Mobile Mavens
“A tale of two halves”: The Mobile Mavens weigh in on GDC 2026
From smaller attendance to a greater focus on meetings and side events, our Mobile Mavens discuss GDC 2026
Candy Campaign
How a Candy Crush video series triggered an "incredibly valuable" feedback loop
Fans give constructive feedback off the back of behind-the-scenes series Crush & Tell
Major Milestone
King’s Farm Heroes Saga officially hits $2 billion
PocketGamer.biz has learned that Farm Heroes Saga reached the $2 billion lifetime revenue mark
Latest
Finding Fortnite
Fortnite is back on the Google Play Store today
Epic’s flagship returns after more than 5.5 years
New Offerings
Values Value and InGame Job launch 10th annual survey tracking global games industry employment
Study draws on thousands of developers to map labour market trends worldwide
Funding News
Afrime Studios enters seed round after raising $400,000 to build afrofuturistic RPG Unyverse
The studio is targeting an estimated 670m gamers of African descent globally
Company Growth
Playstack profit jumps 59% as Balatro and Abiotic Factor drive record sales
Balatro gains momentum through 25 IP collaborations and a top-performing premium mobile version
New Offerings
Sustainable Games Alliance rolls out energy-saving tools across major engines
New plugins target Unreal, Unity and Godot to reduce power usage at scale
Industry Insights
The link between product and marketing teams in a competitive market
Evgenii Dobrelia examines how closer collaboration between product and marketing teams is becoming critical in an increasingly competitive games market
Editor's Picks
Epic Interview
Epic Games Store GM says Google deal marks a "meaningful reset" for mobile market
Steve Allison discusses why it made that Google deal, the challenges of overcoming incumbents, and its approach to discovery
Us Best Of 2026
The Top 30 US Mobile Game Makers of 2026
The US movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!
State Of Gdc
GDC 2026 rips off the band-aid
A look at the challenges facing one of the industry's largest annual gatherings of developers
Opinion
The issue is not a lack of talent or ambition. It is a restriction of opportunity.
Dr Marie-Claire Isaaman on issues around talent retention.
Google’s new fee structure should give developers more flexibility in how they monetise and engage players
Joanne Lacey on Google's changes to the Play Store.
#Pocket Gamer Connects
Pgc Barcelona
Save up to €290 on PGC Barcelona before Super Early Bird offer ends
Last chance to save - tickets start from just €98 until Thursday, March 19th
Pgc Barcelona 2026
Ten ways you’ll benefit from meeting the games industry in Barcelona this June
PG Connects Barcelona will bring together investors, publishers, platforms and developers for high-value networking on June 15th-16th
Event Report
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit San Francisco smashed expectations
Mobile-focused business event sets the tone for GDC week, bringing together leading games companies from around the world
Pgc Summit MalmÖ
Small region, huge in games: why the industry is coming to Malmö this spring
Join two days of curated networking at the heart of the Nordic games sector, May 27th-28th
Industry Voices
Industry Insights
From CPI to LTV: How player motivations are powering hybridcasual’s big wins
Giacomo Maragliulo explains how player motivations are reshaping UA strategy and stronger hybridcasual performance
Marvellous Mena
"Cultural relevance matters, but so does international production quality"
Dawn of Game’s co-founder Gilbert Ewangue talks self-funded development, community growth and building Kwat Fou
Industry Insights
How the role of the marketing analyst is changing in the age of AI
Iaroslav Kobozev discusses how AI is reshaping the skills and workflows for marketing analysts
Building Accessible Social Worlds
From e-commerce to social ecosystems: Hardy World Studios on building for the mobile-first frontier
Khaleem Solomon, the founder of Hardy World Studios discusses how culturally grounded design and low-code accessibility are reshaping player retention across both VR and mobile
Week In Views
PEGI revises ratings with loot boxes among key changes, and Angry Birds marketing strategies | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
#MENA
Strategic Move
Saudi Arabia acquires a fresh 5.03% stake in Capcom through EGDC
The investment is positioned as a financial play targeting capital gains and dividends
Monetisation In Africa
Africa’s monetisation debate: founders weigh in on mobile, PC, and the realities of game revenue
Several founders warn that treating Africa as a single gaming market ignores the continent’s diverse economic and payment realities
Developer Support
Tenjin joins Turkish government incentives programme for game developers
