Job News
Venture studio ELO appoints games economist Joost van Dreunen as strategic advisor
He will advance the studios' mission of empowering global games communities
Staff
Isa Muhammad
Job Title
MENA Reporter
About Isa Muhammad is the Lead MENA Reporter at PocketGamer.biz, spearheading the team's Middle East & Africa games coverage. He's been in games media for over seven years and is steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism. If he's not reading, playing games or catching up on his favorite TV shows, he's probably writing about them.
Articles by Isa Muhammad
Adaptations
Fusebox Games secures global rights to develop The Traitors: Interactive Game for mobile
The Traitors: Interactive Game will launch in 2026 on iOS and Android
Hackathon
Second edition of Arab Youth Hackathon launches to empower young talent in games
Participants will create five games inspired by Arab culture under the theme “Arab Identity”
Market Report
87% of mobile game developers rely on Google and Apple for most revenue
84% believe the industry can’t survive long-term under the dominance of just two major app stores
New Offerings
Sustainable Games Alliance unveils new sustainability framework for the games industry
Built specifically for games it covers everything from design and servers to marketing and hardware
Pgc Helsinki
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki kicks off two days of talks, insights, and networking
Over 150 speakers will share insights across more than 20 content tracks covering every corner of the games industry
Finnish Games Week
Finnish Games Week kicks off in Helsinki with a packed lineup of conferences and summits
The event unites developers, publishers, investors, and creatives across multiple conferences and summits
Gamathon Takeaways
Five takeaways from Gamathon 25: Game dev realities, funding hurdles, XR hopes, and room for optimism
We analyse some of the top stories and trends from one of Africa's biggest games events
Lawsuit
Anapol Weiss files lawsuits against Roblox over alleged child grooming and abuse
The lawsuits claim Roblox prioritised profit over safety, failing to enforce key protections like age checks and moderation
Investment News
Kakao Games secures $111m through subsidiary sale and paid-in capital increase
Funds will be used to strengthen finances and expand operations
Industry Recognition
Maliyo Games featured by Apple to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day
Safari City, Crazy Ludo, Whot King, and Secret Letter were spotlighted
Gamathon 25
"Every small game you create and release teaches you something the previous game never did"
Fer Factor CEO and founder Feranmi Oladosu shares his belief on why smaller projects can trump grand ideas
Games In Africa
Gamathon 25 kicks off in Lagos Nigeria
The week-long event celebrates African digital creativity and youth empowerment
New Offerings
Microsoft prices ROG Xbox Ally X handheld at $1,000
The Xbox Ally series launches on October 16th, with pre-orders now open
Leadership Change
Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser to retire at year's end
The leadership transition is set for December 31, 2025
Ai Innovation
Unity launches AI Council to accelerate innovation across game development platform
The game engine aims to be the leading platform for the next era of interactive content creation
Tiktok Sale
Trump signs executive order approving TikTok sale at $14bn valuation
TikTok ban delayed until January 20th, 2026 to finalise sale and approvals
New Studio
Former AppLovin leaders launch new mobile studio Cheer
Cheer will focus on creating casual puzzle titles
New Offerings
HoYoverse reveals cosmic life simulation game Petit Planet
The upcoming title marks HoYoverse’s first step into the life-sim genre
Job News
ZBD appoints Nicole Diaz as senior vice president of product
She will lead strategy for ZBD’s global payments and multi-currency solutions
New Partnerships
UMX Studio partners with Audiomob for in-game audio ads
Collaboration aims to enhance player experience while opening new revenue streams
New Game Launch
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor set to launch on mobile this November
The mobile version promises the same hardcore action as PC
New Offerings
Google Play launches raft of new games features
Rolls out includes other features like the You tab and Play Games Leagues
New Partnerships
Niantic Spatial partners with Kojima Productions to merge storytelling with geospatial AI
