Growing Team
Steel Media adds two new biz dev hires as Pocket Gamer Connects expands globally
Suzanne Smith and Mark O'Leary join business development team
New Game
Garena and Tencent team up to publish tactical FPS Delta Force in MENA, Southeast Asia and South America
The game will feature cross-progression for PC and mobile when it launches next year
Ready To Return
Rainbow Six Mobile is returning in three "phases" towards global launch
The dev team plans to go through technical and engagement testing during return to soft launch
Dma Dominance
Report: EU readies Digital Markets Act’s first-ever fine against Apple
There may be periodic penalties for noncompliance, according to people familiar with the matter
Esports In Mena
British International School Riyadh partners with NES to propel esports education in Saudi Arabia
The partnership is in line with the KSA's Vision 2030 initiative
Jobs In Games
Jobs in Games: Steer Studios' Jamil Dar on how to get a career as a lead artist
In this series, we highlight the talented team members working in the games industry and how they got their break
Funds And Finances
Radical Forge raises £2.6m to hire more staff and take on "bigger contracts"
Bright Paw developer receives investment from Mercia Equity Finance’s Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II
Title Trademark
HoYoverse’s Petit Planet: Another trademark, another game?
This could be a brand-new title or a rebranding of Astaweave Haven, which was trademarked in June
The Battle Endures
Google accuses Microsoft of wanting to "free-ride" on Play Store’s success amid Epic Games legal battle
Microsoft came out in support of Epic Games last week - now Google has responded
Fine Tuning
Behind the scenes: How the little details in game development can make the biggest impact
Rockbite Games’ founders Avetis Zakharyan and Gevorg Kopalyan share why the team obsess over little things and easter eggs in their mobile games
Company Spotlight
Company Spotlight: Neon River
Find out more about the headhunting firm that specialises in recruiting senior executives into mobile games companies around the world.
Acqusition Rumours
Take-Two in talks to sell adtech division Chartboost
AppLovin and LoopMe are potential buyers
Bloom Boom
Pikmin Bloom celebrates record-breaking third year budding $63 million in lifetime earnings
53% of all in-game revenue was earned over the past year
Esports In Mena
YaLLa Esports invests $12.5 million to accelerate growth in the MENA region over the next two years
YaLLa Esports will host five major esports tournaments in Qatar and UAE by 2026
Revenue Result
Microsoft makes $24.7bn profit in Q1 after video game cutbacks
Microsoft’s games business increased its revenue to $5.6bn for the quarter, but that didn’t spare Xbox from job cuts
Very Big Indie Pitch
The Big Indie Interviews: Cozy Game Studio on their award-winning casual farming game Spirit World
Taling cats, mindfulness and European folklore combine in this PGC Helsinki pitch competition winner from a Danish indie developer
Marvellous Mena
"Africa needs an educated society, and EdTech is a vital tool for achieving that"
Enechawet Games’ CEO and co-founder Abiy Hailu talks opportunities in EdTech, leveraging emerging technologies in game development and publishing challenges
Podcast | Episode 35
Facebook Instant Games is back! And Games First 2024 takeaways | 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 35...
