Job News
Goodville promotes Katerina Dudinskaya to CEO
She will take over from co-founder Alexey Meleshkevich on May 1st
Minecraft Mobile
Minecraft’s daily mobile revenue hits three-year high at $969,000 after A Minecraft Movie’s release
The mobile version has its most lucrative day since Christmas 2021 on April 12th, 2025
Developers Contest
Neowiz launches indie game dev program with a $115,000 prize pool
The contest is open to all indie game developers, teams, and entrepreneurs at no cost
Expansions
KGeN opens MENA HQ in Bahrain
The new office will serve as a bridge between gaming, communities and global publishers
New Partnerships
Rise Worldwide and Blast partner to boost India’s esports scene
The joint venture will lead to new games, teams, sponsors, and investments
Major Milestone
Bleach: Brave Souls hits 100m installs ahead of 10th anniversary
KLab’s action gacha title first released in Japan in July 2015
Triple Crossover
Sonic Rumble's IP collab Crossover Event 0: Sega Stars is for soft launch players only
The event, which stars characters from Super Monkey Ball, ends one day before the global launch date of May 8th
Pgc Barcelona
First speakers revealed for Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona 2025!
100+ experts will deliver a 19-track conference schedule this June 3rd to 4th
New Offerings
Wuhan opens first mini-game incubation base in China
Tencent, AWS and others have reportedly signed on to launch operations at the new base
China Launch
Supercell’s Squad Busters is heading to China
App Store sets April 22nd release date with Tencent set to publish title
Esports In Mena
Savvy Games Group and Saudi Esports Federation Sign MoU to boost Saudi Arabia esports sector
The MoU will create internship opportunities for graduates of the Saudi Esports Academy
M&a
Supercell actively evaluating M&A opportunities
Developer backing early-stage companies while looking at deals for more mature studios
Trade Wars
Confusion as Trump tariffs temporarily exempt smartphones
US administration plans to open investigations into the electronics supply chain, claims the US President
Podcast | Episode 49
Trump tariffs chaos and Supercell doubles down on celebrity marketing and investments | 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 49...
Investment News
Argentina studio Agonalea Games raises $2m to shake up tower defence genre
Investor Mika Games backs studio and its hybridcasual title Punko.io
Major M&a
Games industry M&A hit $6.6bn in Q1 2025 with mobile domination led by Scopely
The figure was a two-year high and more than doubled Q1 2024’s result, according to Aream & Co.’s first quarterly Video Game Market Update report
Content Check
Roblox launches new parental controls to block specific friends and experiences
The update builds upon Roblox allowing parents to view friends lists
Prize Pool
Esports World Cup 2025 to feature record-breaking $70m+ prize pool
New games joining the lineup include Valorant and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Supercent Game Challenge
Supercent announces 4th Supercent Game Challenge to discover future hitmakers
Enter the Supercent Game Challenge - with a prize pool of $2,000,000
Fringe Events
Fringe events at the Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 you can participate in
Got a game, project, tool or service to pitch? Win funding, prizes and make deals at the Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025
From Tv To Games
How Netflix and Charlie Brooker are turning Black Mirror into more than just a TV show
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker and Netflix’s GM of narrative games Sean Krankel share details on the collaborative process behind the new game Thronglets
Trade Wars
Trump gives most countries 90-day pause on tariffs as China trade war escalates
Most countries will see a universal 10% levy, while China is hit with new 125% charges on imports
Ticket Discount
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 Mid Term rate expires this week!