The collaboration showcases AI’s potential to transform how people interact with the physical world
Milestone
Fateless completes Alpha Wave cycle with 36k players for upcoming RPG Godforge
Alpha Wave 3 drew 36,000 players, logging over 355,000 hours of gameplay
New Offerings
UK creative organisations call for a new Digital Creativity GCSE
The move aims to serve not just games, but healthcare, finance, media, and education
Acqusitions
Swoove Studios sells to undisclosed buyer
Under new ownership, Swoove is expected to continue innovating and scaling globally
Game Jam
Saudi Arabia launches the second edition of the Saudi Game Champions Program
Each startup will receive $53,000, mentorship from global experts, and training support
Online Safety
Kuwait temporarily blocks Roblox over child safety concerns
The country joins Turkey, Oman, China, and Qatar in restricting the platform
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group signs MoU with Alinma Bank to deliver tailored banking solutions for Saudi gamers
The partnership aligns with Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Gaming and Esports Strategy
Clampdown
Trump imposes a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick claims big companies are on board with the plan despite millions of dollars in extra costs
Online Safety
US Congress calls on Twitch, Steam, Reddit, and Discord CEOs to testify on online radicalisation
The hearing is scheduled for October 8th 2025
Expansions
Supercell plots new office in Helsinki’s Maria area to support expansion
CEO Ilkka Paananen says the new space will help Supercell attract talent and sustain global growth
Adaptations
MrBeast joins the cast of Angry Birds 3
The film will hit cinemas a month earlier on December 23rd, 2026
Job News
Supercell taps King's Sabrina Carmona as new Clash of Clans GM
She will work alongside a team to spearhead the future of the title
Growth
Playstack revenue surged 52% in H1 2025 to £30.7m
Balatro and Abiotic Factor sold over 3m units in the first half of the year
Scholarships
BAFTA awards over £277,000 in grants through its 2025 scholarship programmes
The fund provides up to $2,700 each for training, equipment, and other essential costs
Legal Proceedings
Tencent rejects Sony’s claim that Light of Motiram is a “slavish clone” of Horizon
The Level Infinite parent company argues Sony is trying to monopolise common genre elements
Global Launch
Pocketpair confirms Palworld will exit Early Access in 2026 with a major 1.0 update
The studio says that the cleanup work in 2025 will prepare the game for a stronger full release
New Offerings
Fortnite creators will be able to sell in-game items directly from their islands starting in December
Epic says creators will earn 50% of V-Bucks value from sales, rising to 100% through late 2026
Market Growth
Cross-industry game engine adoption surges, led by Unreal, Unity and Godot
Unreal Engine remains dominant at 65% adoption, with Unity growing to 53% as the second most popular engine
New Partnerships
Flexion partners with Microfun to bring Seaside Escape to alternative app stores
Seaside Escape earned $6m net revenue in August
Acquisition
Verve acquires Captify in $30.3m deal to boost data and sales reach
Captify CEO Mike Welch to step down moving into a strategic advisor role
Milestone
Metacore celebrates fifth anniversary alongside Merge Mansion’s five-year milestone
The mobile title has surpassed 60m downloads and $700m in lifetime revenue
New Offerings
Epic Games launches new open content marketplace Fab
Developers can now access Fab’s full asset library and manage acquisitions
Trade Body
Ukie launches Interactive Entertainment Scotland to champion games sector
IES will represent Scottish studios in government and policy discussions to support industry growth
Industry Outlook
UK games industry generates £12bn annually and supports 73,000 jobs
Despite this growth, TIGA warns the UK lags behind global rivals with its 20.4% tax relief
Marvellous Mena
Saudi-based Superbullet Studios aims to let anyone build Roblox games in three days
Founder Erickson Talaue and team are developing EvoLife as both a flagship Roblox game and proof of its AI workflow
Investment News
Lingokids raises $120m to invest in AI and scale learning content
The funding will also help expand partnerships with popular IPs
Milestone
Fable Town celebrates first anniversary after generating $9m in lifetime revenue since launch
A special three-week Anniversary of Magic event runs until October 2nd to mark the milestone