Acqusitions
Atari acquires Crossy Road creator Hipster Whale in deal worth up to $39.3m
The deal is expected to be completed in the coming days
European Impact
King’s first European market report reveals mobile's €5.9bn economic impact for the continent
Mobile studios in Europe employ 30,000 people, while 61% of public play mobile games
Marvellous Mena
NJD Games creative director Baraa Odeh on building a racing franchise and taking Hajwala culture global
"One of the key factors behind KOH’s success has been understanding the community and building gameplay experiences that keep players socially engaged over time"
Support Programme
Global Game Jam launches micro-missions pilot to connect indie studios with emerging talent
The new programme introduces paid micro-projects across, art, audio and QA to support indie development and early-career experience
Content Incoming
Tencent reportedly preparing UGC initiative for Delta Force
Plans include creator tools, content distribution and monetisation systems
Strategic Moves
FIFA outlines multi-partner digital football strategy ahead of 2026 World Cup
FIFA said its Roblox experience attracts more than 10m monthly active users
Developer Training
Maliyo Games' GameUp Africa has trained 6,000 devs in five years
A new impact report tracks five years of building one of Africa's largest game development programmes
Game Approvals
China approves 158 games in May as licensing pace accelerates in 2026
Total game approvals in 2026 have reached 779, comprising 754 domestic and 25 imported games
Hot Five
Hot Five: Fortnite’s iOS comeback, Take-Two Interactive’s "fantastic mobile performance", and Block Blast’s brief unavailability on Google Play
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week In Views
Steam Deck’s price jump and Fortnite’s iOS comeback | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Unblocked
Hungry Studio’s Block Blast returns to Google Play
The title, which the company claims has 300 million monthly active users, was temporarily unavailable during the past 24 hours
M&a
VantageCo agrees deal to acquire majority stake in UK games publisher Playstack
TruFin is selling its majority stake
New Games
New release roundup: Slime Rancher, Battle Waves: Mobile, Pictonico!, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Pocket Gamer Connects
PGC Summit Malmö sets the standard in Sweden
More than 500 attendees gathered for two packed days of tightly focused networking
Jobs News
TIGA names Elaine Green as new chair
The Nellyvision co-founder replaces Rebellion CEO and co-founder Jason Kingsley in the role
Blocked
Hungry Studio’s Block Blast no longer available on Google Play
The popular mobile game is said to have 300 million monthly active users worldwide
Talking Transmedia
Transmedia tactics: "Over-leveraging before you have a community is how studios die"
Chase A Cloud head of sales and business development Toma Komitski shares transmedia tips ahead of his talk at PGC Barcelona 2026
D2c Insights
“The future couldn’t be brighter for D2C”: FastSpring’s Chip Thurston on gaming’s changing platform economy
Ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona 2026, FastSpring’s head of gaming discusses reshaping D2C strategy for publishers
Topics And Trends
D2C, co-development and "volume over viability": GDC 2026 trends revealed
The GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 Trends Report has revealed five key topics from the event
Back Of The Net
Canada national football team partners with Roblox’s FIFA Super Soccer
Deal is part of Canada Soccer's 'Our Game Now' marketing campaign that aims to generate excitement for the team
Hardware Costs
The Steam Deck OLED returns with up to $300 price increase
Valve notes rising memory, storage and broader hardware costs across global markets
New Venue
Esports World Cup gets new Paris venue as tickets set to go live on May 29th
The tournament will take place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
Power Up
Epic teases Unreal Engine 6
Could Unreal Engine 6 be officially unveiled at Unreal Fest Chicago in June?
Ai Agents
Saga introduces AI influencer agent to mobile game Diamond Jewels
Crystal Beaumont will have a presence in-game and across social media platforms like Instagram
Competitive Gaming
Esports Nations Cup 2026 introduces wildcard slots
Solidarity Slots, Host Region Slots and Special Invites aim to boost opportunities and make competitions more accessible
Uk Best Of 2026
The Top 50 UK Game Makers of 2026
The UK movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!
