New Offerings
AppOnBoard launches Quvy to speed up user acquisition
“Discoverability shouldn’t be limited to those with the biggest budgets”
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
Earnings Report
Embracer Group mobile revenue drops 31% after Easybrain sale
User acquisition costs rose to $60m, accounting for 61% of net sales
Victory
FTC drops antitrust case against Microsoft’s $69bn Activision deal
The FTC tried to block the deal over competition concerns in cloud gaming and subscriptions
Esports Growth
Banijay Asia teams up with Nodwin Gaming to boost esports and youth entertainment in India
“This is just the beginning of a bold new chapter in gaming and youth content,” said Nodwin co-founder and MD Akshat Rathee
Job News
Roblox names Dr. Elizabeth Milovidov as head of parental advocacy
She will lead efforts to build partnerships and programs that support parents in guiding their families through Roblox
New Offerings
Mattel launches first IP crossover mobile game ahead of its 80th anniversary
The game is currently in soft launch in the Philippines and Canada
Funding News
PlaySafe ID raises $1.1m to fight cheating and toxicity in online games
“This is now more important than ever before,” said PlaySafe ID CEO Andrew Wailes
New Partnerships
Tencent’s Level Infinite and Invest Qatar sign MoU to boost the country's games industry
Both parties will collaborate on talent development initiatives to drive long-term growth
New Medium
Thatgamecompany fuses film and gaming in new Sky: Children of the Light animated feature
The developers’ transmedia project will explore the game’s origin story
New Offerings
Mistplay launches LoyaltyPlay to help mobile publishers boost retention and monetisation
Rewards hub is currently available to iPhone users in the US
Strategic Move
Embracer to rename as Fellowship Entertainment after Coffee Stain Group spin-off
The move is part of the publisher’s broader transformation strategy after years of layoffs and closures
Expansions
Supercell expands AI Innovation Lab to San Francisco
The Brawl Stars developer is hiring a leader to run the new Bay Area hub
Epic Resolution
Fortnite returns to US App Store after nearly five years
Apple and Epic claim they've “resolved all issues”
Xbox Mobile Store
Microsoft urges court to enforce Apple anti-steering ruling amid stalled launch of Xbox mobile store
The tech giant claims its solutions have been “stymied by Apple”
New Offerings
Adjust launches beta for AI-powered Growth Copilot for marketers
The AppLovin subsidiary claims its platform represents a new class of AI for growth teams
New Game Launch
Nazara’s Fusebox Games launches Big Brother: The Game worldwide
UK developer taps game licence for reality TV show
New Offerings
Minion Rush shifts to Unity engine after surpassing 1.2bn downloads
Long-running title gets visual overhaul and new features
Investment News
Voya Games raises $5m to build player-owned economies
Funds will go towards expanding its user base and supporting the growth of its debut game Craft World
Earnings Report
Yalla Group records $83.9m revenue in Q1 2025 despite 8% decline in paying users
The company's game services generated $30.1m
New Offerings
Why investor Jetapult is building AI platform GamePac
“Our philosophy is that tools should adapt to the studio, not the other way around," said Jetapult CEO Sharan Tulsiani
New Offerings
Moonton has soft launched MLBB Lite in Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa
A streamlined version of the developer's popular Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Epic Complaint
SAG-AFTRA files complaint against Epic Games over AI Darth Vader voice in Fortnite
Complaint was filed against Epic subsidiary Llama Productions
Market Report
Games industry growth stalls at $189.3 billion as companies struggle with player retention
New report from Duamentes finds that 60% of new mobile games in crowded genres struggle to gain traction
Earnings Report
Ubisoft revenue falls 17.5% in FY 2024-25 as it eyes expansion of key IPs
“This year has been a challenging one for Ubisoft, with mixed dynamics across our portfolio…” said Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot
Game Closure
Activision pulls the plug on Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile
There is currently no official date for shutting down the server permanently
