Milestone
Mattel163 surpasses 550m players worldwide across its digital games portfolio
Players have completed more than 65bn matches globally, marking a major milestone for the publisher
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
Job News
Kuro Games taps ex-Scopely GM Jay Kim as new general manager of Korea
Kim will lead Kuro Games’ Korean operations, focusing on community building, market growth, and player support
Market Growth
UK games spending hits £5.4bn in 2025 as mobile powers strongest growth since 2020
Mobile games generated £1.88bn after an 8.8% year-on-year rise
Job News
Scopely-owned Niantic recruits Jori Pearsall as SVP of games
He will lead the creative and strategic direction of Scopely’s Tokyo Studio
Job News
Web gaming platform Entity names Tag Games co-founder Paul Farley as head of games
He will lead the platform’s games strategy and oversee the formation of its games team
New Offerings
Teebik to launch Plague Inc. and Rebel Inc. in China this year
The publisher is positioning the releases as part of a broader push for premium Western mobile games in China
New Studio
Former Boss Fight Entertainment team launch new studio Sunwise Games
The studio’s launch follows Netflix’s decision to shut down its internal games division last fall
Game Closure
Game Freak’s mobile RPG Pandoland to shut down just 11 months after launch
A final “Thank You Campaign” is live to help players access rewards before March 6th shutdown
Best Of 2025
Isa Muhammad's top stories of 2025: Saudi Arabia’s $55bn EA bid, Roblox growth, Netflix’s Warner Bros gamble, and more
PocketGamer.biz MENA reporter Isa Muhammad revisits his top stories from 2025
New Offerings
Apple to expand advertising placements within App Store search results from next year
The expanded search ads will roll out on devices running iOS 26.2 and later from early 2026
Acqusitions
Little Umbrella acquires Discord game Karaoke Battle from Mayk AI
The deal includes a music licensing partnership with Stingray
Court Intervention
US federal judge blocks Texas law requiring app stores to verify users’ ages
The ruling prevents the Texas App Store Accountability Act from taking effect on January 1st
Holiday Spirit
England’s children’s commissioner urges parents to cut back on phone use during family time this Christmas
England’s children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said children are “crying out” for attention from their families
Apple Troubles
Italy fines Apple $116m over App Store privacy rules
The iPhone maker abused its dominant App Store position by imposing disproportionate privacy rules on third-party developers
New Offerings
OpenAI opens submissions for third-party apps inside ChatGPT
The first wave of approved ChatGPT apps is expected to roll out gradually in the new year
Marvellous Mena
Level Up expands into game publishing with Level Up Gaming
The publisher has already signed four games, with projects originating from the US, Finland, and Saudi Arabia
Acqusitions
EA shareholders approve $55bn sale to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s PIF
Following the acquisition, the PIF will own 93.4% of Electronic Arts, taking the company private after more than 40 years
M&a
NCSoft acquires majority stake in Singapore's Indygo Group for $103.8m
NCSoft bought a 67% stake in Indygo Group for $103.8m, becoming its largest shareholder
New Offerings
YouTube's AI-powered Playables Builder will let creators make games
The closed beta is currently limited to creators in the US, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia
New Offerings
FIFA and Roblox extend partnership with launch of FIFA Super Soccer
Gamefam rebranded its Super League Soccer as FIFA’s official Roblox game
Developer Support
Supercell to launch new grants programme for African game developers
The programme will officially launch in 2026 with non-dilutive grants ranging from $20,000 to $200,000
Acqusitions
Netflix acquires avatar-creation platform Ready Player Me
The platform will shut down its services on January 31st, 2026 following the sale
Acqusitions
Mythwright acquires minimalist strategy title Thronefall
The acquisition brings Thronefall into Mythwright’s growing catalogue of niche strategy and simulation titles
Milestone
The Game Awards 2025 reportedly attracted an estimated 171m global livestreams
Viewership follows last year’s 31% jump, when the show reached 154m livestreams worldwide
Settlement Reached
Sony and Tencent reach confidential settlement over Light of Motiram
