Acqusitions
Tripledot completes $800m acquisition of AppLovin game studios
Following the acquisition, Tripledot now operates 12 studios, including the 10 acquired from AppLovin
Industry Insights
Industry Insights: The future of Xbox, the new platform gold rush, and Supercell's experimental release strategy
Analysis from around the industry
Nordic Games Market
7 reasons why the Nordic games market matters to Eastern Europe
Connect with the Nordic game sector at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki, October 7th-8th
For The Throne
Game of Thrones: Kingsroad surpasses $1m on mobile after 36 days
Netmarble’s action-adventure RPG has taken a slower road to seven figures than Legends, Slot Casino or Conquest
Studio Closure
Hypercasual game studio Yayy closes
Following Yayy's closure, CEO Ziad Talge co-founded MyLuigi with AI and cloud expert Sukhdeep Johar, securing $125,000 in funding
Market Growth
Newzoo revises 2025 global games market growth forecast to $188.9bn
Mobile is projected to reach $103.1bn in 2025 and $107.7bn by 2027
Discover Shanghai
First speakers announced for Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai
A first glimpse into the lineup of expert speakers coming to Shanghai, July 30th
Tiktok Sale
Trump: Potential US TikTok buyer will be revealed in next two weeks
The US president described the buyers as a group of “very wealthy people", but that the deal would need China's approval to close
Hot Five
Hot Five: Kingshot and SD Gundam G Generation Eternal shoot past $100m, and Grow a Garden hits 21m concurrent users
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 58
The UK games industry's £30m boost and Grow a Garden transforms 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 58...
Week In Views
Why government support is key to games industry growth, and Uma Musume: Pretty Derby's global launch | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Nominate Now
Nominations for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025 end soon
Submit your favourites across 22 categories before Friday, June 27th
Here We Go Again
Apple adds new fees to the EU App Store as it battles with the DMA
Tech giant adds initial acquisition fee, store services charge and Core Technology Commission
New Games
New release roundup: Marvel Mystic Mayhem, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, Lego Fortnite Expeditions and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Game Jam
Playgama and GameDistribution launch Green Web Game Jam 2025 to tackle environmental challenges
The jam will challenge web developers to focus on using game mechanics to drive responsible behaviour and action
Developer Learning
Carry1st’s Dominion Ero partners with Udemy to launch game development programme for African youth
The Initiative aims to provide a structured learning path covering industry fundamentals
New Offerings
Meta launches gaming accelerator to empower Indian developers
Program will support 20 to 30 emerging Indian game developers and studios in its initial phase
Pocket Gamer Connects
A pocket guide to Pocket Gamer Connects 2025
Supporting the global games industry one conference at a time
Annivasery
“We're not just building games, we're building habits”
UMX Studio CEO Ali Alharbi on the developer's 11th anniversary, studio growth, Jetapult funding and lessons learned
Horse Girls Are Here
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby launches globally today after racing to $2.6bn on mobile in Japan
Cygames’ horse girl game has launched in English more than one year on from reveal, and four years after release in Japan
Discover Shanghai
Why game publishers come to Shanghai
Discover the Chinese game sector's new talents and opportunities, July 30th
Candy Crown
King crowns 2025 Candy Crush Saga All Stars champion and dishes out $1m prize pool
Tiago P from Portugal won this year’s tournament, claiming $500,000 in prize money
Crossovers
Garena Free Fire celebrates 8th anniversary with Squid Game crossover
The collaboration will allow Free Fire players to experience Squid Game challenges from the Netflix TV show
New Partnerships
Supercell launches Brawl Stars as minigame on Tencent’s WeChat, Clash Royale following soon
The Squad Busters maker wants to leverage the market’s growth and the rising popularity of lightweight, instantly playable games
Ops + Creative = Games
Why the future of game studio success is operational, not just creative
'When everyone has access to the same powerful tools, the same distribution channels, and the same marketing megaphones, how do you stand out?"