Epic Vs Apple
Apple maintains Fortnite ban as Epic pushes back with new court filing
Apple advised Epic to withdraw the current Fortnite submission for the US App Store and resubmit it without including the country’s storefront
Epic Delay
Epic Games calls out Apple over blocking Fortnite approval
The developer first submitted the app for review on May 9th
Job Cuts
KLab offers voluntary redundancy to 100 staff after three years of losses
Financial struggles are partly due to the delayed global launch of EA Sports FC Tactical
Investment News
Super Banana secures funding to expand and innovate in the casual puzzle genre
“We’ve seen what works, and more importantly, we’ve seen what hasn’t”
Leadership Change
Stillfront names Tim Holland interim CFO as strategic leadership shuffle continues
He will remain based in Stockholm as part of the executive management team
New Offerings
Marvel Contest of Champions debuts on PC after amassing $2bn on mobile
The fighting game generated nearly $130m in 2024
New Offerings
Industry veterans launch Unreal Engine-focused Codfish Academy in Portugal
“We are looking to bridge the gap between formal education and industry needs"
Funding News
Studio42 raises $3.6m to accelerate mobile game development
The company is developing its first original game, blending classic puzzle mechanics with a modern hybrid-casual approach
Acqusitions
Team Vitality expands into Southeast Asia with Bigetron Esports acquisition
Bigetron Esports will rebrand as ‘Bigetron by Vitality’
Investment News
TaleMonster Games secures $7m seed funding to boost puzzle game development
The studio currently has 17 employees across multiple cities and aims to double its staff by next year
Earnings Report
Aristocrat Leisure hit with $74m Big Fish impairment charge after cuts
Big Fish Games will solely focus on evergreen titles and halt new game development
Mena
Kiro'o Games' lofty ambitions for the African games market
Madiba Guillaume Olivier discusses the studio's upcoming mobile game, $1m funding goal, and its vision for the future of games in Africa.
New Offerings
AdsAdvisor platform launches globally to boost growth for mobile businesses
Service originally developed by My.Games' marketing team now available to all
Winners Revealed
Supercell founder Ilkka Paananen named Power Player of the Year at Finnish Game Awards 2025
The awards ceremony also celebrated the 30-year history of the Finnish games industry
Marvellous Mena
Kanessa Muluneh on Rise of Fearless, play-to-earn mechanics, and tapping into Africa’s mobile audience
"I want to unlock doors that have never been opened before."
New Offerings
Aarki launches privacy-first mobile growth platform Encore
Service provides support for UA and retargeting
Tarrifs
US and China agree to cut tariffs for 90 Days as Trump admin rolls back on trade war
President Trump claimed a "total reset with China" following the tariff reduction deal
New Proposal
SAG-AFTRA proposes new terms to protect against exploitative AI in games
One proposed change is to replace “voiced dialogue" with "vocal material" to cover all sounds
Legal Proceedings
Palworld developer to make more gameplay changes to the game amid legal dispute
“As many have speculated, these changes were indeed a result of the ongoing litigation”
New Offerings
Playgama expands Bridge SDK distribution to over 300m users
“Adding Facebook and MSN is a major step forward for reach - and we’re just getting started,” said Playgama head of developer success Pavel Polovinka
Environmental Impact
PlanetPlay reports 79% of players made eco-friendly changes after playing green themed games
In-game poll data from PlanetPlay after surveying 181,000 players from 189 countries
App Store Changes
Brazil orders Apple to allow App Store sideloading in 90 days after court reversal
Apple argued that the requested changes were too complex to implement within the given timeframe
Epic Comeback
Epic Games submits Fortnite for App Store comeback after four-year ban
Fortnite will launch in the US App Store after review is completed and approved
New Offerings
Appcharge launches Payment Links for iOS developers to monetise outside the App Store
Developers can avoid platform fees and retain up to 95% of revenue
Leadership Change
Sumo Group restructures leadership to drive next phase of growth
Gary Dunn and Andy Stewart have been named co-CEOs