Podcast | Episode 77
Games industry trends 2025 review | 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 77...
Trends Roundup
The mobile games industry trends that shaped 2025
A look back at the top stories and trends of the year
Market Analysis
Greenlighting is a lottery: How Voodoo, SLG Giants, and Habby turn ‘luck’ into ‘math’
While indies pray for a hit, the industry giants have turned mysticism into mathematics. Here is how they calculate the optimal solution in an uncertain market.
Milestone
Where Winds Meet hits 15 million players within one month of release
The game released with a staggered launch across PC, PlayStation 5 and mobile
Action Arrival
Where Winds Meet makes $557,000 during launch weekend outside China
Everstone Studio’s flagship launched overseas on mobile on December 12th
Ramping Up Revenue
Kingshot catapults past $500m with nine months of consecutive growth
Century Games’ latest 4X strategy hit made $96.7m this November
Marketing Over Innovation?
Marketing is the tail that wags the dog of mobile gaming, not innovation
Marketing budgets outstrip development and it's the key driver of success, say industry experts
Valorant Victory
Valorant Mobile is China’s most successful mobile launch of 2025 with 50m MAUs
Tencent highlights the successes of Valorant, Honor of Kings, Delta Force, Clash Royale and more
New Offerings
Tencent rolls out Hunyuan 3D engine for AI-driven asset creation
The tool is designed to generate 3D assets from text, images, or sketches in minutes
Podcast | Episode 73
Industry insights on AI, China and EU tech regulation from RovioCon and Slush 2025 | 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 73...
Key Takeaways
4 takeaways from RovioCon and Slush 2025: AI reimagining game dev, China's growth threatens Western studios, and EU regulation concerns
We round up the key sessions, talking points and chats from a busy week in Helsinki, Finland
Milestone
Honor of Kings surpasses 260m global MAUs
The Chinese server now sees over 139 million DAUs, up from 100m in 2024
Rivrs And Roblox
Rivrs launches $1m Creator Fund to back Roblox developers in Southeast Asia
The fund will help scale promising games and support Southeast Asian teams
Mobile Milestone
Delta Force hits $300m on mobile after record daily revenue
Daily player spending hit $9.3m on September 19th, up 333% over one week
Collaborative Creed
How the Reverse: 1999 team adapted for an Assassin’s Creed collab
Reverse: 1999 has built a brand around the 20th century, but has found a way to explore the Renaissance and ancient Greece with Assassin's Creed
Challenges And Opportunities
Lilith Games talks China’s comeback, market maturity and one year of AFK Journey
"While the growth curve looks different, it reflects both the evolution of the industry and the direction we intentionally took with this sequel."
Tiktok Sale
US and China reach framework agreement for TikTok sale
Follows years of political disputes over ByteDance’s ownership
Strategic Move
Savvy eyes multibillion-dollar deals in China and Asia amid US-China tensions
Currently ranked 8th globally, Savvy is pushing to climb the publishing charts
Inside Look
Scaling Screw Master 3D from WeChat to global markets
The CEO of EOGAMES discusses how its partnership with Supersonic and new strategies helped to scale the game
Podcast | Episode 65
Gamescom insights and India's shock real-money gaming ban | 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 65...
Market Growth
Player spending on games in China grew to $49.2bn in 2024
Revenue is forecast to reach $54.8bn by 2029
Gamescom Insights
4 takeaways from Devcom and Gamescom 2025: The DTC revolution, Asian publishers make a splash, and room for optimism
We analyse some of the big stories and trends coming out of Europe's largest games expo
Taking Global Games To China
Bridging global games and the Chinese market - An interview with Monte Singman
"Many studios assume that a straightforward translation will suffice, but the Chinese market is far more complex"
Podcast | Episode 64
ChinaJoy insights and DTC earnings uncovered | 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 64...
