Leadership Change
Sumo Group restructures leadership to drive next phase of growth
Gary Dunn and Andy Stewart have been named co-CEOs
Funding News
Alpaka Games secures $2.2m to accelerate global expansion
The studio is focused on player-first experiences in the hybrid action genre
Job News
IGDA welcomes three new board members as it expands global vision
New members include ecosystem strategist, climate advocate, and emerging markets expert
Pgc Helsinki
Introducing Finnish Games Week 2025
Five days of games industry excellence takes place in Finland October 6th to 10th
Earnings Report
Netmarble reports $429m revenue in Q1 2025
Revenue growth was driven by the success of RF Online Next in Korea
Major Acquisition
How Tripledot's AppLovin deal is positioning it as a major global force in mobile games
We speak with Tripledot CEO and co-founder Lior Shiff on the $800m acquisition of AppLovin’s games business
Gamescom Latam 2025
Gamescom Latam 2025 wraps up with 130,000 attendees
The event saw a 30% increase compared to the previous year
Funding News
Sett secures $15m to expand AI-powered platform for mobile game studios
Funds will go towards team expansion and growth acceleration
Five New Games
New release roundup: Chronomon, Cornhole Hero, Witchy Workshop: Cozy Idle and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Acqusitions
Xsolla acquires Ludo to boost player engagement and revenue growth for developers
The move will see Xsolla integrate Ludo’s questing tool into its web shop and rewards solutions
Golden Week Glory
Golden Week 2025: Pokémon TCG Pocket dominates, Fate/Grand Order falls, and a 2012 title makes a surprising rise
The 10 best-performing mobile games in Japan generated $81m this Golden Week, up from $44.9m in 2024
Industry Insights
How France’s antitrust ruling could give a boost to app retargeting
Jenny Lin looks at the implications for app marketers of the French Regulator’s decision to fine Apple over its use of the App Tracking Transparency feature
Earnings Report
AppLovin reports 40% revenue growth in Q1 2025 to reach $1.48bn
The ad tech firm's apps revenue declined by 14% to $325m
Teenage Time
Subway Surfers is entering its "teenage years" with 200th World Tour destination for 13th anniversary
Starting in an in-game Copenhagen, players will be able to unlock 21 other cities during the event
Job News
Ludeo welcomes ex-Activision Blizzard exec as chief business officer
The company will leverage Schonfeld's industry experience to expand its roster of triple-A partnerships
Victory
Microsoft wins FTC appeal over Activision Blizzard acquisition
Court rules that the FTC failed to demonstrate the merger would harm competition
New Offerings
Metaplay makes game backend tech accessible with new free plan for Unity developers
Developers can try a dashboard demo without installing the SDK
Vector Vision
Unity Vector AI platform launches with 15-20% lift in iOS app installs and IAP value
iOS and Android traffic has been fully migrated to the new AI platform ahead of schedule
Proposed Merger
AppLovin proposes strategic merger with TikTok Global
The firm projects TikTok's ad revenue outside China to reach 80bn with the integration of its Axon AI
Big Screen Gaming Summit
The Big Screen Gaming Summit returns to PG Connects Helsinki later this year
Explore the world of games beyond mobile - including PC, console, XR and web3 - this October 7th and 8th
M&a
Tripledot to acquire AppLovin’s games business in transformative deal
Deal worth $400m in cash plus a 20% stake in Tripledot's common equity
Translation Teamup
DeNA and Alconost partner to localise international games for Japanese market
The partnership will see DeNA’s AndApp platform leverage Alconost’s localisation experience
Milestone
Steer Studios' Grunt Rush has surpassed 1m downloads
The tactical war game was developed primarily by first-time developers
Investment News
Fuse Games secures $7m to expand mobile game development
Funds will go towards supporting original IP development and team expansion
Earnings Report
Unity reports Q1 2025 revenue of $435m, down from $460m in Q1 2024
Decline comes from lower Create and Grow Solutions income
Buy Button
Xsolla launches external payment option Buy Button for Mobile Games after Apple court ruling
A US court ruling on April 30th has dictated that Apple must allow external payment links in-app without taking a commission
