A pocket guide to Pocket Gamer Connects 2025
- A comprehensive overview of all Pocket Gamer Connects events in 2025, including London, San Francisco, Dubai, Barcelona, Helsinki, and more.
In its 11th year, there’s no doubt that 2025 has been the most expansive year ever for global games industry event series Pocket Gamer Connects. It’s doing more conferences and new locations than any previous year.
Staying on top of dynamic market changes while shining a light on every part of the industry, our events tap into unique trends characterising these specific regions. As a handy guide to this year’s roadmap, here’s a breakdown of every Pocket Gamer Connects 2025 event.
Why the UK?
According to Ukie research, UK consumer spending on video games surpassed $10 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, mobile games software grew by 8.1% to $2.2 billion. Tapping into this momentum, the UK government recently launched a $41 (£30) million Games Growth Package aimed at accelerating the domestic games industry’s growth on the global stage.
Many local regions significantly contribute to the UK’s game ecosystem, but London remains a key hub attracting most of its major companies. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Pocket Gamer Connects London is the biggest annually recurring event in the PGC global conference series, and one of the UK’s leading game events.
Pocket Gamer Connects London
Welcoming over 2,600 attendees from over 65 countries, this year’s edition was a record-breaker in more ways than one. Although originating in mobile, the conference now covers everything game-related, from Android and iOS to PC and console, web3 and XR to the latest AI advancements.
This year delivered 56 hours of key insight from over 280 expert speakers, making Pocket Gamer Connects London an essential platform for companies looking to keep on top of recent trends, meet with other professionals, make new deals, and immerse themselves with the industry’s best in a friendly environment.
For more, visit the official PGC London website, and make sure to catch the event in January 2026.
Why the US?
The world’s second largest games market, behind China, the US is a significant player in the global games ecosystem. Headquarter to major game and tech companies alongside its vast list of industry pioneers make this a market rich with prospects for industry professionals. Not least is this evident in the city of San Francisco.
Also home to one of the world’s largest annual game industry events, Game Developers Conference (GDC), San Francisco is a breeding ground for game companies and individuals looking for business networking.
Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco
So what does Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco bring to the table?
Hosted in conjunction with the GDC week, the event is all about mobile games, aiming to bring the foremost names in mobile to global light. Our milestone 50th global conference took place in the city in March 2025, focusing on mobile games and AI, and the increasing intersection of the two.
Joined by over 750 attendees and 350 companies, Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco provides a vital network of industry professionals unlocking worldwide opportunities for the mobile game sector.
For more, visit the official PGC San Francisco website.
Why the United Arab Emirates (UAE)?
Growing in significance in terms of business, innovation, and investment, Dubai is dubbed a financial hub for international markets. Increasingly, the city is turning into an economic hotspot connecting East and West.
In 2023, the MENA games market rose by 7.8%. Home to over 1,000 gaming-related companies, Dubai is quickly growing in relevance within UAE's economy and the global games market.
Indeed, the UAE government aims to make the country one of the world’s top 10 gaming hubs by 2033, with plans to create 30,000 jobs and build a $1 billion gaming industry.
Numerous companies are tapping into this accelerating growth. As a result, Dubai is dubbed essential for those uncovering emerging market trajectories and new growth opportunities.
Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by Pocket Gamer Connects
In 2025, Dubai GameExpo Summit returned to the Dubai World Trade Centre on May 7th - 8th, alongside the Dubai Esports and Games Festival.
Usually hosted in conjunction with the busiest week of the year for Dubai’s game and tech centered sectors, the Dubai Game Expo Summit, powered by Pocket Gamer Connects, provides a trusted platform for professionals and companies seeking genuine opportunities in emerging markets. This year’s newly introduced Investment Summit offered additional insight into market accessibility and strategic partnerships across the MENA region.
For more, visit the official Dubai GameExpo Summit website.
Why Spain?
After a surge in Spanish indie and mobile game development, making Spain Europe’s third largest games market, Barcelona has rapidly become an industry powerhouse. With increasing opportunities especially in the mobile market, the city has attracted global companies such as Scopely, King, Rovio, Bandai Namco, Sandsoft, Socialpoint/Zynga and Gameloft, in addition to a wave of indie companies and startups.
