Pgc London
Meet the UK Video Games Council in Q&A panel at Pocket Gamer Connects London
The two-day event kicks off on January 19th, 2026
Layoff News
Ubisoft cuts 29 jobs at Abu Dhabi studio
The layoffs follow Ubisoft’s confirmed closure of Ubisoft Halifax as part of wider global restructuring
New Offerings
Samsung revamps mobile gaming hub with personalised discovery
The platform aims to become a central destination for game discovery on Galaxy devices
Investment Shift
Saudi Arabia's PIF to transfer $12bn in gaming shares to Savvy Games Group
The move includes stakes in Nintendo and Bandai Namco Holdings, strengthening Savvy’s global games portfolio
Barbie Partnership
Barbie joins the Talking Tom & Friends universe through Outfit7 partnership
Barbie will be integrated into My Talking Angela 2 in Spring
Ai In Games
Shift Up CEO says AI is key to competing with China’s game industry scale
Kim argues AI adoption will boost productivity rather than replace jobs in the games industry
New Studio
Appcharge expands to Türkiye with new office in Istanbul
Istanbul hub to focus on commercial growth, customer success, and partnerships
Pgc London 2026
Meet top investors with over $300m in total funding at PG Connects London
Leading games investors like Supercell Investments, Play Ventures, LVP, Transcend and more are kicking off 2026 by actively looking to connect with developers
Funding News
One Rule Games closes seed round to build hybridcasual mobile titles
The Montpellier-based studio is looking to launch its first titles this year
New Offerings
Pocketpair unveils Palworld Official Card Game for 2026 launch
Palworld Official Card Game will launch on July 30th, 2026 in partnership with Bushiroad
New Offerings
LEGO Pokémon sets launching in February
The Kanto starter evolutions set is the most expensive release, priced at $649.99
New Studio
Halal Games launches with values-driven game development focus
The developer aims to create fun games without gambling mechanics, musical instruments, or explicit content
Lawsuit
Paramount sues Warner Bros. Discovery over Netflix offer disclosure
The lawsuit follows WBD's rejection of Paramount’s amended tender offer to acquire the company
Industry Outlook
Games industry M&A hit a record $161bn in 2025
Electronic Arts’ $55bn buyout and Netflix’s $82.7bn acquisition of Warner Bros. dominated dealmaking during the year
Investment News
E2VC closes €100m Fund III to continue backing early-stage founders
The firm said it has already committed to more than 10 companies under Fund III
New Offerings
Epic Games rolls out in-island transactions for Fortnite Creative
Creators can now sell digital items and offers using V-Bucks inside their custom Fortnite Creative islands
Layoff News
Warner Bros. Games reportedly cuts staff at San Francisco studio
Senior staff confirmed the cuts via LinkedIn, with at least one entire team affected
Ad Monetisation
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 invites ad monetisation leaders to an exclusive roundtable
Redefining ad monetisation based on 2026 growth metrics
Podcast | Episode 78
2026 games industry predictions and trends | 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 78...
Milestone
AppsFlyer surpasses $500m in ARR as firm reportedly nears sale
The milestone comes amid reports of a potential $2bn acquisition
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out mandatory facial age checks for in-game chat worldwide
Users must now complete an age check before they can chat with others
Esports Growth
Esports World Cup Foundation unveils national team framework for Esports Nations Cup 2026
At least $20m per year will be committed to supporting national team programmes
Job News
Aghanim appoints new CRO and COO
The duo will lead teams across New York City and Los Angeles
Job News
NetEase Games veteran Lin Yunfeng resigns after more than 22 years at the company
His departure follows a major internal restructuring of the publisher's games business last year
New Offerings
Rovio and Sega unite Angry Birds licensing under global transmedia strategy
The move forms part of a broader long-term investment in the Angry Birds brand roadmap
Game Jam
Global Game Jam aims to surpass 500,000 lifetime participants ahead of 2026 event
The annual event brings together developers, students, and creatives to build games around a shared global theme
Layoff News
Ubisoft closes Halifax studio weeks after unionisation
The closure will result in 71 employees losing their jobs
Titanium Sponsor
Xsolla kicks off two weeks of industry programming, community events and expanding support for global developers across the UK
Coordinated activations in the UK underscore Xsolla’s ongoing commitment to building all the things for the video community in Europe
Milestone
Block Blast reaches 70m daily active users and 300m monthly active users worldwide
Hungry Studio credits the milestone to a year-long experimentation system running more than 10,000 A/B tests
Discovery Decision
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board unanimously rejects Paramount’s latest offer
The offer was made after an $82.7 billion deal with Netflix was already agreed, meaning multiple fees would be charged for backing out
Funding News
NEOM selects five studios for funding in expanded Level Up accelerator
An additional 18 studios will join an expanded mentorship phase, marking the programme’s largest cycle to date
New Offerings
Roblox reveals new Homepage Feature and expands programmatic partnerships
The company said younger audiences are shifting from passive viewing to active participation in creator-led environments
Milestone
Mattel163 surpasses 550m players worldwide across its digital games portfolio
Players have completed more than 65bn matches globally, marking a major milestone for the publisher
Job News
Kuro Games taps ex-Scopely GM Jay Kim as new general manager of Korea
Kim will lead Kuro Games’ Korean operations, focusing on community building, market growth, and player support
Market Growth
UK games spending hits £5.4bn in 2025 as mobile powers strongest growth since 2020
Mobile games generated £1.88bn after an 8.8% year-on-year rise
Expansion
Aream & Co opening Singapore office
The new branch will be headed up by Anjan Sarangi
Job News
Scopely-owned Niantic recruits Jori Pearsall as SVP of games
He will lead the creative and strategic direction of Scopely’s Tokyo Studio
Sonic Start
Sonic Rumble jogs to $772,000 in two months
The party royale had its most lucrative day early on, but events are keeping things moving
Eggy Endeavour
Eggy Party cracks $750m in mobile player spending
Player spending has fallen for two consecutive years, with 2023 still responsible for over 50% of the lifetime sum
Job News
Web gaming platform Entity names Tag Games co-founder Paul Farley as head of games
He will lead the platform’s games strategy and oversee the formation of its games team
New Offerings
Teebik to launch Plague Inc. and Rebel Inc. in China this year
The publisher is positioning the releases as part of a broader push for premium Western mobile games in China
Funding Round
Fast-growing hybridcasual puzzle game Pixel Flow nets seven-figure investment
Arcadia Gaming Partners’s Akin Babayigit and early stage fund e2vc join seed funding round
New Studio
Former Boss Fight Entertainment team launch new studio Sunwise Games
The studio’s launch follows Netflix’s decision to shut down its internal games division last fall
Game Closure
Game Freak’s mobile RPG Pandoland to shut down just 11 months after launch
A final “Thank You Campaign” is live to help players access rewards before March 6th shutdown
Jobs News
Nitro Games appoints new COO and CPO
Developer has also secured a €1.6 million to continue working on a new mobile shooter for a European game developer
Competition
Neowiz Indie Quest dev contest closes in two weeks
Winners could receive $115,000 along with game promotion, mentoring and strategic consulting
Warning
New York to require mental health warnings for social media platforms
New law targets young users and platforms with "addictive" feeds, auto play or infinite scroll
Rebrand
Amir Satvat’s industry network rebrands to Always Supporting the Games Community
Support network supports hundreds of thousands of industry professionals
Ambitious Plans
Dubai establishes new Gaming Committee to support industry growth
The Gaming Committee will focus on strategic partnerships and improved services
30 Under 30
Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 recognises rising games industry stars
List features top talent in business and sport