Luna Layoffs
Luna Abyss’ entire Kwalee Labs dev team has been laid off
The team was laid off just 26 days after launching the new game
Bringing The Battle
Pokémon Champions launches on mobile today
A new season begins in the free-to-play competitive battler
Gta Vi Impact
GTA VI launch may affect spending on some mobile game genres
Research from 2000 players found that 29% expect to spend less on games during GTA VI’s launch period
New Offerings
Glitch launches AI marketing agent for solo developers and indie game teams
The tool helps teams plan and execute marketing activities across social, creator, advertising and analytics channels
Acqusitions
Affle acquires AdColony assets to expand mobile advertising reach
Affle expects the acquisition to broaden its global mobile publisher reach and strengthen audience intelligence capabilities
Pgc Barcelona
Five extraordinary women in games celebrated at The Aurora - Barcelona Edition
Dimoso CEO Jacki Vause hosted the awards at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona
Job News
Metacore appoints Jose Saarniniemi as general manager of Merge Mansion
He previously served as CEO of Small Giant Games
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out Kids and Select accounts with tighter age-based controls
Games available to Kids and Select accounts must pass additional review processes
Data And Drones
Report: Niantic Spatial says Pokémon Go data isn't training military drones, but player scans helped build AI models
Pokémon Go’s terms of service permit Niantic to use AR content in perpetuity
Broadening The Board
TIGA appoints nine new members to board of directors
The move follows shortly after Elaine Green taking up the position of TIGA’s new chair
Pubg Partnership
G2 partners with PUBG Mobile Esports to grow Western Europe competitive scene
The collaboration will support the 2026 PUBG Mobile Club Open Western Europe Wildcard
Awards Finalists
Mobile and Roblox experiences earn nominations at 2026 Games for Change Awards
and Roger emerged as one of the most recognised mobile titles, receiving nominations for Best Gameplay, Best Impact, and Best Narrative
Pgc Barcelona
Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona 2026 kicks off with Tetris, Ubisoft, Zynga and more!
We're expected c.1,000 industry professionals at the show, which takes place from June 15th to 16th
Raking In Revenue
Where Winds Meet makes $22.1m on mobile in six months outside China
China has continued to lead spending with its pre-established audience, contributing $72.1m since December 12th
Online Safety
UK social media ban plans could affect gaming platform features
The government hopes to implement the measures by spring 2027
New Offerings
EA launches advertising platform for in-game brand integrations
The platform supports dynamic in-game ads, branded content, challenges, and custom integrations
Industry Outlook
Up to 80% of mobile devs say engagement strategies are losing effectiveness
51% struggle to balance monetisation friction with a fun player experience
Finding Employment
Amir Satvat's ASGC community helps secure 5,000 games industry jobs
Amir Satvat described the figure as a conservative estimate based on nearly four years of data
New Offerings
ClarityQ launches game-native AI analytics platform for mobile game studios
The platform translates complex gaming data into natural language insights and recommendations
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Save up to $220 this week before PGC Summit Shanghai Super Early Bird ends
West meet East, East meet West… Maximise your ChinaJoy Week
Podcast | Episode 93
Record D2C revenue and international studios flock to Spain | 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 93...
