Squad Busters shuts down and Google Play's transformative changes | Week in Mobile Games podcast

November 3, 2025

Podcast | Episode 70

Squad Busters shuts down and Google Play's transformative changes | 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 70...

Is Krafton's $69 million AI-first shift a sign of things to come?

October 24, 2025

Is Krafton's $69 million AI-first shift a sign of things to come?

The PUBG maker is saying publicly what some other publishers are doing privately

Stability AI and EA partner to co-develop generative AI tools for game creation

October 24, 2025

New Partnerships

Stability AI and EA partner to co-develop generative AI tools for game creation

The collaboration aims to improve creative workflows, enabling faster prototyping and visual storytelling

General Intuition raises $134m to train AI agents using gameplay videos

October 17, 2025

Investment News

General Intuition raises $134m to train AI agents using gameplay videos

Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst led the seed round with participation from Raine

Character platform ego AI raises $6.7m to make in-game characters more human-like

October 16, 2025

Character platform ego AI raises $6.7m to make in-game characters more human-like

Funds will go towards expanding research and training its proprietary foundation model

AI as a

October 15, 2025

AI as a "brainstorming partner" or a junior member of the team

Panellists discussed applications of AI and tips to get the most out of this tech at PGC Barcelona 2025

Airoclip raises $2.75m in seed round to make AI-powered puzzle games

October 14, 2025

Premium Puzzles

Airoclip raises $2.75m in seed round to make AI-powered puzzle games

The round was led by T-Accelerate Capital and co-led by Centre Court Capital and Bitkraft Ventures

2000s portal Shockwave gets mobile-first reimagining with daily games and AI at its core

October 7, 2025

Shockwave Comeback

2000s portal Shockwave gets mobile-first reimagining with daily games and AI at its core

"Daily games are something gamers and non-gamers alike can enjoy," says co-founder and CEO Bill Kara

Ilya Kuznetsov discusses “AI becoming a competitive necessity” ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025

October 2, 2025

Speaker Spotlight

Ilya Kuznetsov discusses “AI becoming a competitive necessity” ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025

"To succeed, studios need to dig deeper: focus on innovation, unique player value, and the hidden ingredients, not just the surface-level imitation"

Report: More than half of Japanese firms are using AI in game dev

September 30, 2025

Report: More than half of Japanese firms are using AI in game dev

32% of respondents are using the tech for their game engines

Hot Five: Delta Force hits $300m, Nintendo shadow drops Fire Emblem Shadows, and EA in talks to go private

September 29, 2025

Hot Five: Delta Force hits $300m, Nintendo shadow drops Fire Emblem Shadows, and EA in talks to go private

Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz

Unity launches AI Council to accelerate innovation across game development platform

September 26, 2025

Unity launches AI Council to accelerate innovation across game development platform

The game engine aims to be the leading platform for the next era of interactive content creation

Google Play launches raft of new games features

September 24, 2025

Google Play launches raft of new games features

Rolls out includes other features like the You tab and Play Games Leagues

Free AI Gamechangers ebook: Key insights into how developers are harnessing AI

September 17, 2025

Free AI Gamechangers ebook: Key insights into how developers are harnessing AI

Download our 37-page collection of interviews with CEOs and experts sharing real-world insights on making AI work for your business

LocusX raises $2.1m for AI-powered bug-fixing tools

September 15, 2025

LocusX raises $2.1m for AI-powered bug-fixing tools

“We built LocusX to solve debugging, one of the most frustrating and expensive parts of the process,” said LocusX CEO Francois Pelland

Code Maestro Launches in public beta as AI copilot for Unity developers

September 8, 2025

Code Maestro Launches in public beta as AI copilot for Unity developers

“Developers often spend more time fixing issues than making games,” said Code Maestro CEO Alexander Goldybin

AI vs art and the evolution of creative campaigns

August 28, 2025

AI vs art and the evolution of creative campaigns

PGC Barcelona panellists discuss user acquisition and the battle against "average" results

How a solo creator scaled a daily game to 1,000 users without writing a single line of code

August 25, 2025

How a solo creator scaled a daily game to 1,000 users without writing a single line of code

Columbia business school grad Brandon Newquist explains how he leveraged AI tools to build and scale The Sphinx Riddle

Tencent unveils AI game creation suite Visvise at Gamescom 2025

August 20, 2025

Tencent unveils AI game creation suite Visvise at Gamescom 2025

The suite covers animation, modelling, NPC creation, and digital asset management

Atlas partners with Google Cloud as its AI platform enters closed beta

August 19, 2025

Platform Partnership

Atlas partners with Google Cloud as its AI platform enters closed beta

"If you haven't started putting AI in your development pipeline, you should probably do that," says Google Cloud global director for games Jack Buser

Roblox asks

August 12, 2025

Protective Partnership

Roblox asks "vigilante groups" to leave child protection to experts, AI and law enforcement

The platform is partnered with law enforcement and has AI-based Sentinel to detect signs of exploitation

Roblox open-sources Sentinel AI to detect harmful chat messages

August 12, 2025

Roblox open-sources Sentinel AI to detect harmful chat messages

Now open-source so other platforms can integrate the technology

Liberty Pixel raises $1.1m for casual and hybridcasual games

Liberty Pixel raises $1.1m for casual and hybridcasual games

Latest round brings the studio’s total funding to $2.3m

Unity game engine "competitive advantage" for AI ads platform Vector

CEO Matt Bromberg discusses substantially ramping up the tech firm's AI investments

Unity pins hopes on Vector AI ads platform to spark revenue growth

CEO Matt Bromberg claims inflection point despite revenue decline

Can AI replace ad monetisation managers?