The agreement brings an early close to Sony’s lawsuit alleging the game was a clone of the Horizon series
Expansions
AviaGames establishes new subsidiary in Germany as part of global expansion strategy
The move marks AviaGames’ official entry into the European market
Crossovers
Sega brings Godzilla to Sonic Rumble in limited-time crossover event
The month-long collaboration introduces a new stage, playable kaiju and unique abilities
Industry Outlook
The global games market is forecast to reach $197bn in 2025
Mobile games are projected to generate $108bn in 2025, up 7.7% year-on-year
New Partnerships
Esports World Cup Foundation signs MoU with Ghadan to expand community engagement at esports events in Saudi Arabia
Ghadan and the EWCF will establish a framework covering volunteer management and social impact initiatives
Legal Win
Apple secures partial appeals court win in Epic Games App Store case to retain reasonable commission
Apple may now seek a reasonable commission on off-platform purchases instead of facing a total ban
New Partnerships
Netflix partners with FIFA to launch football simulation game ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026
The mobile title is being developed and published by Delphi Interactive and will be exclusive to Netflix members
Milestone
Roblox content surpasses one trillion all-time views on YouTube
Players logged 88.7bn hours on Roblox in 2025, alongside over 50m daily searches
Mena Trends
Key MENA trends: Partnerships, console growth, and Saudi's strategic shift
Savvy alone signed at least 15 MoUs in 2025, making partnerships one of the year’s defining themes
Milestone
Rush Royale surpasses 100m downloads and over $470m in lifetime revenue
The My.Games hit marks its fifth anniversary with nearly 6 billion battles played worldwide
Milestone
Budge Studios surpasses 2 billion lifetime downloads across its mobile games portfolio
The milestone marks 15 years of delivering child-focused digital play experiences
Rival Bid
Paramount makes $108bn all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
The offer aims to outbid Netflix’s $82.7bn agreement announced last week
Milestone
PvX crosses $250m in committed UA financing for mobile games and consumer apps
The firm pitches cohort-based UA financing as a non-dilutive alternative to equity and traditional debt
Funding News
Qwacks secures $480,000 to advance game development and live ops technology
Investment will accelerate plans to scale its platform and expand across Saudi Arabia and the wider region
Job News
Stillfront names Emily Villatte CFO as early transition takes effect
Villatte joins the group's executive management team a month earlier than planned
Marvellous Mena
Steer Studios CEO Yannick Theler on Tom and Jerry Blast, building talent, and next year's ambitions
"I think AI will continue to be an important part of the conversation in the new year. It is nothing new in one sense, but AI is here to stay"
Winners Revealed
Pokémon TCG Pocket, Dredge, and What The Clash? named App Store Awards 2025 winners
Pokémon TCG Pocket takes iPhone Game of the Year
Game Jam
Thatgamecompany launches first independently organised game jam
The developer invites creators to build accessible, emotionally driven experiences
Milestone
Unico Studio surpasses 1.6bn mobile downloads and 750m web plays
The Brain Test developer added 1.1bn downloads in three years
Freedom Regained
Netflix sells Spry Fox back to founders
Spirit Crossing stays in development with Netflix handling mobile publishing
Market Growth
Asia and MENA games revenue set to hit $88.97bn in 2025
The regional gamer population is also set to reach o 1.7bn this year
Recognition
IGDA Foundation Names Margaret Gathoni 2025 Eric Dybsand AI Scholar
The program supports one AI student each year to advance the next wave of engineering talent
New Offerings
Social platform Stan launches Photon to reward users for their online attention
Users can now earn rewards for watching videos, scrolling feeds, interacting with creators or playing games
New Offerings
Gamez Quest launches to deliver premium Arabic localisation for global publishers
The studio provides localisation services across PC, console, mobile and VR
Banned
Russia bans Roblox over harmful content claims
The ban follows allegations of extremist content and LGBT propaganda
Regulations
Apple pushes back against India’s "sledgehammer" mandatory cyber app plans
Insider sources say Apple sees the mandate as a major privacy and security risk for iOS