Lauding Legislation
Tim Sweeney: "Revenue is shifting away from useless gatekeepers and middlemen"
Epic Games’ CEO celebrates legislative changes at State of Unreal 2025 and promises to "keep fighting" for developers worldwide
Staff
Aaron Astle
Job Title
News Editor
About Aaron is the News Editor at PG.biz and has an honours degree in Creative Writing.
Having spent far too many hours playing Pokémon, he's now on a quest to be the very best like no one ever was...at putting words in the right order.
Articles by Aaron Astle
Surfing In The Sun
Subway Surfers heads to Barcelona in new World Tour event
The in-game setting has been chosen for the 201st World Tour, and happens to coincide with PGC Barcelona 2025
Web3 Way
Quranium secures Animoca Brands investment with focus on web3, AI, metaverse and games
Mobile games will be a key focus, as will security against present and future threats
Ceo Change
Turborilla hires ex-Kwalee John Wright as new CEO effective immediately as Tobias Andersson steps back
Andersson has stepped back into a board member role as the company enters its "next chapter"
Growing Gamers
Roblox game Grow a Garden beats Steam with record concurrent user high of 8.9m
Steam’s highest concurrent users in a single game was achieved in 2018, with 3.2m players in PUBG: Battlegrounds
Done Deal
Pokémon Go under new ownership as Scopely closes $3.5bn Niantic deal
Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom and their associated development teams have officially been acquired
Hot Five
Hot Five: Apple’s dedicated gaming app, Minecraft's mobile revenue surge, and earnings per install rise industry-wide
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Sweet Solitaire
Candy Crush Solitaire has "surpassed internal business expectations"
King business director of new games Anna Busquet talks development, design philosophy and "rigorous testing" behind the company’s first global launch in five years
New Games
New release roundup: Puzzle & Dragons 0, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad, Summoners War: Rush, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Million Milestone
Dunk City Dynasty achieves 1m downloads in first five days
This latest NetEase Games title has topped App Store charts in the US, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and more
Dynamic Dtc
DTC evolving fast after App Store ruling as web shops alone leave "a lot of untapped potential on the table"
Appcharge chief marketing officer Gil Tov-Ly talks Epic vs Apple, the implications for DTC and the latest tools bolstering conversion
Square Settlement
Square Enix and HK Ten Tree settle copyright lawsuit over Metal Storm
The pair were previously working together on Front Mission 2089: Borderscape
Revenue Rise
Mobile games successfully "squeezing" more revenue per install as average player spending rises 11% despite 7% install fall
Appfigures’ latest report suggests average consumer spending per mobile game install rose to $1.52 in 2024
Revenue Rise
Nazara’s FY25 revenue up 43% to $190m after pivot to "high margin" games segments
The publisher’s games revenue increased by 95% year-over-year in Q4
Waging Warhammer
Stillfront taps Warhammer IP with Supremacy: Warhammer 40,000
The PC and mobile game is open for pre-registration on iOS and Android
Hot Five
Hot Five: Pokémon TCG Pocket surpasses $1bn, Delta Force Mobile hits $100m, and Fortnite's comeback
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
New Games
New release roundup: Fortnite, Dunk City Dynasty, Game of Thrones: Dragonfire, Mutants: Genesis and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Unicorn Club
Pokémon TCG Pocket surpasses $1bn in just over 200 days
The trading card game has hit the $1bn milestone 78 days faster than Pokémon Go, based on player spending
Delivering Dragonfire
Game of Thrones: Dragonfire soft launches in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines
The strategy title is based on the popular IP’s House of the Dragon spinoff
Jobs Roundup
May 2025’s Movers and Shakers: New King president, Scopely appoints CBO, Roblox exec exits, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Destined Details
Destiny: Rising opens pre-registrations on App Store
Pre-registrations for the full game will open on Google Play at a later date
King's Crown
King president Tjodolf Sommestad to step down as Todd Green takes the reins
Sommestad has spent three years as president and almost 14 at King overall
Launching At Lightspeed
Final Fantasy XIV Mobile launching this June in China
Square Enix and Lightspeed Studios’ upcoming release has been "specifically tailored" for mobile
Accomplished Anniversary
Dungeon & Fighter Mobile surpasses $1.3bn in first year on Chinese App Store
Nexon’s mega-hit bolstered franchise revenue by 162% in its release quarter and went on to be 2024’s biggest new mobile release
Clash Incoming
