Casual Connect photo

Ready for more mobile gaming event coverage, loyal readers? Casual Connect is upon us again. Last year we traveled to Casual Connect Seattle, where we brought you a tour of Microsoft headquarters, studio visits and hands on footage with the makers of Skulls of the Shogun and Ascend: Hand of Kul, and lots more exciting Windows Phone gaming news.

This year’s domestic event has been dubbed Casual Connect USA and takes place in San Francisco, the same city we visited for GDC 2013. Casual Connect is the premiere industry event dedicated to casual games. These include mobile and tablet games, so we expect to learn lots of juicy Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 news at the show.

Head past the break for our mobile Windows news predictions and a sneak peek at the developers we’ll be interviewing at Casual Connect USA!

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Mobile Windows platform predictions

Fling Theory

Microsoft themselves won’t have much presence at Casual Connect USA – last year they delivered an informative Wordament presentation, but this year we don’t expect to hear much from our platform’s publisher.

After Windows Phone and Windows 8 basically skipped E3 2013 (except for Halo: Spartan Assault), it looks like Microsoft spent their entire mobile gaming PR budget at GDC. Oh well, plenty of game developers will represent Windows Phone and Windows 8 – that’s what counts.

The mobile Windows game makers of Casual Connect USA

Royal Revolt for Windows 8
Royal Revolt

Here’s who we plan to hit up for hands on footage, news, and interviews. Expect lots of articles on these creators’ games and apps during the event and into next week.

  • Academic Relations Consulting: using mobile Windows platforms in education!
  • Advanced Mobile Applications: creators of Hills of Glory 3D  for Windows 8
  • Artifex Mundi: makers of Abyss: the Wraiths of Eden and more hidden object games for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8                                     
  • Avenquest Software: creating an app for Windows Phone 8
  • The Coding Jar: creators of Fling Theory for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8
  • Flare Games: makers of Royal Revolt for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8
  • Game Insight: creators of My Country and Rule the Kingdom for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8
  • Handy Games: makers of Aces of the Luftwaffe and Epic Battle Dude for Windows Phone 8
  • MindSnack: developing multiple games for Windows 8
  • TegTap: makers of Solar Warfare, an upcoming 3D space shooter for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8
  • Voxel Agents: creating Puzzle Agents for Windows Phone 8
  • And more!

Do you enjoy any of these creators’ games and apps, guys?

Casual games, hardcore coverage

Solar Warfare
Solar Warfare

Casual Connect USA starts Tuesday morning, July 30 and ends the evening of Thursday, August 1. I’ll be there the entire time, representing Windows Phone Central and Mobile Nations.

Follow me on Twitter @PaulRAcevedo so you don’t miss a bit of mobile Windows news from the show! And if you’re a member of the gaming industry in attendance at Casual Connect, send me a tweet so we can meet up!

People who are Twitterly challenged will find our Casual Connect USA articles at WPCentral.com/games or via the Casual-Connect-USA-2013 tag. We’ll have a full wrap-up article  next week!