New Partnerships
Qiddiya City signs five-year partnership with MPL MENA
The partnership will focus on fan engagement, community initiatives, and youth-focused activations
Online Safety
SuperAwesome partners with Roblox as under-13 advertising partner
The partnership focuses on delivering brand-safe and COPPA-compliant advertising experiences
New Studio
Poncle to open Japan studio led by El Shaddai creator Sawaki Takeyasu
The studio plans to continue working with relatively small development teams
Pgc Barcelona
Tetris president and CEO Maya Rogers to speak at PGC Barcelona
Yet another industry titan joins the speaker lineup for Pocket Gamer Barcelona on June 15th and 16th
Going Public
Liftoff Mobile prices IPO at $3.83bn valuation
IPO proceeds will primarily be used to repay outstanding debt
Layoff News
Team17 confirms layoffs in marketing and communications team
Two former staff members have been made redundant
Market Development
Inside Azerbaijan’s push to build a global games development ecosystem
Rytis Joseph Jan and Shahin Aliyev discuss building and scaling games studios in Azerbaijan’s emerging market
Pgc Barcelona
The publishing playbook: Pitching tips from both sides of the table
Ahead of her talk at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona 2026, Burny Games’ Elena Lobova explores the value of research and clarity when teaming up with a publisher
Game Jam
Green Game Jam 2026 launches with 70 games and environmental activations
Additional games are expected to join the campaign in September
Market Report
Mobile dominates US gaming as weekly player base reaches 212 million
Gen Z leads in-game spending, with 78% having made a purchase and a median monthly spend of $20
New Offerings
Mexican Football Federation launches FIFA Super Soccer activation on Roblox ahead of World Cup 2026
The event lets players use Mexico’s official adidas 2026 kit before it is worn at the tournament
Champions Incoming
Pokémon Champions’ mobile release slated for June 17th
The battling title previously launched on Nintendo hardware in April
Franchise Expansion
Warner Bros. Games launches Game of Thrones: Dragonfire worldwide on mobile
The free-to-play title arrives on iOS and Android ahead of House of the Dragon Season 3
Nordic Best Of 2026
The Top 30 Nordic Game Makers of 2026
The Nordic movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!
Spanish Star
Zynga's senior games VP: "Barcelona has become a hub for top-level game developer talent"
We delve into the work going on at Take-Two owned Socialpoint and the state of Spain's games market with Yair Melamed
New Offerings
Mattel Digital Studios releases Skeletor: Until Next Time mobile game
The title launched on iOS and arrives on Android next week
Market Report
Asia and MENA video game revenue set to surpass $100bn by 2030
Niko Partners' report shows China's mini games now account for nearly 20% of mobile game spending
Pokemon Partnership
LEGO stores to partner with Pokémon Go this summer, with exclusive rewards and LEGO Smart Play sets ahead
Participating stores will span the US, UK, Germany, France, Poland and Australia
Warhammer On Mobile
Nitro Games' Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Boom to launch on mobile in 2026
Pre-registration is now open on the Apple App Store and Google Play
Winners Revealed
Apple names 2026 Design Awards winners
Eight of this year's 12 winning titles are available on iPhone
Preserving Games
California State Assembly passes landmark game preservation bill
The bill next needs to go through the California State Senate
Settlement Reached
Stillfront divests OFM Studios and cuts $26.5m Gameberry settlement
The proceeds will support Stillfront’s continued deleveraging efforts
Roblox Collaboration
Miraculous and Rabbids launch cross-experience Roblox collaboration
The collaboration links three Roblox experiences through a shared narrative
Deal
Akin Babayigit and Makers Fund launch AMF Capital with $28m UA financing for Bear Hug
Further deals from UA fund will be announced soon
Portugal Promise
"The next five years will be a transformative era for the Portuguese video games sector"
We speak to APVP president Jeferson Valadares about the state of the industry in Portugal
Live Ops Evolution
Why mobile gaming has shifted from a 'core-first' to an 'event-first' model