Everyone Wants A Piece
Everything is a games platform: Part two
Duolingo, Spotify, Netflix and others make moves in gaming
Acqusitions
Chinese publisher XD Inc acquires 5.3% stake in Miao for $14m
Deal values studio at approximately $264m
Earnings Report
Apple revenue rises to $94bn in Q3 2025 despite $800m tariff-related costs
Americas lead regional sales at $134.16bn followed by Europe and Greater China
Event Report
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai 2025 unites East and West: First mainland China event marks new era for global games collaboration
We delivered a high-impact Summit in Shanghai, forging new connections across the global games industry
China Growth
Overseas revenue for Chinese developers rises by 11% to $9.5bn in H1 2025
WeChat sales surged by 40% to $3.2 billion in the first half of the year
Competitive Gaming
China plots national esports football team
Chinese FA is looking for cooperation zones to fund the team and provide training and competition venues
Chinese Market Insight
APAC and China are pivotal to innovation, scale, and spending power in games
Key insight into APAC and China's game sector ahead of Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30th
Going Global
"The China market is like bootcamp for how to be a winning global player"
Joymaker VP of business development Tom van Dam gives us the lowdown on China's bustling games market
Attending Companies
From Tencent, NetEase and MiHoYo to hidden gems: Meet the companies coming to Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai 2025
Get ready for an exciting opportunity in Shanghai on July 30th. Discover the connections, ground breaking deals, and extraordinary talent that you won't want to miss
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Win a ticket to Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai
Connect with global games companies and gain cutting-edge industry insight on July 30th
Gateway To China
Enter China visa-free to connect with games companies like Tencent, NetEase, Epic Games and Supercell
Make the most of ChinaJoy in August and Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30th
Region Report
Gain key insights into China’s games industry with our free report
Grab your copy of our China report to get a deep dive into the country’s influential games sector ahead of the PGC Summit Shanghai on July 30th
Chinese Games Market
Large, lucrative and hyper-competitive: Why you need to understand the Chinese games market
Invaluable insight on APAC and China's games market ahead of PG Connects Summit Shanghai, July 30th
Gateway To Chinajoy
Everything you need to make your last-minute ChinaJoy trip hassle-free
What international visitors need to know before they head to Shanghai
Opening Up?
"It’s a great time to explore the Chinese games market"
We speak to MyGamez CEO Mikael Leinonen about the opportunities and challenges in China's lucrative games sector
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai 2025 agenda revealed
Connect with and learn from leading games industry experts in Shanghai, July 30th
Strategy Spending
Whiteout Survival hits $3bn in player spending in under 2.5 years
Century Games’ strategy title has been among the five highest-earning mobile games every month this year
Hot Five
Hot Five: Pokémon Go’s ninth anniversary, Clash Royale’s Merge Tactics mode, and China's domestic licence changes
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 60
Games investment tips, Clash Royale's evolution, and China's rising global influence | 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 60...
Region Focus
State of play: Inside China's increasingly influential games industry
Ahead of the debut Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30th, we speak to industry executives and take a look at the rise of China's games sector
Chinese Games Market
Why understanding Chinese games and gamers is crucial to global success
Expert insight on the Chinese games market ahead of PG Connects Summit Shanghai, July 30th
China Changes
Overseas studios to be eligible for domestic licences in China for games developed in Shanghai
The Shanghai Municipal Government will test this in a pilot programme
Victorious Valorant
Valorant Mobile hits 40m pre-registrations in China
Riot Games opened pre-registrations on April 21st, exclusively for the Chinese version
Development Journey
Inside mobile hitmaker Lilith Games
Lilith Games' Vincent Ou guides us through the Chinese company's company culture, development strategy and live ops tactics it's used to create billion-dollar hits AFK Journey and Rise of Kingdoms
Anti-corruption
Perfect World investigates staff and suppliers over alleged corruption
The One Punch Man developer said it will strictly punish any fraudulent or self-serving behaviour that harms the company
Discover Shanghai
First speakers announced for Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai
A first glimpse into the lineup of expert speakers coming to Shanghai, July 30th