Marvellous Mena
Ouaz Games on surviving hypercasual's collapse and the rise of browser games
"I see new studios with no capital trying to ship console or Steam titles because they think that's what makes you a 'real' studio"
Chatty Companion
25m messages and 6.5m groups: Monopoly Go Chat "exceeding even our high expectations"
Monopoly Go now has a companion messaging app, supporting engagement and retention
Milestone
Rush Royale surpasses $500m in lifetime revenue
The mobile title has exceeded 105m downloads since launching in 2020
Web Games
Report: 53% plan to port mobile games to browser in next 12 months
The 2026 State of Web Gaming report surveyed 400 game developers and 2,000 web gamers
Direct Delivery
Tamatem launches first internally developed game with King of Delivery 2
The company has integrated local brand partnerships directly into the game world as part of the player experience
Funding News
Reactional Music secures €2.5m EIC grant to scale music monetisation in games
The EIC has also earmarked up to €6.5m ($7.3m) in future equity funding
New Tools
MobyGames launches beta careers platform for games industry workers
The new platform aims to help developers build professional networks and navigate the jobs market
Pgc Summit Bangkok
Save the date: PGC Summit Bangkok launches this October 28th
Pocket Gamer Connects Expands its Asia Pacific footprint
Market Report
Report: Mobile game D2C revenues reach $17bn as publishers push beyond app stores
New report from Appcharge shows 92% of publishers expect D2C revenues to grow in 2026, with many forecasting double-digit gains
Pride Initiative
Inside Zynga’s Play With Pride initiative and its evolving approach to representation
Chris Garlington discusses how the Play With Pride initiative has grown and become embedded across Zynga’s studios and games
Jobs Roundup
June 2026's Movers and Shakers: Hires and promotions at Roblox, Scopely, Metacore and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Funding News
Playtika veterans secure $10m for AI-powered mobile app operations platform
The funding will support the development of new predictive models and AI-driven automation tools
Going Global
Nigeria to bring first-ever developer delegation and booth to Gamescom 2026
The delegation is led by Maliyo Games founder Hugo Obi
Corporate Strategy
Tencent explores exits from Japanese game studio investments amid portfolio review
The company may sell some holdings back to management teams, even at a loss
Anima Arriving
HoYoverse’s new game Honkai: Nexus Anima gets closed beta test in July
The Evolution Test will begin on July 9th for iOS, Android and PC
Pgc Nordics
Save up to €138 on PGC Nordics before Super Early Bird ends on Thursday 25th
Essential conference set to host 800 of the world's leading games companies this October 20th and 21st
Pgc Summit Shanghai
SocialPeta CMO Summer Liu to speak at PGC Shanghai
Liu joins the star speaker lineup for Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 19th
Region Focus
State of Play: The challenges and opportunities facing the Nordic games industry
We delve into the vibrant games hubs across Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark - and the key challenges they face
Industry Insights
From pet project to investable games startup: How to become investor-ready
Alena Patorskaya and Andrew Ermolenko discuss how early “pet projects” can be structured into investable business
Pgc Nordics
The 23 conference tracks that will be at PG Connects Nordics this October 20th and 21st
Everything from AI to web3 - and where you'll find the hottest opportunities
$1bn In D2c On Pc
Xsolla data reveals direct-to-consumer PC game transactions surpassed $1 billion in 2025
Transaction data across Xsolla's publisher network shows D2C on PC operating at scale across more than 1,000 games, an opportunity the market has historically overlooked
Leadership Change
Newzoo CEO Michelle Van der Wilk-Rouhof steps down after six years
Current CRO Joris Goossens will step into the CEO role as of July 1st
Lagos Games Week
“The studios that thrive will not be those that resist AI. They will be those that learn how to use it effectively"
Maliyo Games CEO Hugo Obi told Lagos Games Week the studios that thrive will use AI rather than resist it
Early Everness
Neverness to Everness steers towards $50m in two months on mobile
The gacha RPG released in China on April 23rd with a worldwide rollout soon after
Awards Ahead
BAFTA reveals 15 finalists for student awards
The finalists were selected from entries submitted by more than 600 universities worldwide
New Partnerships
Brawl Stars teams up with Adidas for first apparel collaboration
