Revenue Rumble
Sega still aiming for Sonic Rumble 2025 release after last-minute delay
Net revenue was down by 9% in FY2025, though Entertainment Contents grew marginally
New Offerings
AdsAdvisor platform launches globally to boost growth for mobile businesses
Service originally developed by My.Games' marketing team now available to all
Winners Revealed
Supercell founder Ilkka Paananen named Power Player of the Year at Finnish Game Awards 2025
The awards ceremony also celebrated the 30-year history of the Finnish games industry
Speaker Spotlight
Iyad Alsabouni on developing deeper experiences and more meaningful connections with players
"My advice would be to invest in user-centred design. Games that connect with players on an emotional and aesthetic level build lasting communities."
Event Report
Biggest ever Dubai GameExpo Summit draws over 1,400 game professionals from 70 countries to engage with the vibrant MENA games market
Third iteration of the region’s leading conference hosted as part of the Dubai Esports and Games Festival 2025 celebrated innovation, supported new talent and encouraged investment
Microsoft Management
Microsoft to lay off 3% of global staff
The move could impact thousands, expected to be felt across all teams, levels and locales
Squad Up
Squad Busters 2.0: "I’d say this is the biggest change to a game of this scale from Supercell and possibly ever"
Supercell head of marketing Rob Lowe and head of Squad Busters Johnathan Rowlands share insights on the latest update, reflecting on the game’s performance in its first year
Dismantled
Machine Zone reduced to minimal core team operating Game of War and Mobile Strike
Studio no longer has the capacity to work on new games
Royal Revenue
Royal Kingdom surpasses $100m after record month
Dream Games’ Royal Match sequel has seen 12 consecutive months of player spending growth, when including soft launch results
Marvellous Mena
Kanessa Muluneh on Rise of Fearless, play-to-earn mechanics, and tapping into Africa’s mobile audience
"I want to unlock doors that have never been opened before."
New Offerings
Aarki launches privacy-first mobile growth platform Encore
Service provides support for UA and retargeting
Tarrifs
US and China agree to cut tariffs for 90 Days as Trump admin rolls back on trade war
President Trump claimed a "total reset with China" following the tariff reduction deal
Nintendo Numbers
Nintendo’s net sales down 30% in the final stretch before Switch 2
Operating profit is down 47% YoY, net profit is down 43%
New Proposal
SAG-AFTRA proposes new terms to protect against exploitative AI in games
One proposed change is to replace “voiced dialogue" with "vocal material" to cover all sounds
Legal Proceedings
Palworld developer to make more gameplay changes to the game amid legal dispute
“As many have speculated, these changes were indeed a result of the ongoing litigation”
Industry Insights
How small studios can scale amid games industry turbulence
Gennadii Potapov and Andrei Morozov share on why cross-studio collaboration is a smart move in 2025
Studio Support
MLC Studio’s Global Games Alliance aims to curate deals, funding calls, job postings and more into one central hub
Workshops, exclusive events and more are planned for later down the line
New Offerings
Playgama expands Bridge SDK distribution to over 300m users
“Adding Facebook and MSN is a major step forward for reach - and we’re just getting started,” said Playgama head of developer success Pavel Polovinka
Environmental Impact
PlanetPlay reports 79% of players made eco-friendly changes after playing green themed games
In-game poll data from PlanetPlay after surveying 181,000 players from 189 countries
Overhaul Overload
Squad Busters to overhaul victory conditions, progression systems and remove many modes in tomorrow’s update
Doppelgangers, Double Trouble, Epic Overload, Loot Machines and Hatchling Herder are all being removed
App Store Changes
Brazil orders Apple to allow App Store sideloading in 90 days after court reversal
Apple argued that the requested changes were too complex to implement within the given timeframe
Epic Comeback
Epic Games submits Fortnite for App Store comeback after four-year ban
Fortnite will launch in the US App Store after review is completed and approved
Hot Five
Hot Five: Golden Week 2025, web shop advancements, and Tripledot to acquire AppLovin’s games business
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 52
Tim Sweeney's epic App Store win and Tripledot's transformational AppLovin deal | 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 52...
