The Next Level
Ironhide co-founder Pablo Realini talks Kingdom Rush 5 and premium's place in 2024
"When designing your monetization strategy you can’t be too greedy and compromise the game you have set out to create"
Interview
"Our mission is to challenge stereotypes and provide a platform for African voices in the gaming industry"
Eyram Tawia, CEO and co-founder of Leti Arts shares his vision for the evolution of the games sector in Africa
Interview
Steer Studios CEO Yannick Theler on Grunt Rush, MENA region growth and a new console division
"We aspire to develop a diverse range of games across various platforms, including consoles. In fact, we started building our console division at the beginning of this year"
Interview
Five years of My.Games: From new releases to finding success in the Asian market
We caught up with Elena Grigorian who reflects My.Games’ first half of the year and shares on upcoming plans after celebrating the company's five year anniversary
The Dawn Of Mobile
“Almost overnight we went from an extremely fragmented market to one where everyone was aiming for a single device”
Mobile Entertainment Magazine’s former editor and executive editor reflect on the beginnings of mobile
Global Launch
Can Honor of Kings make it in the West? Meet the team going for global glory
We spoke with Honor of Kings chief designer, Dean Huang, head of localisation, Henry Li and its head of esports, Feng to find out why now is Honor of King's time to strike
Looking Back
A brief history of the mobile games industry
We take a look back at the last decade and a half of mobile gaming, analysing the key trends that built the industry we have now, and what the future holds for the sector
Advancing Ai
King’s head of AI/ML Luka Crnkovic-Friis: "The changes are immense, fundamental, and very hard to predict"
Luka Crnkovic-Friis’ work in AI has been utilised by Harvard, NASA, and now it's behind the scenes at King
Hot Topics
Mobile Mavens: Are today's everlasting, live ops games holding back new innovation?
Our industry experts weigh in on the power of long, and enduring games. Do endless liveops keep the market ticking? Or stop new devs from breaking through?
Road To Helsinki
Devsisters’ Chris O’Kelly talks upselling IP to fans across multiple games without cannibalisation
17% of mid to high spenders spend on two Devsister games cumulatively
Road To Helsinki
Metacore's Teppo Soininen: “Anybody who has put a game into soft launch knows there’s still plenty of space for f*ck ups.”
The Metaccore game lead underscores the importance of concept testing in his talk from Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2023
Race To The Top
Fingersoft CEO Jaakko Kylmäoja: Building the world's most downloaded racing games
Lego Hill Climb Adventures is out now, joining a series that's so far seen over two billion downloads. Here's the inside story on the latest Hill Climb and Fingersoft's plans for the future
Road To Helsinki
Kinoa's Hen Gelberg on “The true power of LiveOps”
Kinoa's chief business development officer and co-founder discusses the core components of live ops and how to best unlock their true potential
Out Now!
A galaxy far, far away… Why Star Wars: Hunters took six years to hit the target
Upon the games release, we get the inside story on the long awaited game from Zynga’s executive vice president Yaron Leyvand
Interview
Deluxe Creation Studios CEO Edu Shola on developing games in Africa, funding and future plans
"Funding is a general challenge and it’s not limited to the game space but it just happens to be more difficult in games, especially here in Africa."
Preparing For Success
Suffering from success: How to stop your game's popularity from becoming your biggest headache
Metaplay CPO and co-founder Teemu Haila on the importance of building foundations for success before, not after the fact
Mena Insight
"Operating a studio in MENA involves tough challenges: Cultural diversity, localisation, payment infrastructure and talent acquisition"
Jana Games Studio founder Seifeddine Wassim Haddar on the state of play for MENA and importance of community building
Place Search Ad Here
Mobile's broken app store discoverability
How Steam, Google Play and Apple's App Store compare and how platform holders prioritise ads over useful recommendations for users
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: The industry has its say on Squad Busters ability to draw in “untapped audiences” with its “influence from a range of genres”
With Squad Busters set for a global release at the end of the month we asked the industry what it thinks of the Supercell's soft-launched sixth game
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: The industry wades in on Squad Busters from its “transformative impact” to being “corporate box ticking”
We asked the industry what it thinks of the sixth Supercell game to get a global launch
Ready For Launch
"Squad Busters is a love letter to Supercell IPs"
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen, Squad Busters game lead Eino Joas and marketing head Rob Lowe discuss the game's origins and why it's heading for a global launch on May 29th
Mainstream Mobile
Mobile gaming's journey to the mainstream
Kristan Rivers, co-founder and CEO of in-game advertising platform AdInMo, looks at the last decade of the industry and why brands are queueing up for its future
Interview
“There has been an increase in funding opportunities for African developers with more exciting times to come"
Dash Studios CEO John Ikpeme on the future of the African gaming landscape, his current projects and the pursuit of funding in Africa
Mavens
Mobile Mavens: The Unity aftermath… Can it reignite the faith or are doubts only growing?
