Lawsuit
Update: Roblox and Discord hit with lawsuit over alleged sexual exploitation of minor
Despite being aware of safety tools on Roblox, the plaintiff's parents believed these measures were insufficient
Earnings Report
Krafton reports record Q1 2025 revenue of $608 million
Inzoi is now the fastest-selling title in the company’s history
Ready To Race
$2.5bn maker Uma Musume: Pretty Derby opens pre-registrations, cantering towards English release June 26th
Cygames’ Japanese horse girl hit is changing lanes with an English localisation launching this summer
Resident Record
Resident Evil 4 remake surpasses 10m unit sales, but mobile may represent less than 1%
The milestone was reached by the end of 2024, though only now confirmed by Capcom
Network Away
Discover your next connection at the Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025
Discover which companies you may meet, from talented indie developers to major brands, at the global games industry event on May 7-8.
Pgc Barcelona
Publishers: you can't afford to miss PG Connects Barcelona
Meet new talent and discover their latest work this June 3rd and 4th
Game Jam
Thatgamecompany and Coreblazer partner for online game jam
A cash prize of $4000 will be offered to the best overall winner
Big Plans Ahead
Blizzard selects Nexon for Overwatch Mobile distributions and a new Starcraft game
NCSoft and Netmarble also participated actively in the bidding process
Cross-platform
Inside Once Human's mobile expansion
Starry Studio's Sun Xiangyu reveals how Once Human transitioned from PC to mobile
Multiplayer Mode
Infinity Nikki introducing multiplayer mode in major update tomorrow
The Version 1.5 update Bubble Season will add two-player online co-op
Job News
Jetapult recruits AI experts Oz Silahtar and Dr. Arjun Jain to boost development efficiency
The company's GamePac AI suite is designed to allow studios to integrate AI into their daily workflows
Investment News
True Gamers secures $5m to expand across MENA and Europe
The company previously landed $45m investment to build esports facilities in the KSA
Downloading Dragons
Puzzle & Dragons 0 opens pre-registrations ahead of late May release
The latest entry will join a series with over 90 million downloads to date
Monster Milestone
Monster Strike surpasses $11bn in 11 years with Japanese dominance
Mixi’s flagship has surpassed $1bn in annual player spending five times, twice since Western shutdown
Job News
NetEase global investments head Simon Zhu steps down after 12 years
VP of corporate development Ken Li will take over the role
Hot Five
Hot Five: Apple’s DMA violation, Discord CEO steps down, and Blue Ocean Games launches $30m fund
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week In Views
What an IPO means for Discord, Pocketpair challenges Nintendo, and Switch 2 fuels apps surge | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Dma Hits
The EU deals out tepid DMA fine to Apple, but potentially meaningful change
The European Commission is trying to enforce its rules. What happens next?
Games Incubator
Krafton’s Gaming Incubator taps six Indian startups for second cohort
Developers will receive financial support ranging from $50,000 to $150,000
Cloud Gaming In Mena
The Game Company launches AI-Powered cloud gaming platform
Launch comes after it raised $10m in funding earlier this year
Layoff News
Meta cuts jobs at Reality Labs
Number of employees affected was not revealed but Meta confirmed the cuts impacted teams working on Quest products
New Office
Savvy Games Group opens first permanent HQ in Riyadh
New HQ now houses both Steer Studios and Mirai, bringing them under one roof
New Games
New release roundup: Once Human, Delta Force Mobile, Pandoland, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Resilient Growth
Flexion grows revenue 9% in 2024 by doubling down on alternative app stores
“We’ve already moved beyond the era when Google and Apple controlled everything,” said Flexion CEO Jens Lauritzson
New Office
Steer Studios moves into new Riyadh office to support growth
The company said its new HQ provides more space to constantly expand its team
Investment News
Hogo Games secures funding at $5m valuation
Funds will go towards developing new projects and growing existing titles on mobile and PC
Jobs Roundup
April 2025's Movers and Shakers: New CEOs at Discord and GoodVille, Supercell appoints head of marketing, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Long Term Strategy
Behind the scenes: How teamwork and strategy have sustained Clockmaker for over a decade
Belka Games' Anna Bobrikova looks at the structure, culture and strategy behind Clockmaker
Gameexpo Summit
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 full conference schedule revealed!
Introducing: The Investment Summit; plus everything from AI to web3 this May 7th and 8th
Making A Difference
American Cancer Society partners with Besitos to fight cancer through mobile games
Rewards earned for mobile games via KashKick will trigger matching donations to the ACS
Pgc Jordan
Investor AMA: "When it comes to platforms, we think that mobile is the way to go"
Speakers from Merak Capital, Tamatem and Walking Squid Advisory offered funding tips at PGC Jordan 2024
New Partnerships
Reach Labs and B3 partner to power user discovery in open games ecosystem
The platform will harness social network effects and financial incentives
Regulations
Dutch ad regulator rules against My.Games over in-game purchase disclosures
The complaint raised several issues with the game, including failure to display loot box probabilities
Might And Magic
Ubisoft’s Might and Magic Fates TCG to be powered by web3 platform Immutable
Trading cards will only be available in "eligible regions", indicating NFT elements
Industry Outlook
Games M&A soars in Q1 2025 with $4.4bn in deals
Led by Scopely’s $3.5bn acquisition of Niantic's games division
Rewarded Ua
Gamelight named as a top ROI-driving UA channel in Singular’s ROI Index 2025
Gamelight is among the best-performing platforms in terms of return on investment, scale, and campaign efficiency
Jobs News
Discord CEO steps down
Former King president Humam Sakhnini takes top job
Funding For Games
Blue Ocean Games launches $30m fund to support indie game developers
Funding is tied to objective market-validation milestones
Apple Fined
EU slaps Apple with $570m fine for violating Digital Markets Act
Tech giant must comply with the Commission's decisions within 60 days or face periodic penalty payments
Robux Regions
Roblox introduces regional pricing
The pricing model will be updated periodically to keep in line with market conditions
Layoff News
Report: Intel to cut 20% of its workforce in new restructuring move
The layoffs are a key part of Tan’s efforts to turn around Intel after years of setbacks and leadership missteps
Job Cuts
Devolver Digital cuts 40% of staff at Reigns developer Nerial
The layoffs were due to “issues” with some of the company's recent releases
Mobile Majority
80% of Roblox users are on mobile, contributing 46% of Robux revenue
iOS owners contributed 30% of 2024’s Robux revenue, compared to 16% generated via Google Play
Investment News
Rise of Fearless launches with $700,000 funding goal to empower African gamers
Funding will go towards improving gameplay and expanding into the web3 ecosystem
Mena Games Awards 2025
MENA Games Industry Awards 2025 finalists revealed
Winners to be announced on Thursday, May 8th, as part of the Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025
Speaker Spotlight
UKIE CEO Nick Poole on what it really takes for an indie game to succeed globally
"The industry has faced some tough times lately and we need honest conversations about how to build resilient teams and foster inclusive workplaces"
Earth Day
Subway Surfers, Monument Valley 3, Pikmin Bloom: The mobile games raising awareness on Earth Day 2025
Various mobile developers have launched new content to celebrate and raise awareness for Earth Day
Earth Day
“The time for taking drastic action is now and it starts with all of us"
TreesPlease Founder and CEO Laura Carter discusses how games can be used for good in the battle against climate change
Guilty Google
Google found guilty of illegal ad tech monopolies
But the tech giant plans to appeal
Pgc Barcelona
Early Bird prices for Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona end this week!
Save up to €185 (£160) if you book before midnight this Thursday, April 24th