Dream Data
Hololive Dreams dances up the charts with $57.2m in first month
Players can spend on gacha banners and on VTuber-themed memberships
Funding News
Entity raises $5.8m to bring console-quality games to the ‘new web’
The Irish startup is building a browser-based platform for console-quality games
Pgc Nordics
Introducing the Nordic Business Zone at PG Connects Nordics this October
Showcase your company at the heart of the Nordic games industry
Acquisition
Softgames acquires Funday Games’ 19-title instant games portfolio
The company now operates more than 500 instant games globally
New Offerings
Rocket Fuel Games and ZeptoLab bring Cut the Rope to Roblox
Cut the Rope Tower Defense will use physics-based combat instead of traditional stat-based towers
Rising Revenue
Loom Games’ Pixel Flow makes almost $200m in player spending during first year
Türkiye’s hybridcasual hit has helped Loom Games land award nominations and a majority acquisition by Scopely
Sonic Shutdown
Sonic Blitz gets cancelled as servers go offline today
Sega and Rovio’s card-based Sonic the Hedgehog game has been in soft launch for more than a year
New Offerings
Roblox open-sources three safety models through ROOST
The company’s PII Classifier now supports 189 languages, up from 17
Esports World Cup
EWC Paris 2026 draws 2m visits as AG.AL claims Club Championship
The tournament reached 850m viewers and generated 440m hours watched
New Partnerships
Diva Agency and Fourth Floor launch tech-enabled games agency partnership
The agencies plan to build a wider global network of independent specialist partners
Pg Connects
Become a PG Connects speaker and get free VIP access
Share your knowledge with the world
Podcast | Episode 102
Did Apple really resolve its EU dispute? | 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 102...
Investment News
Makers Fund closes $250m Fund IV to back next generation of interactive entertainment
Fund IV will back founders building the next generation of games and interactive entertainment
Pgc London
PG Connects London 2027: Super Early Bird tickets now on sale!
Book your January 18–19, 2027 conference pass at the most affordable rate!
Pgc Nordics
Colossal Order's Mariina Hallikainen joins PGC Nordics speaker lineup
The founder-CEO behind Cities: Skylines brings over 15 years of studio leadership to the Nordic stage
Job News
Former Epic Games leader Ben Board joins CodeDev Group as CEO of The Performance Guys
The Performance Guys focuses on performance optimisation across game engines
New Offerings
Krafton Ad Platform India officially launches to expand Neptune’s ad-tech business
KADP India plans to expand its partnerships with premium digital media platforms across the country
New Offerings
Twitch opens sponsorships to Affiliates globally through expanded creator programme
Affiliates can now discover, execute and get paid for eligible sponsorships through Twitch
New Offerings
Playgama launches Wrap to turn HTML5 games into standalone websites
“The industry has shifted again, and games on standalone domains have grown into a segment of their own," said Playgama founder Dmitry Kachmar
Catastrophic Controversy
Love and Deepspace hits record low with 68% spending decline after Valko controversy
Love and Deepspace made $10.3m this July, less than half its previous spending low point
New Offerings
ZBD reveals embedded financial infrastructure for games
ZBD is expanding beyond its mobile gaming success to cater to PC and console titles
Powering Global Games Growth
EnJoyPay powers global game growth through payments
As game developers continue to expand into overseas markets, payments are becoming an increasingly important part of global publishing and monetisation infrastructure.