CLASH: A Clash of Clans Netflix show is now in pre-production
The series based on the Clash of Clans and Clash Royale universe is being animated by ICON Creative Studio
Mobile Milestone
Delta Force surpasses $100m on mobile
The tactical shooter earned $72.9m on mobile ahead of global rollout, with a further $33.8m earned since
Cross-platform Curve
Nazara acquires UK publisher Curve Games for $28.9m
The deal will see Nazara take 100% ownership of Curve from Catalis Group
Netease Numbers
NetEase Games revenue rises 12% Y/Y to $3.3bn in Q1
Eggy Party, Where Winds Meet, Infinite Borders and more were named among the quarter’s successes
Rich List 2025
Playrix, Tripledot and King founders make The Sunday Times Rich List 2025
Playrix's Igor and Dmitry Bukhman were the only mobile game makers in the top 100, ranking 10th overall ahead of King Charles III and former UK prime minster Rishi Sunak
Reboot Results
Square Enix claims "a familiar list" of mobile games reduce odds of success as net sales fall 9% to five-year low
Its digital entertainment business saw net sales decline by 17%, though profit rose through reduced expenses
Hot Five
Hot Five: Squad Busters 2.0, Tencent’s game sales up 24%, and Sonic Rumble’s tentative 2025 release
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
New Games
New release roundup: Shogun Showdown, Astronaut Joe: Magnetic Rush, Lego Friends Heartlake Rush+, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Revenue Rise
Tencent game sales up 24% Y/Y to $25bn in Q1 with Honor of Kings, Delta Force and Brawl Stars pulling their weight
Games accounted for nearly $6bn in Q1 revenue, or 24% of total earnings
Dungeon Driver
Nexon’s revenue surpasses $780m this Q1 as Dungeon & Fighter Mobile China drives 60% franchise growth
The developer’s operating income increased by 43% YoY, though quarterly profit fell by 27%
Seed Round Secured
Layer AI closes $6.5m seed round with generative AI tools geared to mobile devs
The funding will be used to further develop features and scale up team size
Animal Appeal
Seven years of Zoo 2: Animal Park: Longevity, season passes, and the importance of new content
We speak with Zoo 2: Animal Park’s project manager Bernd Willuhn about the game’s long-term appeal, remaining accessible to newcomers and more
Lost Link
Square Enix cancels geolocation game Kingdom Hearts Missing Link
The title was announced in April 2022 and has had multiple beta tests, but details have remained sparse
Revenue Rumble
Sega still aiming for Sonic Rumble 2025 release after last-minute delay
Net revenue was down by 9% in FY2025, though Entertainment Contents grew marginally
Microsoft Management
Microsoft to lay off 3% of global staff
The move could impact thousands, expected to be felt across all teams, levels and locales
Squad Up
Squad Busters 2.0: "I’d say this is the biggest change to a game of this scale from Supercell and possibly ever"
Supercell head of marketing Rob Lowe and head of Squad Busters Johnathan Rowlands share insights on the latest update, reflecting on the game’s performance in its first year
Royal Revenue
Royal Kingdom surpasses $100m after record month
Dream Games’ Royal Match sequel has seen 12 consecutive months of player spending growth, when including soft launch results
Nintendo Numbers
Nintendo’s net sales down 30% in the final stretch before Switch 2
Operating profit is down 47% YoY, net profit is down 43%
Studio Support
MLC Studio’s Global Games Alliance aims to curate deals, funding calls, job postings and more into one central hub
Workshops, exclusive events and more are planned for later down the line
Overhaul Overload
Squad Busters to overhaul victory conditions, progression systems and remove many modes in tomorrow’s update
Doppelgangers, Double Trouble, Epic Overload, Loot Machines and Hatchling Herder are all being removed
Hot Five
Hot Five: Golden Week 2025, web shop advancements, and Tripledot to acquire AppLovin’s games business
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: Chronomon, Cornhole Hero, Witchy Workshop: Cozy Idle and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Golden Week Glory
Golden Week 2025: Pokémon TCG Pocket dominates, Fate/Grand Order falls, and a 2012 title makes a surprising rise
The 10 best-performing mobile games in Japan generated $81m this Golden Week, up from $44.9m in 2024
Teenage Time
Subway Surfers is entering its "teenage years" with 200th World Tour destination for 13th anniversary
Starting in an in-game Copenhagen, players will be able to unlock 21 other cities during the event
Vector Vision
Unity Vector AI platform launches with 15-20% lift in iOS app installs and IAP value
iOS and Android traffic has been fully migrated to the new AI platform ahead of schedule
Translation Teamup
DeNA and Alconost partner to localise international games for Japanese market
The partnership will see DeNA’s AndApp platform leverage Alconost’s localisation experience