Unity follows AppLovin, Roblox brand deal controversy and Wuthering Waves' live ops success | Week in Views
The games industry moves quickly and while stories may come and go there are some that we just can't let go of…
So, to give those particularly thorny topics a further going over we've created a weekly digest where the members of the PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week.
Craig Chapple
Unity to shut down ironSource Ads Network and explore Supersonic sale as revenue beats guidance
When AppLovin stepped into the publishing space, it was highly controversial. I spoke with marketers from some major publishers at the time who were very unhappy their data could potentially be used against them by what they now saw as a competitor.
One marketer said they were going to stop working with AppLovin, another said they felt they had no choice. In 2018, a few months after Lion Studios was officially launched, I headed to Ironsource’s Gamefest 2018, which brought together UA experts from around the world.
Speaking with a member of the leadership team there, I remember one executive telling me they would not be stepping into games publishing. They clearly saw an opportunity to differentiate themselves from AppLovin and perhaps take business from some angry companies. By 2020, IronSource opened Supersonic.
Flash-forward a few years - post the hypercasual boom, the Unity/AppLovin/IronSource acquisition battle, and the astonishing rise of AppLovin’s AI-powered ads business, both AppLovin and now IronSource are leaving their publishing operations behind. Though worth mentioning AppLovin now owns a stake in the acquirer of its games studios, Tripledot.
Unity wants to focus on the Vector growth story and peel away the parts of its business that aren’t part of that narrative. Unity is copying the AppLovin playbook - and it’s hinted that the engine division could be its killer USP for the ads business - but can it become a worthy rival after years of fumbles?
Paige Cook
Roblox to take cut of in-game brand deals from 2027 under new advertising rules
Starting January 2027, Roblox will take a share of revenue from in-game brand partnerships. So essentially, they are stepping into what were previously private deals between creators and brands.
Robox is framing this as a move that will help creators better understand the value of their integrations and bring greater transparency, so Roblox is pitching it as beneficial for creators.
However, looking at actual creators' thoughts, many have expressed that it simply feels like Roblox is taking more of their income and I can’t say I blame them.
We recently discussed this on the podcast and we compared it to what would happen if YouTube suddenly started taking a cut of creators' private sponsorship deals. It wouldn’t go down well, and I can completely understand why Roblox creators are upset about these controversial changes.
Roblox may provide the platform, so of course they get a general cut of revenue, but to me it seems like brand deals secured by the creator, which they’ve been keeping 100% of so far, should remain that way.
Roblox has grown significantly over recent years and that wouldn’t be the case without the creators bringing new experiences to the platform. I expect we’ll keep seeing pushback on this in the hope of reversing the decision.
Aaron Astle
Developing Wuthering Waves: "Every addition requires months or longer to meet our quality standards"
I recently interviewed Kuro Games about Wuthering Waves’ latest updates, particularly the big version 3.0 update which launched in December, and the version 3.1 update this February.
We discussed keeping players engaged long-term and maintaining momentum after a major update, and I was surprised to discover just how successful version 3.1 has been. AppMagic estimates suggest February 2026 was Wuthering Waves’ second most-lucrative month on mobile ever, and while Kuro Games didn’t provide any figures, the team did acknowledge a "new revenue peak brought by version 3.1".
Many mobile games follow this ‘major update’ model, with a yearly mega-update introducing a new setting, story arc, characters and more. So, it makes sense why these big updates - a version 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and so on - would be among the most lucrative.
But Wuthering Waves continuing to grow in following updates marks an intriguing break from the norm, and it sounds like its story is a major factor. Kuro Games called this “the main highlight for the update”, with mysteries and revelations emerging with several twists. With the context of foreshadowing and continuity from prior version updates, it sounds like 3.1 was a big payoff for fans.
"Narratively, 3.1 was undoubtedly an all-out effort for us. We've seen Aemeath's storyline resonate strongly with players, and this response continues to motivate us to give our very best," the team said.