Articles by Mariam Ahmad

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September 3, 2026

Social Casino

DoubleDown Interactive's Faith Price on D2C growth, ageing apps and the real cost of AI

Faith Price on D2C outpacing the industry's measurement tools, acquisition for a 16-year-old app and fixing processes before layering on AI

August 28, 2026

Superstar Speaker

Embark Studios' Neil Houari to speak at PGC Nordics

The 3D art lead brings his character and world-building expertise to Helsinki this October

August 26, 2026

All-in On Ai

The AI paradox: why mobile embraces AI and triple-A holds back

At PGC Summit Shanghai, studio leaders and investors asked why free-to-play races to adopt AI while triple-A holds back

August 26, 2026

Mobile Games Awards

Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2026 winners revealed

Every winner and honourable mention across all 23 categories, straight from the Cologne stage

August 25, 2026

Pgc Nordics

InnoGames' Zoran Gjorgiev on rebuilding Heroes of History's live ops one layer at a time

The product manager of Heroes of History on rhythm over frequency, rewards over mechanics and the shift to multi-week "Big Beats"

August 21, 2026

Pgc Nordics

Colossal Order's Mariina Hallikainen joins PGC Nordics speaker lineup

The founder-CEO behind Cities: Skylines brings over 15 years of studio leadership to the Nordic stage

August 20, 2026

In The Hot Seat

In the Hot Seat: Hilmar Pétursson on Eve Online's $120m buyback and the games industry's unplanned disassembly

Fenris Creations' CEO on going independent, partnering with Google DeepMind and what's next for Eve Online

August 19, 2026

Pgc Nordics

The attention problem: Outfit7’s Urška Leskovar on rethinking live ops

"More content isn't the answer" - Outfit7's Urška Leskovar on diagnosing attention problems before you ship another feature

August 17, 2026

Pgc Nordics

How Nordic studios are using AI, from legal risk to AI-native production

In part one of a multi-part series, five industry voices from the Nordics explain how AI is changing studio culture, data analysis, creative roles, studio structure and legal risk across the region

August 14, 2026

Pgc Nordics

Pixel Federation's Matej Jurcak joins the PGC Nordics speaker lineup

The ASO lead and growth partnerships specialist brings over a decade of mobile growth experience to Helsinki this October

August 13, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

How to keep a creative team inspired under pressure with Zynga's Javi Digiorgio

At PGC Barcelona, Zynga's Javi Digiorgio shared how he keeps a creative team motivated in one of the toughest corners of games marketing

August 12, 2026

Pgc Nordics

From Nokia to AI: Neogames Finland’s Suvi Latva on the changing realities for Finnish studios

Suvi Latva explains why easier game development hasn’t made building a sustainable studio easier - and why genre, platform and market opportunity are business decisions from day one

August 7, 2026

Pgc Nordics

Game Makers of Finland's Wilma Ramona Ikäheimonen joins PGC Nordics speaker lineup

The Game Makers of Finland chairperson will cut through the noise on AI in games, differentiating the hype from the reality of what's actually changing in development

August 6, 2026

The Indie Edge

A tale of two indies: How Triband and Midjiwan outlasted the boom-bust cycle

Two small studios a few hundred kilometres apart are proving there's another way to build a Nordic mobile hit

August 4, 2026

Pgc Nordics

A peek behind the curtain of triple-A games, with Epic Games' Ari Arnbjörnsson

At PGC Helsinki, Epic Games' Ari Arnbjörnsson lifted the lid on how triple-A games really get made, from duct-tape fixes to the hidden headaches of shipping worldwide

August 3, 2026

Pgc Nordics

InnoGames' Zoran Gjorgiev joins PGC Nordics speaker lineup

From QA to product lead: InnoGames' product manager, Zoran Gjorgiev joins Pocket Gamer Connects Nordics this October

July 30, 2026

In The Hot Seat

In the Hot Seat: The ex-Riot producer betting mini-games will be China's next big export

Ex-Riot and GoodDay Solution's Bo Mei on the East-West mistake everyone's making, mini-games' next big leap and the Chinese monetisation myth he wants everyone to drop

July 28, 2026

In The Hot Seat

In the Hot Seat: How a former Dow Jones investigator is bringing due diligence to games

We speak to DD For Games founder Chelsea Anglin about the red flags that spook investors, the sanctioned entities she's uncovered and what makes Chinese due diligence its own discipline

July 28, 2026

All-in On Ai

How China's game industry is using AI, from art to ad-buying

Seven industry leaders explain how artificial intelligence is changing asset creation, esports strategy, live operations, advertising and staffing - and where the technology still falls short

July 24, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

Rovio's Anastasiya Kara on how live ops took over mobile's biggest games

At PGC Barcelona, Rovio's lead product manager traced live ops from a single Angry Birds power-up to the engine driving the top grossing charts

July 23, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

Boltray Games' Yiyu Jiang to speak at PGC Summit Shanghai

A Singapore-based investment and partnerships voice joins the Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai lineup on July 29th

July 22, 2026

Ai Gamechangers Summit

AI Gamechangers Summit: Predictions, pushback and the new investment landscape

The studios shipping AI and the investors backing it are both at PGC Shanghai's AI Gamechangers Summit - here's what they're bringing to the table

July 21, 2026

In The Hot Seat

In the Hot Seat: Three ways Western developers are leaving a fortune on the table in China

We speak to Kingsoft's Claire Yang about making cross-border deals work, the hires that can mean 10x to 100x the revenue and why China's giants don't hold every advantage

July 16, 2026

In The Hot Seat

In the Hot Seat: Stefan Lampinen on why Chinese publishers are outpacing the West in European market intelligence

