Legal Proceedings
Court orders Papaya Gaming to pay Skillz $719m in false advertising case
The judgment replaces the $420m in damages award issued by a jury in April
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
Marvellous Mena
ForgeMasters' Blitz of Battle aims to rethink mobile MOBAs through speed and community-led development
"The challenge for every publisher, anywhere, is providing an engaging experience for players...That's the core of what games should do," said Sanam Games publishing director Bassam.
Job News
Epic Games taps Martin Keely to lead Epic Games Store and Epic Online Services
He will help deliver new capabilities for players, creators and developers
Adaptations
Atari signs movie deal with Universal for 10 classic game franchises
The agreement covers 10 classic Atari game franchises
New Offerings
Garena reveals Free Fire Daybreak anime for Spring 2027 release
The series will be broadcast and streamed worldwide, including in Japan
New Offerings
Toya launches AI-powered PlayTiger analytics platform for Roblox
PlayTiger is designed to measure player engagement beyond impressions and playtime
Into The Incubator
Türkiye launches NextGen high school startup incubator with Loom Games support
Six teams will each receive a $1,000 grant, with a $10,000 prize for the winning team
Funding For Games
UK Games Fund unveils largest-ever Prototype Fund cohort
The UK Games Fund will receive an additional £28.5m over the next three years
Esports World Cup
Esports World Cup to bring free gaming festival to Paris' Champs-Élysées
The event aims to introduce esports to new audiences while celebrating gaming culture in France
New Offerings
Stumble Guys launches Disability Pride Month charity campaign with SpecialEffect
All proceeds from Axel Skin purchases will be donated to SpecialEffect
Milestone
Ludus: Merge Arena surpasses $50m in net revenue after two years
The game has generated $66m in gross revenue since launch
New Offerings
Xbox begins testing ad-supported game streaming
The trial is currently available to Xbox Insiders
Online Safety
Vietnam proposes new social media and gaming restrictions for under-16s
The proposal also introduces a 60-minute daily gaming limit for under-16s per game company
Ea Acquisition
European Commission approves PIF's acquisition of Electronic Arts
The Commission found the deal does not raise competition concerns
Funding News
Ash Games Studio secures $1.5m seed funding for Saudi-inspired games
The studio is building games inspired by Saudi stories and history
Funding News
Saudi-based mobile games studio Floaty raises $1m investment round
The studio is currently developing two mobile titles
Google Fined
European Commission fines Google €890m over Digital Markets Act breaches
Google has 60 days to comply with the Commission's orders
Job News
Lil Snack appoints former Supercell executive Bill Kang as COO
Kang spent 12 years at Supercell before joining the company
Playing Together
Games for Change publishes white paper on family gaming and wellbeing
Nearly 60% of children want their parents to be more involved in their gaming lives
Providing Support
Global Game Jam launches charity event to support Venezuela earthquake relief
All donations will go directly to the World Food Programme's Venezuela relief efforts
Anniversary
Human Fall Flat marks 10th anniversary with 60m players and free level
The anniversary update includes behind-the-scenes video interviews with creator Tomas Sakalauskas
Mighty Milestone
Vietnam Game Connect 2026 reports more than 40% attendance growth
More than 300 Vietnamese studios took part in the event
Milestone
Develop:Brighton draws record attendance at 20th anniversary event
Develop:Brighton will return from July 13th to 15th, 2027
Funding News
Neon raises $13m Series A to expand direct-to-consumer commerce platform for game publishers
The company focuses on giving publishers control over commerce, payments, and player data
Freedom Regained
Alpha Dog Games returns to independent ownership after Microsoft closure
The founders reacquired the studio from Microsoft following its 2024 closure
Acqusitions
Palo Alto Networks to acquire Embrace to expand observability platform
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2027
Global Game Jam
Global Game Jam's Maria Burns Ortiz: "We compare our first drafts to other people's finished products"
Global Game Jam's Maria Burns Ortiz on why Micro Missions is giving emerging developers their first step into the games industry.
Unity Upgrade
Unity 7 unveiled ahead of 2027 launch
Early beta testing begins this December
New Offerings
Juneinter unveils game revenue estimation model for F2P developers
The event targets F2P PC and mobile game developers
Company Growth
Netflix says kids' mobile games engagement jumped 600% as cloud gaming gains traction
The company says gaming remains an important part of its broader entertainment expansion strategy
New Offerings
Drop Fake unveils DC mobile fighter DCKO ahead of 2027 launch
Developer claims real-time PvP is a first for a DC mobile fighting game
Mergers & Acquisitions
Judge temporarily halts Paramount-Warner Bros. merger over antitrust concerns
Preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for August 3rd
New Offerings
Kuro Games reveals Wuthering Waves: Elysium anime series
The anime expands the Wuthering Waves universe beyond the game
Funding For Games
Gamecity Hamburg opens second prototype funding round in September
Developers can apply for non-repayable grants of up to €80,000
New Offerings
Uzbekistan launches first game investment fund for developers
Funding ranges from $1,000 for early concepts to $100,000 or more for established studios
Regulations
EU orders Google to open Android and Search to rivals
The rulings require operational changes rather than financial penalties
Ea Acquisition
Saudi PIF-led $55bn Electronic Arts deal set for EU approval
The European Commission is expected to approve the deal under both subsidy and merger rules
New Offerings
Roblox unveils mobile-first AI game creation with new Build tool
Users can generate games from simple text prompts
New Offerings
Aurion11 launches MDN11 to automate mobile ad yield optimisation
The platform uses user-level predictive algorithms for real-time optimisation
Game Closure
Looney Tunes World of Mayhem to shut down in October
The game will be removed from app stores on August 23rd
Restructure
Scopely reorganises Stumble Guys team after performance review
Some affected employees have moved to other teams within Scopely
New Offerings
Netflix launches minigolf party game inspired by its hit shows
Netflix Minigolf launches on July 28th
Epic Vs Google
Google and Epic withdraw settlement as Play Store overhaul moves ahead
Google Play will begin carrying rival app stores in the US from July 22nd
Milestone
Lingokids surpasses 500m plays across Disney activities
The platform reaches 30m families worldwide
Investment News
Vgames raises $500m to launch growth financing platform for gaming companies
The fund plans to deploy more than $500m in additional financing in the coming years
Job News
Nodwin Gaming appoints Teemu Koski as CEO of MENA business
He will lead strategy, operations, business development and expansion across MENA
Market Report
Gaming financings surpass $2.5bn in strongest quarter of the past 12 months
AppsFlyer raised more than $1bn, the largest disclosed financing of the quarter
Industry Outlook
Ukie welcomes UK government's IP-backed lending plans for games studios
The scheme is expected to support 20,000 businesses a year, up from 8,000 currently
Acqusitions
Wemade founder sells controlling stake to NeoPulse in $593m deal
NeoPulse will become Wemade's largest shareholder with a 40.25% stake after the transaction closes
Industry Outlook
Most UK games industry workers are proud of the sector, but only 38% would recommend it as a place to work
New survey from Ukie shows 22% experienced job loss in the past three years, though half found a new role within three months