Looking Ahead
The big games industry trends and stories to watch in 2026
We take a look at what's in store for the sector in the year ahead
Anniversary
Savvy Games Group CEO Brian Ward talks four years of growth, major acquisitions and what comes next
“If the people who played Scopely’s games over the last 12 months were a country, they would be the third largest country in the world"
Pgc London 2026
Full 3-event PG Connects London 2026 schedule
Start 2026 with the latest industry insight and connections that matter
Latest
Transmedia Boom
Beyond games: Why transmedia has reached an inflection point
Kelly Vero, Russell Harding and Josh Chapman discuss the rise of transmedia projects
Week In Views
Pixel Flow attracts investment, Roblox gets global age checks and Sonic Rumble’s early results | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
New Games
New release roundup: Heartopia, Cozy Caravan, Ichinome Monsters, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past weeks
Milestone
AppsFlyer surpasses $500m in ARR as firm reportedly nears sale
The milestone comes amid reports of a potential $2bn acquisition
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out mandatory facial age checks for in-game chat worldwide
Users must now complete an age check before they can chat with others
Esports Growth
Esports World Cup Foundation unveils national team framework for Esports Nations Cup 2026
At least $20m per year will be committed to supporting national team programmes
Editor's Picks
Pgc London 2026
The companies attending PG Connects London 2026
From vibrant indies to the biggest brands - see who’s attending the global games industry event on January 19th to 20th
Podcast | Episode 78
2026 predictions | 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 78...
Sophisticated Soft Launch
Soft launch is changing in 2026
Matej Lancaric and Claire Rozain discuss how soft launching games will change this year
Opinion
By designing competitions that meet players where they are, we strengthen their emotional connection to the game.
King’s principal UX designer Andrea Serfaty discusses the Candy Crush player experience
Funding models and finding new avenues to back new game IP is, as always, the biggest challenge and opportunity.
Susan Cummings on how the pandemic made us all lose sight on building sustainable companies
#Pocket Gamer Connects
Titanium Sponsor
Xsolla kicks off two week UK campaign for developers
Coordinated activations in the UK underscore Xsolla’s ongoing commitment to building all the things for the video community in Europe
Speaker Spotlight
"I admire anyone who manages to successfully release games with heart and personality"
Duolingo's Nicoll Hunt discusses passion projects, inspirations and team motivation
Speaker Spotlight
Why publishers should treat monetisation as one revenue system, not just a collection of tools
TeqBlaze chief product officer Olga Zharuk discusses optimising user acquisition, black boxes, and AI's potential in games
Speaker Spotlight
Over-reliance on short-term ROAS "most common mistake"
The COO discusses the rewarded UA space and why companies should look further than D30 ahead of his PGC London talk
Industry Voices
Creative Candy
Competitive or casual? Designing Candy Crush with "a spectrum of flavours"
King’s senior game designer Mick Heijkens shares insights into game system overhauls, experimental design, and pleasing "a wide mix of playstyles"
Speaker Spotlight
"Web and cross-platform strategies are often overlooked, yet they’re critical to long-term success"
We catch up with Morgan ahead of the show to discuss the present and future of web gaming.
Ai-assisted Optimisation
Teqblaze - from manual monetisation platform to AI-assisted optimisation
Find out how Teqblaze helps publishers build more predictable, sustainable monetisation without sacrificing transparency or control
Industry Insights
Should developers look for long-term partnerships and what makes a studio worth backing?
