Job News
Apple appoints longtime exec Sabih Khan as chief operating officer
Current COO Jeff Williams to step down later this month
New Offerings
Ubisoft and Netflix move forward with first Assassin’s Creed series adaptation
Netflix says the series will honour the franchise’s legacy while delivering a fresh cinematic experience
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out Trusted Connections and new parental tools in major safety update
Roblox said its updates aim to balance teen independence with strong safety measures.
Milestone
TapNation hits 150m downloads with Guess Their Answer and Doll Dress Up
The publisher’s mobile game portfolio has now surpassed 1.5 billion downloads
New Offerings
Saga and Chrono Labs launch KEX to power next-gen AI agents in web3
New tech built on Saga's blockchain
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Win a ticket to Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai
Connect with global games companies and gain cutting-edge industry insight on July 30th
Job Losses
Virtuos lays off 270 employees
Job losses hit staff in Asia and Europe
Milestone
TowerLands joins Mamboo Entertainment's portfolio as the publisher crosses 1bn installs
The publisher said 20% of its mobile game installs come from platforms outside the App Store and Google Play
Apple Troubles
Wheels of Aurelia dev says Apple undermining value and sustainability of games as it looks to delist title
"It is hard to imagine how we could ever thrive within Apple's ecosystem"
Pgc London 2026
Save the date: Pocket Gamer Connects London returns January 2026
Join the global games industry for two days of essential B2B networking on January 19th to 20th
Gateway To China
Enter China visa-free to connect with games companies like Tencent, NetEase, Epic Games and Supercell
Make the most of ChinaJoy in August and Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30th
New Offerings
Apple launches new emoji-based puzzle game for News+ subscribers
The game will also integrate with the upcoming Apple Games app in iOS 26
New Offerings
Stash and Adyen partner to power scalable D2C monetisation for game developers
“Partnering with a company as exceptional and selective as Adyen strengthens every pillar of that mission,” said Stash co-founder Justin Kan.
New Partnerships
Appcharge and Dots.eco partner to bring real-world environmental Impact to In-game purchases
Players can now support tree planting, plastic removal, and wildlife protection through in-game spending.
Jobs News
Ubisoft names new co-CEOs of Tencent-backed subsidiary
Questions remain about wider impact of the deal on publisher's teams and IP
Region Report
Gain key insights into China’s games industry with our free report
Grab your copy of our China report to get a deep dive into the country’s influential games sector ahead of the PGC Summit Shanghai on July 30th
Expansions
Scopely opens major games and creative hub in Barcelona with over 700 staff
Scopely is now Spain’s largest video game employer with nearly 1,000 staff across the country
Funding News
Green Games Showcase hits $150,000 goal to plant 50,000 trees in Timor-Leste
The trees will be planted by PlanetPlay's sustainability partner WithOneSeed
Crowdfunding
Rocketship launches Kickstarter for new Angry Birds graphic novel collection
The project expands Rocketship’s Bottlerocket! line for young readers, following titles like Felix the Cat and Fox Fires
Mentorship
Take This opens applications for season two of its mental health-focused mentorship programme
The initiative is focused on improving mental health while elevating historically underrepresented voices in the industry
New Offerings
Roblox License Manager hands creators major IP for games
Roblox said creators are on track to surpass $1 billion in earnings this year
Revenue Race
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby trots to $6.6m outside Japan after 18 days
Cygames’ flagship was Japan’s top-grossing mobile game in 2021 and 2022, and expanded into the West on June 26th, 2025
Marvellous Mena
MENA-3 games market set to reach $2.8bn by 2029
A Niko Partners report found that the region had 72 million gamers at the end of 2024
Strategic Move
Airship Interactive relaunches as Airmergent after entering administration
All employees have transferred to Airmergent as the company claims there has been no impact on contracts, payroll, or client work
New Offerings
Discord launches Orbs to scale in-app rewards
Orbs give Discord users new ways to earn rewards and explore premium features like Nitro
Pg Connects Helsinki
