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
New Offerings
Roblox launches new learning hub for students
Children can build online safety skills in Google Be Internet Awesome World or learn coding with Lua Learning
Pgc Aqaba
Don’t sleep on the MENA games market - Why Aqaba should be your next stop
Explore the MENA games industry at Pocket Gamer Connects Aqaba on November 8th to 9th
Pokemon Portfolio
Pokémon Champions gets release window as slew of mobile games land updates
The latest Pokémon Presents gives a deeper look into the competitive battle game coming in 2026
Global Ambitions
Can India's Nazara really crack $10 billion?
CEO and joint MD Nitish Mittersain discusses the company's key acquisitions, why M&A fails, and the future of India's games market
Ad Creatives
Key insights for adapting ideas into high impact marketing creatives
AppQuantum’s Vladimir Paklin shares on building lasting creative success
Pokemon Puzzles
Pokémon Friends shadow dropped as new puzzle game on mobile
The title is available now on Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch
Financial Outlook
MTG revenue doubles to $304m in Q2 2025 following Plarium deal
Swedish group eyes further M&A and AI investments
Staff Stats
Nintendo hires at least 455 full-time staff as total headcount surpasses 5,600
Nintendo has 3,855 male full-time employees while 1,775 are female, with the largest disparity in Japan
Funding News
Delabs Games secures additional $5.2M to accelerate AI-powered web3 ambitions
Funding will support the launch of idle RPG Ragnarok Libre and its native Delabs tokens
Funding News
M00m World raises $500,000 to launch mobile game and real-world collectables
“This isn’t just about building a game - it’s about keeping it real”
Studio Closure
Muus Collective closes due to funding challenges
The studio had 16 employees listed on its website before winding down
Sleepy Spending
Pokémon Sleep sleepwalks to $182.8m in two years
Revenue yawned in year two, reaching 77% of its year-one sum, but Legendary events continued to drive strong surges
Partnership Tips
Three red flags to watch for when communicating with a publisher
Beresnev Games founder Oleg Beresnev discusses what to look out for and making the most of a publishing partnership
Ambitions And Aspirations
"We had no idea what we were doing": Herman Narula on Improbable's early years and its future
The Improbable co-founder and CEO discusses the UK company's journey, industry trends, and advice for founders
Attending Companies
From Tencent, NetEase and MiHoYo to hidden gems: Meet the companies coming to Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai 2025
Get ready for an exciting opportunity in Shanghai on July 30th. Discover the connections, ground breaking deals, and extraordinary talent that you won't want to miss
Money To Burn
Netflix plans to ramp up gaming investment
Streaming firm open to evolving business model in future and teases new set of interactive experiences.
Market Growth
Spanish games industry hit $2.8bn in 2024
The government allocated €5m ($5.8m) in EU funds to support local game development
Rewarded Ads On Ios
Midnite games scores big with Play2Earn on iOS, boosting ROAS by +80%
Midnite Games, known for hits like Slices and Get Lucky, taps into rewarded playtime ads as MAF's Play2Earn arrives on iOS
Job News
Former Scopely director Rohit Naini to lead corporate development at Tilting Point
Doubling down on strategic growth with key additions to its M&A team
Branching Out
The Chinese Room regains independence from Sumo Digital via management buyout
The move follows Sumo’s pivot away from original IP to focus on co-development services
Acqusitions
Coda acquires European payment provider Recharge
The deal aims to boost Coda’s presence beyond games and strengthen its footprint in Europe
Hot Five
Hot Five: Rollic’s 1,000 ideations per month, Coin Master - Board Adventure soft launch, and Uma Musume: Pretty Derby’s post-expansion performance
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Networking
Reasons AI won’t beat you at networking
Trust, discernment, innovation - why AI can’t replace the power of the human mind in B2B networking
Podcast | Episode 61
Zynga's successes and failures, and Moon Active takes the fight to Scopely | 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 61...
Week In Views
Moon Active takes aim at Scopely, Roblox opens doors to Major IPs, and Rollic's $100m hit | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
New Games
New release roundup: My Talking Tom Friends 2, Coin Master - Board Adventure, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Job News
Apple appoints longtime exec Sabih Khan as chief operating officer
Current COO Jeff Williams to step down later this month
Underrated?
The UGC revolution the games industry is clueless about
How well do you know UGC?
New Offerings
Ubisoft and Netflix move forward with first Assassin’s Creed series adaptation
Netflix says the series will honour the franchise’s legacy while delivering a fresh cinematic experience
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out Trusted Connections and new parental tools in major safety update
Roblox said its updates aim to balance teen independence with strong safety measures.
Milestone
TapNation hits 150m downloads with Guess Their Answer and Doll Dress Up
The publisher’s mobile game portfolio has now surpassed 1.5 billion downloads
New Offerings
Saga and Chrono Labs launch KEX to power next-gen AI agents in web3
New tech built on Saga's blockchain
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Win a ticket to Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai
Connect with global games companies and gain cutting-edge industry insight on July 30th
Job Losses
Virtuos lays off 270 employees
Job losses hit staff in Asia and Europe
Anniversary
Behind Free Fire's eighth anniversary: How Garena builds for longevity
Garena global marketing lead Cindy Chen tells us how Free Fire’s eighth anniversary reflects a broader vision for future global growth and having a player-first design