M&a
Tripledot to acquire AppLovin’s games business in transformative deal
Deal worth $400m in cash plus a 20% stake in Tripledot's common equity
M&a
Supercell actively evaluating M&A opportunities
Developer backing early-stage companies while looking at deals for more mature studios
Podcast | Episode 49
Trump tariffs chaos and Supercell doubles down on celebrity marketing and investments | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode 49...
Major M&a
Games industry M&A hit $6.6bn in Q1 2025 with mobile domination led by Scopely
The figure was a two-year high and more than doubled Q1 2024’s result, according to Aream & Co.’s first quarterly Video Game Market Update report
Deal Tracker
Show Me The Money: Scopely acquires Niantic's games business for $3.5bn, and Tencent invests $1.25bn in Ubisoft in March 2025
Our deal tracker highlights the key acquisitions, investments, and partnerships from the last month
Mena Month
How Savvy aims to grow its games empire after $3.5bn Niantic deal
PocketGamer.biz speaks to CEO Brian Ward about buying the Pokémon Go developer Niantic, how it works with Scopely, and its plans outside of mobile
Tiktok Lovin
AppLovin wants to partner with "undermonetised" TikTok globally
CEO Adam Foroughi opens up on the ad tech firm's interest in acquiring TikTok and its plans for the video-sharing platform
Tick Tock
US extends TikTok sale deadline by 75 days
Buyers have until mid-June to negotiate a deal for the popular video-sharing app
Bidding War
AppLovin confirms interest in acquiring TikTok
Ad tech firm exploring purchase of video-sharing app in all markets outside of China
Indian Investment
Krafton acquires controlling stake in Nautilus Mobile for $14 million
JetSynthesys will remain a significant minority investor
M&a
DoubleU completes $30m Paxie Games acquisition
Purchase sees South Korean developer take a 60% stake, with the remaining share to be purchased over the next three years
M&a
Savvy Games Group plots PC and console M&A
Deal could potentially be led by Scopely, says CEO Brian Ward
Pokemon Property
Pokémon Go won't get obtrusive ads or sell location data after $3.5bn Scopely acquisition, product director confirms
"That is not happening in Pokémon Go - not now, not ever."
Arts And Acquisitions
Perforce acquires Snowtrack with closed beta launch for digital artists
Global launch is expected to follow later in 2025
Dealing With Data
Sensor Tower acquires Video Game Insights to expand into PC and console data
Video Game Insights tracks over 150,000 titles on Steam and recently expanded into Xbox and PlayStation
Hot Five
Hot Five: Scopely acquires Pokémon Go and more for $3.5bn, Wuthering Waves hits $250m on mobile, and Sonic Rumble’s reasons for delay
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Video
Pocket Gamer Reacts: Breaking down Scopely's blockbuster $3.5bn deal for Niantic's games business
The PocketGamer.biz's hot takes on this big news
Acquisition Accomplished
Scopely acquires Pokémon Go developer Niantic's games business in $3.5bn deal
Blockbuster deal brings the multi-billion-dollar hit mobile game under the Savvy Games Group umbrella
Deal Tracker
Show Me The Money: Jam City agrees Ludia sale, Scopely's rumoured $3.5bn Niantic deal, and MTG acquires Plarium in February 2025
Our deal tracker highlights the key acquisitions, investments, and partnerships from the last month
Ar Attraction
How Pokémon Go developer Niantic's games stack up ahead of a potential Scopely acquisition
Rumours around Scopely’s potential AR acquisitions gets us diving into the numbers behind Niantic’s whole catalogue
Podcast | Episode 45
Tripledot’s surprise acquisition of AppLovin's games business | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 45...
