Expansions
Unico Studio surpasses 100 employees amid global expansion and hiring push
The company claims to have achieved over one billion installs across its portfolio of 50+ games
Building Brands
Supercell hiring in multiple roles to grow brands outside of games
A "whole slate of unannounced projects" are already in development
New Company
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”
Jobs Roundup
June 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Unity CTO exits, Embracer appoints new CEO, Roblox gets a CFO, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Leadership Overhaul
Phil Rogers named CEO of Embracer as Lars Wingefors shifts focus to M&A
Wingefors will leave the executive management team from August 1st, but stay on as a board member until the annual general meeting
Strategic Growth
Games for Change welcomes five new board members
New and existing board members will guide the organisation's next phase of growth
Job News
Roblox names Naveen Chopra as new chief financial officer
Chopra is succeeding Michael Guthrie, who will be stepping down as CFO to pursue personal interests
New Ai Studio
Homa co-founder opens new AI-first studio Everyday
Olivier Le Bas wants to "rethink" how mobile games are built
Shutting Down
Games livestreaming platform Noice closes
Company had raised $26 million in funding before new investment dried up
Job Losses
Playtika layoffs hit Best Fiends and Redecor teams
Redundancies come shortly after Wooga saw around 50 job cuts
Studio Closure
Zynga to shut down Torchlight 3 developer Echtra Games after four years
Echtra Games is listed as having 61 employees on its LinkedIn page
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
Jobs News
nDreams CEO Patrick O'Luanaigh steps down after 19 years
Chief development officer Tomas Gillo steps into the role as O'Luanaigh becomes non-executive chairman
Jobs Roundup
May 2025’s Movers and Shakers: New King president, Scopely appoints CBO, Roblox exec exits, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
King's Crown
King president Tjodolf Sommestad to step down as Todd Green takes the reins
Sommestad has spent three years as president and almost 14 at King overall
Job Losses
Wooga struck by around 50 layoffs as Claire’s Chronicles: Solitaire cancelled
The news comes as the developer moved into its new office
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
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
Microsoft Management
Microsoft to lay off 3% of global staff
The move could impact thousands, expected to be felt across all teams, levels and locales
Dismantled
Machine Zone reduced to minimal core team operating Game of War and Mobile Strike
Studio no longer has the capacity to work on new games
Studio Support
MLC Studio’s Global Games Alliance aims to curate deals, funding calls, job postings and more into one central hub
Workshops, exclusive events and more are planned for later down the line
Job News
IGDA welcomes three new board members as it expands global vision
New members include ecosystem strategist, climate advocate, and emerging markets expert
Job News
Ludeo welcomes ex-Activision Blizzard exec as chief business officer
The company will leverage Schonfeld's industry experience to expand its roster of triple-A partnerships
Gameexpo Summit
Find your next role with the Careers Zone at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona
A hub of innovation, networking and talent acquisition sponsored by Sandsoft and powered by Games Factory Talent
Job News
Jetapult recruits AI experts Oz Silahtar and Dr. Arjun Jain to boost development efficiency
The company's GamePac AI suite is designed to allow studios to integrate AI into their daily workflows
Job News
NetEase global investments head Simon Zhu steps down after 12 years
VP of corporate development Ken Li will take over the role
Layoff News
Meta cuts jobs at Reality Labs
Number of employees affected was not revealed but Meta confirmed the cuts impacted teams working on Quest products
Jobs Roundup
April 2025's Movers and Shakers: New CEOs at Discord and GoodVille, Supercell appoints head of marketing, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Jobs News
Discord CEO steps down
Former King president Humam Sakhnini takes top job
Layoff News
Report: Intel to cut 20% of its workforce in new restructuring move
The layoffs are a key part of Tan’s efforts to turn around Intel after years of setbacks and leadership missteps
Job Cuts
Devolver Digital cuts 40% of staff at Reigns developer Nerial
The layoffs were due to “issues” with some of the company's recent releases
Job Losses
Machine Zone CEO out as AppLovin lays off 97 staff
Machine Zone CEO and design director out as ad tech firm makes another round of job cuts
Layoff News
Niantic Spatial lays off 68 staff after $3.5bn games business sale to Scopely
The redundancies affect the newly formed company which launched with $250m in funding
Job News
Goodville promotes Katerina Dudinskaya to CEO
She will take over from co-founder Alexey Meleshkevich on May 1st
Head Hire
Aonic appoints ex-Larian UK studio head as first-ever head of games
Arthur Mostovoy's remit covers the company's entire portfolio across all platforms
New Studio
Space Ape vets launch Offroad Games
New studio takes Space Ape-developed titles Chrome Valley Customs and Fastlane: Road to Revenge with it
Employee Engagement
What makes games industry employees more engaged and loyal?
InGame Job CEO Katya Sabirova shares her findings on the engagement of games industry employees using data from the Big Games Industry Employment Survey 2024
Jobs News
Eugene Evans departs Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast
Executive did not reveal his plans for the future following his exit
Jobs News
Former Netflix VP of games Mike Verdu exits streaming firm
Verdu had not long taken up the role of VP of GenAI for games prior to his departure
Expansions
Appcharge expands into North America and Korea with new leadership hires
Sean Megaw will drive North American growth while Jin Woo Hong is set to lead its South Korea operations
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...
International Women's Day
"Establishing credibility was my biggest hurdle as a young entrepreneur"
As part of International Women's Day 2025, we speak to WalkMe Mobile Solutions CEO Lígia Gonçalves about building her own company
International Women's Day
"Inclusion isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a core part of how we create better games"
As part of International Women's Day 2025, we speak to King's Marta Cortiñas about her career and work on Candy Crush Solitaire
Recruitment Report
Who has pet projects in the games industry and what drives them?
InGame Job CEO Katya Sabirova analyses the findings from the Big Games Industry Employment Survey 2024
Leadership Change
Stillfront names Alexis Bonte as new president and group CEO
Bonte joined Stillfront in 2017 after its acquisition of eRepublik Labs, which he co-founded
Leadership Change
Jagex CEO Phil Mansell steps down
Former Huuuge Games CCO and CVC advisor Jon Bellamy takes over the top job at the RuneScape developer
Company Shakeup
Room 8 Group expands leadership with new focus
Former Ubisoft veterans take key roles
Movers And Shakers
Lasse Seppänen named Supercell London GM
The new general manager will define the overall vision for the office
M&a
Jam City completes Ludia sale
Approximately 130 staff will remain at the developer, while a small number will stay with Jam City
Job Losses
Netflix lays off staff at Oxenfree developer Night School Studio
The redundancies will not affect ongoing projects at the developer