Eligible Turkish studios can now receive government reimbursement when using Tenjin’s services
New Office
Maysalward opens new headquarters in Amman
The new office will host The Capsule, a programme designed to expand the studio’s capacity-building efforts
Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions
Acqusitions
Nazara to acquire a 50% controlling stake in Bluetile and BestPlay in $100m deal
The company has an option to acquire the remaining stake by 2028
New Partnerships
Krafton signs strategic alliance with Hanwha Aerospace to develop real-world AI systems
The company will back a $1bn fund targeting AI, robotics and defence startups
M&a
Smartly signs letter of intent to acquire measurement platform Incrmntal
Terms of the deal were not disclosed
Funding News
Quicksave Interactive secures HyperScope Ventures investment for Playables.ai
Playables.ai enables advertisers to create playable ads using simple prompts rather than traditional development workflows
Funding News
Cheer Games raises $4.5m pre-seed to build puzzle franchises
The studio plans to use the funding to develop new puzzle titles and expand its Barcelona team
Acqusitions
Open World acquires Drope.me to scale creator-driven games marketing
Acquisition expands Open World’s ability to run large-scale creator campaigns
Finding Funds
Antihero Studios raises $4.5m in seed funding ahead of Misfitz open alpha
a16z Speedrun and Laton Ventures led the round
Jobs News
Jobs News
Ubisoft names Julien Bares as GM of mobile and casual-focused Creative House 5
Former Tencent Games and 2K veteran will head up division home to Ketchapp, Kolibri and others
Jobs Roundup
March 2026's Movers and Shakers: Pokémon’s product marketing manager, multiple King promotions, founding Rocket Game Talent, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
New Offerings
Former PlayStation and Xbox hiring lead launches Rocket Game Talent
New boutique firm aims to help studios scale hiring operations
Job News
Beyond The Pixels strengthens leadership ahead of its debut title Astro Burn
Former Fnatic and GIANTX CEO Wouter Sleijffers joins the studio as chief operating officer
Job News
Sixteen Tons appoints former Wooga VP creative Sebastian Nußbaum as chief creative officer
He joins amid renewed momentum for Emergency HQ, working alongside CEO Jan Richter
#Regulation
Apple Troubles
German publishers urge antitrust fine against Apple ATT
Industry groups say Apple’s proposed ATT changes fail to resolve competition concerns
Security Review
Report: Trump administration reviews Tencent gaming investments over security concerns
Officials are assessing whether the company’s investments pose potential national security risks.
Child Safety
UK consultation on kids’ online lives: what the video games industry needs to know
Celia Pontin explains the UK government’s consultation on keeping children safe online
Week In Views
Games industry regulation tightens and transmedia insights with the Umamusume: Pretty Derby movie director | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
More News
Milestone
Deluxe Creation’s Stickman Fight: Magic Brawl surpasses 300,000 downloads
International audiences drive the game’s strongest revenue performance
Developer Support
Malmö boosts games industry with new funding push for startups
Nearly $400,000 annually will back new studios and early-stage developers
Service Disruption
Meta pulls Horizon Worlds from VR as platform shifts to mobile
Horizon Worlds will disappear from the Quest Store by March 31st 2026, with full shutdown on headsets by June 15th
Alternative Marketplace
Epic Games Store opens up to mobile self-publishing in August
GM Steve Allison teases major publishers could release on the marketplace later this year
Fortnite Comeback
Fortnite set to return to Google Play on March 19th
The return follows a long legal battle with Google that saw the title originally removed from the Google Play Store in 2020
Payout
Melon Sandbox surpasses $1m payouts in 2025
Melon Sandbox has accumulated 150m downloads across platforms
Milestone
Ludus hits $3m monthly revenue as installs surpass 8m
Vietnam launch marks a strategic push into Southeast
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Podcasts
Podcast | Episode 85
The future of Xbox and Pokémon's 30th anniversary | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode 85...
Podcast | Episode 84
Scopely's $1bn Loom Games deal and Matthew Ball's State of Video Games report | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode 84...
Podcast | Episode 83
Supercell faces Clash Royale controversy and banks on innovation | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode 83...
Podcast | Episode 82
What do game developers really think of Project Genie? | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode 82...