Podcast | Episode 63
US
Week In Views
AppLovin and Unity spar, Talofa’s fitness-first focus, and is the Online Safety Act fit for purpose? | Week in Views
New Games
New release roundup: Talking Tom & Friends: World, Mecharashi, Farlight 84 and more
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Regulations
Japan orders Apple and Google to open payment systems and level app store competition
New guidelines will take effect from December 18th 2025
Money Makers
How much direct-to-consumer revenue are mobile games publishers making?
All the major mobile games companies are talking about it. And the results are in
Milestone
Castle Duels celebrates first anniversary with 3.5m installs and $13m lifetime revenue
My.Games launches Creator Programme to reward and monetise community talent
New Partnerships
Odeeo and Claritas partner to power full-funnel measurement for in-game audio ads
The collaboration aims to direct ad budgets toward game titles
Fighting Talk
AppLovin brushes off Unity Vector challenge to ads business
"Our market penetration inside gaming is really large at this point. It's materially higher than 70%"
Fitness Formula
How Talofa Games' Monster Walk aims to stand out from Pokémon Go
CEO Jenny Xu discusses raising $6.3 million, making exercise accessible and fun, and why it's targeting a Gen Z audience
Investment News
Apple to ramp up US manufacturing with additional $100bn investment
The iPhone maker plans to invest $600bn in the United States over four years
Expansions
Territory Studio partner with Savvy Games Group to expand into the Middle East
Territory will open its first Middle East location in Riyadh later this year
Talking Tom
Talking Tom & Friends: World launches globally with emphasis on sandbox experiences
The title is the second of three Talking Tom mobile games slated for 2025
New Beat
Why the NextBeat team is joining the gamified learning revolution at Duolingo
Co-founders Simon Hade and Olly Barnes discuss why they went from seeking funding to joining the learning platform
M&a
Duolingo acquires majority of team at London studio NextBeat
Acqui-hire will see staff working to expand Duolingo Music
Financials
AppLovin revenue surges 77% to $1.3bn in Q2
Net income rises by 164% Y/Y to $820 million
Ai Ambitions
Unity game engine "competitive advantage" for AI ads platform Vector
CEO Matt Bromberg discusses substantially ramping up the tech firm's AI investments
A New Vector?
Unity pins hopes on Vector AI ads platform to spark revenue growth
CEO Matt Bromberg claims inflection point despite revenue decline
Funding For Games
Blue Ocean Games launches Rising Tide 2 to fund the next wave of indie developers
Submissions now open to indie developers and aspiring creators worldwide
Lean Ai Driven Ua Strategies
UA is broken - Here’s how developers can fix it without hiring a bigger team
MStars.AI marketing director Efrain Aldaz explains the shift toward lean, AI-driven strategies
Acqusitions
Gdev acquires Light Hour Games to expand mobile portfolio
First project is set for soft launch this October
Funding News
SuperGaming raises $15m to fuel global expansion of Indus Battle Royale
Funds will go towards game development, talent acquisition, and original IP creation
Epic Vs. Everyone: Linkouts
In the face of ongoing legal change, what are the opportunities for mobile games companies?
"Don’t be surprised if pretty soon players in any part of the world can start making off-platform purchases in-app with zero friction"
New Offerings
My.Games launches business modelling tool for AdsAdvisor
Tool is set to release in H2 2025
New Offerings
Coplay takes over Unity MCP as it reaches key milestones with public beta launch
Coplay now powers over 750 Unity development features weekly for studios using AI workflows
Building Blocks
Roblox daily active users surges 41% to 112m in Q2
Revenue and bookings up as losses continue
Funding News
GameRamp raises $5.4m to build AI-powered publishing tools for developers
Funding will support team expansion in the US and India
Soft Launch
64 top mobile games in soft launch: Coin Master - Board Adventure, Kingdom Rush Battles, Sonic Blitz, and more
The top mobile games in soft launch right now
Switch 2 Sales
Nintendo Switch 2’s launch month sales more than double original Switch’s
Over 5.8m Switch 2s were sold in the console’s first 26 days, helping drive net sales up 132%
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
Hot Five
Hot Five: Uma Musume’s $22.8m overseas launch, Krafton’s record-breaking H1, and casual games’ strong market growth
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Pocket Gamer Party
Mingle with industry professionals at the Pocket Gamer Party during Gamescom
Registrations now open to join the Cologne party on August 20th
Games Funding
What makes investors interested in your game
Why understanding evolving investment strategies in games is crucial to developers
Return Of The Tariffs
Trump’s tariffs bite across the globe
More than 90 countries have been impacted, including popular manufacturing hubs for mobile and gaming hardware
Legal Battle
Google loses appeal in Epic Games case that could crack open the Play store
The case could now make its way to the Supreme Court
New Games
New release roundup: Kingdom Rush Battles, Wargroove 2, Settris, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
On The Leash
The heavy hand of regulation
Regulators continue to fight big tech with mixed results
Market Growth
Casual games market grows 3.6% amid a surge in strategy titles
Casino games saw an 8% rise in downloads but a 15% drop in revenue
Investment News
Good Job Games secures $60m in series A funding
Total investment to date has reached $83m in under six months
Funding News
STAN secures $8.5m funding to power AI-driven growth and games communities
Funds will go towards growing its presence in India and other mobile-first markets
New Rules
Decoding Apple's new App Store business terms in the EU
Futura Digital delves into the latest rules for the EU App Store as the iPhone giant battles with the DMA
Atari Acquisition
Atari offers $5.1m in bid to acquire Thunderful Group
If approved by shareholders, the deal will see Atari acquire approximately 82% of outstanding shares and votes in the company
Industry Insights
First impressions count: Creating the ultimate first time user experience
Elran Ettinger offers insights on creating the best first impressions on players
Happy 10th Birthday Heroiclabs
A heroic ten years
"We kept seeing studios reinvent the wheel: building complex backend systems from scratch instead of focusing on the game itself... we knew there had to be a better way."
Pubg Plan
PUBG 2.0 will broaden from battle royale to UGC and games platform
Krafton is "speeding up the process" of reworking the game with wide-ranging modes
Crossovers
Mattel and Halfbrick unite to bring Masters of the Universe to Jetpack Joyride
The event runs until August 20th
Collaboration
Outfit7 partners with Miraculous for limited-time Talking Tom Hero Dash event
This marks the first time a character from Miraculous appears in the Talking Tom universe
New Partnerships
Clear Angle Studios expands into South Africa via Robot Air partnership
The move eliminates the need to import scanning personnel and gear for South African shoots
Actionable Insight For Every Dept
Inside the data systems of gaming's global hits: The tech stack behind billions in revenue
Find out how ThinkingData is unifying data analytics and live ops into a single scalable platform for developers and publishers worldwide
Pgc Barcelona
Tilting Point’s Sylvain Etard talks rewarded platforms, retargeting and the "UA jungle"
Etard spoke at PGC Barcelona 2025, revealing insights into reaching users
Accidental Artwork
Pokémon TCG Pocket removes two illustrations after "incorrect materials" used in latest expansion
The card production team mistakenly provided the artist with the wrong documents