Contributing to this are factors like its young talent pool and competitive costs. Local institutions and government support in the form of favourable taxes for creative industries also enhance Spain’s games market, while universities provide a continuous supply of advanced developers.
All this strengthens Barcelona’s position as a significant location in Europe’s game ecosystem, alongside cities like London and Helsinki.
Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona
Pocket Gamer Connects’ debuted its conference series in Barcelona this year, on June 3rd-4th.
Gathering over 1,000 attendees from the global sector, the event was unanimously acclaimed a huge success. Covering mobile, PC, and console, in addition to AI and XR, the two-day event was jam-packed with impactful deal-making, curated networking, and expert-led talks.
Make sure to catch the conference when it returns in 2026.
For more, visit the official PGC Barcelona website.
Why China?
According to NewZoo’s 2024 data, China is the world’s largest and most lucrative games market, responsible for nearly $45 billion of a $180 billion market. Home to major domestic and global game companies, it’s a region ripe with opportunity and one not to be ignored by overseas companies.
Saying that, the Chinese territory, culture and regulatory framework are unfamiliar to many Western companies. As a first point of contact, attending Shanghai's ChinaJoy, Asia’s biggest games event, can be overwhelming. For that reason, Pocket Gamer Connects is bringing its one-day Shanghai Summit to the city on July 30th, prior to the start of ChinaJoy.
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai
A soft landing for international game professionals, Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai is an essential gateway to anyone aiming to enter the Chinese market. Vice versa, it also serves as a runway for local companies planning to build those initial connections required to scale globally.
An internationally familiar brand established over 12 years, Pocket Gamer Connects provides a welcoming and friendly conference environment. A platform for new opportunities, where you can network, share knowledge, and do business in a familiar format before diving into the full ChinaJoy experience, all in a single day.
Some of the companies attending and speaking include Supercell, EA, Xsolla, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Scopely, and many more.
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai is scheduled on July 30th, one day ahead of ChinaJoy. There’s still time to grab a spot. All tickets also include one-day entry to ChinaJoy.
For more, visit the official PGC Summit Shanghai website.
Why Finland?
Or more like: why the Nordics? Yes, Finland stands out as home to some of the earliest companies seeing global breakthroughs in the free-to-play mobile market, but the Nordic region at large is a notable innovation hub. Not just for mobile - some of the world’s largest game studios and IPs originate from the Nordics.
Most of the region’s game industry revenue comes from exports, which highlights its international engagement and global impact. Add to this the sector’s strong public backing and openness to new tech and game innovation. There's a good reason why Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki is one of the original and now a regular among our global games conference series.
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
In line with the rest of our 2025 ethos, this year’s Helsinki conference is also expanding, offering three events in one. Joined by the Big Screen Gaming Summit and AI Gamechangers Summit, in addition to our core PGC Helsinki program, this comprehensive event includes everything mobile, PC and console, as well as a key focus on the latest in the intersection of AI tech and games.
Gather with over 1,500 global games industry professionals, 50% C-level/founders and 70% game makers, and get vital industry insight from over 200 expert speakers. Companies attending include TikTok, Supercell, Xsolla, Sensor Tower, and many more.
Pocket Gamer Connects lands in Helsinki on October 2025 7th to 8th. You can register your ticket today, saving you €440 (£370) with the current Early Bird rates.
For more, visit the official PGC Helsinki website.
Why Jordan?
Recent efforts to invest in Jordan’s young tech-native population is having an impact, resulting in the country becoming a crucial hub for tech innovation and digital transformation within the MENA region.
Located at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa, Aqaba is a particular place of interest as a strategic gateway to new emerging markets. An up-and-coming centre for technological advancement, Aqaba is growing its relevance particularly in digital media and games.
Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba
Previously known as Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan, our new Aqaba location on the Red Sea coast promises the same unmissable event as before. A pivotal platform for professionals aiming to build connections with the region’s digital landscape, Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba is a prime opportunity to get involved in MENA’s rapidly growing games market.
Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba, in collaboration with Maysalward and The Jordan Gaming Lab - an initiative backed by the government - aims to create a thriving ecosystem for regional companies. This event is part of the "North to South" celebration of the games industry in Jordan, with Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba serving as the culmination of an official program designed to highlight the games industry at various hotspots throughout the country.
For more, visit the official PGC Aqaba website - and book your tickets now to save you $440 (£330) with Super Early Bird rates.