Join the biggest games industry gathering in the Nordics
Be part of the Nordic region’s leading B2B games event October 7th to 8th
Industry Outlook
Games industry deal value hits $6.2bn in Q2 2025
New report from Aream & Co shows that mobile revenue remains steady at $20bn quarterly
Coin Master Go
Moon Active takes on Scopely with Monopoly Go-like Coin Master - Board Adventure
Scopely took inspiration from the hit casual casino game - now Moon Active is returning the favour
Expansions
Side signs deal with Savvy Games Group to open Riyadh office
Firm plans to not only support Savvy’s initiatives but also launch its own training programmes in Saudi Arabia
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai 2025 agenda revealed
Connect with and learn from leading games industry experts in Shanghai, July 30th
Vote Now
Vote for Best Developer at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025
Voting ends at midnight on July 31st
Game Update
Steer Studios pulls Grunt Rush from app stores for planned updates
The studio’s debut title is currently unavailable to new players
Strategy Spending
Whiteout Survival hits $3bn in player spending in under 2.5 years
Century Games’ strategy title has been among the five highest-earning mobile games every month this year
Age Of Casual
Tencent gives Age of Empires the Last War treatment on mobile
Age of Empires: Survival brings hypercasual gameplay to the longstanding strategy franchise
Podcast | Episode 60
Games investment tips, Clash Royale's evolution, and China's rising global influence | 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 60...
Esports World Cup
Esports World Cup 2025 begins in Riyadh with record $70m prize pool
Of the prize pool, $27m will be spread across the top 16 clubs while this year’s winner will earn $7m
Acqusitions
Azerion sells Whow Games to DoubleDown Interactive in deal worth up to $76m
The advertising firm said the sale is part of its broader portfolio optimisation strategy
New Partnerships
Genies partners with Unity to bring AI avatar tools and IP assets to developers
Genies will debut a custom landing page in the Unity Asset Store later in 2025, with full integration into the Unity Editor set for 2026
Funding News
Turkish studio Circle Games raises $7.25m to expand puzzle portfolio
Funds will go towards upcoming projects as well as growing its development team
Roguelike Revenue
Habby's Wittle Defender hits $10m in gross player spending
Habby’s tower defence title launched worldwide on Android and iOS on June 9th
The Power Of Playables
Interactive ads surge 20% among top apps as advertisers bet big on playables
Liftoff’s latest report shows the playable ads formats grew eight times higher than non-playables for top spenders last year
Bitcoin Comeback
SaruTobi is first game on iOS with ZBD-powered Bitcoin microtransactions
The game is the first on the App Store to use ZBD's Lightning Network for Bitcoin integration
Strike Over
Video games strike ends after 11 months as SAG-AFTRA ratifies new contract
The new agreement includes an immediate pay increase of over 15% for performers, with raises scheduled for November 2025, 2026 and 2027
Building And Bolstering
French dev Million Victories secures almost $40m in funding from Haveli Investments
The studio’s flagship mobile game Million Lords: World Conquest has 100,000 monthly players
Deal Deluge
Games M&A hits $3bn disclosed deal value in Q2 2025
A new wave of M&A through late 2025 and into 2026 is expected as companies leverage improved valuations for growth
Creating A Council
UK Video Games Council establishes to inform and support government policy
The council will be supported by UK trade bodies Ukie and TIGA, with ongoing input from the wider industry
Resilient Growth
Green Game Jam reached 108m daily active players to spur real-world climate action in 2024
The new Playing for the Planet Annual Impact report shows that the alliance fell short of its goal to grow membership by 25%, achieving a 14% increase
Data Diligence
The IAB updates its Diligence Platform to educate data suppliers in "increasingly regulated environment"
The update follows after the IAB’s new Gaming Measurement Framework, outlining ad formats for games
Revenue Royale
Clash Royale hits post-pandemic record of $3.8m daily revenue with new mode Merge Tactics
Daily player spending has reached its highest since 2021
Anime Ahead
Garena Free Fire anime details emerge in new teaser trailer
The series is being directed by Ken Takahashi, who previously worked on Fate/Grand Order’s anime adaptation