New Partnerships
Winners Alliance and Nextwave partner to bring real cricketers to WCC games
Over 500 WCA-affiliated professional cricketers will be integrated
Fortnite Fight
Epic Games spent over $100m in legal fees in battle against Apple
Tim Sweeney revealed the cost of the legal battle and speculated on the "hundreds of millions of dollars" missed out on during Fortnite’s App Store ban
Ai Insights
AI creative production performance: What can we learn from it
Claire Rozain shares her insights on launching AI ads and how to build a system that learns
New Offerings
Savvy Games Group launches Academy website to boost Saudi game development
The Academy includes a series of Savvy-funded initiatives to support the next generation of developers and creatives in the Kingdom
Revenue Result
Mobile accounts for 15% of EA’s FY25 net revenue, but net income falls 12% YoY
EA generated $1.1bn from mobile games in its latest fiscal year
Investment News
Classy Games Studios secures investment from Merak Capital
Funds will go towards accelerating game development and expanding its core team
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Save up to $460: PG Connects Summit Shanghai 2025 Super Early Bird ends tomorrow
Book your tickets to the biggest games market in the world before midnight Thursday, May 8th
Mavens
The industry reacts to landmark ruling against Apple's App Store payment policy: Part two
Our Mavens share their insights on what this means for the industry and what may happen next
New Game Launch
Starvania Studio to launch Bahamut and The Waqwaq Tree during Dubai GameExpo Summit
The game is inspired by Arabian mythologies from the One Thousand and One Nights book
Market Growth
UK video game consumer spending hits £7.6bn
Ukie’s new report found that mobile games grew by 8.1% to £1.7bn in 2024
New Partnerships
EA and MLS launch live match streaming on EA Sports FC mobile via Apple TV
Players that watch the live broadcasts via FCM TV will earn in-game currency
Esports In Africa
Carry1st Africa Cup 2025 returns with $15,000 Call of Duty: Mobile prize pool
Over 200 teams and 1,000 players are expected to participate for a $15,000 prize pool
Earnings Report
Roblox delivers $1.04bn revenue in Q1 2025 despite $215m net loss
Users spent 21.7bn hours engaged on the platform, marking a 30% increase
Lawsuit
Apple files appeal against court's App Store ruling
The company has denied violating the court's order in a previous lawsuit filed by Epic Games
Trump Tariffs
Trump’s film industry tariffs: Will game movie adaptations be sentenced or spared?
The US president calls incentives drawing US filmmakers to other countries a "national security threat"
Tech Talent
OP Financial Group joins Supercell to back tuition-free coding school Hive Helsinki
In five years Hive has helped 245 people launch tech careers in Finland
Sold Shares
Liftoff welcomes new investor as General Atlantic acquires minority stake
Blackstone will continue to hold the majority of shares
Gameexpo Summit
Showcasing the Sponsors! Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025
Meet the leading companies that make our May 7–8 conference possible
Hot Five
Hot Five: Game over for "Apple tax", Overwatch Mobile distribution plans, and Pokémon TCG Pocket beats Go in first six months
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Strategic Review
Stillfront launches strategic review as it eyes asset sales amid revenue decline
The company has also tapped capital market firm Carnegie and Aream as financial advisors to assist with its strategic review
Marvellous Mena
GEM Capital MD and Jetapult CEO talk MENA investments and unlocking the region's potential
Roman Gurskiy and Sharan Tulsiani discuss what they look for in startups, common founder mistakes, and how MENA game studios can attract global capital
Week In Views
Dream Games lands CVC investment and Pokémon TGC Pocket nears $1bn | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Acqusitions
Super League acquires Supersocial to expand interactive brand integrations on Roblox
Superficial CEO Mr. Raz-Fridman will now serve as an advisor to Super League
Developer Tools
Stripe launches guide for iOS external payments amid Apple's policy changes
The team has prepared a guide to walk developers through how they can accept payments using the platform