The UK games industry's £30m boost and Grow a Garden transforms Roblox | Week in Mobile Games podcast

Podcast | Episode 58

The UK games industry's £30m boost and Grow a Garden transforms Roblox | 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 58...

Why government support is key to games industry growth, and Uma Musume: Pretty Derby's global launch | Week in Views

Why government support is key to games industry growth, and Uma Musume: Pretty Derby's global launch | Week in Views

The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories

Nominations for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025 end soon

Nominations for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025 end soon

Submit your favourites across 22 categories before Friday, June 27th

Apple adds new fees to the EU App Store as it battles with the DMA

Here We Go Again

Apple adds new fees to the EU App Store as it battles with the DMA

Tech giant adds initial acquisition fee, store services charge and Core Technology Commission

New release roundup: Marvel Mystic Mayhem, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, Lego Fortnite Expeditions and more

New release roundup: Marvel Mystic Mayhem, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, Lego Fortnite Expeditions and more

We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week

Carry1st’s Dominion Ero partners with Udemy to launch game development programme for African youth

Developer Learning

Carry1st’s Dominion Ero partners with Udemy to launch game development programme for African youth

The Initiative aims to provide a structured learning path covering industry fundamentals

A pocket guide to Pocket Gamer Connects 2025

Pocket Gamer Connects

A pocket guide to Pocket Gamer Connects 2025

Supporting the global games industry one conference at a time

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby launches globally today after racing to $2.6bn on mobile in Japan

Horse Girls Are Here

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby launches globally today after racing to $2.6bn on mobile in Japan

Cygames’ horse girl game has launched in English more than one year on from reveal, and four years after release in Japan

Why game publishers come to Shanghai

Discover Shanghai

Why game publishers come to Shanghai

Discover the Chinese game sector's new talents and opportunities, July 30th

King crowns 2025 Candy Crush Saga All Stars champion and dishes out $1m prize pool

King crowns 2025 Candy Crush Saga All Stars champion and dishes out $1m prize pool

Tiago P from Portugal won this year’s tournament, claiming $500,000 in prize money

Garena Free Fire celebrates 8th anniversary with Squid Game crossover

Garena Free Fire celebrates 8th anniversary with Squid Game crossover

The collaboration will allow Free Fire players to experience Squid Game challenges from the Netflix TV show

Supercell launches Brawl Stars as minigame on Tencent’s WeChat, Clash Royale following soon

New Partnerships

Supercell launches Brawl Stars as minigame on Tencent’s WeChat, Clash Royale following soon

The Squad Busters maker wants to leverage the market’s growth and the rising popularity of lightweight, instantly playable games

Why the future of game studio success is operational, not just creative

Ops + Creative = Games

Why the future of game studio success is operational, not just creative

'When everyone has access to the same powerful tools, the same distribution channels, and the same marketing megaphones, how do you stand out?"

Microsoft to slash more Xbox jobs as part of wider workforce reduction

Layoffs Imminent

Microsoft to slash more Xbox jobs as part of wider workforce reduction

This could mark the fourth major layoff at Xbox in the past 18 months

FreePlay surpasses 2bn lifetime installs after expanding into hybridcasual

Portfolio Prowess

FreePlay surpasses 2bn lifetime installs after expanding into hybridcasual

The developer and publisher’s games are available in more than 175 countries, with standouts including Count Masters, Twerk Race 3D and Zombie Apocalypse

Google quietly launches HTML5 games hub Instant Games on select Android devices

The new app allows users to access a selection of games without downloading them separately

Embedded finance: A new breed of lending products in mobile games and apps

Embedded finance: A new breed of lending products in mobile games and apps

Mobile Finance Collective founder Martin Macmillan shares his insights on a new financing mechanic for games that hasn’t been seen before

How Suitsme’s Gala Iefremova is driving growth in fashion games and building opportunities for women

Industry Insights

How Suitsme’s Gala Iefremova is driving growth in fashion games and building opportunities for women

CEO & founder of w7g Gala Iefremova shares on how the fashion genre is adapting beyond a niche and supporting women in games

