Fire Emblem Festivity
Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Heroes celebrates ninth anniversary and over $1.2bn in revenue
The strategy RPG series successfully found its mobile niche as a gacha, surpassing all other Nintendo mobile games
New Offerings
Playgama launches advertising solution for web gaming monetisation
The new product marks Playgama’s expansion deeper into monetisation and gaming-focused ad tech
Pgc London
Monetisation trends to watch in 2026: "Player expectations have changed"
PGC London panellists discussed the latest ad and in-app purchase strategies on mobile
Regulations
Italy watchdog opens probes into Activision Blizzard over mobile game monetisation
Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile are under scrutiny for allegedly misleading free-to-play practices
Hybrid Monetisation Domination
IAA, IAP, or both? Why hybrid monetisation now dominates mobile apps
Hybrid monetisation may have emerged from the hypercasual games genre, but is now becoming the dominant business model across multiple app categories.
Ad Monetisation
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 invites ad monetisation leaders to an exclusive roundtable
Redefining ad monetisation based on 2026 growth metrics
Ai-assisted Optimisation
Teqblaze - from manual monetisation platform to AI-assisted optimisation
Find out how Teqblaze helps publishers build more predictable, sustainable monetisation without sacrificing transparency or control
Own Your Ad Stack
Mobile publishers must move "from reacting to directing" their ad stack, says Teqblaze CPO
Olga Zharuk explains why a lack of control and transparency - not just optimisation - is the main issue facing mobile game monetisation today, and how a white-label approach solves it
Week In Views
Roblox’s one trillion YouTube views, Asia dominates mobile’s biggest launches, and Netflix teams up with FIFA | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Asian Domination
Asia dominates 2025’s biggest mobile releases as top 10 new games make $2.2bn
Spending on the biggest new releases fell, down from $3bn across the top 10 of 2024
All The Things!
Xsolla introduces new corporate identity, offers "all the things" developers could ever need
As Xsolla celebrates its 20th anniversary, the company is introducing a whole new corporate look and planning to make itself the ultimate toolbox for developers worldwide
In The Shadows
Fire Emblem Shadows makes just $353,000 in two months
Fire Emblem Heroes generated $77.6m in its first two months in 2017
Xsolla State Of Play
Xsolla releases The Xsolla Report: State of Play Q3 2025 Edition, Vol. 8
Report unpacks regional trends across China, Europe, and MENA to inform growth, monetisation, and player engagement strategies
Investment News
Stan secures new Series A investment from Sony Innovation Fund
The funding will fuel AI-driven personalisation and creator monetisation tools
Sponsored
GeeMee expands Asia-Pacific presence with dual strategic events at Pocket Gamer Connects
Find out how Geemee leveraged two events in Asia to further its ambition to reshape mobile game monetisation across the region.
Mobile Mavens
Epic-Google settlement sparks industry discussion on mobile game fees and distribution
The Mobile Mavens explore the implications of Epic and Google’s latest plans
Podcast | Episode 72
Why is Google policing how the world's top mobile games monetise? | 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 72...
Industry Insights
As a resurgent Clash Royale peaks, does Supercell need a radical change in strategy for new games?
Jakub Remiar highlights Clash Royale's revenue surge and if Supercell has a growing reliance on aging titles among its new-game pipeline
Podcast | Episode 71
Google and Epic upend Android mobile game monetisation | 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 71...
