Mobile Matters
Konami profits up 41.8% as eFootball surpasses 800m installs
Mobile’s Professional Baseball Spirits A was used in the eNippon Series of the Prospi A Pro League
Funding For Games
Goat Gaming lands $4 million to expand AI-powered web3 games on Telegram
The brand said its AlphaAI suite will power the launch of hundreds of games in 2025
Gaming Trends
Games industry hiring "velocity trending upward" after 6,000 layoffs in early 2024
Games job expert Amir Satvat analyses the hiring rate in comparison to layoffs
Pgc San Francisco
Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2025 - the ultimate indie developer experience awaits
Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2025 is a must attend for indie developers, and here's why...
Five Days Of Networking
Five days of unmatched networking at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2025
Celebrate Pocket Gamer Connects' 50th global conference with full-week MeetToMatch access, connecting 2,000+ industry professionals across San Francisco
Milestone
Neopets surpasses 400,000 MAUs under new management
The brand's revival includes mobile games: Tales of Dacardia and Faerie Fragments
Games History
Video Game History Foundation launches digital library in early access
“For free. For everyone. Wherever you are."
New Offerings
Netflix Games shelves titles and doubles down on IP originals
The streaming giant said the cancellations are part of adjusting its portfolio
Ai Safety
U.S. Copyright Office rules AI-generated content without human input won’t be protected
An “extremely low” level of creativity is still needed
Investment News
Social games platform Little Umbrella lands $2 million in funding
It will use the funds to scale its live ops operations and fast-track the launch of new titles
New Offerings
Paper Boat Apps teams up with Mattel to bring Barbie to Kiddopia
The collaboration will bring Barbie-themed games to the children's learning platform later this year
Acqusitions
Nodwin Gaming acquires esports broadcaster StarLadder for $5.5 million
StarLadder will become a fully-owned subsidiary of Nodwin and will retain its brand
Financial Outlook
Xbox hardware sales plummet but Game Pass hits new records
Gaming revenue declined 7%, driven by a 29% drop in Xbox hardware sales
Mobile Monsters
Capcom's operating income drops 38%, but Monster Hunter series hits 100 million sales
"Digital contents" have contributed $189.9 million out of total $201.3 million operating income this year
Royal Revenue
Royal Match earned 51% of all match-3 IAP revenue in 2024 as casual genre made $15.2 billion
Meanwhile, Monopoly Go earned 55% of casual casino’s earnings
Funding News
Dream Games seeks $2.5 billion in debt and equity to double valuation
The Turkish firm plans to use the funding to buy out existing investors and set a valuation of nearly $5bn
Milestone
Curve Games' Human: Fall Flat has sold 55 million units
The game's Vilnius-based developer is currently developing Human Fall Flat 2
Delivering Deals
Report: Games industry M&As valued at $10.5 billion in 2024 with 21% volume increase
Drake Star’s Global Gaming Report 2024 highlighted the biggest investors of the year from venture capitalists to games studios
New Ip Holder
Kukouri Mobile Entertainment shuts down game operations and sells IPs to Social First
“Unfortunately Pixel Worlds has not been a commercially viable product for some time,” said Kukouri CEO Petri Piipari
Jobs In Games
Fingersoft welcomes back Teemu Närhi as CEO
Teemu previously served as the company's CEO from 2014 to 2019
Lucrative Love
Love and Deepspace celebrates first anniversary and over $400m after record-breaking month
The dating simulator made $61 million in December 2024
Midnights On Mobile
40% more North Americans are playing mobile games at 1AM than global average
Mobile players are most active at 8PM worldwide, but some regions stay up later than others
Esports Integrity
Olympic Esports Games 2025 in Saudi Arabia delayed
Concerns have been raised about the tight 2025 timeline, uncertainties over game titles, venues, dates, and qualification methods
New Partnerships
Aptoide partners with My.Games to expand game distribution beyond major app stores
Rush Royale and the survival shooter Left to Survive will be added to the store
Global Games Marketing Trends
SocialPeta released mobile game white paper: global mobile game advertisers surpass 250,000
SocialPeta's 2024 Global Mobile Games Marketing Trends & Insights White Paper features insights from industry leaders at Google, AdQuantum, App Masters, Gamelight and many more
Snapping Back
