Shiny Surge
Pokémon TCG Pocket’s first shiny cards trigger 265% spending surge
The Shining Revelry set is cashing in on fan-favourite Pokémon with elusive colour variations
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
Ugc Upgrade
The Gang launches UGC Insight tool to help Roblox devs analyse and compare experiences
The analytics tool enables direct comparison between competitors
Finding Funds
HYBE Interactive Media secures $21m to bring K-pop artists to games
Anticipation for MMORPG Architect: Land of Exile played a key role in the latest deal
French Fine
Apple hit with $162m fine over ATT in France
The Autorité de la concurrence has taken issue with Apple’s disproportionate implementation rather than its objective "at its core"
Collab Incoming
AFK Journey crossover with Fairy Tail incoming as "first of many IP collaborations"
The collaboration will bring main characters Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia to the game with signature combat styles and abilities included
Indian Investment
Krafton acquires controlling stake in Nautilus Mobile for $14 million
JetSynthesys will remain a significant minority investor
Penalties And Provocation
EU set for first 'modest' fines against Apple and Meta under DMA
The move comes during US president Donald Trump’s tariffs and potential trade war escalation
Hot Five
Hot Five: GDC takeaways, Nintendo Today app launches, and Honkai: Star Rail’s race to $2bn on mobile
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
New Games
New release roundup: Simon’s Cat Match, NBA 2K All Star, DriftX, Piano Tiles 2+ and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover the past week
Modest Metrics
Supercell’s Mo.co hits 2.5m downloads and $570k in first week
By comparison, Squad Busters accumulated 30m downloads and $11.8m during its first seven days
Spending Star
Honkai: Star Rail rockets past $2bn on mobile in under two years
The gacha RPG has taken 10 months longer than Genshin Impact to hit the milestone, but now frequently outperforms HoYoverse's flagship
Mobile Majority
Double-digit games industry growth labelled "a fantasy" as revenue forecast to hit $237bn in 2025
Mobile game predicted to earn $110.9bn this year, over half of all games software revenue
Subscription Superiority
Apple Arcade "likely wouldn’t be profitable" without Apple One bundle, report claims
Apple Arcade reached two million users in its first year, but would reportedly struggle to break even alone
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s mo.co gets invite-only launch, Blood Strike celebrates first anniversary, and Pokémon Sleep’s Legendary comeback
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: mo.co, Halfbrick Sports: Football, Avatar Legends: Realms Collide and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Lucrative Legendaries
Pokémon Sleep's big revenue strategy returns with first Legendary event of 2025
Previous Legendary events have raked in $16.5m over a combined six weeks
Community Connection
How community and toxicity influence "kind games" like Netflix’s Spirit Crossing
Spry Fox co-founder Daniel Cook talks game design philosophy at GDC 2025, bringing 30 years’ experience from "angry" teens to "slower, emotional journeys"
Unity Update
Unity 6.1 will add large foldable Android screen support and other new platform options
Meta Quest and Android XR build profiles are also being added to the list of over 20 supported platforms
Industry Insight
"Do not raise money to develop a game. Raise money to sell a game"
EGDF president Hendrik Lesser comments on new and existing European games industry issues, but offers advice on making it to 2026
Pokemon Partnership
Pokémon and LEGO team up for the first time, bringing new sets in 2026
The partnership aims to bring "the world of Pokémon to life in entirely new ways"
Storytelling Seed
PhilosopherKing raises $3m in seed funding to bolster AI-driven storytelling
The funding round was led by 468 Capital and 212
Arts And Acquisitions
Perforce acquires Snowtrack with closed beta launch for digital artists
Global launch is expected to follow later in 2025
Dealing With Data
Sensor Tower acquires Video Game Insights to expand into PC and console data
Video Game Insights tracks over 150,000 titles on Steam and recently expanded into Xbox and PlayStation
Mo.co Makes It
Supercell’s mo.co launches today as studio’s seventh global game - but there’s a catch
Players will only be able to install mo.co via invite
Platform Power
90% of devs’ most recent games launched on mobile
Unity’s Gaming Report 2025 revealed a 34% year-over-year increase in developers targeting three or more platforms
Racing Revenue