Rovio’s Anastasiya Kara discusses how live ops continues to be a dominant force in driving long-term mobile success
New Office
Sheba Joy opens new office in Beijing
The move is part of its efforts to accelerate social gaming innovation for the Middle East
Pgc Summit Shanghai
What to expect at next month's PGC Summit Shanghai
Your gateway to the Asia market and your warmup to ChinaJoy this July 29th
Market Growth
New Zealand games industry surpasses $1bn revenue milestone ahead of schedule
Industry revenue reached $758.9m last year, while workforce numbers grew 29%
Restoring Streaks
Duolingo is restoring lost streaks for a limited time, aiming to recover lapsed users
Until June 30th, "any learner" can restore their old streak of 30 or more days by completing three lessons in one sitting
Morocco Gaming Expo
Studio expansions and $3bn ambitions take centre stage at Morocco Gaming Expo
Morocco is targeting $3 billion in games revenue and 1% of the global market by 2030
Netease Numbers
NetEase’s games business grows 7% to $3.7bn in Q1 2026
Eggy Party, Where Winds Meet and other titles were noted to have strong revenue performances
Marvellous Mena
Dubai hosts first-ever DEF Education & Gaming Summit on June 4th
The summit covers gaming careers, esports, content creation and digital innovation
Ai Strategy
Saga launches AI Labs following blockchain network transition
Saga is prioritising AI products and digital characters following the transfer of its blockchain network operations to Alapin Holdings
Pgc Barcelona
PG Connects Barcelona: full two-day schedule revealed
Save up to €120 this week before Mid Term prices end
Pgc Nordics
The Nordics’ biggest B2B games event is back
What to expect as Pocket Gamer Connects Nordics returns this October
Value In Vietnam
Vietnamese puzzle, simulation and arcade games are most-downloaded in the world
Vietnamese games achieved 4.9 billion downloads in 2025, with 67% coming from three genres
Acqusitions
Atari acquires Crossy Road creator Hipster Whale in deal worth up to $39.3m
The deal is expected to be completed in the coming days
European Impact
King’s first European market report reveals mobile's €5.9bn economic impact for the continent
Mobile studios in Europe employ 30,000 people, while 61% of public play mobile games
Marvellous Mena
NJD Games creative director Baraa Odeh on building a racing franchise and taking Hajwala culture global
"One of the key factors behind KOH’s success has been understanding the community and building gameplay experiences that keep players socially engaged over time"
Support Programme
Global Game Jam launches micro-missions pilot to connect indie studios with emerging talent
The new programme introduces paid micro-projects across, art, audio and QA to support indie development and early-career experience
Content Incoming
Tencent reportedly preparing UGC initiative for Delta Force
Plans include creator tools, content distribution and monetisation systems
Strategic Moves
FIFA outlines multi-partner digital football strategy ahead of 2026 World Cup
FIFA said its Roblox experience attracts more than 10m monthly active users
Developer Training
Maliyo Games' GameUp Africa has trained 6,000 devs in five years
A new impact report tracks five years of building one of Africa's largest game development programmes
Game Approvals
China approves 158 games in May as licensing pace accelerates in 2026
Total game approvals in 2026 have reached 779, comprising 754 domestic and 25 imported games
Hot Five
Hot Five: Fortnite’s iOS comeback, Take-Two Interactive’s "fantastic mobile performance", and Block Blast’s brief unavailability on Google Play
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week In Views
Steam Deck’s price jump and Fortnite’s iOS comeback | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Unblocked
Hungry Studio’s Block Blast returns to Google Play
The title, which the company claims has 300 million monthly active users, was temporarily unavailable during the past 24 hours
M&a
VantageCo agrees deal to acquire majority stake in UK games publisher Playstack
TruFin is selling its majority stake
New Games
New release roundup: Slime Rancher, Battle Waves: Mobile, Pictonico!, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week