Industry Insights

Can AI replace ad monetisation managers?

GameBiz Consulting’s Damjan Kačar tests if AI can keep up with ad monetisation experts

UA is broken - Here’s how developers can fix it without hiring a bigger team

Lean Ai Driven Ua Strategies

UA is broken - Here’s how developers can fix it without hiring a bigger team

MStars.AI marketing director Efrain Aldaz explains the shift toward lean, AI-driven strategies

Devcom survey: A third of devs prefer minimal AI involvement in game production

Devcom survey: A third of devs prefer minimal AI involvement in game production

Devcom 2025 speakers say early access is still strong as platform exclusivity fades

Coplay takes over Unity MCP as it reaches key milestones with public beta launch

Coplay takes over Unity MCP as it reaches key milestones with public beta launch

Coplay now powers over 3,000 Unity development features weekly for studios using AI workflows

Level up your game with the AI Gamechangers Summit

Level up your game with the AI Gamechangers Summit

Gain key insight on the many ways AI impacts game making, and changes the course of the industry

“Our portfolio includes several dozen studios earning over €1m in monthly revenue”: Magify’s Evgeniy Kurenkov on scaling smarter live ops

Data Driven Growth

“Our portfolio includes several dozen studios earning over €1m in monthly revenue”: Magify’s Evgeniy Kurenkov on scaling smarter live ops

Evgeniy Kurenkov discusses how Magify is helping studios turn data into revenue and plans for the future of the platform

Playful.AI kicks off first Game Jam with a $7,000 prize pool, where AI features are must-have

Playful.AI kicks off first Game Jam with a $7,000 prize pool, where AI features are must-have

The winner will receive $4,000 and a launch partnership opportunity

The revolutionary impact of machine learning on mobile advertising

Machine Learning

The revolutionary impact of machine learning on mobile advertising

"The adoption of machine learning in mobile advertising has accelerated dramatically following breakthrough AI technologies"

MTG revenue doubles to $304m in Q2 2025 following Plarium deal

Financial Outlook

MTG revenue doubles to $304m in Q2 2025 following Plarium deal

Swedish group eyes further M&A and AI investments

Ambitions And Aspirations

"We had no idea what we were doing": Herman Narula on Improbable's early years and its future

The Improbable co-founder and CEO discusses the UK company's journey, industry trends, and advice for founders

Reasons AI won’t beat you at networking

Reasons AI won’t beat you at networking

Trust, discernment, innovation - why AI can’t replace the power of the human mind in B2B networking

Saga and Chrono Labs launch KEX to power next-gen AI agents in web3

Saga and Chrono Labs launch KEX to power next-gen AI agents in web3

New tech built on Saga's blockchain

New Partnerships

Genies partners with Unity to bring AI avatar tools and IP assets to developers

Genies will debut a custom landing page in the Unity Asset Store later in 2025, with full integration into the Unity Editor set for 2026

Video games strike ends after 11 months as SAG-AFTRA ratifies new contract

Video games strike ends after 11 months as SAG-AFTRA ratifies new contract

The new agreement includes an immediate pay increase of over 15% for performers, with raises scheduled for November 2025, 2026 and 2027

Hypercasual game studio Yayy closes

Hypercasual game studio Yayy closes

Following Yayy's closure, CEO Ziad Talge co-founded MyLuigi with AI and cloud expert Sukhdeep Johar, securing $125,000 in funding

Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen on AI labs, rising costs, and why mobile games need reinvention

Industry Outlook

Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen on AI labs, rising costs, and why mobile games need reinvention

"Mobile games are no longer cheap" - but innovation is still the priority

How the generative AI revolution is changing games

How the generative AI revolution is changing games

Reality and opportunity converge to spark industry disruption

Enhancing ad performance with GeeMee's AI-powered advertising solution

Ai Enhanced Ads

Enhancing ad performance with GeeMee's AI-powered advertising solution

Find out how GeeMee is enhancing ad impact through technological innovation, giving developers a competitive edge

Hot Five: New Apple Games app, SAG-AFTRA strikes ending, and Zynga founder forms Playful.AI

Hot Five: New Apple Games app, SAG-AFTRA strikes ending, and Zynga founder forms Playful.AI

Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz

Games veterans launch Playful.AI, Apple's Games app and the Nintendo Switch 2 breaks records | Week in Views

Games veterans launch Playful.AI, Apple's Games app and the Nintendo Switch 2 breaks records | Week in Views

The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories

Ex-Netflix VP Mike Verdu and Zynga founder Mark Pincus form AI games startup Playful.AI

Ex-Netflix VP Mike Verdu and Zynga founder Mark Pincus form AI games startup Playful.AI

Company aims to “reinvent game development and game experiences with AI”

6 takeaways from PGC Barcelona: A bustling industry hub, DTC hits overdrive, and AI hype continues

Conference Roundup

6 takeaways from PGC Barcelona: A bustling industry hub, DTC hits overdrive, and AI hype continues

A look at some of the trends and key talks from our debut conference in the Catalonia capital

Homa co-founder opens new AI-first studio Everyday

Homa co-founder opens new AI-first studio Everyday

Olivier Le Bas wants to "rethink" how mobile games are built

Quranium secures Animoca Brands investment with focus on web3, AI, metaverse and games

Quranium secures Animoca Brands investment with focus on web3, AI, metaverse and games

Mobile games will be a key focus, as will security against present and future threats

How UA expert Claire Rozain scales creative production with AI

Industry Insights

How UA expert Claire Rozain scales creative production with AI

Rozain will be attending Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona which takes place on June 3rd and 4th