Marvel Snap secures new publisher Skystone Games after "surprise" takedown
Second Dinner’s hit game went down in the US alongside the temporary TikTok ban
Soft Launch
Krafton expands Dark and Darker Mobile soft launch to the US
The title is described as a medieval dark fantasy extraction RPG set in perilous dungeons
Dubai Investment Summit
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 powering global investment, fueling games innovation
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Leadership Change
Sony appoints Hideaki Nishino as president and CEO ushering in a new era for PlayStation
Hideaki Nishino will now be sole CEO after previously sharing responsibility with Herman Hulst
Web3 Way
Pixion reaches $12.4m in total investments for web3 RPG Fableborne
The latest round was led by Delphi Ventures with further support from Animoca Brands, Sky Mavis and more
Jobs In Games
Ten Square Games taps Dayan E. Yar as new chief product officer
He will focus on revitalising the company's flagship titles through product development, live ops, and innovation
Tenuous Tiktok
Rumour: Microsoft is in talks to purchase TikTok, says Trump
President Donald Trump has claimed several companies have "great interest" in TikTok, including Microsoft
Acqusitions
Pocket Worlds acquires AI-driven UGC platform Infinite Canvas
The team will now focus on innovation within Highrise, Pocket Worlds' flagship platform
Resolution Revolution
Resolution Games celebrates 10 years and over 30 million players across VR, mobile and more
The Swedish developer has just launched its third Apple Vision Pro title, Gears & Goo
Game Cancellation
Nexon cancels Warhammer RPG in development with Thought Pennies
The game was planned for PC, consoles, and mobile platforms
Loads Of Layoffs
Moon Active reportedly lays off "dozens" of staff despite "record revenues exceeding $2 billion" in 2024
Employees are believed to have been impacted in Israel and across Moon Active’s worldwide sites
Esports Growth
Garena unveils 2025 Free Fire esports roadmap with a focus on talent growth
Two major international events will take the spotlight later this year in Jakarta Indonesia
Layoffs
Phoenix Labs cuts “majority" of staff amid second restructuring
The Dauntless developer laid off 140 employees last year and cancelled ongoing projects
Polar Night Pulled
Atelier Resleriana to end global services after just 14 months
The latest entry in the Atelier series has earned almost $57.7 million on mobile worldwide 90% of which has come from players in Japan
Charity Collaboration
3% of Monument Valley 3’s profits will go to IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund for next three years
ustwo games and the IFRC will partner to help players learn about flood relief efforts worldwide
Cloud Service Closure
Cloud gaming subscription service Utomik closes
The platform first launched its cloud gaming service, Utomik Cloud, on Android devices in 2022
Layoffs
Ubisoft shuts down Leamington studio with 185 Job cuts across Europe
The cuts will impact staff from Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Stockholm and Ubisoft Düsseldorf
Publishing
Former Gearbox president Steve Gibson launches Cooldown Games
The new publisher is on the lookout for promising game developers and projects to bring to market
Ea Estimates
EA lowers estimates for FY2025 after Global Football’s Q3 "slowdown"
EA’s net bookings prediction for FY2025 has adjusted from a maximum $7.8 billion down to $7.15 billion
Successful Sleep
Pokémon Sleep snoozes past $140m in time for 1.5 year anniversary
The Pokémon sleep tracker has slowed down in earnings these past six months with fewer Legendary events
Marvellous Mena
Games Majlis unites experts to transform Middle East mobile games industry
The initiative is led by industry veteran Mohamed El Sheakh alongside 20 founding members
Ecosystem Examination
UK’s CMA to investigate Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems "in parallel"
These two investigations form the second of three "areas of digital activity" the CMA intends to examine
New Partnerships
Scopely's Monopoly Go! partners with Six Nations Rugby for 2025 championships
The collaboration will also feature Monopoly Go activations at Stade de France during matches
Stepping Down
Warner Bros. games president David Haddad to step down after 12 years
He will remain in his role for the next three months as the company looks for his replacement
Milestone
Hypercasual publisher Homa surpasses 2 billion downloads
Sky Roller, Merge Master, and Attack Hole account for 21% of its total downloads