Doubling Down
Supercell hires Drussila Hollanda as first-ever head of new games
The role will include cultivating cultures for developing new games and putting together the best teams
Understanding Players
Decision traps in live game development
InnoGames product manager Anna Sieprawska discusses player feedback and understanding context
Workplace Wellbeing
Safe In Our World launches first games industry mental health accreditation
The Mental Health Star Accreditation will award companies for exemplary mental health and wellbeing practices
Women In Nordic Games
Aurora: Celebrating Women in the Nordic Games Industry to be honoured at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025
At Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025, we’ll honour 10 industry-leading women whose vision, talent, leadership and more are making their mark in every corner of the Nordic region.
Mobile Momentum
“Mobile is going to eat and destroy PC and console gaming”
Mobile devices have matched or surpasses PS4 and Xbox One quality, says Azra Games CEO Mark Otero
Risks And Rewards
Publisher Lyrical Games to work with devs "taking big creative risks"
The new company has been formed by veterans from Private Division, Humble Games and Devolver Digital
Dtc Future
“Direct-to-consumer isn’t optional anymore”
Xsolla VP of monetisation products Artem Liubutov discusses the future of monetisation and getting players to your web shop
Dtc Revolution
FunPlus "forced to chase DTC” after IDFA deprecation
4X strategy specialist opted in to Apple's alternative business terms in the EU
Shares And Safety
Roblox shares decline 6% after new lawsuits raise child safety concerns
Shares have hit a two-month low but remain up year-over-year
Pixel Power
Pixel United veterans launch Plan A Games to invest in casual, midcore and social casino
Gary Rosenfeld, Huy Nguyen and Michael Lang bring their experience from RAID: Shadow Legends and more to help games overcome UA challenges
Bringing The Backend
Metaplay’s new Starter plan lets devs use same backend infrastructure as games like Merge Mansion
Metaplay co-founder and CO Petri Kero believes too many devs have been "priced out of using top-tier backend solutions"
Pgc Summit Korea
Save the Date: Pocket Gamer Connects unveils Korea summit later in 2025
Leading B2B games conference arrives in Korea on October 31st
Top Picks
Gamescom week preview: Top Devcom sessions for mobile devs
A look at the key sessions for the mobile games biz
Podcast | Episode 64
ChinaJoy insights and DTC earnings uncovered | 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 64...
Funding For Games
Fateless secures additional $8m to power Godforge toward 2026 launch
The new round brings its total to $14m
Acqusitions
Rewarded play platform Almedia acquires casback firm Zave.it
CEO calls the move a landmark step toward building an engagement engine
Awards Season
Gamescom LATAM 2026 opens submissions for BIG Festival Awards
Last year’s competition drew over 950 games from 71 countries
Make-a-wish
Make-A-Wish launches new initiative to grant games industry-related wishes for critically ill children
Infinite Wishes aims to create new pathways for game companies to fund wishes and spark fresh ideas
Winners Revealed
Savvy Games Group and HP conclude GameOn GameJam with winning teams revealed
Winners to join Savvy Academy’s three-month Incubator Program in collaboration with Xsolla
Introducing Applifters
AppLifters launches at Gamescom: All-in-one mobile growth ecosystem promises to boost game profitability by up to 50%
Following major investment, AppLifters brings user acquisition, monetisation, SDK technology, creative production, and data intelligence together in a single integrated growth platform
All About Indies
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025 offers big opportunities for indie developers
Several big opportunities are happening at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025 on October 7th and 8th that indie developers won't want to miss
Big Deal
Report: AppsFlyer to be acquired in deal worth up to $4bn
Talks said to be in an advanced stage
Job News
Spin Master appoints Marc De Vellis as EVP and president of its Digital Games Creative Centre
He will oversee flagship platforms Toca Boca and PikNik
Mentorship
Supercell opens applications for AI Innovation Lab in San Francisco