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby gallops past $2.5bn in Japan alone
Cygames’ hit horse girl racing game is still awaiting its English release
Celebratory Strike
NetEase’s Blood Strike surpasses 60m mobile installs and $22.9m in time for first anniversary
The US has proven Blood Strike’s most lucrative mobile market in year one, despite accounting for just 7% of downloads
Digital Digimon
Digimon mobile TCG game teased ahead of Digimon Con 2025
The annual convention is scheduled for March 20th, expected to unveil a trailer for the anime’s 25th anniversary, information on a new game and more
Hot Five
Hot Five: Scopely acquires Pokémon Go and more for $3.5bn, Wuthering Waves hits $250m on mobile, and Sonic Rumble’s reasons for delay
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Out Of The Zone
Zenless Zone Zero voice actors replaced following SAG-AFTRA strike decisions
Emeri Chase and Nicholas Thurkettle, who voiced Soldier 11 and Lycaon respectively, claim to have discovered they were replaced via patch notes
Five New Games
New release roundup: DC: Dark Legion, Expelled!, Hill Climb Racing Lite, Be Brave, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Ready To Rumble
Behind the scenes of Sonic Rumble's delay, development and the Rovio x Sega partnership
Rovio's head of beacon growth Veli Kiviaho teases crossover content and a desire to reach "busier players"
Ar And Ai
Niantic Spatial spin-off nets $250m funding after Scopely acquisition
Monopoly Go developer is investing $50m into the tech firm
Straight Stats
Pokémon Go has 20m weekly active players nearly nine years after its global launch
New figures have emerged on Niantic’s licenced games following $3.5bn Scopely deal announcement
Acquisition Accomplished
Scopely acquires Pokémon Go developer Niantic's games business in $3.5bn deal
Blockbuster deal brings the multi-billion-dollar hit mobile game under the Savvy Games Group umbrella
Seed Round Secured
Good Job Games secures $23m investment round
The round was led by Menlo Ventures and Arcadia Gaming Partners’ new fund
Raining With Revenue
Wuthering Waves rides the wave to $250m after Version 2.0’s major comeback
Version 2.0 triggered a 178% spending surge on release day, followed by a 169% boost with Version 2.1
Shares Synchrony
Trump tariffs hit Japanese games companies as shares in Nintendo, Sony, DeNA and Capcom fall
US president Donald Trump’s latest 20% tariff on Chinese imports to the US appear to be having a knock-on effect on shareholders’ confidence in Japanese game makers
Ar Attraction
How Pokémon Go developer Niantic's games stack up ahead of a potential Scopely acquisition
Rumours around Scopely’s potential AR acquisitions gets us diving into the numbers behind Niantic’s whole catalogue
Hot Five
Hot Five: Goddess of Victory: Nikke hits $1bn, Pokémon Go spikes to 2025 high, and AppLovin's shock buyer
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Five New Games
New release roundup: A Perfect Day, Bellemint, Retro Slam Tennis and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
French Fine
France readies Apple ATT antitrust fine and ban
A decision is expected to be reached this month, potentially leading to the privacy policy's first regulatory veto
Purchasing Power
Xsolla launches direct-to-consumer publishing suite
The toolkit brings Xsolla's services into one place to drive web store sales
Axie Alpha
Axie Infinity returns on mobile with web3 MMO Atia’s Legacy alpha incoming
Pre-registration referrals are already securing fans AXS tokens
Major Market
PGC San Francisco 2025 nears after US mobile gamers spend record-breaking $28bn
Monopoly Go was the highest-grossing game on mobile, while Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 took the console crown
Tour For More
Pokémon Go Tour Unova – Global weekend made $19.8m in two days
The free event with optional paid extras saw in-game spending at its highest since the eighth anniversary last July
Kid Cosmo
Netflix’s The Electric State: Kid Cosmo game will serve as a prequel to upcoming film
The 80s-style puzzle adventure is set for release on March 18th, four days after the new film
Valiant Victory
Goddess of Victory: Nikke hits $1bn on mobile during Romantic Valentine event
More than half of that player spending has come from the game’s Japanese players
Founder Fund
Ex-Tripledot president forms Arcadia Gaming Advisors with $100m fund for mobile game companies
The Tripledot founder has already invested in Dream Games, Layer AI, Spyke Games and more
Hot Five
Hot Five: Pokémon wins legal battle, Playtika’s $450m "bolt-on" M&A, and Supercell unveils Boat Game
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz