End of an era at Unity, Resident Evil Survival Unit's future and Pokémon's Super Bowl appearance | Week in Views
The games industry moves quickly and while stories may come and go there are some that we just can't let go of…
So, to give those particularly thorny topics a further going over we've created a weekly digest where the members of the PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week.
Craig Chapple
Former Unity CEO David Helgason exits company as Bernard Kim joins board
Unity co-founder and former CEO David Helgason has officially left as of February 5th, 2026.
The role he’s played in the games industry’s history, along with his Unity co-founders, is substantial. Their chief slogan was to democratise game development - a goal they went on to achieve by becoming the leading game engine on the market.
Such was their success, others would also adopt that mantra for various other parts of the business - and still do.
It’s a shame what would happen to all that work later with the announcement of that Runtime Fee. Years of work building up a largely developer-friendly reputation was lost overnight.
There’s a reason that particular announcement hit such a nerve - Unity built itself into a key position of importance. Unity has done a lot of work to recover its reputation, but it might never be the same.
The loss of Helgason is significant. Unity has lost another part of its past and a trusted partner.
The arrival of Bernard Kim as an independent director might soften the blow - he’s well liked in the sector and is himself a big gamer.
We’ll see what the future holds. As Helgason says though: “it’s the end of an era.”
Paige Cook
Resident Evil Survival Unit surpasses 5m downloads following global expansion
Late last year, Resident Evil Survival Unit was released, and it recently hit a new milestone of 5 million downloads. However, I’m already unsure about the longevity of this game.
The game starts with these interesting exploration sections that feel very reminiscent of older Resident Evil Games, and for me, those are the highlights of the game.
But it's likely hard to build a viable live mobile game around just those sections. So then you're introduced to base-building, resource management, and tower defence.
One of the big issues is the game's aggressive monetisation. Certain characters are locked behind needing to pay, some of the timers felt very long, again tipping me toward feeling like paying was necessary, and I think in-game purchases need to maintain a good balance of enticing you enough to indulge in spending from time to time, without making you feel like it's necessary.
I was curious about what other players thought, so I looked through some reviews, and there’s a mix of positives and negatives. Players praise the early sections, the atmosphere, visuals, and the game's general concept.
But there were so many negative reviews, all saying the same thing: the bait-and-switch of the intro, pulling you into what feels like a survival horror, only to turn into a base builder. The heavy monetisation was also frequently mentioned, with many saying it's simply pay-to-win.
Essentially, many said it's a generic mobile war game with a Resident Evil skin.
It’s still early days, so maybe it’ll get updates or make changes, but if it's just about fans' nostalgia for the franchise, players will likely burn out.
While it's great to see more downloads, keeping those players is a whole different challenge.
Aaron Astle
Pokémon and Mario splash the cash with Super Bowl LX ads
Pokémon kicked off its 30th anniversary advertising campaign at the Super Bowl, promoting its game franchise at one of the biggest sports games of the year.
The spot didn’t advertise any specific game or merchandise, but rather spent a full minute celebrating the brand. It’s worth bearing in mind 30 seconds of screentime at the Super Bowl was reported to cost upwards of $8 million.
So, what did the ad contain? It featured various celebrities - from singer Lady Gaga to footballer Lamine Yamal - shouting out their favourite Pokémon and telling the world why this one creature beats all 1,024 others.
For some Gen 1 classics came out on top, but others celebrated Gen 4’s Luxray or Gen 6’s Zygarde, representing impressive diversity I didn’t particularly expect.
The advert marks something of a watershed moment for Pokémon’s year ahead, with The Pokémon Company already confirming that the Super Bowl ad is just the beginning of a "massive year-long campaign". The brand will be calling on fans to share their favourite Pokémon throughout 2026.
Now, fans like myself are even more eager to see what the 30th anniversary will bring - with just two weeks left to wait for the inevitable Pokémon Day presentation. And maybe, just maybe, some American Football fans will check the franchise out too.
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