Rebrand
Mega Rewards rebrands as Trofeo and appoints Kim Carlson as CRO
Ads company wants to engage with brands to offer rewards after players make in-game achievements
Speaker Spotlight
FastSpring's Steve Rock to discuss what games and apps can learn from each other at PGC Barcelona
Rock talks to us about the attraction of the games industry and the direct-to-consumer movement ahead of his talk at the show
Bytebrew Ads Impact
How The One Game Studio hit 170% D1 ROAS and 1.26x ad LTV lift with ByteBrew Ads
Explore the impact of ByteBrew Ads, the AI-powered cross-promotion ad network built to help studios scale their portfolios through performance-targeted advertising
Indie Support
Codfish Academy to host Playstack-led Game Clinic for indie studios in Portugal
Selected indie studios will receive direct feedback from Playstack's Aaron Ludlow
New Studio
Jin Universe Studios unveils anime ARPG Aether Dawn
The project is being developed by former Genshin Impact and Arknights developers
Esports World Cup
Esports Foundation expands co-streaming program for EWC and ENC 2026
The Foundation is committing $2m in creator rewards
New Offerings
CodeDev Group launches The Performance Guys
The team focuses on performance support across Unreal Engine, Unity, and proprietary technology
Milestone
Asian Champions League records 380m views across three esports titles
The tournament featured Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competitions
New Hire
Appcharge appoints Bernard Kim to advisory board
Former Zynga president and Match Group CEO joins the DTC payments platform as an adviser
Pg Connects
World Cup special offer: Save up to €72 on upcoming Pocket Gamer Connects events
Don’t miss this 10% discount for Barcelona, Shanghai and the Nordics
Studio Closure
Ubisoft closes Winnipeg and Belgrade studios as up to 380 roles impacted
Around 50 developers working on Rainbow Six Siege Mobile have reportedly been reassigned
Web Games
Playgama publishes web games market map covering 120+ companies
The map aims to provide a clearer view of the web gaming ecosystem
Strategic Move
Xbox outlines platform overhaul in internal strategy memo
The company reported 1bn annual players across console, PC, mobile and streaming
Winners Revealed
Gather-2-Gether wins Roblox and Games for Change challenge focused on positive play
Developer Magic The Dog will receive a $15,000 first-place prize
Layoffs Imminent
Report: Xbox plans major layoffs as new CEO pushes restructuring effort
The cuts would mark the first major restructuring under CEO Asha Sharma
Child Safety
Russia lifts ban on Roblox
The decision follows consultations between Roblox and Russian authorities on protecting underage users
Funding News
Two Desperados secures $20m in user acquisition financing from PvX Partners
The funding will be used to scale growth and expand the studio’s global player base
Industry Outlook
ESA warns California games bill would burden developers and players
“This bill may sound consumer-friendly, but it ultimately hurts both players and creators”
New Offerings
LinkedIn launches Wend as first new word game in two years
Wend combines word-finding gameplay with logic puzzle mechanics
Policy Change
ESA warns No Fakes Act could create legal uncertainty for the video game industry
The trade body argues that the legislation does not distinguish between harmful deepfakes and legitimate video game characters
A Series Among Us
Among Us TV show is out now on Paramount+
Over the years, the brand has expanded from mobile to PC, to consoles and now into a show
Leadership Change
German Games Industry Association elects new executive board as Lars Janssen retains chair role
Maxi Graeff was elected deputy chair of the association
Pgc Nordics
Top five reasons to attend Pocket Gamer Connects Nordics this October
Connect with the whole Nordic games industry - and global heavyweights - at our newly embiggened Helsinki hurrah
Pgc Summit Shanghai
China gaming 2026: Key trends and market catalysts
The key trends we'll cover in next month’s PGC Summit Shanghai including AI, mini games, super apps and a thriving PC market
Pgc Barcelona
Ubisoft Barcelona Mobile's studio manager Jordi Martin to speak at PGC Barcelona 2026
One more industry leader is heading to the stage at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona on June 15th and 16th
India On The Rise
IICT and GDAI launch faculty development program for game development educators
The programme is designed to help educators understand industry trends and prepare students for careers in games
Pgc Barcelona
See who you could connect with at PG Connects Barcelona this June 15th to 16th
Network with the biggest brands and brightest minds including Zynga, Rovio, Gameloft, King, Scopely and more
Apple Ai
Apple unveils AI frameworks and agentic coding tools in Xcode 27
Developers can now access Apple Foundation Models alongside third-party models including Claude and Gemini
New Offerings
Apple expands App Store capabilities with new marketing, discovery and subscription features
Developers can now manage and reuse promotional materials through App Store Connect