Revenue Rise
Take-Two’s mobile portfolio accounts for 52% of $5.6bn net revenue in latest fiscal year
Mobile spending was up 7% Y/Y, driven by Match Factory and Toon Blast
Marvellous Mena
Mekan Games founder Evans Kiragu on targeting global markets, prototyping strategy and embracing web-first development
"While funding is good and welcomed, it is a full-time job as well to get it."
Closed Beta
Bandai Namco opens closed beta sign-ups for Digimon Alysion
Progress made during the beta will not carry over to the final game release
Milestone
FIFA Rivals surpasses 1 million downloads
Over 15m matches played and 16m goals scored since release
Lawsuit
Sony sues Tencent over alleged copycat of Horizon game series
Monetary damages and a court order are being sought to stop IP infringement
Crossovers
Monopoly Go taps into Marvel IP with The Fantastic Four
The collaboration celebrates the cinematic return Marvel's first family
Pgc Aqaba
Why you can’t afford to overlook the MENA market
Save $445 with Super Early Bird rates to Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba
Mobile Games Awards
Final hours to vote in the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025
Last chance to make your voice heard as the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025 voting closes midnight July 31st
Gateway To China
DataEye co-hosting cocktail industry party during ChinaJoy
Invitation to join C-level B2B cocktail party in Shanghai, August 2nd
Funding News
Drizz raises $2.7m to reinvent mobile app testing
Every app team is accelerating with AI, but testing still lags behind,” said Drizz CEO Asad Abrar
Spending Surge
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond daily revenue spikes 786% with first new card set Infinity Evolved
Cygames’ latest card game has generated $66.7m in its first six weeks on mobile
App Store Changes
Apple overhauls App Store age ratings with new categories
Developers can now set a higher minimum age requirement than Apple's default rating
Ua Truths
Why ad quality is the only game worth playing
The truth behind those bad ads that see installs rise at the risk of retention
Podcast | Episode 62
Apple's regulatory wins and 2025's top genres | 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 62...
Acquisition Aftermath
Napster Corp lays off staff after "overlaps" post-acquisitions
The number of redundancies is unknown, but the company continues to employ hundreds of full-time staff
Earnings Report
Hasbro sees 16% revenue boost in Q2 2025
Monopoly Go licensing pulls in $44m
Loads Of Layoffs
Layoffs to cost 100,000 years of collective games industry experience
As veterans leave the games sector, Amir Satvat calculates the years of experience lost since 2022
New Offerings
Candy Crush to launch official dessert cookbook this October
The candy-themed cookbook is now available for pre-order
Milestone
My Talking Tom Friends 2 surpasses 10 million downloads
Outfit7 achieves its highest-ever preregistration conversion rate with this launch
New Partnerships
Gadsme partners with Konami to bring immersive ads to games and esports
The agreement opens new opportunities for brands and advertisers to reach audiences
Hot Five
Hot Five: Soolra’s iPhone controller case, Netflix’s gaming investment plans, and EU reportedly likely to greenlight App Store changes
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week In Views
Why acquisitions fail, Netflix Games' investment plans, and the big H1 2025 genre analysis | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Competitive Gaming
Esports World Cup CGO: “We want to make esports go mainstream”
Fabian Scheuermann on taking inspiration from Wimbledon and why mobile has the biggest potential for competitive gaming
New Games
New release roundup: Pokémon Friends, Metal Slug Tactics, Rollercoaster Racer and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Strategic Move
Nazara spins off Nodwin Gaming ahead of fresh funding round
The new capital raise will dilute Nazara’s stake in Nodwin to below 50%
Twists And Turns
Is the EU set for "total capitulation" on App Store regulation?
Regulators hit a wall as the UK struggles to get out of bed and the EU deals with nightmares of a Trump retaliation
New Partnerships
Entrust partners with PlaySafe ID to combat cheaters and boost player safety
The move supports upcoming UK rules that require stronger online child protection
Machine Learning
The revolutionary impact of machine learning on mobile advertising
"The adoption of machine learning in mobile advertising has accelerated dramatically following breakthrough AI technologies"
New Partnerships
Sony acquires 2.5% stake in Bandai Namco
Sony expands Japanese IP footprint with 16m share Bandai Namco deal
Online Safety
42% of parents say the games industry doesn't do enough to protect kids online
Social media tops parents’ safety concerns with TikTok singled out by 52%
Chinajoy
Eight essential tips for managing your time at ChinaJoy
Handy tips for managing Asia’s biggest game and entertainment expo
Top 50
Nominations open for PocketGamer.biz's Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2025
We're also putting together special lists for Southeast Asia and MENA - all to be unveiled later this year!
Data Dive
H1 2025 genre analysis: Mobile strategy games surge to $10.6bn as RPG revenue tumbles
We analyse AppMagic data to determine the top genres globally and in the US, comparing rising stars with stumbling giants
Bringing Back Buttons
Soolra iPhone case doubles as retro controller: "Mobile gaming has been held back by touchscreens for too long"
The company also has its own emulator with open source, properly licenced and public domain games preloaded
Market Growth
Global games market to hit $196 billion by 2026
Venture capital funding in games dropped to $193m in Q2 2025
Celebration Is Coming
Game of Thrones: Legends celebrates first anniversary and $23.6m in lifetime player spending
Ned Stark was the most-used Champion of year one, though he died 110m times
Earnings Report
Ubisoft Q1 revenue falls 3.9% to $365m as publisher reorganises into ‘creative houses’
Mobile also accounted for 10% of net bookings
Studio Closure
Sandsoft shuts down Riyadh and Barcelona studios
The Saudi mobile company moves to double down on publishing
Acqusitions
Gaijin Entertainment acquires Fortnite map The Pit from creator Geerzy
The company said it sees a profitable and scalable opportunity with Fortnite’s creator engagement model
Pgc Barcelona
FunPlus’ Guillaume Colomb talks narrative, theme and how to "feed the brain"
Colomb spoke at PGC Barcelona 2025, revealing insights into three key elements of a deep game experience
Chinese Market Insight
APAC and China are pivotal to innovation, scale, and spending power in games
Key insight into APAC and China's game sector ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30th
Strategic Market Status
UK’s CMA crawls to Apple and Google regulation
Competition and Markets Authority proposes designating Apple and Google with Strategic Market Status
Apple Approval?
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney cries “total capitulation” as report claims EU likely to greenlight App Store changes
Regulator's decision expected in the coming weeks
Going Global
"The China market is like bootcamp for how to be a winning global player"
Joymaker VP of business development Tom van Dam gives us the lowdown on China's bustling games market
Studio Closure
Stillfront shuts down Super Free Games as part of strategic portfolio review
Closures to mark first part of restructure, the company said
Awards
SAVE up to £330! Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025 Mid Term discounts end soon
Voting open until the end of the month
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group and King Abdulaziz University partner to launch diplomas in games and esports
The new academic programmes aim to blend classroom learning with hands-on industry experience
Earnings Report
Stillfront Q2 revenue falls as Europe and North America underperform
Swedish firm aims to capitalise on the slow release of new mobile titles
Web Store Report
Appcharge: 50% of first-time web store buyers make a second purchase
New Appcharge report urges game publishers to optimise for repeat purchases to maximise lifetime value
Expansions
Apple launches online store and app in Saudi Arabia with Arabic support
Flagship Apple Stores also coming to Saudi Arabia in 2026