Podcast | Episode 56
The Apple Games verdict | 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 56...
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
Get 20% discount on tickets for Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025
A midsummer gift - to give your autumn events budget a lift
Randomstuff.biz
Scopely's debut single, Liquid Glass, and that incredible Qualcomm CES keynote
Just trust us
Week In Views
Games veterans launch Playful.AI, Apple's Games app and the Nintendo Switch 2 breaks records | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Direct-to-consumer
Xsolla and Second Dinner launch new Marvel Snap Web Shop
Players Can Redeem the Global ‘WEBLAUNCH’ Code at Launch to Access Special Offers and Exclusive Rewards
What Do Developers Want?
Apple Games and the future of iOS gaming
Apple's big moment wasn't quite to be. Developers react with their wish list for the App Store and iOS gaming
New Partnerships
Xsolla partners with Defold to simplify in-game purchases for web developers
“This is a huge win for our developers heading into the Game Jam,” said Defold product owner Björn Ritzl
Earnings Report
Ten Square Games records $7.4m profit despite drop in bookings
The company plans to double its efforts on scaling live games amidst ‘market evolution’
Training Camp
Khalifa Fund opens registration for 8th Venturist Summer Camp focused on game development
“The camp will also prepare students for freelance and future career opportunities in the gaming sector,” said Khalifa Fund acting CEO Mouza Al Nasri
Wwdc 2025
Apple expands iOS features with new social tools and player overlays
The iPhone maker also showcased new additions to developer tools such as Metal 4 and Xcode 26
New Games
New release roundup: 10 Second Ninja X, Sonic Blitz, Lost in Play+ and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: Apple Games reaction and a feature wish list for the App Store
Industry experts give their opinions on this week's announcements and what the iPhone giant can do to win over developers
Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba
Tickets for Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba 2025 now live
New name, new location - same unmissable two-day event coming to MENA
The Birds Are Back
Angry Birds Bounce launches in July as series’ first game developed under Sega’s ownership
Sega completed its acquisition of Rovio in August 2023, 18 months after the last mobile Angry Birds game released
New Offerings
Unity launches Audience Hub to help marketers bring privacy-first targeting to games
The tool is currently available to marketers in the US and Canada
Finding Funds
Former Tacticool devs at Nice Plans Studio secure $3m for 3v3 shooter Ricochet Squad
Studio claims day one player-to-payer conversion rate is 4% to 5% in soft launch
Strong Soft Launch
Nice Plans Studio's ambitions to independently scale a new shooter in a challenging mobile market
Co-founder and CEO Roman Malakhov talks metrics, ambitions and becoming a "fully independent studio"
Acqusitions
Nazara acquires Smaaash for $14.7m aiming to revamp the brand with digital IPs
“Smaaash was a bold idea once. It's time to build on that idea with sharper execution and a clearer lens,” said Nazara CEO Nitish Mittersain
Building Brands
Supercell hiring in multiple roles to grow brands outside of games
A "whole slate of unannounced projects" are already in development
Why Shanghai
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai 2025 offers key insights into China's bustling market for international studios
Here’s why China’s games industry deserves a closer look and why we’re heading to Shanghai on July 30th
Industry Insights
Win or lose: Mastering the art of mobile game balance and monetisation
Supersonic's Guy Agiv dives into the delicate balance between win and lose conditions and how they can create better monetisation opportunities
Strike Over
SAG-AFTRA ends strike against video game companies after reaching tentative AI protections deal
All members have been instructed to return to work
New Company
Ex-Netflix VP Mike Verdu and Zynga founder Mark Pincus form AI games startup Playful.AI
Company aims to “reinvent game development and game experiences with AI”
Funding News
Team Angels launches to back early-stage startups in Mumbai
The initiative offers equity funding between ₹40 lakhs ($45,000) and ₹1.5 crore ($175,000)
Game Ban
Hong Kong bans mobile game promoting anti-communist content
The game has now been removed from both the Google Play and Apple’s App Store in Hong Kong
Jobs Roundup
June 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Unity CTO exits, Embracer appoints new CEO, Roblox gets a CFO, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Price Adjustments
Supercell adjusts in-game prices in multiple countries due to tax and exchange rate changes
Price increase impact titles in Brazil, Peru, Azerbaijan and others
Studio Closure
Dundee game studio Cobra Mobile shuts down after 20 years
The liquidation has resulted in eight employees being made redundant
Leadership Overhaul
Phil Rogers named CEO of Embracer as Lars Wingefors shifts focus to M&A
Wingefors will leave the executive management team from August 1st, but stay on as a board member until the annual general meeting
Summer Camp
Zynga to host Girls Make Games 2025 summer camp at San Mateo HQ
Participants will learn the fundamentals of game development and design while working in teams
Marvellous Mena
Dubai’s games industry surges with 260 game developers and 16.6% growth rate
Data shows that 67% of game companies have their headquarters in Dubai
Pgc Summit Shanghai
3 key trends in focus at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai
Highlighting Asian games market growth, global trends, and monetisation models
Switch 2 Success
Nintendo Switch 2 breaks records with 3.5m unit sales in four days
The original Switch reached 2.7m unit sales in 29 days
Conference Roundup
6 takeaways from PGC Barcelona: A bustling industry hub, DTC hits overdrive, and AI hype continues
A look at some of the trends and key talks from our debut conference in the Catalonia capital
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: Direct-to-consumer strategies for an open App Store
We asked our Mobile Mavens how the latest policy shift could reshape the app economy and what developers should do to get ahead
End In Sight
SAG-AFTRA reaches tentative deal with games companies to end strike
The labour union has been on strike against video game companies since July 26th, 2024
Playful Project Management
How Codecks is building a games-focused project management tool teams actually want to use
"These tools just can't focus on what we actually need because they're too busy trying to be everything to everyone"
Origin On The Way
The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin launching this year after Grand Cross surpasses $1bn
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross generated its first $1bn on mobile in under five years
Strategic Growth
Games for Change welcomes five new board members
New and existing board members will guide the organisation's next phase of growth
Job News
Roblox names Naveen Chopra as new chief financial officer
Chopra is succeeding Michael Guthrie, who will be stepping down as CFO to pursue personal interests
Pgc Helsinki
Top five reasons to attend Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025
Connect with the Nordic games industry and global heavyweights at our greatest PGC Helsinki to-date
Apple Games
New Apple Games app offers recommendations, challenges, and leaderboards
Apple also showcases some Apple Intelligence features as it ignores previous delays
New Ai Studio
Homa co-founder opens new AI-first studio Everyday
Olivier Le Bas wants to "rethink" how mobile games are built
Download Deluge
Fortnite lands 2.8m new installs on App Store in US
Epic Games’ flagship remains the country’s most-downloaded mobile game for 19 days running, but has been beaten by ChatGPT for most-downloaded app
Lawsuit Triumph
Tencent wins IP case against Peacekeeper Elite content leaker
The ruling comes over three years since the case first began in January 2022
Shutting Down
Games livestreaming platform Noice closes
Company had raised $26 million in funding before new investment dried up
Mobile Games Awards
Nominations are live for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025
The submission phase for this year's categories is now open and closes on June 27th
Squad Slump
Squad Busters makes $472,000 on Chinese App Store as version 2.0 is slow to ignite global fortunes
The global version has generated $1.8m in almost a month since the major overhaul
New Offerings
FunPlus launches new cross-platform publishing label Kingsglory with debut game Aniimo
The title is set to launch in 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, PC and mobile
Accelerator Program
Turkish game startups join UK-focused accelerator ahead of London Tech Week
Startups include PaxAnimi Games, Game Actor, and Yamy Studio