On The Leash
The heavy hand of regulation
Regulators continue to fight big tech with mixed results
Staff
Craig Chapple
Job Title
Head of Content
About Craig Chapple is the head of content at PocketGamer.biz, leading the team's editorial direction and developing the conference agenda for our Pocket Gamer Connects conferences around the world. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.
Articles by Craig Chapple
Podcast | Episode 62
Apple's regulatory wins and 2025's top genres | 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 62...
Twists And Turns
Is the EU set for "total capitulation" on App Store regulation?
Regulators hit a wall as the UK struggles to get out of bed and the EU deals with nightmares of a Trump retaliation
Top 50
Nominations open for PocketGamer.biz's Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2025
We're also putting together special lists for Southeast Asia and MENA - all to be unveiled later this year!
Strategic Market Status
UK’s CMA crawls to Apple and Google regulation
Competition and Markets Authority proposes designating Apple and Google with Strategic Market Status
Apple Approval?
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney cries “total capitulation” as report claims EU likely to greenlight App Store changes
Regulator's decision expected in the coming weeks
Going Global
"The China market is like bootcamp for how to be a winning global player"
Joymaker VP of business development Tom van Dam gives us the lowdown on China's bustling games market
Global Ambitions
Can India's Nazara really crack $10 billion?
CEO and joint MD Nitish Mittersain discusses the company's key acquisitions, why M&A fails, and the future of India's games market
Money To Burn
Netflix plans to ramp up gaming investment
Streaming firm open to evolving business model in future and teases new set of interactive experiences.
Podcast | Episode 61
Zynga's successes and failures, and Moon Active takes the fight to Scopely | 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 61...
Underrated?
The UGC revolution the games industry is clueless about
How well do you know UGC?
Jobs News
Ubisoft names new co-CEOs of Tencent-backed subsidiary
Questions remain about wider impact of the deal on publisher's teams and IP
Region Report
Gain key insights into China’s games industry with our free report
Grab your copy of our China report to get a deep dive into the country’s influential games sector ahead of the PGC Summit Shanghai on July 30th
Deal Tracker
Show Me The Money: Scopely closes $3.5bn Niantic deal, UK gets £30m Games Growth Package, and Moshi Monsters' crowdfunding push in June 2025
Show Me The Money: The big deals from June 2025
Opening Up?
"It’s a great time to explore the Chinese games market"
We speak to MyGamez CEO Mikael Leinonen about the opportunities and challenges in China's lucrative games sector
Coin Master Go
Moon Active takes on Scopely with Monopoly Go-like Coin Master - Board Adventure
Scopely took inspiration from the hit casual casino game - now Moon Active is returning the favour
Age Of Casual
Tencent gives Age of Empires the Last War treatment on mobile
Age of Empires: Survival brings hypercasual gameplay to the longstanding strategy franchise
Podcast | Episode 60
Games investment tips, Clash Royale's evolution, and China's rising global influence | 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 60...
Region Focus
State of play: Inside China's increasingly influential games industry
Ahead of the debut Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30th, we speak to industry executives and take a look at the rise of China's games sector
State Of Investment
Aonic on the state of games investment in 2025 and tips for raising funds
Aonic co-founder and chief product officer Olliver Heins offers investment advice and thoughts on the state of the market at Develop: Brighton
Development Journey
Inside mobile hitmaker Lilith Games
Lilith Games' Vincent Ou guides us through the Chinese company's company culture, development strategy and live ops tactics it's used to create billion-dollar hits AFK Journey and Rise of Kingdoms
Failure To Launch
What happens now for Xbox's mobile ambitions?
Microsoft's mobile strategy is cooked
Podcast | Episode 59
A dark day for Xbox | 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 59...
Layoffs
Blizzard ends Warcraft Rumble development as company reportedly slashes up to 100 jobs
Move is part of sweeping cuts across Microsoft and its games division
Redundancies
Swedish dev Toca Boca hit by layoffs
Rubik's Match developer Nørdlight has also been closed
Job Losses
Report: King loses 10% of staff as Microsoft makes games division cuts
Candy Crush maker hit hard by redundancies across games group
Global Rollout
Supercell rolls out Mo.co to all players worldwide
Developer drops the invite-only model three and a half months after release
Legal Battle
Update: Beresnev Games wins interim injunction against SayGames in Race Master 3D dispute
Court documents show the title has generated more than $100 million to date; IP has returned to the developer
It's In The App
Messaging app EA Connect soft launches on mobile in Canada
Chat feature is already available across platforms in games such as EA Sports FC 25, Madden NFL 25 and NHL 25
Industry Insights
Industry Insights: The future of Xbox, the new platform gold rush, and Supercell's experimental release strategy
Analysis from around the industry
Podcast | Episode 58
The UK games industry's £30m boost and Grow a Garden transforms Roblox | 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 58...
Here We Go Again
Apple adds new fees to the EU App Store as it battles with the DMA
Tech giant adds initial acquisition fee, store services charge and Core Technology Commission
Government Support
UK Government launches £30 million Games Growth Package
Investment strategy aims to boost country's games sector and help plug skills gaps
Podcast | Episode 57
The solitaire gold rush and Finland's new immigration rules bite | 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 57...
Gen Ai
How the generative AI revolution is changing games
Reality and opportunity converge to spark industry disruption
Funding News
Habby invests $2m in Istanbul studio Mavis Games
Casual games developer aims to expand its team as it looks to scale its portfolio
Trade Union
Workers at mobile studio Ubisoft Halifax file to unionise
Of the developer's 60 staff, 39 have publicly said they want to unionise with CWA Canada
Live Ops
Sensor Tower acquires live ops data platform Playliner
Platform tracks in-game events, monetisation and player engagement in mobile games
Mobile Royale
Mobile-first Fortnite Blitz Royale mode launches on June 18th
Move comes shortly after Fortnite's return to mobile on the US App Store
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...
What Do Developers Want?
Apple Games and the future of iOS gaming
Apple's big moment wasn't quite to be. Developers react with their wish list for the App Store and iOS gaming
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: Apple Games reaction and a feature wish list for the App Store
Industry experts give their opinions on this week's announcements and what the iPhone giant can do to win over developers
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”
Conference Roundup
6 takeaways from PGC Barcelona: A bustling industry hub, DTC hits overdrive, and AI hype continues
A look at some of the trends and key talks from our debut conference in the Catalonia capital
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
Shutting Down
Games livestreaming platform Noice closes
Company had raised $26 million in funding before new investment dried up
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
Crunch Time
Apple’s big moment
Will the tech giant make a big statement at WWDC or pretend the world hasn't changed?