Investment
Exclusive: Turkish developer Flow Games secures $46m in funding package led by Tencent
The Smash Fest developer has secured funding as Tencent continues to invest in Türkiye’s mobile games market
Talent
BAFTA awards over £270,000 to support 112 emerging creatives
The grants will support early-career talent across film, games and television
More On Mobile
Apple brings seven indie games to iPhone and iPad for Indie Games Week
Sifu, No Man’s Sky and Vampire Crawlers are among the indie titles launching
Must-see Sessions
PG Connects Nordics: The editorial team's can't-miss sessions
The PGC.biz team picks the PGC Nordics sessions they’re most excited about, from Turkish regulation and live ops to Embark’s leadership lessons and AI as the next game engine.
Revenue Report
Mobile game IAPs down 7% as no new releases break top-grossing charts this year
Games industry deals are approaching a post-pandemic peak
Steep Climb
Lego Hill Climb Adventures to end service but all staff kept on
The Fingersoft title is expected to end service in 2027
Transmedia
Devsisters partners with Big Shot Pictures for CookieRun film
The adaptation is targeting a global release in 2029 to mark 20 years of CookieRun
Creator Tools
Roblox brings Audioscape team in-house to develop AI audio tools
The AI audio startup’s team will bring its audio discovery and production tools into Roblox’s creator ecosystem
Pgc Summit Montreal
MIGS Early Bird ends this week
Save CA$100 on the Montréal International Game Summit before Thursday, October 16th - plus 15% off for PG Connects attendees
Going Public
MTG postpones PlaySimple’s potential IPO
MTG believes an IPO could create shareholder value and support PlaySimple’s growth plans
Pgc Nordics
Who will you meet at PG Connects Nordics this October 20-21?
Companies already confirmed to attend include Activision, Epic Games, Meta, Rovio and Supercell
New Partnerships
Kakao Games partners with Abu Dhabi to expand across MENA
The agreement will explore regional expansion through publishing, localisation and live operations
Shutdown Imminent
Rainbow Six Mobile to shut down in January 2027
Ubisoft said the shutdown is tied to its long-term strategic priorities
New Offerings
Xbox creates XP division to expand its gaming franchises
Kayleen Walters will lead the new division as president
Job News
Xbox appoints new leaders for Mojang and franchise experiences
Maria Angelidou-Smith will become CEO of Mojang and Minecraft on October 19th
Pgc Summit Montreal
5 more seminars you'll want to catch at next month’s PG Connects Summit Montréal 2026
Get ahead of the rest on AI valuations, ground-up code rewrites, Discord as a development tool, indie adaptability and the science behind games that players can't put down
Speaker Spotlight
Fingersoft’s Otto Simola on a decade of Hill Climb Racing 2
During his session at PG Connects Nordics, Simola will share lessons from evolving Hill Climb Racing 2 over the years
New Offerings
Unity unveils Spark AI game maker with Google Playground integration
Spark creators will be able to distribute their games through Google Playground
New Name
PUBG Mobile Light renamed to PUBG Mobile Flash ahead of launch
PUBG Mobile Flash is being designed to retain the core experience while broadening to lower device specs
Big Indie Pitch
The Big Indie Pitch heads to Paris Games Week for the first time
Plus dates for Helsinki, Amman, Montréal this year, London 2027 - and how to get your game in front of the judges
New Offerings
Safe In Our World launches Four Billion Gamers mental health campaign
The charity wants games companies to make mental health support easier for players to find
Strategic Move
Wizards of the Coast union expands to D&D and Magic teams
Amongst the union's demands are stronger protections against generative AI
New Offerings
Google launches Playground for prompt-based game creation
Users can create, play and share browser-based games across devices
Investor Insights
The Turkish playbook: Investors talk work ethic, hybridcasual and AI
Arcadia Gaming Partners MD Akin Babayigit and Laton Ventures founding partner Görkem Türk offer their insights on Türkiye's bustling games hub
