Paige Cook's top stories of 2025: Squad Busters shutdown, a transmedia boom, the Digital Fairness Act and more

Regular readers will be used to the PocketGamer.biz team’s usual Week in Views roundups, but as the year draws to a close, it’s time to take a deeper look at some of the biggest stories of 2025.

Here, PocketGamer.biz deputy editor Paige Cook shares her take on some of the big moments of the year and some trending topics, from the closure of Squad Busters to the transmedia boom.

Meet Paige Cook and the PocketGamer.biz team at Pocket Gamer Connects London on January 19th to 20th, 2026.

Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen on the "bold" decision to close Squad Busters

Supercell’s decision to shut down Squad Busters is a significant moment for Supercell given this is the first global release in roughly five or six years and now it will stand as the company’s first globally launched title to be fully discontinued.

The final update arrives this month and a full closure is planned for 2026, the game will end after only being around for around two years. A surprisingly short lifespan for a studio with especially well known long-running hits. 

Supercell’s explanation that it couldn’t “find a lasting solution to the games core problems", highlights how even industry giants aren’t exempt from the challenges of running a live service game and from the recent years challenges in the industry.

It is yet another reminder of how competitive the mobile games market is and that a company as successful as Supercell sometimes has to make these tough calls. 

Part of me does wonder if Squad Busters could have been saved, be it giving the team longer to iron out its issues or if it needed more development time before its global launch. I suppose now we will never know. Supercell still has its hands full with the likes of mo.co and its upcoming boat game.

"You can’t world-build your way out of a broken core loop": The games industry weighs in on the transmedia boom

The transmedia boom in the games industry is very real. Over the past few years, we have seen a significant surge in games that have expanded into TV shows, films, comics, merch, toys, and even podcasts.

Even though this has always been a thing, we had the likes of a Street Fighter film in the 90s, Tomb Raider in the early 2000s, and others, it’s clear that the uptake in how many of these projects we are seeing is massively on the rise and becoming a more standard part of IP strategy, especially for larger studios with the resources to make it happen. 

A big question, though, is whether these transmedia projects actually make money. In some cases, yes, a hit show can drive players to try or return to the game, which may boost sales or in-game spending. Then, of course, there’s the revenue driven from the project itself, but it also costs a lot to make a film, so transmedia projects can be a huge resource drain.

So really, it seems less about revenue and more about extending an IP beyond the game for better exposure, audience growth, and long-term engagement, as our Mobile Mavens highlighted in this original article. 

There is definitely a fine line studios should tread when considering these projects, anything outside the game should be viewed as an extension of the world. There’s always a risk that studios get too swept up in the idea of making an adaptation, or they pursue them too early. Larger companies can take on more risk, but smaller studios have to be cautious. 

I personally love to see game worlds that I am a fan of exploring new formats when they are well done. But for every great adaptation, there’s a host of mediocre or simply bad ones.

This trend isn’t slowing down though. We've got projects such as Return to Silent Hill, the Super Mario movie, and another take on the Resident Evil franchise - how many are there now? - Angry Birds is getting a new movie and countless others on the horizon. 

Clearly, the boom is here to stay, and I am excited to see many of these projects come to fruition. I just hope we see the games themselves being put first.

The Digital Fairness Act consultation, but for actual human beings

The Digital Fairness Act was a big topic this year. The EU's next major push to update how online consumer protection works became a big talking point in the industry. The consultation closed on October 24th, and we are now in a waiting period before the commission begins drafting the legislation. 

A lot of the uneasiness around the DFA comes from the sense that some of the proposed ideas don't actually reflect how games work. While most people agreed that transparency and fairness are important, the way these ideas may be implemented could create real problems. 

Some believe that certain rules won't even help players, but instead could make systems more confusing or force developers to rebuild their games in ways that no longer make sense. 

This year has seen a lot of conversation about new regulations, yet it often feels like the games industry itself isn't deeply involved in shaping policies and ideas that could massively overhaul how games are made and monetised. If you are going to make rules that impact a significant part of a massive industry, it seems a simple idea that you should consult with those who know it best. 

We aren't done hearing about the DFA, so let's see what 2026 brings.

Roblox’s peak concurrent user count hits record 47.4m as Steal a Brainrot and Grow a Garden compete

User-generated content continues to gain momentum in the games industry and this year has proven it even further.

Roblox has seen games like Steal a Brainrot and Grow a Garden reach huge numbers, both exceeding 20 million concurrent players, with Steal a Brainrot close to 50 million. It’s a clear sign of the massive appeal of the Roblox platform. 

But while its scale and cultural impact on the younger generation are clear to see, its popularity also puts a spotlight on it and safety concerns are often raised. The platform’s demographic consists of a lot of children and because much of the game's appeal comes from its social spaces, the responsibility to ensure a safe environment is extremely important.

We’ve already seen countries ban the game, many in the name of such child safety concerns. 

Roblox announced its plan to require facial age estimation for anyone using its chat features, something they pitch as the new “gold standard” for online communication safety and it would make Roblox one of the first major games platforms to do this. Weather that raises its own concerns, only time will tell. 

While safety concerns are clearly apparent, I don’t see Roblox’s growth slowing down anytime soon and I believe the same can be said for UGC in general. 

Asus reports strong sales for Xbox ROG Ally X

I recall years ago there being discussion around mobile gaming replacing the need for dedicated handheld devices. The past few years have shown that not to be the case and we’ve actually seen a resurgence in handheld gaming.

Leading the way in that are the likes of the Steam Deck, ROG Ally and others. Even the ROG Ally Xbox, which launched at a very premium price and initially was something I was skeptical about has sold reasonably well. It shows that so long as there’s a loyal audience, they’re willing to pay. 

Back to that mobile vs handheld debate, though, and I feel like it was always rooted in the wrong assumptions. Mainly being that, are these markets even targeting the same audience? 

To a degree, yes, the audience is gamers, but those picking up a Steam Deck are likely more avid gamers who already own a PC or console. And mobile, while appealing to those same people, also caters to a much wider audience who aren't interested in the next triple-A hit. All of these platforms can coexist without one extinguishing the other.

I love to see handhelds come into their own once again. The technology has come so far, and being able to play a big triple-A game in your hands, seeing it look and run great, is an amazing experience. It's been on a huge journey when I think back to playing my Game Boy Color as a kid. How well these devices work now makes me curious about where this part of the market will be in a few years.

I think what we are seeing in general though is a games industry that is all about letting players access their games however they want and wherever they want. Mobile remains the most accessible, and more are supporting the likes of cross-platform and cross-progression.

Steam is preparing to release its first console-like device with the upcoming Steam Machine. PlayStation has its consoles and the PS Portal, which feels like the first step toward it having a future in handheld that may eventually support native play. Xbox is expanding outside of traditional console spaces too through PC Game Pass and the likes of the ROG Ally handheld. 

So, be it on a phone, console, PC, handheld device or all of the options available combined it’s a great time to be a gamer.