Mistbound On Mobile
Guild Wars spinoff Mistbound is coming to mobile
ArenaNet, NC, and bilibili are collaborating on the title
Event Milestone
Dubai Esports and Games Festival 2026 attracts more than 43,000 attendees in largest edition yet
The festival hosted 66 esports tournaments with prizes worth up to AED 1m ($272,000)
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Thatgamecompany, Charles Cecil, Newzoo, Xsolla, Kingsoft and more confirmed to speak at PGC Summit Shanghai
Going to ChinaJoy? Make the most of your week with our gateway event
Going Public
Jio files for IPO that could become India’s largest share sale
The company is reportedly targeting a raise of around $3.8 billion to $4bn
Online Safety
UAE bans children under-15s from social media accounts
Children under 15 cannot access social media accounts even with parental consent
Podcast | Episode 94
PGC Barcelona takeaways, the UK's social media ban and Fortnite vs Roblox | 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 94...
Games Preservation
The European Commission rejects calls to stop publishers from taking games offline
The Commission plans to consult with publishers and consumer on end-of-life standard for video games
Market Revenue
Global Games revenue surpasses $200bn for the first time, mobile generates $113bn
The report shows that mobile generated more than half of all games revenue in 2025
Charity Event
Jingle Jam names eight charity partners ahead of 2026 games fundraiser
The announcement was made during Jingle Jam’s annual awards event
Roblox Fee
Roblox reveals creator fee structure for brand integrations from 2027
The new framework will calculate charges based on audience reach and player location
Trending Trainers
Pokémon Champions tops iPhone App Store installs in 13 countries on launch day
The new Pokémon battler released on mobile on June 17th, two months after Switch launch
Events
Lagos Games Week 2026 kicks off two days of talks, exhibitions and showcases
The event centres on connecting African game development talent with global markets, under the theme "Play Without Borders”
Making Money
Unreal Engine for Fortnite creator payouts surpass $1bn
Creators can monetise through engagement payouts and in-island transactions
Esports
Esports Nations Cup 2026 opens ticket sales ahead of debut event
The nation-based esports competition is set to take place in Riyadh across four weeks in November
Pgc Summit Shanghai
How Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai is your gateway to the world’s largest games market
Games industry summit returns on July 29th to connect East and West
Unreal Updates
Epic Games outlines its vision for Unreal Engine 6
The next generation of Unreal Engine is currently targeting early access in late 2027
Reinstated
Almedia’s Freecash returns to Apple App Store following removal
The rewarded user acquisition platform is now once again available on both major mobile storefronts
Pgc Barcelona
PGC Barcelona a sun-soaked success
More than 1,100 registrations across all activities from 49 countries and five continents
Industry Service
Liz Prince awarded MBE for services to games industry and diversity
The recognition reflects her work in games recruitment as well as her contribution to diversity and inclusion initiatives
Chat Of Clans
Global Chat returns to Clash of Clans amid partnership with World Cup winners
Previous World Cup winners Thierry Henry, Kaká and Bastian Schweinsteiger have teamed up with Supercell this football season
Luna Layoffs
Luna Abyss’ entire Kwalee Labs dev team has been laid off
The team was laid off just 26 days after launching the new game
Bringing The Battle
Pokémon Champions launches on mobile today
A new season begins in the free-to-play competitive battler
Gta Vi Impact
GTA VI launch may affect spending on some mobile game genres
Research from 2000 players found that 29% expect to spend less on games during GTA VI’s launch period
New Offerings
Glitch launches AI marketing agent for solo developers and indie game teams
The tool helps teams plan and execute marketing activities across social, creator, advertising and analytics channels
Acqusitions
Affle acquires AdColony assets to expand mobile advertising reach
Affle expects the acquisition to broaden its global mobile publisher reach and strengthen audience intelligence capabilities
Pgc Barcelona
Five extraordinary women in games celebrated at The Aurora - Barcelona Edition
Dimoso CEO Jacki Vause hosted the awards at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona
Job News
Metacore appoints Jose Saarniniemi as general manager of Merge Mansion
He previously served as CEO of Small Giant Games
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out Kids and Select accounts with tighter age-based controls
Games available to Kids and Select accounts must pass additional review processes
Data And Drones
Report: Niantic Spatial says Pokémon Go data isn't training military drones, but player scans helped build AI models
Pokémon Go’s terms of service permit Niantic to use AR content in perpetuity
Broadening The Board
TIGA appoints nine new members to board of directors
The move follows shortly after Elaine Green taking up the position of TIGA’s new chair
Pubg Partnership
G2 partners with PUBG Mobile Esports to grow Western Europe competitive scene
The collaboration will support the 2026 PUBG Mobile Club Open Western Europe Wildcard
Awards Finalists
Mobile and Roblox experiences earn nominations at 2026 Games for Change Awards
and Roger emerged as one of the most recognised mobile titles, receiving nominations for Best Gameplay, Best Impact, and Best Narrative
Pgc Barcelona
Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona 2026 kicks off with Tetris, Ubisoft, Zynga and more!
We're expected c.1,000 industry professionals at the show, which takes place from June 15th to 16th
Raking In Revenue
Where Winds Meet makes $22.1m on mobile in six months outside China
China has continued to lead spending with its pre-established audience, contributing $72.1m since December 12th
Online Safety
UK social media ban plans could affect gaming platform features
The government hopes to implement the measures by spring 2027
New Offerings
EA launches advertising platform for in-game brand integrations
The platform supports dynamic in-game ads, branded content, challenges, and custom integrations
Industry Outlook
Up to 80% of mobile devs say engagement strategies are losing effectiveness
51% struggle to balance monetisation friction with a fun player experience
Finding Employment
Amir Satvat's ASGC community helps secure 5,000 games industry jobs
Amir Satvat described the figure as a conservative estimate based on nearly four years of data
New Offerings
ClarityQ launches game-native AI analytics platform for mobile game studios
The platform translates complex gaming data into natural language insights and recommendations
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Save up to $220 this week before PGC Summit Shanghai Super Early Bird ends
West meet East, East meet West… Maximise your ChinaJoy Week
Podcast | Episode 93
Record D2C revenue and international studios flock to Spain | 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 93...
Rebrand
Mega Rewards rebrands as Trofeo and appoints Kim Carlson as CRO
Ads company wants to engage with brands to offer rewards after players make in-game achievements
Speaker Spotlight
FastSpring's Steve Rock to discuss what games and apps can learn from each other at PGC Barcelona
Rock talks to us about the attraction of the games industry and the direct-to-consumer movement ahead of his talk at the show
Bytebrew Ads Impact
How The One Game Studio hit 170% D1 ROAS and 1.26x ad LTV lift with ByteBrew Ads
Explore the impact of ByteBrew Ads, the AI-powered cross-promotion ad network built to help studios scale their portfolios through performance-targeted advertising
Indie Support
Codfish Academy to host Playstack-led Game Clinic for indie studios in Portugal
Selected indie studios will receive direct feedback from Playstack's Aaron Ludlow
New Studio
Jin Universe Studios unveils anime ARPG Aether Dawn
The project is being developed by former Genshin Impact and Arknights developers
Esports World Cup
Esports Foundation expands co-streaming program for EWC and ENC 2026
The Foundation is committing $2m in creator rewards
New Offerings
CodeDev Group launches The Performance Guys
The team focuses on performance support across Unreal Engine, Unity, and proprietary technology
Milestone
Asian Champions League records 380m views across three esports titles
The tournament featured Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang competitions
New Hire
Appcharge appoints Bernard Kim to advisory board
Former Zynga president and Match Group CEO joins the DTC payments platform as an adviser