising exchange Nexage has added $5 million more in funding to its Series B round as Hearst Interactive Media joins as an investor. The company’s second round now stands at $15 million, giving the company a total of $19.5 million in venture funding. [Funding] TuneIn nets $16 million -- Radio app TuneIn has closed a $16 million round of venture funding. General Catalyst Partners lead the round, with participation from Jafco Ventures, Google Ventures and previous investor Sequoia Capital. The company has raised $22 million in funding to date, according to CrunchBase. [Launch] Zynga’s latest With Friends title live in Canada -- Zynga’s newest mobile game is Gems With Friends, an arcade-style match 3 game that sees two players compete over three rounds to rack up the highest score. It was developed by Zynga’s McKinney, Texas studio. [Launch] Raved comes to Android -- Social recommendation service Raved is now available on Android. The service allows users to share, review and rate businesses, and uses Facebook Connect to power its social layer. [Launch] Activision launches new Pitfall game from The Blast Furnace -- Activision’s has released an all new version of its classic computer game Pitfall on iOS. The game was developed by the company’s new U.K. studio, The Blast Furnace. Based in Leeds, The Blast Furnace is lead by long-time console industry veterans Mark Washbrook and Gordan Hall, both formerly from Rockstar U.K. Ouya’s Kickstarter closes, raises over $8.5 million -- Ouya’s Kickstarter funding is now complete with over $8.5 million raised to support the hackable, Android-based gaming console. Digia to acquire Qt from Nokia -- Finnish software company Digia signed an agreement to acquire Nokia’s cross-platform application and UI framework Qt. Digia plans to quickly enable Qt on Android, iOS, and Windows 8 platforms. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and others form Mobile Payments Committee -- Electronic Transactions Association CEO Jason Oxman told VentureBeat that the committee will put different company interests aside to develop policy and business strategy for the mobile payments industry.

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Mobile app news roundup: Activision, Smule, Nexage and Gems With Friends

Kathleen De Vere

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Kathleen De Vere