The EA Nordic founder and former Microsoft, Nokia and Mojang exec on why you can't buy your way into Europe - and what Chinese publishers already understand that Western studios don't

July 16, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

The winning portfolio strategies of 2026 with two and a half gamers

At PGC Barcelona, Jakub Remiar broke down the portfolio strategies quietly winning the casual market, from templatisation to knowing exactly when to copy

July 15, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

Nativex on what AI gets wrong about marketing your game in China

At PGC Barcelona, Nativex's Yolanda Huang put eight AI tools to the test on China user acquisition. The answers were outdated, incomplete and, in places, self-contradicting

July 14, 2026

Funding The Future

Transcend Fund's Lirui Ding on what Chinese studios need most in 2026

Ex-Activision Blizzard and now principal at Transcend Fund, Lirui Ding explains why capital was never the scarce part of a China games deal ahead of his appearance at PGC Summit Shanghai

July 13, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

IndieLight vice president Tony Shong to speak at PGC Summit Shanghai

A leading voice in China’s indie games scene joins the Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai lineup on July 29th

July 10, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

Habby's David Pan joins the 'Publishing in China' panel at PGC Summit Shanghai

One of mobile's most prolific hit-makers takes a seat on the panel unpacking what it really takes to launch and thrive in China

July 9, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

How Thatgamecompany and NetEase grew Sky's community in China

China has become one of Sky: Children of the Light's largest and most active player bases in the world - and the partnership behind that success runs far deeper than capital or market access

July 8, 2026

In The Hot Seat

In the Hot Seat: Mattel163 COO Devin Nambiar on Uno, the East-West divide and life after the NetEase deal

Mattel163's COO Devin Nambiar gets candid about cross-border publishing and the NetEase acquisition

July 7, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

Who's funding, monetising and building with AI at PGC Summit Shanghai 2026

Inside the top sessions at PGC Summit Shanghai, as speakers set the scene for the ideas, insights and conversations they’ll bring to the stage

July 6, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

Newzoo director of consulting Ben Porter to speak at PGC Shanghai

A leading games market analyst joins the speaker lineup for Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 29th

July 2, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

MyGamez VP of partnerships Svitlana Verpakhovska to speak at PGC Summit Shanghai

The newly appointed MyGamez VP joins a growing roster to help Western developers crack the world's largest games market

July 1, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

MyGamez on why co-publishing could be your way into China

At PGC Summit Shanghai 2025, MyGamez CEO Mikael Leinonen made the case for co-publishing as the route into the world's biggest games market

June 29, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

Thatgamecompany head of corporate development Shijie Xue to speak at PGC Summit Shanghai

A games M&A heavyweight joins the Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai lineup on July 29th

June 26, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

Supercell's Vladislav Perge on building communities and player trust

At last year's PGC Shanghai, Supercell community manager Vladislav Perge delivered a masterclass in building trust with players

June 25, 2026

Spotlight On China

Beyond Tencent and NetEase: How China's genre specialists took on the global charts

China’s mobile games are no longer just dominating at home. A new class of studios is climbing the global revenue charts with survival, merge and gacha hits built for overseas players

June 24, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

SocialPeta CMO Summer Liu to speak at PGC Shanghai

Liu joins the star speaker lineup for Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 19th

June 23, 2026

Pgc Summit Shanghai

Kingsoft's Claire Yang joins PGC Shanghai to talk mid-sized studio survival

Kingsoft's overseas business development lead Claire Yang will tackle how smaller studios compete with the giants at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 29th

June 19, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

Direct-to-consumer in games: Promise versus reality

At PGC Barcelona, experts from Xsolla, Breeze and Worldline assessed how far the app stores have really opened up and whether D2C is paying off

June 18, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

Unpacking the Tetris licensing playbook with Maya Rogers

At PGC Barcelona, Tetris CEO Maya Rogers explained how she picks partners, protects the IP and keeps every collaboration feeling true to the game

June 17, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

How Wooga turned Wicked and Agatha Christie into growth for June's Journey

At PGC Barcelona, Wooga's Martin Rusev explained why a licensing deal only pays off when it reaches every corner of the game, not just the art

June 17, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

The recipe behind Monopoly Go's art style

At PGC Barcelona, Scopely VP of art Howard Shin unpacked the creative formula behind one of the world's biggest mobile games

June 16, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

Inside FunPlus' "AI-native" plan with Chris Petrovic

At PGC Barcelona, FunPlus CBO Chris Petrovic laid out the studio's plan to put AI at its core - and what a tighter funding market now demands of founders

June 12, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

Maya Rogers on keeping Tetris immortal

Few games outlive their console. Fewer still outgrow their medium. Almost none stay relevant through the decades. Tetris has done all three - and Maya Rogers intends to keep it that way

June 11, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

One year after PGC Barcelona's global games hub panel: What's changed?

A year after PGC Barcelona asked panellists whether the city had become a global gaming hub, we revisit their thoughts and predictions around talent, funding and creation ahead of next week's sequel

June 9, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

Ubisoft Barcelona Mobile's studio manager Jordi Martin to speak at PGC Barcelona 2026

One more industry leader is heading to the stage at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona on June 15th and 16th

June 8, 2026

Wwdc2026

6 key takeaways from WWDC26: AI and child safety - but where are the games?

Apple leaned into agentic Siri and child safety in a keynote thin on gaming announcements

June 8, 2026

Pgc Barcelona

Follow the money: Who's funding, publishing and buying at PGC Barcelona 2026

Here are just some of the heavyweight UA financiers, publishers and investors you will meet at PGC Barcelona