Crossovers
Subway Surfers revives Among Us collab with Cosmic Crossroads update
The update will add new themed characters, outfits, hoverboards and profile icons
Investment News
Square Enix-backed Magic Potion Games completes Series A after Imagine Island tops one million players
The platform is designed specifically around safety and age-appropriate social features for Gen Alpha
Podcast
Coming soon to the PocketGamer.biz Podcast: Xsolla on D2C and key pre-Gamescom reveals
Xsolla president Chris Hewish discusses the state of direct-to-consumer and the company's six new solutions for its expanding product suite
Child Safety
Australia secures court-enforceable Roblox child safety undertaking
Roblox has three months to introduce additional child safety measures
Top 50
Nominations open for PocketGamer.biz's Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2026
Our annual list of the world's top mobile games companies is set to return during PGC Nordics on October 20th and 21st, sponsored by BIGO Ads
App Store Changes
Apple cuts EU alternative app store fees to 5%
Epic Games has called the new fees “junk fees” and says they fail to deliver the competition required by the DMA
Market Report
Report: No gaming experience appeals to more than 26% of players globally
Mobile D2C revenue reached about $17bn last year, roughly 15% of the mobile in-app purchase market
Game Closure
Konami to shut down Apple Arcade game Grimoire of Souls
The game originally launched as a free-to-play title in Canada in 2019
Industry Outlook
Clash Royale research finds 85% of rage quitters enjoy gaming more after returning
Mexico recorded the highest share of rage quitters who said they enjoyed gaming more after returning, at 90.5%
Pgc Nordics
PG Connects Nordics overview schedule now live!
Explore the timings for the 23 conference tracks, fringe events and more across the two-day event this October 20th and 21st
Regulations
Apple to change app tracking consent rules in EU
Germany’s FCO found Apple’s ATT framework potentially gave its own apps more favourable consent prompts
Child Safety
US Senate to investigate Roblox over child safety concerns
Roblox has been ordered to preserve records related to child safety and exploitation
Market Report
Report: 50% of game developers cite job insecurity as AI productivity grows
Perforce's survey found 37% of game developers say AI has not sped up their workflows at all
Esports Nations Cup
Esports Nations Cup postponed to November 2027
Existing ENC Development Fund commitments will remain in place
New Partnerships
Abu Dhabi's FSRA and GCGRA to strengthen regulatory cooperation
The agreement establishes a framework for information sharing and coordinated supervision
Market Report
Global mobile IAP revenue reached $43.6bn, up 5.3% year-on-year
New Sensor Tower report shows global app downloads reached 36.8bn
Early Earnings
Digimon Up player spending hits $10m in one month with hybrid monetisation model
The idle RPG launched on July 15th, 2026 with an early spending peak
Options And Offerings
PUBG Mobile Light to launch in 2026 with lower device requirements
Players can choose which content they store on their devices
Acqusitions
Report: Alibaba to sell Lingxi Games in $2bn deal
The sale comes as Alibaba reviews non-core assets and prioritises AI and cloud
Gamescom
Max your Gamescom week with Pocket Gamer next week
FREE networking party, Mobile Games Awards, Steel Media meetings and more
Podcast | Episode 101
The cloud gaming debate, Pokémon Go's revenue surge and Türkiye's $4bn industry | 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 101...
Epic Vs Apple
Apple proposes 15% US link-out fee as it seeks settlement talks with Epic Games
Epic has roughly 60 days to file its opposition
Gameplay Changes
Supercell says Mo.co unlikely to be cancelled despite major changes ahead
“A game still trying to find its place in the market is always at risk of being discontinued.”
Studio Closure
Netflix preparing to shut down Night School and Moonloot
The company is prioritising kids' games, party games, story-driven titles and games with mainstream appeal
Job News
Testronic appoints Sonia Kerr as CEO amid executive shakeup
Sharon Baylay-Bell has moved from CEO to company chair
Expansions
Mattel forms new game studio to expand Hot Wheels, UNO and others
The studio will focus on self-published games based on Mattel's portfolio of brands
Pgc Nordics
Pixel Federation's Matej Jurcak joins the PGC Nordics speaker lineup
The ASO lead and growth partnerships specialist brings over a decade of mobile growth experience to Helsinki this October
Pgc Summit Montreal
MIGS 2026 - now with added PG Connects!
We’re bringing mobile to Canada’s largest and longest-running B2B video game conference