Week In Views
Epic spends $100m fighting Apple and Pokémon TGC Pocket rules Golden week | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
New Offerings
Appcharge launches Payment Links for iOS developers to monetise outside the App Store
Developers can avoid platform fees and retain up to 95% of revenue
Leadership Change
Sumo Group restructures leadership to drive next phase of growth
Gary Dunn and Andy Stewart have been named co-CEOs
Funding News
Alpaka Games secures $2.2m to accelerate global expansion
The studio is focused on player-first experiences in the hybrid action genre
Job News
IGDA welcomes three new board members as it expands global vision
New members include ecosystem strategist, climate advocate, and emerging markets expert
Pgc Helsinki
Introducing Finnish Games Week 2025
Five days of games industry excellence takes place in Finland October 6th to 10th
Earnings Report
Netmarble reports $429m revenue in Q1 2025
Revenue growth was driven by the success of RF Online Next in Korea
Major Acquisition
How Tripledot's AppLovin deal is positioning it as a major global force in mobile games
We speak with Tripledot CEO and co-founder Lior Shiff on the $800m acquisition of AppLovin’s games business
Gamescom Latam 2025
Gamescom Latam 2025 wraps up with 130,000 attendees
The event saw a 30% increase compared to the previous year
Funding News
Sett secures $15m to expand AI-powered platform for mobile game studios
Funds will go towards team expansion and growth acceleration
Five New Games
New release roundup: Chronomon, Cornhole Hero, Witchy Workshop: Cozy Idle and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Acqusitions
Xsolla acquires Ludo to boost player engagement and revenue growth for developers
The move will see Xsolla integrate Ludo’s questing tool into its web shop and rewards solutions
Golden Week Glory
Golden Week 2025: Pokémon TCG Pocket dominates, Fate/Grand Order falls, and a 2012 title makes a surprising rise
The 10 best-performing mobile games in Japan generated $81m this Golden Week, up from $44.9m in 2024
Industry Insights
How France’s antitrust ruling could give a boost to app retargeting
Jenny Lin looks at the implications for app marketers of the French Regulator’s decision to fine Apple over its use of the App Tracking Transparency feature
Earnings Report
AppLovin reports 40% revenue growth in Q1 2025 to reach $1.48bn
The ad tech firm's apps revenue declined by 14% to $325m
Teenage Time
Subway Surfers is entering its "teenage years" with 200th World Tour destination for 13th anniversary
Starting in an in-game Copenhagen, players will be able to unlock 21 other cities during the event
Job News
Ludeo welcomes ex-Activision Blizzard exec as chief business officer
The company will leverage Schonfeld's industry experience to expand its roster of triple-A partnerships
Mena Games Awards 2025
Meet the MENA Games Industry Awards 2025 winners
Winners announced on Thursday, May 8th, as part of the Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025
Victory
Microsoft wins FTC appeal over Activision Blizzard acquisition
Court rules that the FTC failed to demonstrate the merger would harm competition
New Offerings
Metaplay makes game backend tech accessible with new free plan for Unity developers
Developers can try a dashboard demo without installing the SDK
Vector Vision
Unity Vector AI platform launches with 15-20% lift in iOS app installs and IAP value
iOS and Android traffic has been fully migrated to the new AI platform ahead of schedule
Proposed Merger
AppLovin proposes strategic merger with TikTok Global
The firm projects TikTok's ad revenue outside China to reach 80bn with the integration of its Axon AI
Big Screen Gaming Summit
The Big Screen Gaming Summit returns to PG Connects Helsinki later this year
Explore the world of games beyond mobile - including PC, console, XR and web3 - this October 7th and 8th
M&a
Tripledot to acquire AppLovin’s games business in transformative deal
Deal worth $400m in cash plus a 20% stake in Tripledot's common equity
Translation Teamup
DeNA and Alconost partner to localise international games for Japanese market
The partnership will see DeNA’s AndApp platform leverage Alconost’s localisation experience
Milestone
Steer Studios' Grunt Rush has surpassed 1m downloads
The tactical war game was developed primarily by first-time developers