Podcast | Episode 56
The Apple Games verdict | 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 56...
Direct-to-consumer
Xsolla and Second Dinner launch new Marvel Snap Web Shop
Players Can Redeem the Global ‘WEBLAUNCH’ Code at Launch to Access Special Offers and Exclusive Rewards
New Partnerships
Xsolla partners with Defold to simplify in-game purchases for web developers
“This is a huge win for our developers heading into the Game Jam,” said Defold product owner Björn Ritzl
Earnings Report
Ten Square Games records $7.4m profit despite drop in bookings
The company plans to double its efforts on scaling live games amidst ‘market evolution’
Training Camp
Khalifa Fund opens registration for 8th Venturist Summer Camp focused on game development
“The camp will also prepare students for freelance and future career opportunities in the gaming sector,” said Khalifa Fund acting CEO Mouza Al Nasri
Wwdc 2025
Apple expands iOS features with new social tools and player overlays
The iPhone maker also showcased new additions to developer tools such as Metal 4 and Xcode 26
The Birds Are Back
Angry Birds Bounce launches in July as series’ first game developed under Sega’s ownership
Sega completed its acquisition of Rovio in August 2023, 18 months after the last mobile Angry Birds game released
New Offerings
Unity launches Audience Hub to help marketers bring privacy-first targeting to games
The tool is currently available to marketers in the US and Canada
Finding Funds
Former Tacticool devs at Nice Plans Studio secure $3m for 3v3 shooter Ricochet Squad
Studio claims day one player-to-payer conversion rate is 4% to 5% in soft launch
Acqusitions
Nazara acquires Smaaash for $14.7m aiming to revamp the brand with digital IPs
“Smaaash was a bold idea once. It's time to build on that idea with sharper execution and a clearer lens,” said Nazara CEO Nitish Mittersain
Building Brands
Supercell hiring in multiple roles to grow brands outside of games
A "whole slate of unannounced projects" are already in development
Why Shanghai
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai 2025 offers key insights into China's bustling market for international studios
Here’s why China’s games industry deserves a closer look and why we’re heading to Shanghai on July 30th
Strike Over
SAG-AFTRA ends strike against video game companies after reaching tentative AI protections deal
All members have been instructed to return to work
New Company
Ex-Netflix VP Mike Verdu and Zynga founder Mark Pincus form AI games startup Playful.AI
Company aims to “reinvent game development and game experiences with AI”
Funding News
Team Angels launches to back early-stage startups in Mumbai
The initiative offers equity funding between ₹40 lakhs ($45,000) and ₹1.5 crore ($175,000)
Game Ban
Hong Kong bans mobile game promoting anti-communist content
The game has now been removed from both the Google Play and Apple’s App Store in Hong Kong
Price Adjustments
Supercell adjusts in-game prices in multiple countries due to tax and exchange rate changes
Price increase impact titles in Brazil, Peru, Azerbaijan and others
Studio Closure
Dundee game studio Cobra Mobile shuts down after 20 years
The liquidation has resulted in eight employees being made redundant
Leadership Overhaul
Phil Rogers named CEO of Embracer as Lars Wingefors shifts focus to M&A
Wingefors will leave the executive management team from August 1st, but stay on as a board member until the annual general meeting
Summer Camp
Zynga to host Girls Make Games 2025 summer camp at San Mateo HQ
Participants will learn the fundamentals of game development and design while working in teams
Marvellous Mena
Dubai’s games industry surges with 260 game developers and 16.6% growth rate
Data shows that 67% of game companies have their headquarters in Dubai
Switch 2 Success
Nintendo Switch 2 breaks records with 3.5m unit sales in four days
The original Switch reached 2.7m unit sales in 29 days
End In Sight
SAG-AFTRA reaches tentative deal with games companies to end strike
The labour union has been on strike against video game companies since July 26th, 2024
Origin On The Way
The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin launching this year after Grand Cross surpasses $1bn
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross generated its first $1bn on mobile in under five years
Strategic Growth