M&a
It was Tripledot?! What the UK studio's acquisition of AppLovin's games business means
The mystery buyer was revealed this week
M&a
Report: Tripledot to buy AppLovin’s games business
PocketGamer.biz has also heard the buyer is a London-based company
A New World
Ludia plots M&A and hiring spree after Jam City exit
CEO Jimmy Gendron discusses the Montreal company's ambitions to build "the next leading independent publisher in Canada"
New Mode
Secret Mode breaks away from Sumo with buyout
Current leadership to remain at the helm
Fresh Details
AppLovin selling games business to private company for $500m in cash and $400m in shares
Buyer has entered into a term sheet with AppLovin and aims to borrow up to $250m to fund the deal
M&a
Jam City completes Ludia sale
Approximately 130 staff will remain at the developer, while a small number will stay with Jam City
Playtika's M&a Plans
Playtika allocates up to $450m for “bolt-on” M&A activity over next three years
Publisher reports direct-to-consumer and overall revenue growth in Q4
Hot Five
Hot Five: Jam City to sell Ludia, Scopely could acquire Pokémon Go, and Last War hits $2bn
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 43
NetEase scales back, Jam City agrees Ludia sale, and why Savvy wants Pokémon Go | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 43...
Big Deal
Niantic reportedly in talks to sell Pokémon Go and games business to Scopely for $3.5bn
The deal isn’t finalised, according to people familiar with the matter, but could be officially announced "in coming weeks"
M&a
MTG completes $620m acquisition of Raid: Shadow Legends developer Plarium
Deal could see a further $200m in earnouts
Delivering Deals
Report: Games industry M&As valued at $10.5 billion in 2024 with 21% volume increase
Drake Star’s Global Gaming Report 2024 highlighted the biggest investors of the year from venture capitalists to games studios
Investment News
Aonic invests $10m in Mega Fortuna as part of $70m acquisition plan
Mega Fortuna is best known for its flagship platform Richie Games
Hot Five
Hot Five: 2024’s top earners, the most downloaded mobile games, and Scopely’s Chengfeng Studio acquisition
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
M&a
DoubleU acquires Turkish studio Paxie Games for up to $67m
Social Casino firm picks up 60% stake for $27m
M&a
Scopely acquires Perfect World's Chengfeng Studio in $34.5m deal
Monopoly Go developer expands into China
M&a
Nazara subsidiary Nodwin acquires 93% stake in AFK gaming for $900,000
The acquisition makes AFK Gaming a fully-owned subsidiary of Nodwin Gaming
Hot Five
Hot Five: Animal Crossing’s comeback, Balatro’s big milestone, and Infinity Nikki’s record launch
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week That Was
Zynga sells Chartboost, Epic partners with Telefónica and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete hits $3M | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Sale Boost
Zynga sells Chartboost to LoopMe
Publisher had previously bought mobile ads and monetisation platform in a $250 million deal in 2021
Acqusitions
Build A Rocket Boy acquires UK developer PlayFusion
PlayFusion CEO and CTO Mark Gerhard will join company as co-CEO
Dream Deal
Playtika completes acquisition of Dice Dreams developer SuperPlay
The deal could be worth up to $1.95 billion, depending on SuperPlay’s performance in the next three years
Podcast | Episode 36
Games industry M&A hits overdrive with Plarium and Easybrain deals | Week in Mobile Games podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and and what's inside this week's episode 36...
No-brainer?
Miniclip purchases Easybrain from Embracer for $1.2bn
Casual games developer moves on after it was purchased for $640 million back in 2021
Mobile M&a
Microsoft eyes potential mobile studio acquisition
"We’re not going to grow the market with $1,000 consoles"
Ready To Raid
Modern Times Group acquires Raid: Shadow Legends maker Plarium for $620m
Plarium generated $613m in revenue during the 12 months ending September 30th, 2024
Sale Sorted
Take-Two sells Private Division and almost all its games
Take-Two will continue to support cross-platform RPG No Rest for the Wicked
Super Space Ape
Supercell establishes London studio with 100% acquisition of Space Ape
Clash of Clans developer aims to tap UK talent with full purchase Beatstar maker
Strategic Growth
Redwood acquires majority stake in Indian games streaming start-up Loco for $65m
The deal will see Loco expand to global markets