Hot Five: Scopely acquires Pokémon Go and more for $3.5bn, Wuthering Waves hits $250m on mobile, and Sonic Rumble’s reasons for delay

To help get you primed and ready for another week in mobile gaming, we’ve curated the biggest stories you need to know from the last seven days.

1) Wuthering Waves rides the wave to $250m after Version 2.0’s major comeback

Kuro Games’ gacha game Wuthering Waves surpassed $250 million in gross mobile revenue in just over nine months, bolstered by its Version 2.0 comeback.

The major update triggered a 178% spending surge on its first day, January 2nd, 2025, and the month became Wuthering Waves’ second most lucrative yet at $37.1m. Version 2.1 also found success with a 169% boost on its update day.

2) “I don’t think I would have rated Balatro higher than an eight and I made the damn thing”

Balatro developer LocalThunk has shared insights into how the roguelike card game transformed from a "weird prototype" with about 20 potential names to a multi-million dollar game.

The card title had a three-year journey to market, having entered development on December 13th, 2021. When it fully launched in 2024, that launch was "10-20 times larger than we were anticipating".

3) Scopely acquires Pokémon Go developer Niantic's games business in $3.5bn deal

Scopely’s blockbuster $3.5 billion deal to acquire Niantic’s licenced AR games has been officially announced, just weeks after initial rumours.

Through the deal, Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now and Pikmin Bloom will come under Scopely’s ownership - and ultimately Savvy Games Group’s - while Niantic will spin off into its own tech platform Niantic Spatial.

4) How Pokémon Go developer Niantic's games stack up ahead of a potential Scopely acquisition

As for how Niantic’s mobile catalogue stands up, Pokémon Go has been the undisputed flagship with $8.5bn earned in under nine years. That’s just from Google Play and the App Store, based on AppMagic estimates, meaning true earnings are likely higher still.

Pokémon Go accounts for approximately 95% of Niantic’s entire games portfolio’s revenue, but Pikmin Bloom is quietly growing too - having recorded its best month yet more than three months on from release. Monster Hunter Now, meanwhile, generated over $275m by its one-and-a-half-year anniversary, making it Niantic’s second-biggest game by far.

5) Behind the scenes of Sonic Rumble's delay, development and the Rovio x Sega partnership

Sega and Rovio’s upcoming party royale Sonic Rumble has been delayed from winter to spring, not due to any "big issues" but rather so that the team can respond to early access feedback.

Rovio head of beacon growth Veli Kiviaho informed us in an interview that new features like Quick Rumble for "busier players" and Rival Rank for the most competitive are currently being worked on to engage as many people as possible at global launch.