Region Guide
Learn all about the UK games industry with our free region report
Dive into the state of one of the world's oldest and largest games hubs in our new report, published in association with Xsolla
Pgc Barcelona
Building Barcelona: The evolution of Spain's brightest games hub
We speak with Barcelona & Partners CEO Montse Puig to get the lowdown on the evolution of Barcelona’s games hub and what makes it attractive to international publishers like King, Rovio, Scopely and more
Driving Downloads
Fortnite’s global iOS comeback drives downloads to eight-year high
Fortnite generated 3.4 million installs over its first week back with a daily peak of 674,000 on May 23rd
Avakin Life On Steam
Avakin Life officially launches on Steam after 200m registered users on mobile
The pioneering social simulator hits Steam after generating 500 million downloads
Finland Games Strategy
Jyväskylä city forms shared strategy for games sector development
The agreement brings the city, education institutions and Expa together to develop Jyväskylä’s games ecosystem
Mobile Games Awards
Closing soon - Nominate now for the Mobile Games Awards 2026
Get your nominations in by Monday, June 1st
Ai Ahoy
HoYoverse reportedly investing up to $14.7bn in AI over next three years
AI plans are said to include enhancement of NPCs in upcoming Petit Planet
M&a
Private equity firm Goldenpeak acquires majority stake in Ampere Analysis
Ampere also acquires streaming audience analytics firm PlumResearch
Settlement
Microsoft agrees $250m settlement in Activision Blizzard deal lawsuit
Both parties deny any and all allegations of fault, liability, wrongdoing or damages
Scopely Spotlight
Why Spain is a key engine powering Monopoly Go developer Scopely
We profile Monopoly Go developer Scopely’s presence in Spain and chat with director of operations Néstor Pequeño about the challenges and opportunities the country’s games industry faces
Mobile Games University
Mobile game ad monetisation: What you need to know
Aurion11 CEO and Co-founder Igor Lautar gives a detailed rundown of mobile games advertising in this intermediate level guide
Bulky Bookings
Take-Two Interactive celebrates "fantastic mobile performance" as net bookings surpass $6.7bn
Almost half of those net bookings came from mobile games, accounting for $3.3bn
Pgc Barcelona
Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona - Everything you can't miss this June 15th and 16th
Tale part in seminars, Investor Connector, Publisher SpeedMatch, Big Indie Pitches, AI Gamechangers, Careers Zone, Aurora Europe and more!
Turned Up To Eleven
TyrAds announces exclusive strategic partnership with Nordeus
The partnership will power 'player-first' rewarded engagement in Top Eleven
Growing Games
Hasbro makes $1bn in Q1 including $41m from Monopoly Go
The company’s Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment led the quarter with $298m in operating profit and a 51% operating margin
Hot Five
Hot Five: 15 years of Scopely, StreamElements confirms acquisition talks, and Fortnite’s App Store return
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Epic Conclusion?
Epic's final battle approaches
After years of legal battles, the Fortnite developer is nearing the end of a journey that has come with a high cost
Mobile Esports Growth
Esports World Cup CGO: "Mobile has arguably the biggest ceiling when it comes to both gaming and esports"
Esports Foundation chief games officer Fabian Scheuermann on title selection, mobile esports and dropping StarCraft 2
Podcast | Episode 92
The Sensor Tower / AppMagic deal unwrapped and Xbox's random rebrand | 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 92...
Week In Views
Fortnite’s global return, Xbox’s uncertain future and the rise of Melon Sandbox | 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: Clash of Critters, Sword x Staff, Farming Simulator 26, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Pgc Barcelona
This June, games industry deals happen in Barcelona
Build the right connections at Pocket Gamer Connects on June 15th and 16th
Winners Revealed
Clash Royale wins Business Excellence Award at Finnish Game Awards 2026
The awards recognised the sector's top games, developers and impact of individuals
Job News
Room 8 Group appoints Juanita Draude as CEO
She joins the company with more than 20 years of leadership experience across media and entertainment