Nikke Numbers
Goddess of Victory: Nikke celebrates second anniversary and nearly $900m on mobile
Shift Up’s popular gacha game is celebrating its second anniversary from a past antagonist’s perspective
New Offerings
Kakao Games partners with Lionheart Studio for triple-A MMORPG game codenamed Project Q
The upcoming game will launch for PC and mobile next year
Super Space Ape
Supercell establishes London studio with 100% acquisition of Space Ape
Clash of Clans developer aims to tap UK talent with full purchase Beatstar maker
Earnings Report
Roblox hits $1.1 billion bookings in Q3 as it cuts losses
Daily active users grew 27% year-over-year to 88.9 million
Pocket Power
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket surpasses 10 million downloads and $23m revenue
Japan makes up 45% of player spending during the game's opening five days, followed by the US
Funding News
Levellr raises $1.75 million for Discord management tools
Company appoints SuperAwesome co-founder Dylan Collins as chairman; aims to add Reddit integration in 2025
Netflix Ai
Netflix appoints Mike Verdu as VP of GenAI for games
Streaming giant eyes potential for AI to power its games business
Hot Five
Hot Five: Pokémon vs Palworld, Fingersoft layoffs, and Facebook Instant Games’ in-app purchases on iOS
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Ad Advice
Creative fatigue in mobile games marketing: How to identify and combat it
AdQuantum’s Anton Kuzmin shares how you can avoid creative fatigue and keep your audience engaged
Earnings Report
Meta's VR/AR division struggles with $4.4 billion loss as expenses rise to $4.7 billion in Q3
Revenue for Reality Labs was $270 million, driven by hardware sales
Week That Was
Nintendo's curious Palworld case, Pokémon TCG Pocket launches, and Instant Games' big news | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Vote For Pocket Gamer Awards
Voting now open for the Pocket Gamer Awards 2024
Cast your vote and celebrate the best in mobile games
Mario Music
Nintendo Music brings classic game soundtracks to mobile devices
App features music from hit IPs like Mario and The Legend of Zelda, but fails to credit artists
Instant Games
Remember Facebook Instant Games? It’s back
The long-awaited introduction of in-app purchases on iOS is another example of a new era for games
New Studio
Supercell invests in Barcelona-based studio Penguin Armada
PC-first developer working on top-down PvP title
Union Support
Sony faces backlash from CWA over studio closures amid layoffs
The union says it plans "to raise the anti-competitive impacts of Sony's increasing monopoly with the appropriate antitrust regulators"
Five New Games
New release roundup: Pokémon TCG Pocket, Frostpunk, Bloons Card Storm, and more
We highlight five new games that have broken cover over the past week
Funding News
3D animation platform Swoove Studios secures $7.5 million in seed round
This brings the studios' total funds raised to $11 million since 2020
Games First Takeaways
4 takeaways from Supercell’s Games First Helsinki 2024
We round up the insights from a day of deep dives into the industry and game design practices
Marvellous Mena
Table Knight Games' co-founder Ghada A. AlHudaithi talks MENA challenges, company expansion and exploring new genres
"There has been a lot of vast opportunities for funding and support from Saudi Arabia and other venture capitals in the MENA region"
Storytelling 101
Narrative design in mobile games
Tactile Games’ Jedidjah Noomen on writing for the small screen
Trick Or Treat
Pokémon Sleep turns spooky with 107% revenue spike as Halloween event gets underway
Popular Alolan Pokémon Mimikyu has debuted in-game for Halloween alongside bundles and an event
Apple Ai
Apple to introduce AI-generated app review summaries with iOS 18.1
These summaries aim to help users better assess apps before downloading or purchasing
Incredible Indies
Incredible Indies: Johnny Monsarrat on why there is plenty of room left for AR-powered outdoor RPGs
Monsarrat shares how the AR boom has sparked new potential in RPGs
Job News
Unity appoints Alex Blum as new COO as executive shakeup continues
He previously served as senior vice president of corporate development at Unity
Halloween Sale
Ghoulish networking tips to make connections at PG Connects London 2025 without getting spooked
Brawl Stars Character Creation
5 creative pillars for designing Brawlers in Supercell's Brawl Stars
Supercell's Fernanda Oliveira on how the team creates characters for Brawl Stars
Pay To Play
Monster Hunter Now tests Pokémon Go event formula with Carnival Global
Now’s first in-person event is getting an online follow-up for players who couldn’t attend in Shibuya
Jobs Roundup
October’s Mobile Movers and Shakers: New Unity CTO, Stillfront CEO and Supercell CMO exit, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Earnings Report
EA Mobile net bookings decline by 3% amid game closures
While PC and other segments continue to grow, console remains EA's largest contributor to net bookings
Managing Millions
Trophy Games revenue rises by 56% in Q3 as Airline Manager and Energy Manager drive new installs
Developer recorded a 108% year-on-year increase in paying users during Q3 2024
Emerging Markets
Supercell’s Games First 2024 explores emerging markets in LATAM, India and Africa
Emerging markets are presenting opportunities to grow audiences and new studios