Evgeny Maurus shares insights on the shifting mobile games market and what studios must do to stay competitive
Speaker Spotlight
"2025 was a banner year for direct-to-consumer revenue"
FastSpring head of gaming Chip Thurston tells us why we're still in the early days of D2C ahead of his PGC London talk
#MENA
Funding News
NEOM selects five studios for funding in expanded Level Up accelerator
An additional 18 studios will join an expanded mentorship phase, marking the programme’s largest cycle to date
Marvellous Mena
How MENA studios can attract funding in 2026
Securing capital this year will require more than creative ambition alone
Ambitious Plans
Dubai establishes new Gaming Committee to support industry growth
The Gaming Committee will focus on strategic partnerships and improved services
30 Under 30
Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 recognises rising games industry stars
List features top talent in business and sport
Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions
Funding Round
Fast-growing hybridcasual puzzle game Pixel Flow nets seven-figure investment
Arcadia Gaming Partners’s Akin Babayigit and early stage fund e2vc join seed funding round
Jobs News
Nitro Games appoints new COO and CPO
Developer has also secured a €1.6 million to continue working on a new mobile shooter for a European game developer
Investment Round
AI-powered game creation platform GameByte raises $1m
Startup valued at $10m following a pre-seed funding round
Acqusitions
Little Umbrella acquires Discord game Karaoke Battle from Mayk AI
The deal includes a music licensing partnership with Stingray
M&a
NCSoft acquires majority stake in Singapore's Indygo Group for $103.8m
NCSoft bought a 67% stake in Indygo Group for $103.8m, becoming its largest shareholder
New Offerings
FIFA and Roblox extend partnership with launch of FIFA Super Soccer
Gamefam rebranded its Super League Soccer as FIFA’s official Roblox game
Acqusitions
Netflix acquires avatar-creation platform Ready Player Me
The platform will shut down its services on January 31st, 2026 following the sale
Jobs News
Job News
Aghanim appoints new CRO and COO
The duo will lead teams across New York City and Los Angeles
Job News
NetEase Games veteran Lin Yunfeng resigns after more than 22 years at the company
His departure follows a major internal restructuring of the publisher's games business last year
Layoff News
Ubisoft closes Halifax studio weeks after unionisation
The closure will result in 71 employees losing their jobs
Jobs Roundup
January 2026's Movers and Shakers
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Job News
Kuro Games taps ex-Scopely GM Jay Kim as new general manager of Korea
Kim will lead Kuro Games’ Korean operations, focusing on community building, market growth, and player support
#Regulation
D2c Revolution
Publishers bank record direct-to-consumer revenue
The latest results of the D2C revolution are in
Opening Up
Japan cracks open the App Store and Google Play
Top mobile platforms must now let developers use alternative payment providers and let users install rival marketplaces
Ai Regulation
China tightens rules on emerging gen AI tech
Regulator steps in to provide rules for rapidly emerging sector
Regulation
Brazil’s Apple App Store set to open up to alternative payments in 2026
Apple has introduced a set of new fees as part of three-year deal with regulator CADE
More News
New Offerings
Rovio and Sega unite Angry Birds licensing under global transmedia strategy
The move forms part of a broader long-term investment in the Angry Birds brand roadmap
Game Jam
Global Game Jam aims to surpass 500,000 lifetime participants ahead of 2026 event
The annual event brings together developers, students, and creatives to build games around a shared global theme
Milestone
Block Blast reaches 70m daily active users and 300m monthly active users worldwide
Hungry Studio credits the milestone to a year-long experimentation system running more than 10,000 A/B tests
Discovery Decision
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board unanimously rejects Paramount’s latest offer
The offer was made after an $82.7 billion deal with Netflix was already agreed, meaning multiple fees would be charged for backing out
New Offerings
Roblox reveals new Homepage Feature and expands programmatic partnerships
The company said younger audiences are shifting from passive viewing to active participation in creator-led environments
Milestone
Mattel163 surpasses 550m players worldwide across its digital games portfolio
Players have completed more than 65bn matches globally, marking a major milestone for the publisher
Market Growth
UK games spending hits £5.4bn in 2025 as mobile powers strongest growth since 2020
Mobile games generated £1.88bn after an 8.8% year-on-year rise
Latest Videos
Podcasts
Podcast | Episode 77
Games industry trends 2025 review | 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 77...
Podcast | Episode 76
Netflix's $83bn Warner Bros. deal doesn't value games and why awards shows hate mobile | 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 76...
Podcast | Episode 75
How mobile devs use AI and Pikmin Bloom blossoms | 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 75...
Podcast | Episode 74
Roblox's car crash interview on child safety and Ubisoft's curious Tencent deal | 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 74...