Mobile Mavens
Games industry predictions for 2026: Make-or-break for pandemic era investments, D2C's evolution, and rapid scaling
The Mobile Mavens gaze into the crystal ball to share their thoughts and expectations for the year ahead
Speaker Spotlight
Why D2C is a major relief valve for UA pressure
Neon head of customer success Liu Xu offers insights on maximising D2C performance
Warning
New York to require mental health warnings for social media platforms
New law targets young users and platforms with "addictive" feeds, auto play or infinite scroll
Rebrand
Amir Satvat’s industry network rebrands to Always Supporting the Games Community
Support network supports hundreds of thousands of industry professionals
Ambitious Plans
Dubai establishes new Gaming Committee to support industry growth
The Gaming Committee will focus on strategic partnerships and improved services
Company Spotlight
Company Spotlight: Goplay
Find out more about the mobile technology platform for F2P mobile game developers and publishers
Speaker Spotlight
Local payment methods "key to unlocking scale" in the MENA market
Tamatem Plus MD Faisal Al Bitar discusses the D2C revolution ahead of his talk at PGC London on January 19th to 20th
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens' games companies of the year 2025: Microfun, Supercent, Homa, Supercell, and more
The Mobile Mavens share which companies they think have had a notable year
Industry Voices
Heavy industry investment during the pandemic "made us all lose sight of building sustainable companies"
How to unlock new avenues in a tight funding climate
30 Under 30
Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 recognises rising games industry stars
List features top talent in business and sport
Dev Hub
Montenegro opens first free-for-all game dev hub
Space includes workstations, training and free access for local creators
Word Rivals
NYT Games comes for Scopely and Zynga with Crossplay
Media firm to compete with Words With Friends and Scrabble Go
Trade Union
Ubisoft Halifax workers unionise
74% of staff voted yes to forming the union and join CWA Canada
Company Spotlight
Company Spotlight: Tebex
Find out more about the monetisation platform used by Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive
Jobs News
NetEase head of interactive entertainment departs after 23 years
Yingfeng Ding will continue to act as a consultant following his retirement on December 31st, 2025
Opening Up
Japan cracks open the App Store and Google Play to rival payment providers and marketplaces
Top mobile platforms must now let developers use alternative payment providers and let users install rival marketplaces
Ai Regulation
China tightens rules on emerging gen AI tech
Regulator steps in to provide rules for rapidly emerging sector
Best Of 2025
Isa Muhammad's top stories of 2025: Saudi Arabia’s $55bn EA bid, Roblox growth, Netflix’s Warner Bros gamble, and more
PocketGamer.biz MENA reporter Isa Muhammad revisits his top stories from 2025
Best Of 2025
Aaron Astle’s top stories of 2025: Solitaire’s surge, Nintendo Switch 2, and Pokémon TCG Pocket dethrones Pokémon Go
PocketGamer.biz news editor Aaron Astle revisits his top stories from 2025
Best Of 2025
Paige Cook's top stories of 2025: Squad Busters shutdown, a transmedia boom, the Digital Fairness Act and more
PocketGamer.biz deputy editor Paige Cook highlights some of the top stories of 2025
Investment Round
AI-powered game creation platform GameByte raises $1m
Startup valued at $10m following a pre-seed funding round
Regulation
Brazil’s Apple App Store set to open up to alternative payments in 2026
Apple has introduced a set of new fees as part of three-year deal with regulator CADE
Transmedia Ip
Com2uS's Kyu Lee wants to see more risk-taking and innovation from studios
Kyu Lee shares his expertise ahead of the Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit on January 20th
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens on the biggest games industry trends of 2025: Slow growth, AI experimentation, web shops, and more
Our Mobile Mavens share the trends that are shaping the industry
Come Together
Why Scopely hosted real-world event Dough Fest for Monopoly Go
The community get-together combined with global in-game trading event Trade Fest
New Offerings
Apple to expand advertising placements within App Store search results from next year
The expanded search ads will roll out on devices running iOS 26.2 and later from early 2026
Acqusitions
Little Umbrella acquires Discord game Karaoke Battle from Mayk AI
The deal includes a music licensing partnership with Stingray
Court Intervention
US federal judge blocks Texas law requiring app stores to verify users’ ages
The ruling prevents the Texas App Store Accountability Act from taking effect on January 1st
Holiday Spirit
England’s children’s commissioner urges parents to cut back on phone use during family time this Christmas
England’s children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said children are “crying out” for attention from their families
Apple Troubles
Italy fines Apple $116m over App Store privacy rules
The iPhone maker abused its dominant App Store position by imposing disproportionate privacy rules on third-party developers
New Offerings
OpenAI opens submissions for third-party apps inside ChatGPT
The first wave of approved ChatGPT apps is expected to roll out gradually in the new year
Pgc London 2026
Why Pocket Gamer Connects London has become a Schelling point in the global games industry
On track to a record-breaking conference on January 19th-20th, here’s a glimpse of what makes this edition “an example of what game conferences should be like”
Most Installed
The most downloaded mobile games of 2025
Analysis of the games with the largest number of installs over the past year
Goty
Mobile Mavens' mobile games of the year 2025: Whiteout Survival, Top Tycoon, Grand Mountain Adventure 2, and more
The Mobile Mavens share the best mobile games they've played this year
Goty
Mobile Mavens' mobile games of the year 2025: Monument Valley 3, Kingshot, Magic Sort, and more
The Mobile Mavens share the best mobile games they've played this year
Own Your Ad Stack
Mobile publishers must move "from reacting to directing" their ad stack, says Teqblaze CPO
Olga Zharuk explains why a lack of control and transparency - not just optimisation - is the main issue facing mobile game monetisation today, and how a white-label approach solves it
Marvellous Mena
Level Up expands into game publishing with Level Up Gaming
The publisher has already signed four games, with projects originating from the US, Finland, and Saudi Arabia
Acqusitions
EA shareholders approve $55bn sale to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s PIF
Following the acquisition, the PIF will own 93.4% of Electronic Arts, taking the company private after more than 40 years
Pgc London 2026
Give your business the best gift this holiday season
Prepare for the new year with a gift that keeps on giving, beyond 2026
News
Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella dies
Respawn co-founder and Battlefield GM killed in car crash
Top Games
The top grossing mobile games of 2025
Analysis of the highest revenue-generating mobile titles of the year
2025 Reflection
SayGames reflects on 2025: Fewer projects but deeper partnerships
SayGames chief publishing officer Anton Volnykh discusses the company's strategy that has shaped the year and what he expects for 2026
M&a
NCSoft acquires majority stake in Singapore's Indygo Group for $103.8m
NCSoft bought a 67% stake in Indygo Group for $103.8m, becoming its largest shareholder
New Offerings
YouTube's AI-powered Playables Builder will let creators make games
The closed beta is currently limited to creators in the US, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia
New Offerings
FIFA and Roblox extend partnership with launch of FIFA Super Soccer
Gamefam rebranded its Super League Soccer as FIFA’s official Roblox game
Developer Support
Supercell to launch new grants programme for African game developers
The programme will officially launch in 2026 with non-dilutive grants ranging from $20,000 to $200,000
Acqusitions
Netflix acquires avatar-creation platform Ready Player Me
The platform will shut down its services on January 31st, 2026 following the sale
Hot Five
Hot Five: Where Winds Meet launch numbers, 2025's biggest trends and game releases, and Supercell restructuring
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 77
Games industry trends 2025 review | 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 77...
Week In Views
Roblox’s one trillion YouTube views, Asia dominates mobile’s biggest launches, and Netflix teams up with FIFA | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories