Market Growth
Casual games market grows 3.6% amid a surge in strategy titles
Casino games saw an 8% rise in downloads but a 15% drop in revenue
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
Investment News
Good Job Games secures $60m in series A funding
Total investment to date has reached $83m in under six months
Funding News
STAN secures $8.5m funding to power AI-driven growth and games communities
Funds will go towards growing its presence in India and other mobile-first markets
Crossovers
Mattel and Halfbrick unite to bring Masters of the Universe to Jetpack Joyride
The event runs until August 20th
Collaboration
Outfit7 partners with Miraculous for limited-time Talking Tom Hero Dash event
This marks the first time a character from Miraculous appears in the Talking Tom universe
New Partnerships
Clear Angle Studios expands into South Africa via Robot Air partnership
The move eliminates the need to import scanning personnel and gear for South African shoots
Funding News
JECO secures $1.3m to streamline game development and creative workflows
JECO aims to transform how developers interact with hardware and build for the future
Market Report
More than 15,000 new web games were released in Q2 2025
New Playgama report shows Unity still leads web game development, powering 55% of all new titles
Milestone
CSR Racing franchise has surpassed $1 billion in player spending
Milestone comes after 13 years on the track
Milestone
InnoGames has surpassed €2 billion in lifetime revenue
Tribal Wars, Grepolis, and Elvenar each contributed over €200m to the milestone
Market Growth
Japan and Korea games market to hit $30bn by 2029
Niko Partners report shows a market dip is expected in 2025 but long-term growth remains steady
New Partnerships
Make-A-Wish taps Raptor PR to lead games industry comms campaign
The campaign will focus on thought leadership, media outreach, and speaker engagement
Marvellous Mena
Mekan Games founder Evans Kiragu on targeting global markets, prototyping strategy and embracing web-first development
"While funding is good and welcomed, it is a full-time job as well to get it."
Closed Beta
Bandai Namco opens closed beta sign-ups for Digimon Alysion
Progress made during the beta will not carry over to the final game release
Milestone
FIFA Rivals surpasses 1 million downloads
Over 15m matches played and 16m goals scored since release
Lawsuit
Sony sues Tencent over alleged copycat of Horizon game series
Monetary damages and a court order are being sought to stop IP infringement
Crossovers
Monopoly Go taps into Marvel IP with The Fantastic Four
The collaboration celebrates the cinematic return Marvel's first family
Funding News
Drizz raises $2.7m to reinvent mobile app testing
Every app team is accelerating with AI, but testing still lags behind,” said Drizz CEO Asad Abrar
App Store Changes
Apple overhauls App Store age ratings with new categories
Developers can now set a higher minimum age requirement than Apple's default rating
Earnings Report
Hasbro sees 16% revenue boost in Q2 2025
Monopoly Go licensing pulls in $44m
New Offerings
Candy Crush to launch official dessert cookbook this October
The candy-themed cookbook is now available for pre-order
Milestone
My Talking Tom Friends 2 surpasses 10 million downloads
Outfit7 achieves its highest-ever preregistration conversion rate with this launch
New Partnerships
Gadsme partners with Konami to bring immersive ads to games and esports
The agreement opens new opportunities for brands and advertisers to reach audiences
Strategic Move
Nazara spins off Nodwin Gaming ahead of fresh funding round
The new capital raise will dilute Nazara’s stake in Nodwin to below 50%
New Partnerships
Entrust partners with PlaySafe ID to combat cheaters and boost player safety
The move supports upcoming UK rules that require stronger online child protection
New Partnerships
Sony acquires 2.5% stake in Bandai Namco
Sony expands Japanese IP footprint with 16m share Bandai Namco deal
Online Safety
42% of parents say the games industry doesn't do enough to protect kids online
Social media tops parents’ safety concerns with TikTok singled out by 52%
Market Growth
Global games market to hit $196 billion by 2026
Venture capital funding in games dropped to $193m in Q2 2025
Earnings Report
Ubisoft Q1 revenue falls 3.9% to $365m as publisher reorganises into ‘creative houses’
Mobile also accounted for 10% of net bookings
Studio Closure
Sandsoft shuts down Riyadh and Barcelona studios
The Saudi mobile company moves to double down on publishing
Acqusitions
Gaijin Entertainment acquires Fortnite map The Pit from creator Geerzy
The company said it sees a profitable and scalable opportunity with Fortnite’s creator engagement model
Studio Closure
Stillfront shuts down Super Free Games as part of strategic portfolio review
Closures to mark first part of restructure, the company said
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group and King Abdulaziz University partner to launch diplomas in games and esports
The new academic programmes aim to blend classroom learning with hands-on industry experience
Earnings Report
Stillfront Q2 revenue falls as Europe and North America underperform
Swedish firm aims to capitalise on the slow release of new mobile titles
Web Store Report
Appcharge: 50% of first-time web store buyers make a second purchase
New Appcharge report urges game publishers to optimise for repeat purchases to maximise lifetime value
Expansions
Apple launches online store and app in Saudi Arabia with Arabic support
Flagship Apple Stores also coming to Saudi Arabia in 2026
New Offerings
Roblox launches new learning hub for students
Children can build online safety skills in Google Be Internet Awesome World or learn coding with Lua Learning
Financial Outlook
MTG revenue doubles to $304m in Q2 2025 following Plarium deal
Swedish group eyes further M&A and AI investments
Funding News
Delabs Games secures additional $5.2M to accelerate AI-powered web3 ambitions
Funding will support the launch of idle RPG Ragnarok Libre and its native Delabs tokens
Funding News
M00m World raises $500,000 to launch mobile game and real-world collectables
“This isn’t just about building a game - it’s about keeping it real”
Studio Closure
Muus Collective closes due to funding challenges
The studio had 16 employees listed on its website before winding down
Market Growth
Spanish games industry hit $2.8bn in 2024
The government allocated €5m ($5.8m) in EU funds to support local game development
Job News
Former Scopely director Rohit Naini to lead corporate development at Tilting Point
Doubling down on strategic growth with key additions to its M&A team
Branching Out
The Chinese Room regains independence from Sumo Digital via management buyout
The move follows Sumo’s pivot away from original IP to focus on co-development services
Acqusitions
Coda acquires European payment provider Recharge
The deal aims to boost Coda’s presence beyond games and strengthen its footprint in Europe
Job News
Apple appoints longtime exec Sabih Khan as chief operating officer
Current COO Jeff Williams to step down later this month
New Offerings
Ubisoft and Netflix move forward with first Assassin’s Creed series adaptation
Netflix says the series will honour the franchise’s legacy while delivering a fresh cinematic experience
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out Trusted Connections and new parental tools in major safety update
Roblox said its updates aim to balance teen independence with strong safety measures.
Milestone
TapNation hits 150m downloads with Guess Their Answer and Doll Dress Up
The publisher’s mobile game portfolio has now surpassed 1.5 billion downloads
New Offerings
Saga and Chrono Labs launch KEX to power next-gen AI agents in web3
New tech built on Saga's blockchain