Milestone
Block Blast reaches 70m daily active users and 300m monthly active users worldwide
Hungry Studio credits the milestone to a year-long experimentation system running more than 10,000 A/B tests
Discovery Decision
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board unanimously rejects Paramount’s latest offer
The offer was made after an $82.7 billion deal with Netflix was already agreed, meaning multiple fees would be charged for backing out
Funding News
NEOM selects five studios for funding in expanded Level Up accelerator
An additional 18 studios will join an expanded mentorship phase, marking the programme’s largest cycle to date
New Offerings
Roblox reveals new Homepage Feature and expands programmatic partnerships
The company said younger audiences are shifting from passive viewing to active participation in creator-led environments
Milestone
Mattel163 surpasses 550m players worldwide across its digital games portfolio
Players have completed more than 65bn matches globally, marking a major milestone for the publisher
Job News
Kuro Games taps ex-Scopely GM Jay Kim as new general manager of Korea
Kim will lead Kuro Games’ Korean operations, focusing on community building, market growth, and player support
Market Growth
UK games spending hits £5.4bn in 2025 as mobile powers strongest growth since 2020
Mobile games generated £1.88bn after an 8.8% year-on-year rise
Expansion
Aream & Co opening Singapore office
The new branch will be headed up by Anjan Sarangi
Job News
Scopely-owned Niantic recruits Jori Pearsall as SVP of games
He will lead the creative and strategic direction of Scopely’s Tokyo Studio
Sonic Start
Sonic Rumble jogs to $772,000 in two months
The party royale had its most lucrative day early on, but events are keeping things moving
Eggy Endeavour
Eggy Party cracks $750m in mobile player spending
Player spending has fallen for two consecutive years, with 2023 still responsible for over 50% of the lifetime sum
Job News
Web gaming platform Entity names Tag Games co-founder Paul Farley as head of games
He will lead the platform’s games strategy and oversee the formation of its games team
New Offerings
Teebik to launch Plague Inc. and Rebel Inc. in China this year
The publisher is positioning the releases as part of a broader push for premium Western mobile games in China
Funding Round
Fast-growing hybridcasual puzzle game Pixel Flow nets seven-figure investment
Arcadia Gaming Partners’s Akin Babayigit and early stage fund e2vc join seed funding round
New Studio
Former Boss Fight Entertainment team launch new studio Sunwise Games
The studio’s launch follows Netflix’s decision to shut down its internal games division last fall
Game Closure
Game Freak’s mobile RPG Pandoland to shut down just 11 months after launch
A final “Thank You Campaign” is live to help players access rewards before March 6th shutdown
Jobs News
Nitro Games appoints new COO and CPO
Developer has also secured a €1.6 million to continue working on a new mobile shooter for a European game developer
Competition
Neowiz Indie Quest dev contest closes in two weeks
Winners could receive $115,000 along with game promotion, mentoring and strategic consulting
Warning
New York to require mental health warnings for social media platforms
New law targets young users and platforms with "addictive" feeds, auto play or infinite scroll
Rebrand
Amir Satvat’s industry network rebrands to Always Supporting the Games Community
Support network supports hundreds of thousands of industry professionals
Ambitious Plans
Dubai establishes new Gaming Committee to support industry growth
The Gaming Committee will focus on strategic partnerships and improved services
30 Under 30
Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 recognises rising games industry stars
List features top talent in business and sport
Dev Hub
Montenegro opens first free-for-all game dev hub
Space includes workstations, training and free access for local creators
Word Rivals
NYT Games comes for Scopely and Zynga with Crossplay
Media firm to compete with Words With Friends and Scrabble Go
Trade Union
Ubisoft Halifax workers unionise
74% of staff voted yes to forming the union and join CWA Canada
Jobs News
NetEase head of interactive entertainment departs after 23 years
Yingfeng Ding will continue to act as a consultant following his retirement on December 31st, 2025
Opening Up
Japan cracks open the App Store and Google Play to rival payment providers and marketplaces
Top mobile platforms must now let developers use alternative payment providers and let users install rival marketplaces
Ai Regulation
China tightens rules on emerging gen AI tech
Regulator steps in to provide rules for rapidly emerging sector
Investment Round
AI-powered game creation platform GameByte raises $1m
Startup valued at $10m following a pre-seed funding round
Regulation
Brazil’s Apple App Store set to open up to alternative payments in 2026
Apple has introduced a set of new fees as part of three-year deal with regulator CADE
New Offerings
Apple to expand advertising placements within App Store search results from next year
The expanded search ads will roll out on devices running iOS 26.2 and later from early 2026
Acqusitions
Little Umbrella acquires Discord game Karaoke Battle from Mayk AI
The deal includes a music licensing partnership with Stingray
Court Intervention
US federal judge blocks Texas law requiring app stores to verify users’ ages
The ruling prevents the Texas App Store Accountability Act from taking effect on January 1st
Holiday Spirit
England’s children’s commissioner urges parents to cut back on phone use during family time this Christmas
England’s children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said children are “crying out” for attention from their families
Apple Troubles
Italy fines Apple $116m over App Store privacy rules
The iPhone maker abused its dominant App Store position by imposing disproportionate privacy rules on third-party developers
New Offerings
OpenAI opens submissions for third-party apps inside ChatGPT
The first wave of approved ChatGPT apps is expected to roll out gradually in the new year
Marvellous Mena
Level Up expands into game publishing with Level Up Gaming
The publisher has already signed four games, with projects originating from the US, Finland, and Saudi Arabia
Acqusitions
EA shareholders approve $55bn sale to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s PIF
Following the acquisition, the PIF will own 93.4% of Electronic Arts, taking the company private after more than 40 years
News
Call of Duty co-creator Vince Zampella dies
Respawn co-founder and Battlefield GM killed in car crash
M&a
NCSoft acquires majority stake in Singapore's Indygo Group for $103.8m
NCSoft bought a 67% stake in Indygo Group for $103.8m, becoming its largest shareholder
New Offerings
YouTube's AI-powered Playables Builder will let creators make games
The closed beta is currently limited to creators in the US, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia
New Offerings
FIFA and Roblox extend partnership with launch of FIFA Super Soccer
Gamefam rebranded its Super League Soccer as FIFA’s official Roblox game
Developer Support
Supercell to launch new grants programme for African game developers
The programme will officially launch in 2026 with non-dilutive grants ranging from $20,000 to $200,000
Acqusitions
Netflix acquires avatar-creation platform Ready Player Me
The platform will shut down its services on January 31st, 2026 following the sale
Podcast | Episode 77
Games industry trends 2025 review | 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 77...
Acqusitions
Mythwright acquires minimalist strategy title Thronefall
The acquisition brings Thronefall into Mythwright’s growing catalogue of niche strategy and simulation titles
Milestone
The Game Awards 2025 reportedly attracted an estimated 171m global livestreams
Viewership follows last year’s 31% jump, when the show reached 154m livestreams worldwide
Settlement Reached
Sony and Tencent reach confidential settlement over Light of Motiram
The agreement brings an early close to Sony’s lawsuit alleging the game was a clone of the Horizon series
Expansions
AviaGames establishes new subsidiary in Germany as part of global expansion strategy
The move marks AviaGames’ official entry into the European market
Crossovers
Sega brings Godzilla to Sonic Rumble in limited-time crossover event
The month-long collaboration introduces a new stage, playable kaiju and unique abilities