Expansions
Plan A Games secures investment to build new engineering team in southeast Louisiana
The studio is developing its free-to-play analytics platform from The Shop in New Orleans’ Warehouse District
Pgc London
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026: See what’s shaping this year’s agenda
The 31 themed content tracks that will lead the conversation this January 19th and 20th
Masterclass
UX Strategist Celia Hodent to hold masterclass blending cognitive science with practical game UX frameworks
The session explores how perception, attention, memory, and emotion shape player experience
Expansions
Supercell to open new AI Innovation Lab in Tokyo next year
Opening in March 2026, the Lab expands a global network already operating in San Francisco and Helsinki
Royal Revenue
Royal Kingdom surpasses $300m in first year, beating Royal Match
Dream Games’ follow-up puzzler made 2% more than its forebear in its first full year
Hackathon
Tamatem Games launches new Content Creator Hackathon for emerging talent
All winners secure a guaranteed three-month internship or contract alongside cash prizes
In The Shadows
Fire Emblem Shadows makes just $353,000 in two months
Fire Emblem Heroes generated $77.6m in its first two months in 2017
Pgc London 2026
Speakers from Supercell, Com2uS, and EA announced for Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026
Meet the industry experts sharing insight across 31 content tracks on January 19th to 20th
Podcast | Episode 73
Industry insights on AI, China and EU tech regulation from RovioCon and Slush 2025 | 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 73...
Acqusitions
Novelist Naomi Alderman reacquires Zombies, Run! from former owner OliveX
The fitness game has surpassed 10m downloads since its 2012 debut
Ambition Check
Saudi Arabia’s PIF reportedly short on fresh capital for new investments
Insiders say much of the fund’s wealth is tied up in illiquid megaprojects like Neom
Safety Systems
Roblox CEO David Baszucki has heated debate about child safety: "I would categorically reject the actual description of what you’re saying"
The platform’s founder told The New York Times about how "enormously important" it is to pre-empt risks
Studio Strategy
Ubisoft lands $1.3bn Tencent investment for Vantage Studios
The deal values Vantage Studios at $4.3bn pre-money
Funding News
SuperGears Games raises $2.1m to power its next growth phase
Funding fuels expansion of the Racing Kingdom mobile racing universe
Xsolla State Of Play
Xsolla releases The Xsolla Report: State of Play Q3 2025 Edition, Vol. 8
Report unpacks regional trends across China, Europe, and MENA to inform growth, monetisation, and player engagement strategies
Regulations
Junglee Games parent Flutter records $556m impairment over real-money gaming ban in India
Junglee shifts fully to free-to-play while assessing future options
Investment News
Torpor Games closes a minority seed investment round to develop its next flagship title
Investment will also support two Suzerain DLCs and a new standalone game
Accelerator Program
Maliyo Games launches Creator Academy Accelerator to help aspiring creators in games
The 4-week programme includes curated learning materials, weekly challenges, and peer feedback
Arabic Games Conference
The Arabic Games Conference 2025 is just days away: Here's what’s in store for game makers
The Arabic Games Conference showcases games and interactive projects created by Arab developers across the region, and it returns online on November 29th
New Unit
Tencent’s €1.16bn Ubisoft investment on track to close in coming days as H1 bookings rise
Investment will establish new unity Vantage Studios responsible for top IP and help clear debts
Milestone
Resident Evil Survival Unit surpasses 1 million downloads in under three days
The game reached number one on the App Store’s top free charts in more than 15 regions
Trading Resumption
Ubisoft sets new date for delayed H1 financial results
The company will now publish its results before the opening of trading November 21st, 2025
Job News
Ex-Nordisk Games boss Mikkel Weider named CEO of Everplay
Effective from January 1st, 2026
Clash Contest
Supercell launches global Clash of Clans contest offering a month-long stay in an Irish castle
The £120,000 prize includes flights for four, private transfers, a personal chef and exclusive castle access