Games for Change welcomes five new board members
New and existing board members will guide the organisation's next phase of growth
Job News
Roblox names Naveen Chopra as new chief financial officer
Chopra is succeeding Michael Guthrie, who will be stepping down as CFO to pursue personal interests
Apple Games
New Apple Games app offers recommendations, challenges, and leaderboards
Apple also showcases some Apple Intelligence features as it ignores previous delays
New Ai Studio
Homa co-founder opens new AI-first studio Everyday
Olivier Le Bas wants to "rethink" how mobile games are built
Download Deluge
Fortnite lands 2.8m new installs on App Store in US
Epic Games’ flagship remains the country’s most-downloaded mobile game for 19 days running, but has been beaten by ChatGPT for most-downloaded app
Lawsuit Triumph
Tencent wins IP case against Peacekeeper Elite content leaker
The ruling comes over three years since the case first began in January 2022
Shutting Down
Games livestreaming platform Noice closes
Company had raised $26 million in funding before new investment dried up
Mobile Games Awards
Nominations are live for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025
The submission phase for this year's categories is now open and closes on June 27th
Squad Slump
Squad Busters makes $472,000 on Chinese App Store as version 2.0 is slow to ignite global fortunes
The global version has generated $1.8m in almost a month since the major overhaul
New Offerings
FunPlus launches new cross-platform publishing label Kingsglory with debut game Aniimo
The title is set to launch in 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, PC and mobile
Accelerator Program
Turkish game startups join UK-focused accelerator ahead of London Tech Week
Startups include PaxAnimi Games, Game Actor, and Yamy Studio
Milestone
Moonton Games' Magic Chess: Go Go has surpassed 30m downloads
MCGG garnered more than 20m pre-registrations before launching globally on May 28th
New Offerings
Google brings Play Points to Roblox with launch of Diamond District experience
The search giant said the experience will be live until July 2nd, 2025
Stream Wwdc
Watch Apple’s WWDC keynote right here
Tune in at 6pm BST (10am PDT) for the big announcements
Xbox Handheld
Microsoft unveils ROG Xbox Ally handhelds
New consoles will launch in winter later this year
Event Report
Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona arrived like a rocket ship with a truly unforgettable debut
Europe’s hottest new games industry event provided an unmissable gateway to one of the fastest growing and vibrant hubs
Marvellous Mena
Abu Dhabi University launches region’s first BA in Game Design
The program will offer a wide range of courses including genre-specific studies such as first-person shooters and mobile games
Floodgates Open
Wuthering Waves celebrates first anniversary with $317.3m on mobile and Los Angeles celebration
Kuro Games’ gacha RPG quickly sailed to its first $100m and has found a second wind since Version 2.0’s release
Funding News
Kohort closes fundraising round to fuel expansion beyond mobile
The funds will go towards platform development
Funding For Games
Yarnhub Animation raises $2.1m to develop WWII title
The team also plans to develop games using Unreal Engine 5, the same technology behind its animated films
Layoff News
Jagex cuts operational staff to refocus on player experience
Project Zanaris is also delayed
Switch 2 Release
Nintendo Switch 2 is out now: Hardware specs, launch games and an $8bn industry opportunity
The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally here, with a bigger screen, 120fps and GameChat functionality
Stay Denied
US court rejects Apple’s request to delay ruling that broke open the US App Store
“May next week’s WWDC be the Apple-led celebration of freedom that developers and users have long deserved," says Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney
Job Losses
Playtika layoffs hit Best Fiends and Redecor teams
Redundancies come shortly after Wooga saw around 50 job cuts
Winners Revealed
Apple reveals 2025 Design Awards winners
Balatro clinched best game in delight and fun category
Summer Special
Albums, battle passes and milestones: Mobile’s top event types to introduce this summer
AppMagic analyses the three summer event formats that can fit "seamlessly" into almost any live ops schedule