Week In Views
China’s rising chart power, Warzone Mobile’s final months and Pokémon Go’s PvP update | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Ready To Reflect
Matthew Ball's State of Video Gaming in 2026: "China is eating the video games industry"
Highlights from the State of Video Gaming in 2026 report include content sales growth, fewer layoffs and victory for China and Roblox
Chart Rankings
January 2026 mobile game charts: Clash Royale falls, PUBG Mobile rises, and Microfun breaks into the top 10
A deep dive into the global mobile game rankings across the App Store and Google Play
Duolingo Daus
More than 10 million Duolingo users have a 365-day streak
Of the learning app’s 50m daily users, over 10m have a year-long login streak
Revenue Results
EA makes $254m on mobile this Q3 as FC Mobile drives net bookings
Mobile represented approximately 13% of EA’s total net revenue during the three months
Roblox Records
Roblox revenue up 36% Y/Y as Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot drive multiple milestones
Nearly $4.9bn was generated in 2025, with $6.8bn in bookings
Financials
Supercell revenue declines 4% to €2.65bn in 2025
EBITDA rose by 6% year-over-year as Clash Royale growth makes up for Brawl Stars decline
Square Sales
"Weakness in existing titles" as Square Enix’s net sales fall 13% Y/Y
Despite the decline, operating income has risen by 39% year-over-year
Hot Five
Hot Five: Ares Interactive raises $70m, Google's Project Genie sparks gaming shares decline, and Arknights: Endfield hits $30m in two weeks
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Market Report
AppMagic: Games revenue growth stalls at 0.2% in 2025 as strategy emerges as the fastest-growing genre
AI has become mainstream in game marketing, with 56% of the top 100 grossing games using AI-driven ad creatives
Endfield Earnings
Arknights: Endfield hits $30m in two weeks on mobile
Gryphline’s new gacha was released globally on January 22nd
An Anniversary Arrives
Love and Deepspace celebrates second anniversary as $1bn milestone draws near
Players celebrated in-game with a special banner and IRL at a Manhattan sci-fi setting
Milestone
Mamboo Entertainment surpasses $55m in lifetime revenue
The developer has also crossed 1bn installs and published more than 50 mobile games
Road To Kalos
Pokémon Go to experiment with new strategy on the Road to Kalos
Ahead of this year’s Go Tour, the now-Scopely-owned title will echo some of Go’s most lucrative events
Hot Five
Hot Five: PGC London talks, MoneyTime’s $3m seed round, and mobile’s $167bn year in IAP revenue
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Market Report
Global mobile in-app purchase revenue hit $167bn in 2025
Over 280,000 apps were downloaded per minute, reaching 149 billion downloads in 2025 according to a new report from Sensor Tower
Milestone
RuneScape surpasses $3bn in lifetime revenue as Jagex marks 25th anniversary
The RS25 programme is positioned as the most ambitious evolution in RuneScape’s history
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.
Market Growth
German games sector hits €3.73bn in revenue
Federal games funding has been a key growth driver, providing studios with $145m in annual support
Milestone
Scopely’s Monopoly Go fastest mobile game to hit $6 billion
Hit title hit the milestone in 1,275 days, according to Sensor Tower estimates
Week In Views
Pixel Flow attracts investment, Roblox gets global age checks and Sonic Rumble’s early results | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Milestone
AppsFlyer surpasses $500m in ARR as firm reportedly nears sale
The milestone comes amid reports of a potential $2bn acquisition
Market Growth
UK games spending hits £5.4bn in 2025 as mobile powers strongest growth since 2020
Mobile games generated £1.88bn after an 8.8% year-on-year rise
Sonic Start
Sonic Rumble jogs to $772,000 in two months
The party royale had its most lucrative day early on, but events are keeping things moving
Eggy Endeavour
Eggy Party cracks $750m in mobile player spending
Player spending has fallen for two consecutive years, with 2023 still responsible for over 50% of the lifetime sum
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
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
Industry Outlook
The global games market is forecast to reach $197bn in 2025
Mobile games are projected to generate $108bn in 2025, up 7.7% year-on-year
Action Arrival
Where Winds Meet makes $557,000 during launch weekend outside China
Everstone Studio’s flagship launched overseas on mobile on December 12th
Week In Views
Netflix’s Warner Bros. Games question, Twitch’s audience boom, and Pikmin Bloom’s big year | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Ramping Up Revenue
Kingshot catapults past $500m with nine months of consecutive growth
Century Games’ latest 4X strategy hit made $96.7m this November
Pikmin Power
Pikmin Bloom hits $100m after four years as 2025 becomes its best year yet
After making just $8.4m in its first full year, Pikmin Bloom has raked in $34.8m during 2025 with another month to go
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
Anniversary Approaching
Infinity Nikki’s version 2.0 update arrives as title hits $70m on mobile ahead of its first anniversary
The stylish open-world title has generated $69.9m across the App Store and Google Play to date, according to estimates
Royal Revenue
Royal Kingdom surpasses $300m in first year, beating Royal Match
Dream Games’ follow-up puzzler made 2% more than its forebear in its first full year
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
New Unit
Tencent’s €1.16bn Ubisoft investment on track to close in coming days as H1 bookings rise
Investment will establish new unity Vantage Studios responsible for top IP and help clear debts
Revenue Rise
Modern Times Group net sales double to $315.5m in Q3 2025
The group generated 69% of revenue on mobile and 26% from DTC platforms
Sonic Start
Sonic Rumble earns just $228,000 in first 10 days, with "a future major update" in the works
The dev team acknowledged "confusion" and "misconception" within the game, planning to revise its tutorial and more over time
Revenue Rise
AppLovin revenue rises 68% to $1.4bn in Q3 2025
The company sold off its games division in Q2 as its ads business continues to grow
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
Solitaire Success
Playtika’s DTC revenue rises 20% as SuperPlay secures new Disney collab
Playtika generated $674.6m in Q3 2025, with $209.3m from DTC platforms
Revenue Rise
Unity records highest revenue since 2023, up 5% in Q3
Unity generated $470.6 million this Q3, its first full quarter since Unity Vector launched
Netmarble Numbers
Netmarble’s net revenue grows 97% Y/Y in Q3 with two new game launches
This Q3, Vampir launched in South Korea and Seven Knights Re:BIRTH launched globally
Week In Views
EA’s creative control, Switch 2’s early success, and a wave of new mobile hits | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Chart Rankings
October 2025 mobile game charts: New hits rise as PUBG Mobile falls
Our monthly look at the global mobile game rankings across the App Store and Google Play
Pocket Power
Pokémon TCG Pocket dethrones Pokémon Go as it celebrates first anniversary and $1.3bn
The digital card game had the most lucrative first year of any mobile Pokémon game
Shadowy Start
Fire Emblem Shadows makes less than $200,000 in 30 days
Fire Emblem Heroes generated $51.4 million in its first month in 2017
Game Closures Incoming
Up to 40 games at risk as Stillfront net revenue falls 17%
Net revenue was $464.3m over the first nine months of 2025, down from $541.9m in the same time last year
Dragon Ball Data
Dragon Ball Gekishin Squadra earns $2.1m in first month, just 8% of Dragon Ball Legends
Bandai Namco’s previous Dragon Ball games Dokkan Battle and Legends picked up $3m and $26.3m in their first months