Open to individuals or teams of up to three, with a cap of 20 participants
Sonic Slowdown
Sega sales down 23% as Rovio falls short of expectations
The Sonic owner has forecast 42% annual growth in its free-to-play sales
New Offerings
Hidden Door launches social role-playing platform for co-creative storytelling
Players can step into fictional worlds like Pride and Prejudice, The Wizard of Oz, and The Crow
Crossovers
Subway Surfers and 8 Ball Pool unite for their first-ever crossover event
Month-long collaboration features exclusive themed content, characters, and rewards
New Offerings
Discord launches social SDK for in-game voice and messaging integration
SDK gives developers access to Discord’s 200m monthly users
Avakin Life Hits Steam
After 200 million mobile users, Avakin Life is heading to Steam
"The Steam release gives us the opportunity to view and expand the experience in new ways. It’s an exciting milestone for us, and we want to thank our amazing community"
Expansions
Felicity expands to Singapore with $1m APAC growth plan
New hub will focus on high-growth markets like Vietnam and Thailand
Marvellous Mena
Dubai to host first Middle East government pavilion at Gamescom 2025
Pavilion to spotlight Dubai’s goal of becoming a top 10 global games hub by 2033
New Offerings
Xsolla unveils Unity SDK to give developers more monetisation freedom
The move is part of Xsolla’s push to boost direct-to-consumer revenue across mobile, PC, and web
Pgc Barcelona
"100% of IAP is up for hijacking" in DTC 2.0
Appcharge chief marketing officer Gil Tov-Ly spoke at PGC Barcelona about web shops, web games, alternative app stores and more
Series Support
Appcharge raises $58m to scale up with growing DTC demands
The direct-to-consumer platform has raised $89m to date, currently powering stores for more than 100 games
Strategic Move
Xsolla expands platform reach with SDKs for Windows Store and Epic Games Store
Partnership with Pley and Discord Bot launch expands cross-platform reach
Investment News
Arcanix secures funding to accelerate live ops platform growth
Funding will accelerate product development, early partner onboarding, and European team growth
Milestone
Fable Town surpasses $1m in monthly revenue
The merge-3 title has 2.3m installs and $7.5m in lifetime earnings
Australia Ahoy
Epic Games hails "win for developers and consumers" as Fortnite to return to iOS in Australia
After five years, a court ruling has determined Fortnite and the Epic Games Store can return to iOS
Protective Partnership
Roblox asks "vigilante groups" to leave child protection to experts, AI and law enforcement
The platform is partnered with law enforcement and has AI-based Sentinel to detect signs of exploitation
Training Camp
Maliyo Games opens applications for 2025 GameUp Africa Bootcamp
12-week remote program covers game art, design, and audio
Online Safety
Roblox open-sources Sentinel AI to detect harmful chat messages
Now open-source so other platforms can integrate the technology
Adaptations
Disney+ adapts hit mobile game Twisted-Wonderland into anime
Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation will premiere on October 29th 2025
Job News
Ex-King CEO Riccardo Zacconi joins Layer AI board
Layer AI is used by over 200 studios including Zynga, Tripledot, and SciPlay
New Partnerships
ZBD brings real-money embedded rewards to mobile games
TapNation’s Idle Bank is among the first to integrate ZBD’s SDK
Online Safety
PlaySafe ID report: Cheating makes 42% of players consider quitting games
Study shows 71% would verify their identity to stop cheaters
Pgc Helsinki
Unlock crucial opportunities in the Nordic games market
Join more than 1,500 attendees for the biggest B2B games event in the Nordics
Moshi Makeover
Mind Candy cancels Moshi Monsters Kickstarter as it targets campaign relaunch
The team is taking a pause to reflect on fan feedback almost two months into the original campaign
Earnings Report
Mobile powers Take-Two bookings growth to $1.4bn in Q1
CEO Strauss Zelnick signals continued focus on mobile direct-to-consumer growth
Investment News
Impact46 invests $6.7m in five Saudi game studios
Investments align with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and National Gaming Strategy
Acqusitions
Chinese publisher XD Inc acquires 5.3% stake in Miao for $14m
Deal values studio at approximately $264m