Winners Revealed
Google reveals winners of its Google Play best of 2025 awards
Pokémon TCG Pocket was crowned best game of 2025
App Store Awards
Apple reveals 45 finalists for 2025 App Store Awards
The awards honour developers delivering standout innovation, design and user experience
Unity And Unreal Unite
Tim Sweeney at Unite 2025: Unity’s in-app purchase APIs coming to Unreal Engine devs
The Epic Games founder appeared on stage at Unity’s developer conference to talk interoperability with Unreal Engine and Fortnite
Unite 2025
Unite 2025: AI, partnerships, web stores, and "a higher standard of quality"
Unity’s 2025 conference has contained many announcements and updates, from a 2K Games partnership to Unity 6.3
New Partnerships
Anzu partners with Playgama to bring intrinsic in-game ads to web games
The deal marks Anzu’s expansion into web game support
Online Safety
Roblox to introduce facial age estimation to limit minor-adult chat interactions
The company says the system sets a new “gold standard” for online communication safety
Awards Season
Public voting is now open for the 12th Annual Pocket Gamer Awards
Shortlisted finalists span more than 20 categories
Investment News
Stan secures new Series A investment from Sony Innovation Fund
The funding will fuel AI-driven personalisation and creator monetisation tools
New Offerings
AdsAdvisor launches Playable Reformer to streamline multi-network playable ads
The tool aims to remove technical barriers and simplify workflows for UA and creative teams
Milestone
Asus reports strong sales for Xbox ROG Ally X
The handheld’s October 16th debut drew an “extremely positive” market response
New Partnerships
Exel by Merak and Saudi Bridge partner to support international startups entering the kingdom
The cooperation forms part of the Biban 2025 initiatives to boost global collaboration
Third Party Payments
Google Play opens up third-party payments in the US, marking a turning point for developer revenue
What does the enforcement of new legislation on third-party payments in the US mean for mobile game creators?
Platform Products
AppsFlyer launches eight new products including agentic AI suite
A new anti-fraud attribution model can apply AI behavioural analysis in real time
Acqusitions
Stash acquires Galleon to expand global DTC footprint in games
The deal expands Stash’s footprint in EMEA and brings Galleon’s founders into senior leadership roles
Expansions
Ukrainian studio Burny Games expands into publishing
This marks Burny’s first external publishing partnership with another studio
New Offerings
Apple launches Mini Apps Partner Program with reduced commission on qualifying in-app purchases
Eligible developers can earn an 85% share on qualifying in-app purchases
Revenue Rise
Modern Times Group net sales double to $315.5m in Q3 2025
The group generated 69% of revenue on mobile and 26% from DTC platforms
New Offerings
Coherence 2.0 update launches as major upgrade to the multiplayer platform
Indie teams get full features free under the $200,000 revenue threshold
New Partnerships
Room 8 Group teams up with Pragma to streamline online game development
Partnership brings studios a full suite of backend and live ops tools
Acqusitions
SUD acquires Cocos in a $72m deal to deepen platform integration
Cocos 4 will move to a fully open-source model, offering all engine and CLI code for free
Redhill Restructuring
Redhill Games to begin restructuring with layoffs ahead
The team has worked with Supercell, Blizzard, and others since founding in 2018
Industry Outlook
Survey finds over half of US game industry workers feel pay doesn’t reflect their role
5% report earning under $15,000 a year
Job News
Hutch appoints Andrew Watson as its new CEO
He previously led production on major mobile IPs including Forza, Hot Wheels, and F1
Sonic Start
Sonic Rumble earns just $228,000 in first 10 days, with "a future major update" in the works
The dev team acknowledged "confusion" and "misconception" within the game, planning to revise its tutorial and more over time
Layoff News
Crystal Dynamics cuts nearly 30 staff in workforce reduction
Studio says layoffs are part of a reorganisation to optimise development of its new Tomb Raider game
Marvellous Mena
Exel by Merak welcomes 19 startups for Cohort 2 accelerator
Cohort 2 spans mobile, PC, and console projects with completion set for February 2026