Layoffs Imminent
Microsoft to slash more Xbox jobs as part of wider workforce reduction
This could mark the fourth major layoff at Xbox in the past 18 months
Portfolio Prowess
FreePlay surpasses 2bn lifetime installs after expanding into hybridcasual
The developer and publisher’s games are available in more than 175 countries, with standouts including Count Masters, Twerk Race 3D and Zombie Apocalypse
Google Games
Google quietly launches HTML5 games hub Instant Games on select Android devices
The new app allows users to access a selection of games without downloading them separately
Growing Trend
Embedded finance: A new breed of lending products in mobile games and apps
Mobile Finance Collective founder Martin Macmillan shares his insights on a new financing mechanic for games that hasn’t been seen before
Industry Insights
How Suitsme’s Gala Iefremova is driving growth in fashion games and building opportunities for women
CEO & founder of w7g Gala Iefremova shares on how the fashion genre is adapting beyond a niche and supporting women in games
Gateway To Chinajoy
ChinaJoy 2025 to break records, now with one-day industry access via Pocket Gamer Connects
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30 includes one-day entry to ChinaJoy
Roblox Record
Roblox’s Grow a Garden hits industry record 21.3m concurrent users, surpassing PUBG, Fortnite and more
The Roblox experience more than doubled its 8.9m record set in May
Market Growth
MyGamez ranked among Top 30 iOS Publishers in China for May 2025
Sales revenue of the Chinese mobile game market in May was $2.9bn, a month-on-month increase of 3.69%
Industry Outlook
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen on AI labs, rising costs, and why mobile games need reinvention
"Mobile games are no longer cheap" - but innovation is still the priority
Funding News
Motorica raises €5m to accelerate AI-powered character animation and expand globally
“We're not here to upend the animation workflow, we're here to liberate it,” said Motorica CEO Willem Demmers
Sequel Strategy
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond surpasses $20m in first week
Cygames’ strategy card game sequel quadrupled the original Shadowverse’s week one earnings
Major Milestone
Kingshot surpasses $100m in just 117 days
Century Games has blended strategy and survival genres once again, leading to another hit game growing month-over-month
Netflix Games
Netflix to delist over 20 mobile games from its library in July
Games leaving include Monument Valley 3, which had a major Netflix-exclusive launch
Moshi Monsters Mobile
Mind Candy CEO talks Moshi Monsters comeback: New mobile game, toys and merch are "all on the table"
Christianne Amodio reveals the value of fan feedback and the "outpouring of support" since the Moshi Monsters comeback Kickstarter was targeted with fake pledges
Expansions
True Gamers expands in Saudi Arabia with four new esports venues in Riyadh
The agreement marks the company’s first multi-location launch in Saudi Arabia
Digital Markets Act
Apple in last-minute talks with EU to avoid fresh DMA fines
EU regulators had given the company two months to comply following a $570m fine
Lagos Games Week Takeaways
Five takeaways from Lagos Games Week 2025: Strong networking, weak panels, and 'one hit' debate returns
The two-day event had no major announcements, but there were still plenty of talking points around the state of the African games industry
Eternally Earning
SD Gundam G Generation Eternal surpasses $100m in two months
Bandai Namco’s recent release peaked at $3.5m in daily player spending
New Name
Honor of Kings rebrands to Honor of Kings Plus with "biggest version update yet"
Tencent’s flagship is the highest-grossing mobile game in the world, with a revamp coming shortly after record revenue
Crossovers
Bluey joins Fruit Ninja Classic+ in exclusive Apple Arcade event
The collaboration runs from June 19th to August 13th, 2025
Marvellous Mena
Maliyo Games founder Hugo Obi talks investing in talent, funding challenges and launching MaliyoCon
"Mobile gaming today is more like running a media company than launching a static product"
Game Closure
DanMachi Battle Chronicle to shut down this September
Distribution and customer support will end across all platforms, including the App Store, Google Play, and PC
Nominate Now
Last chance to nominate for Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025
Submit your favourites across 22 categories before Friday, June 27th
Expansions
SciPlay invests $4m to expand Cedar Falls studio amidst hiring push
The company has over 900 employees, including 145 in Cedar Falls and follows a hybrid model
Uk Best Of 2025
The Top 50 UK Game Makers of 2025
The UK movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!