Sponsored
Japan’s open payment era: What game developers need to know
How Apple and Google’s upcoming compliance with Japan’s new digital market rules will reshape mobile game monetisation
Ad Experiments
What five in-game ad experiments taught us about player behaviour and revenue
GameBiz Consulting’s Božo Janković shares how small in-game changes led to big surprises in ad performance
New Offerings
AdInMo launches player-first hybrid monetisation tech as a new SaaS platform for mobile developers
The tool supports player lifetime value by predicting and integrating relevant ad opportunities during gameplay
Unity Dtc
Unity gets into DTC with cross-platform "unified digital stores"
The update streamlines monetisation and live operations across mobile, web and PC
Mobile Mavens
“The games industry should absolutely be sitting up and paying attention”: The Mobile Mavens debate the Digital Fairness Act
Our Mavens warn that the proposed EU regulations could harm innovation and drive studios out of Europe
Shadows Spending
Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Shadows makes just $90,000 in first week on iOS
Predecessor Fire Emblem Heroes earned $8.2m on iOS in week one
Game Monetisation
Beyond microtransactions: The future of game monetisation lies in loyalty, not loot boxes
Xsolla’s Chris Meredith on moving beyond microtransaction towards player-first monetisation
Industry Insights
Five ad monetisation tests that didn't match the data
GameBiz Consulting’s Božo Janković shares insights from experiments that challenge assumptions in ad monetisation
Stealthy Shadows
Nintendo shadow drops Fire Emblem Shadows as its first new mobile game in six years
The second mobile Fire Emblem takes a real-time approach as opposed to gacha Fire Emblem Heroes’ turn-based combat
New Offerings
Azur Games launches open version of internal analytics platform
Early adopters of Azur Games Analytics are receiving free access during the onboarding phase
The Long Game
Gameloft on adapting tools, tech and teams to sustain Minion Rush's 12-year run
Gameloft’s Kateryna Skrypnik shares how live ops, community feedback and a Unity migration have kept Minion Rush running for over a decade
Industry Insights
The ins and outs of retention in an idle game with merge and puzzle elements
Oleg Nalimov shares on Gold & Goblins the genre-blending mechanics, monetisation and live updates that turned the game into a $60m success
Genre Strategies
FreePlay talks 2bn downloads and hybridcasual's rapid growth
"We consider creatives production to be one of our core strengths," says head of publishing Ivan Spijarskiy
Changing Times
Navigating payment freedom: Gaining a lead in the new app store landscape
Ben Cousens shares on monetisation strategies in the new app store economy
New Offerings
Rooter launches AI-powered adtech tool rStream to allow creators monetise content
“For brands, it’s a matter of keeping that attention and not jolting gamers out of it,” said Rooter founder and CEO Piyush
New Offerings
Duet Night Abyss removes all gacha elements just weeks before its October launch
The upcoming RGP has amassed nearly seven million pre-registrations across all platforms
Revolutionising Mobile Monetisation
GeeMee GamePlay: Revolutionising mobile monetisation with playable ads
Find out how GeeMee's playable ads integrate engaging game mechanics directly into the advertising experience across different industries and campaign objectives
Introducing Applifters
AppLifters launches at Gamescom: All-in-one mobile growth ecosystem promises to boost game profitability by up to 50%
Following major investment, AppLifters brings user acquisition, monetisation, SDK technology, creative production, and data intelligence together in a single integrated growth platform
Market Resilience
ZiMAD’s journey to a 170 million download hit
CEO Dmitry Bobrov shares on the business strategy behind Magic Jigsaw Puzzles
Industry Insights
Can AI replace ad monetisation managers?
GameBiz Consulting’s Damjan Kačar tests if AI can keep up with ad monetisation experts
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"
Money To Burn
Netflix plans to ramp up gaming investment
Streaming firm open to evolving business model in future and teases new set of interactive experiences.
Hybrid Hit
How Rollic scored a $100m hybridcasual hit by ideating 1,000 games a month
Utku Erdinç suspects that "in the history of mobile gaming, a very small number of studios have experienced this much growth in only one and a half years"
Refund Round
FTC distributes $126m in refunds to "tricked" Fortnite players charged for unwanted purchases
Players are able to file for a refund until July 9th, 2025
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
Developers On Monetisation
Game on: Turning points, player power, and the future of monetisation
The moment everything changed! Hear from four developers about the revelation which helped them tackle monetisation and put players first
Making Playtime More Rewarding
MAF’s Play2Earn launches on iOS, outperforming multi-reward by +80% ROAS
MAF’s Play2Earn for iOS is outperforming traditional multi-reward setups. Discover how it delivers +80% ROAS and redefines what rewarded ads can do on iOS
Industry Insights
Win or lose: Mastering the art of mobile game balance and monetisation
Supersonic's Guy Agiv dives into the delicate balance between win and lose conditions and how they can create better monetisation opportunities
Industry Insights
Inside Tiny Tower's in-game ads transformation
Tiny Tower boosted IAP conversion by 20% with immersive in-game ads
Summer Special
Albums, battle passes and milestones: Mobile’s top event types to introduce this summer
AppMagic analyses the three summer event formats that can fit "seamlessly" into almost any live ops schedule
Industry Insights
Nine facts about the mediation space in 2025
GameBiz Consulting's Božo Janković takes a deep dive into the performance of platforms MAX and LevelPlay