Story-driven Games
Female-first UGC platform Dorian partners with Women’s Game Fest
The Boost Track gives developers the chance to compete for a $500 gran, 1:1 coaching and game promotion
Market Growth
Player spending on games in China grew to $49.2bn in 2024
Revenue is forecast to reach $54.8bn by 2029
Funding News
Classy Games raises $300k to fuel growth and accelerate development of SillySuspects
Funding will also support team expansion and community-building initiatives
Leadership Change
Coffee Stain Group prepares for Embracer spin-off with new board
Coffee Stain co-founder and CEO Anton Westbergh exits Embracer’s management team amid restructuring
Layoff News
MPL to lay off 60% of its India staff after government ban on paid games
About 300 of 500 employees will be cut
Marvellous Mena
Saudi Arabia’s games market projected to reach $1.64bn by 2028
Savvy Games Group's 2024 annual report shows the MENA region generated $5.62bn in 2024 and is estimated to reach $6.94bn in 2027
New Offerings
Duet Night Abyss removes all gacha elements just weeks before its October launch
The upcoming RGP has amassed nearly seven million pre-registrations across all platforms
Funding News
Copa Fantasy raises $300k to scale football gaming platform in MENA
“We aim to become the region’s first true football super-app”
New Partnerships
Merak Capital signs MoU with HP to boost Saudi Arabia’s games and esports economy
Partnership to deliver events, workshops, and mentorship to build a sustainable talent pipeline
Pgc London
What to expect as the games industry gathers for the UK’s top B2B games event
Join more than 3,000 professionals to connect, discover, meet, learn, and gain visibility for two days at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026
New Game Launch
NetEase Games launches Destiny: Rising globally on iOS and Android
Pre-registrations topped 10 million ahead of launch
Regulations
Apple warns UK’s proposed “EU-style rules” will harm both users and developers
The iPhone maker cites delayed features in Europe under similar laws as a cautionary example
Pgc Barcelona
AI vs art and the evolution of creative campaigns
PGC Barcelona panellists discuss user acquisition and the battle against "average" results
Audience Choice
PGC Helsinki returns with the Big Indie Zone Audience Choice Award sponsored by Jam City
The October conference offers developers several opportunities to showcase their games
New Partnerships
Saudi Esports Federation and Merak Capital sign MoU to accelerate Saudi Arabia’s games and esports sector
Partnership expands training, certification, and global collaboration while attracting international studios
Loads Of Layoffs
Rec Room lays off "roughly half" of staff as priorities shift away from broad UGC
Rec Room’s mobile creation tools have struggled to produce "impactful" experiences
Industry Outlook
India launches Game Publishers and Developers Association to drive its gaming and esports ambitions
Backed by the Online Gaming Bill, IGPDA champions Made-in-India IP, skills development, and game production
App Store Changes
Google to require identity verification for all Android app developers from next year
Developers in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand face new verification rules from September 2026
Office Opening
Lightspeed Japan opens Osaka office to recruit talent, including Capcom veterans
This is Lightspeed Studios’ second office in Japan after a Tokyo office was established in 2024
Pgc Summit Korea
SAVE up to $200! PGC Summit Korea 2025 Super Early Bird discount ends tonight
Super Early Bird prices end at midnight Thursday, August 28th
Triumphant Trot
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby picks up 57% of mobile revenue outside Japan in two months since global launch
Cygames’ horse girl racer has earned $46.8m overseas since June 26th, 2025
Roblox Rising
Roblox’s peak concurrent user count hits record 47.4m as Steal a Brainrot and Grow a Garden compete
Steal a Brainrot has become the platform’s second experience to hit 20m concurrent users
Jobs Roundup
August 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Playtika promotions, Appcharge's senior hire, SayGames' new head of PR, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Marvellous Mena
17 MENA game studios graduate from the first Exel by Merak accelerator cohort
Each startup secured $300,000 in funding plus access to global mentorship
Funding News
FitNot Games secures $300k to expand development on culturally-inspired titles
Funding will accelerate work on ALI, a story-driven 2D isometric stealth game set in Egyptian folklore
New Offerings
Unity launches Ad Quality as a free standalone SDK for all publishers
The tool gives developers transparency and control over in-game ads across 25 networks
Funding News
Superbullet Studios secures $300k to scale Roblox game development
Funding will fuel marketing for flagship title SuperbulletAI, production scaling, and team expansion
Marvellous Mena
Yalla Group joins the $1bn Arab companies club with a $1.23bn valuation
The Dubai-based firm is the only gaming and social platform on the billion-dollar list
Pgc Helsinki
PG Connects and Helsinki Film Lab introduce new summit linking games with TV, film, music and other arts
Beyond Games: The Transmedia Summit coming to PGC Helsinki on October 7th
Finland Report
Finnish games industry's revenue and profit declines in 2024 despite Supercell boon
Despite the declines, the Finnish games sector remained among the five largest in Europe in 2024
Stopping Support
Square Enix to shut down Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and Dragon Quest of the Stars in Japan
Both games will celebrate their 10th anniversaries in the weeks before end of service, set for October 31st
Funding News
DaFluffs Games raises $300k to accelerate work on debut title Dungeon Blast
The Saudi startup will use the funding to expand its team and scale development
Gamescom 2025
Gamescom 2025 concludes with 357,000 visitors from 128 countries
Devcom, soon to be renamed Gamescom Dev, drew 5,400 attendees
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group signs MoU with Al Jouf’s strategic office to develop games and esports
Savvy and JSDO will co-organise events to attract gamers and esports fans to the region
Funding News
Sheba Joy raises $293,000 in pre-seed funding to scale operations from Saudi Arabia
Funding will expand production, attract top talent, and drive development of new titles
New Offerings
New platform 962.Games launches as a directory for Jordan’s games ecosystem
It serves as a gateway for players, partners, and investors while inviting local developers to join
Investment News
Impact46 invests over $53m in Saudi games studio Kammelna
The studio is best known for bringing the Kingdom’s iconic card game Baloot to mobile
Funding News
Spoilz raises fresh funding to expand its development and live ops capabilities
Investment will fuel globally competitive mobile games and attract top Saudi talent.
Funding News
Starvania Studios raises $1.1m to accelerate growth and fuel its gaming ambitions
Investment enables Starvania to expand its team with Saudi talent and boost global competitiveness
Esports Tournament
Esports World Cup Foundation launches Esports Nations Cup
EA, Krafton, Tencent, and Ubisoft will co-develop the first edition in November 2026
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group partners with AWS to boost Saudi Arabia’s games technology infrastructure
Savvy CEO Brian Ward says the deal will empower the Kingdom’s developer ecosystem
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group signs MoU with Unity to boost opportunities for Saudi games developers
Qualifying projects gain free access to Unity’s backend, analytics, ads, and multiplayer tools
Game Closure
NextBeat to shut down Beatstar and Country Star
The servers are set to close on October 31st 2025
Sound Search
Sony AI and Audiokinetic launch AI-powered Similar Sound Search for Wwise
AI search in Wwise will allow sound designers to find and experiment with audio using text or reference sounds
Expanding Partnerships
DMCC and Xsolla announce Accelerator and Incubator Programme at Gamescom 2025
The new programme aims to connect MENA talent with global publishers and investors
Best Of The Year
Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025 winners revealed
Check out who beat the competition in each of this year's 24 categories
Regulation Ramps Up
India bans real-money games but looks to legitimise esports as competitive sport
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 will ban ads and social media promotion of real-money games, whether skills-based or chance-based
New Partnerships
Odeeo partners with AI studio Wondercraft to power multilingual in-game audio ads
Partnership brings personalised audio ads into mobile gaming
Play Policy
Google Play policy update restricts pre-registrations, discovery and more to higher-tier fee payers
Changes also allow developers to more flexibly link to payments outside of an app
Mobile Games Awards 2025
Balatro wins hearts as the People's Choice at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025
Solo developer LocalThunk picks up the People’s Choice award for a $30m mobile game first intended "for myself and a few friends"