A second Adidas x Brawl Stars collection is planned for 2027
Expansions
Hill Climb Racing 3 expands soft launch to Germany
Fingersoft cites promising engagement and retention in early soft launch markets
New Offerings
CityDays and All3Media team up to launch The Traitors game on WhatsApp
Players participate in missions, banishments and secret traitor activity over approximately one week
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Kingsoft's Claire Yang joins PGC Shanghai to talk mid-sized studio survival
Kingsoft's overseas business development lead Claire Yang will tackle how smaller studios compete with the giants at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 29th
Layoffs
Electronic Arts reportedly hit by further layoffs across support and operations teams
Reports suggest that the cuts have affected customer support, recruitment, trust and safety, and IT roles
Investment News
AppsFlyer secures over $1bn investment from Moloco, Google, Meta and Unity
Firm stresses neutrality and independence as major tech and ad firms become backers
Fortnite Flurry
Fortnite surpasses 1m daily App Store installs for first time ever after global comeback
During Fortnite’s first month back, the game generated 11.5m downloads on the App Store
Pgc Shanghai
Three myths that cost Western games companies in the Chinese market
Monte Singman has brought over 50 Western games into China, from Gardenscapes to Sonic Dash. Ahead of his PGC Summit Shanghai session, he explains why companies keep getting the market wrong
Lagos Games Week Takeaways
5 takeaways from Lagos Games Week 2026: Packed halls, stronger panels and embracing AI as a tool
We round up the key trends and talking points from this week's big show in Nigeria
Consolidation
Kabam to consolidate Los Angeles office amid reported layoffs
The Marvel Contest of Champions developer says it remains committed to partners and ongoing development
Mistbound On Mobile
Guild Wars spinoff Mistbound is coming to mobile
ArenaNet, NC, and bilibili are collaborating on the title
Event Milestone
Dubai Esports and Games Festival 2026 attracts more than 43,000 attendees in largest edition yet
The festival hosted 66 esports tournaments with prizes worth up to AED 1m ($272,000)
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Thatgamecompany, Charles Cecil, Newzoo, Xsolla, Kingsoft and more confirmed to speak at PGC Summit Shanghai
Going to ChinaJoy? Make the most of your week with our gateway event
Going Public
Jio files for IPO that could become India’s largest share sale
The company is reportedly targeting a raise of around $3.8 billion to $4bn
Online Safety
UAE bans children under-15s from social media accounts
Children under 15 cannot access social media accounts even with parental consent
Hot Five
Hot Five: EA Advertising, Roblox Kids accounts, and six months of Where Winds Meet on mobile
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 94
PGC Barcelona takeaways, the UK's social media ban and Fortnite vs Roblox | 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 94...
Week In Views
UK under-16 social media ban, GTA VI’s industry impact and Pokémon Champions’ mobile launch | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Lagos Games Week
African games industry has moved from potential to production says Maliyo CEO Hugo Obi
Maliyo Games CEO Hugo Obi used his Lagos Games Week keynote to argue the African games industry has entered a production era
Pgc Barcelona
Direct-to-consumer in games: Promise versus reality
At PGC Barcelona, experts from Xsolla, Breeze and Worldline assessed how far the app stores have really opened up and whether D2C is paying off
New Games
New release roundup: Pokémon Champions, and Roger, Barbie Horse Ride and Rescue, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
D2c At Pgc Barcelona
The D2C window is open. Here's how mobile studios can walk through it
Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, Xsolla takes a deep dive into the growing opportunities for European game developers to go direct to consumers.
Lagos Games Week
Most people take an unexpected route into games says Global Game Jam director
Global Game Jam executive director Maria Burns Ortiz shares why there is no single path into a career in games
Pgc Roundup
4 key takeaways from PGC Barcelona: D2C’s reality, star names flock to Spain, and going AI-first
We round up the key trends and talking points from this week's big show in Spain
Games Preservation
The European Commission rejects calls to stop publishers from taking games offline
The Commission plans to consult with publishers and consumer on end-of-life standard for video games