Milestone
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket hits 60 million downloads
This comes ahead of Mythical Island expansion later this month
New Partnerships
Epic Games partners with Telefónica to pre-install Fortnite and the Epic Games Store on Android
The deal extends to 2025 and players will be able to download third-party games in the future
Game Ads
Creative trend: The evolution of the near-death snake experience in game ads
In this regular column UA and marketing expert Matej Lančarič shares his thoughts on some of the biggest topics in games
Mena Market
EsportsXO partners with Abu Dhabi Gaming to open regional headquarters in the MENA region
The partnership is expected to create new job opportunities over the next five years
Company Spotlight
Company Spotlight: Kabam
Find out more about Kabam, the studio behind the hit games Marvel Contest of Champions and Shop Titans.
Crossovers
Buzz Lightyear joins Brawl Stars in Toy Story crossover
Buzz debuts today and will be available to play from December 12th until February 4th, 2025
Winners Revealed
Apple unveils 2024 App Store Awards winners
AFK Journey, Squad Busters and Balatro among this year's winners
Afk Acceleration
The nuance of a successful sequel: Balancing familiarity and refreshing experiences in AFK Journey
We spoke with AFK Journey executive producer Jiangyuan about design philosophy, player feedback and more
Closure Announcement
Glow Up Games shuts down after facing ongoing industry challenges
The studio aimed to build authentic and inclusive game experiences
Iterating On Ideas
The illusion of iteration with Monument Valley
Ustwo and Monument Valley 3 game director Jennifer Estaris discusses the development of Monument Valley
Podcast Deep Dive
Join the PocketGamer.biz Podcast Infinity Nikki deep dive
Share your insights with us and we'll make them part of the show!
10 Year Anniversary
10 years of sweet success: The evolution of Candy Crush Soda Saga
King VP, head of creative Abigail Rindo shares on Candy Crush Soda Saga’s journey to a decade
Milestone
Infinity Nikki has surpassed 10 million downloads worldwide
The game generated $4m in gross revenue on mobile four days after its launch
Anniversary
My.Games marks Rush Royale's fourth anniversary with special birthday event and $370m revenue milestone
Since its launch, Rush Royale has garnered over 90 million downloads
Funding For Games
Beam Ventures launches in Abu Dhabi with $150m fund to support game studios
The firm will also launch an accelerator program that focuses on early-stage web3 gaming and AI start-ups
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Rababa Games' Mohammad Al-Aghar Rawashdeh on how to get a career as an environment artist
In this series, we highlight the talented team members working in the games industry and how they got their break
Sale Boost
Zynga sells Chartboost to LoopMe
Publisher had previously bought mobile ads and monetisation platform in a $250 million deal in 2021
New Studio
Clear Angle Studios opens new studio in Culver City
The new studio has already supported five major film productions and three games industry projects
More Games
Arkadium unveils six new games to end the year with 18 releases
Platform invests heavily as browser-based gaming grows in popularity
Job News
Duolingo taps former Halo franchise head Bonnie Ross as board member
Ross has over 30 years of experience in the games industry
Acqusitions
Build A Rocket Boy acquires UK developer PlayFusion
PlayFusion CEO and CTO Mark Gerhard will join company as co-CEO
Growth In Games
How community managers can contribute more than clicks to help boost revenue
Belka Games’ head of publishing Liza Makhina shares how to set your community managers the right goals
Pocket Premium
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete surpasses $3m with highest daily spend since 2017
The premium edition has now replaced free-to-play Pocket Camp
Job News
Bitkraft Ventures recruits ex-JetSynthesis Gaming CEO Anuj Tandon as partner
Investment firm aims to expand presence in India’s fast-growing games market
Global Goals
Square Enix’s global growth strategy too often overlooks mobile
After shutting down multiple mobile games in recent years, Square Enix launches Emberstoria - another Japan exclusive
Infold Income
Infinity Nikki is series’ strongest launch with $4m in four days on mobile
It has been outperformed by Infold Games’ other 2024 title, Love and Deepspace
Global Trends
Global Trends: Wargaming's Evgeniy Shukin on the increasing difficulty of launching new live games
We catch up with industry leaders to get their insights on the state of play in the games sector
New Partnerships
Xsolla partners with StarNest to launch game development academy in Azerbaijan
Xsolla is also considering establishing its regional headquarters in Baku
Esports Growth
PUBG Mobile commits $10 million to 2025 Esports circuit prize pool
Next year's event will feature over 20 tournaments across various regions
Podcast | Episode 39
Mobile's hot new releases and the loot box investigation unpacked | 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 and what's inside this week's episode 39...
Mena Market
UAE leads MENA start-up investments in November with $146m across 11 deals
Saudi Arabia followed with 23 startups raising $94 million
Ubisoft Buyout
Tencent and Ubisoft in talks over potential management-led buyout
The PUBG publisher also aims to block hostile takeovers as it awaits the family’s agreement
Hot Five
Hot Five: Infinity Nikki goes global, Royal Kingdom beats Royal Match, and Pokémon TCG Pocket makes $200m in first month
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Pocket Gamer Awards
Pocket Gamer Awards 2024 winners revealed
Ceremony celebrates the top mobile games this year, as voted for by the community, across 20 categories
Week That Was
Royal Kingdom’s $2.4m debut, Infinity Nikki’s launch and Pokémon TCG Pocket rivals Pokémon Go's early success | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Acqusitions
Reforged Studios acquires South Africa’s Yellow Lab Games
Yellow Lab Games will continue operating independently
Loot Box Investigation
Are the UK's top grossing mobile games really breaking loot box rules?
We delve into the BBC's claims that only two out of the top 45 revenue-generating titles are following the ASA's rules on loot box disclosures
New Studio
PTW opens new studio in Charleston
The company said the new studio will feature “state-of-the-art" facilities for next-gen testing
Ai In Games
Google’s AI Genie 2 brings images to life by transforming them into playable 3D worlds
“Games play a key role in the world of artificial intelligence research”
Milestone
Block Blast! surges past 40m daily active users
The game has garnered over 200m downloads since its launch in 2021
Funding News
Cyprus-based studio Top App Games secures $10m funding
The studio aims to launch new mobile titles and explore new genres
New Games
New release roundup: Infinity Nikki, Animal Crossing, Emberstoria, Airoheart, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Royal Revenue
Royal Kingdom makes $2.4m in 14 days, quadrupling Royal Match’s early earnings
The US market has spent almost $1.1 million in two weeks
Lawsuit
Apple faces £785 million UK lawsuit over App Store commissions
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has allowed the suit to proceed
Incredible Indies
Incredible Indies: BAFTA nominated studio Other Tales shares on the development of its latest game Miniatures
Other Tales’ co-founder Tanja Tankred discusses the studios journey so far as it recently launched its second title
Browser Games 101
GameDistribution: Expand Mobile Game Reach with Zero Acquisition Costs
Learn more about the opportunities for developers and publishers in the cross-platform browser market, with the help of GameDistribution by Azerion
Nikki Now
Infinity Nikki launches today as series’ first cross-platform game
Infold Games’ franchise has grown from dress-up origins to "cosy" open-world adventure
Indefinite Delay
Nintendo delays Alarmo clock public sales in Japan
Non-Nintendo Switch Online subscribers will have to wait before purchasing the alarm clock
Investment News
Fortnite UGC studio Creators Corp gets $2 million investment from Lumina
The team has developed over 15 games and boasts over 220m active users
Anniversary
How Outfit7 built Talking Tom into a mobile gaming behemoth in 15 years
Senior VP of distribution and business intelligence, Jernej Česen reflects on the developer's 15 year journey and what comes next