New Partnerships
Make-A-Wish taps Raptor PR to lead games industry comms campaign
The campaign will focus on thought leadership, media outreach, and speaker engagement
Revenue Race
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby makes 50.3% revenue outside Japan in first global month
Japan, the US and Canada are currently the anime gacha’s top markets
Ai Ahoy
Playful.AI kicks off first Game Jam with a $7,000 prize pool, where AI features are must-have
The winner will receive $4,000 and a launch partnership opportunity
Industry Insights
Ten billion installs later: Why publishing isn’t just publishing anymore
Azur Games’ Dmitry Yaminsky shares how game publishing has evolved over the years and his take on developing in today's market
Revenue Rise
Take-Two’s mobile portfolio accounts for 52% of $5.6bn net revenue in latest fiscal year
Mobile spending was up 7% Y/Y, driven by Match Factory and Toon Blast
Marvellous Mena
Mekan Games founder Evans Kiragu on targeting global markets, prototyping strategy and embracing web-first development
"While funding is good and welcomed, it is a full-time job as well to get it."
Closed Beta
Bandai Namco opens closed beta sign-ups for Digimon Alysion
Progress made during the beta will not carry over to the final game release
Milestone
FIFA Rivals surpasses 1 million downloads
Over 15m matches played and 16m goals scored since release
Lawsuit
Sony sues Tencent over alleged copycat of Horizon game series
Monetary damages and a court order are being sought to stop IP infringement
Crossovers
Monopoly Go taps into Marvel IP with The Fantastic Four
The collaboration celebrates the cinematic return Marvel's first family
Mobile Games Awards
Final hours to vote in the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025
Last chance to make your voice heard as the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025 voting closes midnight July 31st
Funding News
Drizz raises $2.7m to reinvent mobile app testing
Every app team is accelerating with AI, but testing still lags behind,” said Drizz CEO Asad Abrar
Spending Surge
Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond daily revenue spikes 786% with first new card set Infinity Evolved
Cygames’ latest card game has generated $66.7m in its first six weeks on mobile
App Store Changes
Apple overhauls App Store age ratings with new categories
Developers can now set a higher minimum age requirement than Apple's default rating
Ua Truths
Why ad quality is the only game worth playing
The truth behind those bad ads that see installs rise at the risk of retention
Podcast | Episode 62
Apple's regulatory wins and 2025's top genres | 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 62...
Acquisition Aftermath
Napster Corp lays off staff after "overlaps" post-acquisitions
The number of redundancies is unknown, but the company continues to employ hundreds of full-time staff
Earnings Report
Hasbro sees 16% revenue boost in Q2 2025
Monopoly Go licensing pulls in $44m
Loads Of Layoffs
Layoffs to cost 100,000 years of collective games industry experience
As veterans leave the games sector, Amir Satvat calculates the years of experience lost since 2022
New Offerings
Candy Crush to launch official dessert cookbook this October
The candy-themed cookbook is now available for pre-order
Milestone
My Talking Tom Friends 2 surpasses 10 million downloads
Outfit7 achieves its highest-ever preregistration conversion rate with this launch
New Partnerships
Gadsme partners with Konami to bring immersive ads to games and esports
The agreement opens new opportunities for brands and advertisers to reach audiences
Hot Five
Hot Five: Soolra’s iPhone controller case, Netflix’s gaming investment plans, and EU reportedly likely to greenlight App Store changes
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week In Views
Why acquisitions fail, Netflix Games' investment plans, and the big H1 2025 genre analysis | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
New Games
New release roundup: Pokémon Friends, Metal Slug Tactics, Rollercoaster Racer and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Strategic Move
Nazara spins off Nodwin Gaming ahead of fresh funding round
The new capital raise will dilute Nazara’s stake in Nodwin to below 50%
Twists And Turns
Is the EU set for "total capitulation" on App Store regulation?
Regulators hit a wall as the UK struggles to get out of bed and the EU deals with nightmares of a Trump retaliation
New Partnerships
Entrust partners with PlaySafe ID to combat cheaters and boost player safety
The move supports upcoming UK rules that require stronger online child protection
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"
New Partnerships
Sony acquires 2.5% stake in Bandai Namco
Sony expands Japanese IP footprint with 16m share Bandai Namco deal
Online Safety
42% of parents say the games industry doesn't do enough to protect kids online
Social media tops parents’ safety concerns with TikTok singled out by 52%
Top 50
Nominations open for PocketGamer.biz's Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2025
We're also putting together special lists for Southeast Asia and MENA - all to be unveiled later this year!
Data Dive
H1 2025 genre analysis: Mobile strategy games surge to $10.6bn as RPG revenue tumbles
We analyse AppMagic data to determine the top genres globally and in the US, comparing rising stars with stumbling giants
Bringing Back Buttons
Soolra iPhone case doubles as retro controller: "Mobile gaming has been held back by touchscreens for too long"
The company also has its own emulator with open source, properly licenced and public domain games preloaded
Market Growth
Global games market to hit $196 billion by 2026
Venture capital funding in games dropped to $193m in Q2 2025
Celebration Is Coming
Game of Thrones: Legends celebrates first anniversary and $23.6m in lifetime player spending
Ned Stark was the most-used Champion of year one, though he died 110m times
Earnings Report
Ubisoft Q1 revenue falls 3.9% to $365m as publisher reorganises into ‘creative houses’
Mobile also accounted for 10% of net bookings
Acqusitions
Gaijin Entertainment acquires Fortnite map The Pit from creator Geerzy
The company said it sees a profitable and scalable opportunity with Fortnite’s creator engagement model
Apple Approval?
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney cries “total capitulation” as report claims EU likely to greenlight App Store changes
Regulator's decision expected in the coming weeks
Studio Closure
Stillfront shuts down Super Free Games as part of strategic portfolio review
Closures to mark first part of restructure, the company said
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group and King Abdulaziz University partner to launch diplomas in games and esports
The new academic programmes aim to blend classroom learning with hands-on industry experience
Web Store Report
Appcharge: 50% of first-time web store buyers make a second purchase
New Appcharge report urges game publishers to optimise for repeat purchases to maximise lifetime value
Expansions
Apple launches online store and app in Saudi Arabia with Arabic support
Flagship Apple Stores also coming to Saudi Arabia in 2026
New Offerings
Roblox launches new learning hub for students
Children can build online safety skills in Google Be Internet Awesome World or learn coding with Lua Learning
Pokemon Portfolio
Pokémon Champions gets release window as slew of mobile games land updates
The latest Pokémon Presents gives a deeper look into the competitive battle game coming in 2026
Pokemon Puzzles
Pokémon Friends shadow dropped as new puzzle game on mobile
The title is available now on Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch
Staff Stats
Nintendo hires at least 455 full-time staff as total headcount surpasses 5,600
Nintendo has 3,855 male full-time employees while 1,775 are female, with the largest disparity in Japan
Funding News
Delabs Games secures additional $5.2M to accelerate AI-powered web3 ambitions
Funding will support the launch of idle RPG Ragnarok Libre and its native Delabs tokens
Funding News
M00m World raises $500,000 to launch mobile game and real-world collectables
“This isn’t just about building a game - it’s about keeping it real”
Studio Closure
Muus Collective closes due to funding challenges
The studio had 16 employees listed on its website before winding down