Grab a ticket before Friday to save on access to our MENA business-boosting networking conference (May 7th to 8th)
Pgc Barcelona
Indie developers! Level up your game at PG Connects Barcelona 2025
Make the most of our exclusive opportunities to showcase your studio this June 3rd to 4th
Feathered Film Forecast
The Angry Birds Movie 3 set for January 29th, 2027 release
The third entry will release over 10 years on from the original The Angry Birds Movie
Earth Day
PlanetPlay launches Earth Day 2025 campaign with Sybo, Niantic, Sir Ian Livingstone and others
Livingstone and other celebrity ambassadors have been confirmed ahead of the 55th Earth Day on April 22nd
Trade Wars
Trump tariffs come into effect as economic turmoil continues
Hardware manufacturers Nintendo, Apple and Samsung face challenges amid emerging trade wars
Web3 Way
High income, a young population and "attractive" regulations could make Dubai a "launchpad" for games and web3
Dubai Multi Commodities Centre director of ecosystems Belal Jassoma talks MENA region advantages
Charity Chair
The IGDA Foundation appoints Microsoft veteran Shannon Loftis as new chair of the board
Loftis has stepped in after Ed Fries spent two years at the helm
Head Hire
Aonic appoints ex-Larian UK studio head as first-ever head of games
Arthur Mostovoy's remit covers the company's entire portfolio across all platforms
Minecraft Money
A Minecraft Movie earns $301m in first two days, double its production budget
Celebrities continue to cash in on games, with A Minecraft Movie stars including Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Danielle Brooks
Welsh Waves
Welsh generative AI games studio 10six Games comes out of stealth with six-figure investment
Susan Cummings, Lee Cummings and Nick Button-Brown are all involved, as are "so many women"
Trade Wars
Trump tariffs send gaming and tech stocks tumbling amid global economic turmoil
Fallout from the emerging trade war hits the games industry
Very Big Indie Pitch
Hank Shaw: Private Eye brought joy and won the Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco
Find out who took the top three spot at PGC San Fran's big indie pitching content
Gameexpo Summit
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 conference tracks revealed!
Featuring the Investment Summit plus all the hottest topics from AI to web3 across eight themed tracks
Pgc Helsinki
Why Helsinki is the ultimate games hub and why you need to be at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025
Tickets are now available for the two-day Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025 in October
Independent Publisher
Twin Sails Interactive breaks away from Asmodee in management buyout
The studio has gained full autonomy and will also retain its company structure
Pre-order Delays
Nintendo delays Switch 2 pre-orders in the US over tariff concerns
Nintendo is currently assessing the potential impact of tariffs as they may impact supply chain costs
Star Power
Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Christina Ricci, Gordon Ramsay: Supercell goes all in on celebrity marketing
Clash of Clans' ClashaMania season stars Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley in trailers
Tiktok Pushback
TikTok deal hits roadblock as China pushes back amid Trump's tariffs
China is currently blocking any TikTok deal to ensure that Chinese laws and procedures are complied with
Tiktok Lovin
AppLovin wants to partner with "undermonetised" TikTok globally
CEO Adam Foroughi opens up on the ad tech firm's interest in acquiring TikTok and its plans for the video-sharing platform
Tick Tock
US extends TikTok sale deadline by 75 days
Buyers have until mid-June to negotiate a deal for the popular video-sharing app
Podcast | Episode 48
Nintendo Switch 2 release date reaction and Tencent's bizarre Ubisoft 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 48...
The End
Netflix Stories cancelled as streaming firm focuses on new games strategy
Company remains in interactive fiction space after partnering with Series Entertainment and Pixelberry for Single's Inferno: Choices
Transmedia
Clash of Clans developer Supercell wants to bring top IP to film and TV
Finnish mobile games company is hiring for a senior film and TV development executive in LA
Bidding War
AppLovin confirms interest in acquiring TikTok
Ad tech firm exploring purchase of video-sharing app in all markets outside of China
Practical Ai
Do AI tools for game development live up to the hype? Not even remotely
But the tech did enable an experienced engineer to re-create the original X-COM in three months
Switch 2 Speculation
Analysts weigh in on future "smash hit" Nintendo Switch 2, a $7-8bn opportunity for games content in next two years
Piers Harding-Rolls and Rhys Elliot have taken to LinkedIn with their initial thoughts
Leading From London
London is now third-biggest hub for games industry workers worldwide
The city has topped the leaderboard in the UK and Europe with only Los Angeles and San Francisco ahead
Before A Ban
AppLovin and Amazon rumoured among potential TikTok buyers ahead of April 5th deadline
The social media app’s original ban in January 2025 was postponed to allow more time for a sale