Funding News
Turborilla secures $5m non-dilutive user acquisition funding to accelerate growth
The studio reported its strongest financial performance in more than three years in December
Here We Go
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 kicks off with talks from Arcadia Gaming Partners, Duolingo, the UK Video Games Council, and more!
PGC London takes place across January 19th and 20th - and we're anticipating it will be our largest show ever
Pgc London
Thanks to the sponsors of Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026
The fantastic companies that make this week's two-day event possible
New Offerings
Orbital expands to PC after surpassing 200,000 downloads on mobile
The mobile title recorded more than 180,000 hours of player engagement since its 2022 launch
Investment News
Play-to-earn app MoneyTime secures $3m seed funding round
Akin Babayigit’s Arcadia Gaming Partners leads investment round in rewarded play platform
Podcast | Episode 79
Pocket Gamer Connects London preview | 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 79...
Company Culture
"This is bullsh*t": Supercell opens up on cancelled projects and the role of failure in creativity
The company celebrates cancelled projects with a champagne toast to courage, not success
Strategic Move
Spry Fox founders take substantial pay cuts following Netflix buyback
The founders reduced their salaries to $20,000 per year during the "extremely fast" sale
Milestone
Fingersoft's Hill Climb Racing passes 2bn downloads worldwide
The physics-based driving title still attracts over 4 million daily players
Milestone
Game District surpasses 2.2 billion downloads in 2025
The mobile developer reached a peak of 22m daily active users last year
Next Steps
Krafton enters execution phase of long-term franchise IP strategy
The publisher plans to increase first-party investment while expanding its publishing output and tightening resource allocation
Subway Surfers City
Subway Surfers City opens pre-registrations ahead of February launch
The "next chapter" for the Subway Surfers IP will release on February 26th, 2026
Layoff News
Playtika to lay off 500 employees in latest round of cuts
CEO Robert Antokol says the company is moving away from an unsustainable growth strategy
Market Growth
German games sector hits €3.73bn in revenue
Federal games funding has been a key growth driver, providing studios with $145m in annual support
Pgc Summit San Francisco
PG Connects returns to San Francisco with a streamlined mobile-centric summit in 2026
A focused gateway to the mobile games sector, March 9th
Funding News
Liquidnitro Games raises $19.1m to scale AI-driven live services platform
The company is targeting growth across India, MENA, and Southeast Asia
Funding News
TaleMonster Games raises $30m Series A to scale Match Valley
The Istanbul-based studio plans to scale its debut title and launch a second game later this year
Funding News
Khosouf Studio secures $600,000 to fuel next phase of growth
The funding will support the studio’s relocation from the UAE to Saudi Arabia
Direct-to-consumer
Appcharge: US web store purchases are 3x higher on average than payment links
Appcharge claims 65% of one-time buyers on web stores make a second purchase
Milestone
Scopely’s Monopoly Go fastest mobile game to hit $6 billion
Hit title hit the milestone in 1,275 days, according to Sensor Tower estimates
Theatre Time
Umamusume: Pretty Derby movie marked for US theatrical release
Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era will be the franchise’s first theatrical release in North America, coming February 27th
Going Public
Liftoff files for IPO in the US
IPO proceeds are expected to be used for general corporate purposes and to repay outstanding debt
Pgc London
Meet the UK Video Games Council in Q&A panel at Pocket Gamer Connects London
The two-day event kicks off on January 19th, 2026
Layoff News
Ubisoft cuts 29 jobs at Abu Dhabi studio
The layoffs follow Ubisoft’s confirmed closure of Ubisoft Halifax as part of wider global restructuring
New Offerings
Samsung revamps mobile gaming hub with personalised discovery
The platform aims to become a central destination for game discovery on Galaxy devices
Investment Shift
Saudi Arabia's PIF to transfer $12bn in gaming shares to Savvy Games Group
The move includes stakes in Nintendo and Bandai Namco Holdings, strengthening Savvy’s global games portfolio
Barbie Partnership
Barbie joins the Talking Tom & Friends universe through Outfit7 partnership
Barbie will be integrated into My Talking Angela 2 in Spring
Ai In Games
Shift Up CEO says AI is key to competing with China’s game industry scale
Kim argues AI adoption will boost productivity rather than replace jobs in the games industry
New Studio
Appcharge expands to Türkiye with new office in Istanbul
Istanbul hub to focus on commercial growth, customer success, and partnerships
Pgc London 2026
Meet top investors with over $300m in total funding at PG Connects London
Leading games investors like Supercell Investments, Play Ventures, LVP, Transcend and more are kicking off 2026 by actively looking to connect with developers
Funding News
One Rule Games closes seed round to build hybridcasual mobile titles
The Montpellier-based studio is looking to launch its first titles this year
New Offerings
Pocketpair unveils Palworld Official Card Game for 2026 launch
Palworld Official Card Game will launch on July 30th, 2026 in partnership with Bushiroad
New Offerings
LEGO Pokémon sets launching in February
The Kanto starter evolutions set is the most expensive release, priced at $649.99
New Studio
Halal Games launches with values-driven game development focus
The developer aims to create fun games without gambling mechanics, musical instruments, or explicit content
Lawsuit
Paramount sues Warner Bros. Discovery over Netflix offer disclosure
The lawsuit follows WBD's rejection of Paramount’s amended tender offer to acquire the company
Industry Outlook
Games industry M&A hit a record $161bn in 2025
Electronic Arts’ $55bn buyout and Netflix’s $82.7bn acquisition of Warner Bros. dominated dealmaking during the year
Investment News
E2VC closes €100m Fund III to continue backing early-stage founders
The firm said it has already committed to more than 10 companies under Fund III
New Offerings
Epic Games rolls out in-island transactions for Fortnite Creative
Creators can now sell digital items and offers using V-Bucks inside their custom Fortnite Creative islands
Layoff News
Warner Bros. Games reportedly cuts staff at San Francisco studio
Senior staff confirmed the cuts via LinkedIn, with at least one entire team affected
Ad Monetisation
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 invites ad monetisation leaders to an exclusive roundtable
Redefining ad monetisation based on 2026 growth metrics
Podcast | Episode 78
2026 games industry predictions and trends | 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 78...
Milestone
AppsFlyer surpasses $500m in ARR as firm reportedly nears sale
The milestone comes amid reports of a potential $2bn acquisition
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out mandatory facial age checks for in-game chat worldwide
Users must now complete an age check before they can chat with others
Esports Growth
Esports World Cup Foundation unveils national team framework for Esports Nations Cup 2026
At least $20m per year will be committed to supporting national team programmes
Job News
Aghanim appoints new CRO and COO
The duo will lead teams across New York City and Los Angeles
Job News
NetEase Games veteran Lin Yunfeng resigns after more than 22 years at the company
His departure follows a major internal restructuring of the publisher's games business last year
New Offerings
Rovio and Sega unite Angry Birds licensing under global transmedia strategy
The move forms part of a broader long-term investment in the Angry Birds brand roadmap
Game Jam
Global Game Jam aims to surpass 500,000 lifetime participants ahead of 2026 event
The annual event brings together developers, students, and creatives to build games around a shared global theme
Layoff News
Ubisoft closes Halifax studio weeks after unionisation
The closure will result in 71 employees losing their jobs
Titanium Sponsor
Xsolla kicks off two weeks of industry programming, community events and expanding support for global developers across the UK
Coordinated activations in the UK underscore Xsolla’s ongoing commitment to building all the things for the video community in Europe