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
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”
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
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...
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
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
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
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
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
Earnings Report
Unity reports Q1 2025 revenue of $435m, down from $460m in Q1 2024
Decline comes from lower Create and Grow Solutions income
Buy Button
Xsolla launches external payment option Buy Button for Mobile Games after Apple court ruling
A US court ruling on April 30th has dictated that Apple must allow external payment links in-app without taking a commission
New Partnerships
Winners Alliance and Nextwave partner to bring real cricketers to WCC games
Over 500 WCA-affiliated professional cricketers will be integrated
Fortnite Fight
Epic Games spent over $100m in legal fees in battle against Apple
Tim Sweeney revealed the cost of the legal battle and speculated on the "hundreds of millions of dollars" missed out on during Fortnite’s App Store ban
New Offerings
Savvy Games Group launches Academy website to boost Saudi game development
The Academy includes a series of Savvy-funded initiatives to support the next generation of developers and creatives in the Kingdom
Revenue Result
Mobile accounts for 15% of EA’s FY25 net revenue, but net income falls 12% YoY
EA generated $1.1bn from mobile games in its latest fiscal year
Investment News
Classy Games secures investment from Merak Capital
Funds will go towards accelerating game development and expanding its core team
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Save up to $460: PG Connects Summit Shanghai 2025 Super Early Bird ends tomorrow
Book your tickets to the biggest games market in the world before midnight Thursday, May 8th
New Game Launch
Starvania Studio to launch Bahamut and The Waqwaq Tree during Dubai GameExpo Summit
The game is inspired by Arabian mythologies from the One Thousand and One Nights book
Market Growth
Middle East fastest-growing market for game revenue and downloads in 2024
The region was the only games market to see downloads growth last year
Gameexpo Summit
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 begins today
Two days of insightful sessions and networking opportunities for the MENA region takes place on May 7th to 8th
New Partnerships
EA and MLS launch live match streaming on EA Sports FC mobile via Apple TV
Players that watch the live broadcasts via FCM TV will earn in-game currency
Esports In Africa
Carry1st Africa Cup 2025 returns with $15,000 Call of Duty: Mobile prize pool
Over 200 teams and 1,000 players are expected to participate for a $15,000 prize pool
Earnings Report
Roblox delivers $1.04bn revenue in Q1 2025 despite $215m net loss
Users spent 21.7bn hours engaged on the platform, marking a 30% increase
Lawsuit
Apple files appeal against court's App Store ruling
The company has denied violating the court's order in a previous lawsuit filed by Epic Games
Trump Tariffs
Trump’s film industry tariffs: Will game movie adaptations be sentenced or spared?
The US president calls incentives drawing US filmmakers to other countries a "national security threat"