Head Hire
Aonic appoints ex-Larian UK studio head as first-ever head of games
Arthur Mostovoy's remit covers the company's entire portfolio across all platforms
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
Minecraft Money
A Minecraft Movie earns $301m in first two days, double its production budget
Celebrities continue to cash in on games, with A Minecraft Movie stars including Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Danielle Brooks
Welsh Waves
Welsh generative AI games studio 10six Games comes out of stealth with six-figure investment
Susan Cummings, Lee Cummings and Nick Button-Brown are all involved, as are "so many women"
Five New Games
New release roundup: Steel Paws, Disney Magic Match 3D, The Game of Life 2+ and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Switch 2 Speculation
Analysts weigh in on future "smash hit" Nintendo Switch 2, a $7-8bn opportunity for games content in next two years
Piers Harding-Rolls and Rhys Elliot have taken to LinkedIn with their initial thoughts
Leading From London
London is now third-biggest hub for games industry workers worldwide
The city has topped the leaderboard in the UK and Europe with only Los Angeles and San Francisco ahead
Before A Ban
AppLovin and Amazon rumoured among potential TikTok buyers ahead of April 5th deadline
The social media app’s original ban in January 2025 was postponed to allow more time for a sale
Supercell Speaks
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen talks AI, Brawl Stars, middle management fears and why startups should "go crazy" with fresh ideas
Paananen speaks with a16z speedrun to give advice and talk Supercell history
Switch 2 Surprises
Nintendo Switch 2 launches June 5th with GameChat, GameShare, new mobile support and more
Games include Mario Kart World, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment and Donkey Kong Bananza
Pgc London 2025
"Sometimes increasing your marketing budget doesn’t mean you’re going to scale up"
Adjust head of sales, central Europe Cansu Agaoglu talks the "science of success" at PGC London 2025
Speedrun Soon
a16z speedrun opens applications for fifth event with up to $1m on offer
SR005 kicks off in July 2025
Monumental Move
Monument Valley trilogy goes cross-platform
The first two series entries will release later this month, followed by Monument Valley 3 this summer
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
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