Job News
Harvey Elliott named chair of Ukie as trade body targets next phase of UK growth
He succeeds Maria Sayans as Ukie Chair
Shadows Spending
Fire Emblem Shadows makes $892,000 in first year, just 0.3% of Heroes’ initial success
Monthly spending peaked early at $230,000, compared to Fire Emblem Heroes’ $20.1m
Speaker Spotlight
Exir Games CEO Sahand Malaei on the challenges facing small game studios
Sahand Malaei will join the “Does the Best Game Win Anymore?” panel at PG Connects Nordics in Helsinki
Online Safety
San Diego County sues AppLovin over alleged child ad targeting
The lawsuit claims AppLovin bypassed parental controls using fingerprinting
New Partnerships
Mastercard and Tamatem partner on gaming payments across MENA and Africa
The partnership will initially launch in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Speaker Spotlight
SuperScale CEO Ivan Trancik on finding profit beyond mobile UA's biggest networks
Trancik will take to the stage at PG Connects Nordics to discuss mobile UA consolidation
Pgc Nordics
Start networking right now! MeetToMatch is LIVE for PG Connects Nordics
Our online meeting platform is open to all attendees and meetings are already being made
Deal Delivered
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s $111bn merger officially closes today
David Ellison will lead as chairman and CEO
Strategic Move
FIRY sells Exit Games stake for $55m in cash
FIRY’s stake represented around 10.5% of Exit Games
Mobile Marvel
Marvel's Project COMET trailer appears to have leaked
Rumours suggest Scopely is developing this unconfirmed title
Game Closure
The New Denpa Men to end service in December
Unused paid in-game currency will be refunded after the service ends
Funding For Games
South Australia launches $1m Digital Games Fund
The fund offers grants of up to $150,000 for game production
Strategic Move
Softgames outlines acquisition strategy for instant and mobile games
The company wants to become the go-to home for instant game experiences
Pgc London
Save up to £335 on PG Connects London 2027 before Super Early Bird ends this week
Tickets are on sale now from just £115 – but only until end of Thursday, October 8th
Google Trial
Google faces £1bn Play Store commission trial in the UK
The claim represents around 20m UK consumers and businesses
Studio Closure
Nerial enters hibernation mode after 13 years and 11 games
Nerial’s remaining employees will now seek new opportunities
New Offerings
Unity brings official plugin to Grok Build in new partnership
The plugin gives Grok Build the same 30-plus Unity skills available to Claude Code and Codex
Fan Backlash
Love and Deepspace faces fresh fan backlash over latest campaign
The game's latest social campaign has drawn concern over its fictional drink recipes
Pgc Nordics
Elena Lobova of Burny Games confirmed for PGC Nordics
The head of strategic partnerships will explore how studios decide when to walk away from a game
Pgc Nordics
PGC Nordics: The full 17-track conference schedule is live!
Featuring over 150 expert speakers from Rovio, Embark Studios, Colossal Order, Remedy Entertainment and many more
Podcast | Episode 105
AI's insane PR machine, Zynga's failed $400m Supercell deal and EU regulation | 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 105...
Accessibility
SpecialEffect’s One Special Day mobile promotion goes live
Players can support the charity through selected mobile games and DLC
Pgc Summit Montreal
5 seminar highlights for next month’s PG Connects Summit Montréal 2026
Get the latest insights on LiveOps, founding a studio, user acquisition and writing for established IP
Predicting Performance
Leus launches Cohort Purchasing platform for mobile games
Company aims to predict cohort performance for up to 52 weeks to offer UA financing
Legal Dispute
AppLovin takes legal action against Unity over Ad Quality SDK
AppLovin is seeking restrictions on Unity’s collection and use of advertising data
Playable Ads As A Service
Layer launches AI Playable ad generator to tackle production bottlenecks for mobile game studios
Layer commits to a world where no game launches without a playable ever again