To keep you up to date on the biggest news in mobile gaming, we round up the five most-read stories on PocketGamer.biz each week.

Read on and digest...

1. John Riccitiello: devs who shun monetisation are "pure, brilliant" and "fucking idiots"

Unity and ironSource announce merger

Our most read news item was Unity and ironSource's announced merger, which revealed Unity's aim to transform its engine into an end-to-end resource, with a greater array of monetisation and feedback parameters. But it, of course, was somewhat overshadowed by PocketGamer.biz's interview with Unity CEO John Riccitiello, in which he described some devs who may pushback from monetisation in the creation process as "fucking idiots".

2. Popular mobile games are bypassing Apple, Google fees for in-app purchases via web stores

GameRefinery's mobile game analysts have noted a recent trend of gaming studios managing to bypass in-app purchase fees via launching web stores of their own.

Such stores where players can purchase currency and in-game items outside of the game itself, linking with an in-game account, may also include incentives like discounts to use this purchase method.

3. Israeli industry reached $8.6 billion in revenue in 2021, with mobile the dominant gaming platform

A new report by GameIS and Deloitte has delved into the Israeli gaming industry, finding that the country’s gaming industry has seen a considerable 760 per cent increase in revenue over the past five years, with an average year-on-year increase of 54 per cent.

4. NetEase and Tencent denied licenses in China

Despite China once again approving video game licenses after an extended hiatus that ended in April, the country’s biggest gaming companies – NetEase and Tencent, the latter of which is the most profitable video game company in the world – have been denied licenses for new games.

5. Netflix and Microsoft partner for new subscription plan

Microsoft and Netflix have officially unveiled their new partnership to support Netflix’s first ad-supported subscription plan.

As global advertising technology and sales partners on Netflix's television business, the companies are working together to provide a new ad-supported offering in an effort to give consumers "more options" in accessing Netflix content.