Our industry experts discuss the current industry sentiment toward Unity after last year's Runtime fee farrago
Ditching Fatalism
Using first-party data: Your gold mine of insights, opportunities, and strategic potential
There's no point in fretting about tighter privacy. Nefta’s Fernando Pernica has all the advice you need to make best use of the data you already have
Angry Birds X Sonic
How Playtika triggered Sega’s Rovio acquisition and what happens next
PocketGamer.biz sits down with Rovio VP of strategy and investor relations Timo Rahkonen to discuss the big Sega acquisition and what the future holds for the famous Finnish studio
Interview
CN Studio co-founder Oussama Ouaziz on the growth and potential of gaming in MENA and Africa
"We've seen a growing demand for games that resonate with local culture and experiences, including games that feature regional languages, themes, and characters"
Skills Gap
Evolving the leadership at Sumo to bridge the industry skills gap
Jenny Muhlwa shares her insight into the gaming industry's skills gap and how Sumo’s Evolve leadership programme aims to deliver the goods
Subbed Off
There’s no room for a successful subscription service in games
Despite offering a great deal, it makes little sense for platform holders and developers and doesn't fit with player habits at scale
Key To Communications
Powerful PR: How great comms can boost your game's success
ZiMAD’s Anastasia Zaiceva explores the importance of communications in the gaming industry and how success can depend on the quality of your comms
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: Can Xbox's mobile games store succeed?
We ask industry experts for their thoughts on Microsoft's upcoming marketplace that aims to compete with Apple and Google
Interview
"Merge Mansion is a very young game. We still have big plans and many surprising twists in store"
Metacore’s CBO Tapio Tuomola on four years of success for Merge Mansion and what's coming next…
Futura Focus
Rising star: Why game developers are turning their attention to the UAE
Futura Digital dives into the business and legal aspects of setting up a business in the UAE
Web3 Wonders
"Web3’s promise of decentralisation offers a fresh perspective on how games can be developed, played, and valued"
READYgg’s Christina Macedo tells us about creating new standards in the gaming industry through the evolution of web3
Battle Royale
Creating the next Battle Royale hit with NetEase’s Blood Strike
We speak with the game's lead game designer and operation planning executive to discuss the development of Blood Strike and what comes next
Ad Incentive
AdInMo: "Developers must diversify monetisation to survive"
CEO Kristan Rivers shares all on the company's latest SDK
Emulation Sensation
Apple and Nintendo's Delta blues: A legal timebomb or just the new normal?
Changes to EU law have placed an app able to grant free access to Nintendo games at number one on Apple's own store. So what the 'hack' is going on?
Podcast
Sandsoft’s Miikka Lindgren on the opportunities within the MENA market | Podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team and guests give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode…
Listen Learn Love
PocketGamer.biz Podcast - GameFounders' Kadri Harma on unlocking the MENA games market
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team and guests give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode…
Interview
ESL FACEIT and Qiddiya Gaming discuss establishing gaming district in the KSA amidst MENA growth
"We’re not afraid to imagine the future and we’re willing to take risks to be the best in the world"
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: What's the state of play for the MENA region?
Our Mavens share their thoughts on MENA market opportunities and offer advice for those doing business in the region
A Soda Saga
King’s Paula Ingvar: a games industry journey from "I’m not worthy!" to Candy Crush Soda’s VP of product
Paula Ingvar moved from traffic engineering to the games industry following encouragement from friends and has "only ever found it stimulating"
Interview
Nifty Craft founder Vince Ghossoub on making a card battler MMO and growth in the MENA region
"Nifty Craft utilises state of the art technology and is innovating in-game design, what more can I ask for"
Q&a
Speaker Spotlight: Dubai Future Foundation's Faisal Kazim on leading Dubai's gaming charge
"The Dubai Program for Gaming has the goal of adding $1 billion annually to Dubai’s GDP and becoming a top ten city in terms of revenue in gaming."
Mena Investment
Maysalward, Tamatem and Nifty Craft CEOs on Savvy Games Group's KSA and MENA investment
A trio of MENA's prime movers believe that investment can drive innovation “by working together, sharing resources, and leveraging each other's strengths."
Q&a
Speaker Spotlight: Dubai NEXT's Aisha Alazab on transforming ideas into successful campaigns and funding
"It's essential to be in the right place and time - that's wherever your potential backers are likely to be."
Q&a
Speaker Spotlight: Applovin's Pankaj Choudhary talks 360 strategies for successful app marketing
"While developers in MENA tend to prioritize IAPs over ads, it's crucial to grasp the value of an IAA mix."
Mena Month
"Gaming in MENA is just starting. Investment will bring more attention to the region and create more opportunities"
Tamatem Games' CEO Hussam Hammo explains the state of play for MENA and how the region is set to surge ahead
Ai Ambitions
“We’re making it so anyone can create anything on Roblox. The only limit is their own creativity”
Roblox’s Morgan McGuire shares on leading the platforms AI ambitions to bring new levels of productivity and creativity to users
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: Analysts share insights on Embracer Group's "rapid dissolution", "mature" split and nervy future
We reached out to games industry professionals to hear their thoughts on Embracer Groups latest strategy