ChinaJoy 2025 to break records, now with one-day industry access via Pocket Gamer Connects

Gateway To Chinajoy

ChinaJoy 2025 to break records, now with one-day industry access via Pocket Gamer Connects

Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai on July 30 includes one-day entry to ChinaJoy

Roblox’s Grow a Garden hits industry record 21.3m concurrent users, surpassing PUBG, Fortnite and more

Roblox’s Grow a Garden hits industry record 21.3m concurrent users, surpassing PUBG, Fortnite and more

The Roblox experience more than doubled its 8.9m record set in May

MyGamez ranked among Top 30 iOS Publishers in China for May 2025

MyGamez ranked among Top 30 iOS Publishers in China for May 2025

Sales revenue of the Chinese mobile game market in May was $2.9bn, a month-on-month increase of 3.69%

Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen on AI labs, rising costs, and why mobile games need reinvention

Industry Outlook

Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen on AI labs, rising costs, and why mobile games need reinvention

"Mobile games are no longer cheap" - but innovation is still the priority

Motorica raises €5m to accelerate AI-powered character animation and expand globally

Motorica raises €5m to accelerate AI-powered character animation and expand globally

“We're not here to upend the animation workflow, we're here to liberate it,” said Motorica CEO Willem Demmers

Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond surpasses $20m in first week

Sequel Strategy

Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond surpasses $20m in first week

Cygames’ strategy card game sequel quadrupled the original Shadowverse’s week one earnings

Kingshot surpasses $100m in just 117 days

Major Milestone

Kingshot surpasses $100m in just 117 days

Century Games has blended strategy and survival genres once again, leading to another hit game growing month-over-month

Netflix to delist over 20 mobile games from its library in July

Netflix to delist over 20 mobile games from its library in July

Games leaving include Monument Valley 3, which had a major Netflix-exclusive launch

Mind Candy CEO talks Moshi Monsters comeback: New mobile game, toys and merch are

Moshi Monsters Mobile

Mind Candy CEO talks Moshi Monsters comeback: New mobile game, toys and merch are "all on the table"

Christianne Amodio reveals the value of fan feedback and the "outpouring of support" since the Moshi Monsters comeback Kickstarter was targeted with fake pledges

True Gamers expands in Saudi Arabia with four new esports venues in Riyadh

True Gamers expands in Saudi Arabia with four new esports venues in Riyadh

The agreement marks the company’s first multi-location launch in Saudi Arabia

Apple in last-minute talks with EU to avoid fresh DMA fines

Digital Markets Act

Apple in last-minute talks with EU to avoid fresh DMA fines

EU regulators had given the company two months to comply following a $570m fine

Five takeaways from Lagos Games Week 2025: Strong networking, weak panels, and 'one hit' debate returns

Lagos Games Week Takeaways

Five takeaways from Lagos Games Week 2025: Strong networking, weak panels, and 'one hit' debate returns

The two-day event had no major announcements, but there were still plenty of talking points around the state of the African games industry

SD Gundam G Generation Eternal surpasses $100m in two months

Eternally Earning

SD Gundam G Generation Eternal surpasses $100m in two months

Bandai Namco’s recent release peaked at $3.5m in daily player spending

Honor of Kings rebrands to Honor of Kings Plus with

Honor of Kings rebrands to Honor of Kings Plus with "biggest version update yet"

Tencent’s flagship is the highest-grossing mobile game in the world, with a revamp coming shortly after record revenue

Bluey joins Fruit Ninja Classic+ in exclusive Apple Arcade event

Bluey joins Fruit Ninja Classic+ in exclusive Apple Arcade event

The collaboration runs from June 19th to August 13th, 2025

Maliyo Games founder Hugo Obi talks investing in talent, funding challenges and launching MaliyoCon

Marvellous Mena

Maliyo Games founder Hugo Obi talks investing in talent, funding challenges and launching MaliyoCon

"Mobile gaming today is more like running a media company than launching a static product"

DanMachi Battle Chronicle to shut down this September

DanMachi Battle Chronicle to shut down this September

Distribution and customer support will end across all platforms, including the App Store, Google Play, and PC

Last chance to nominate for Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025

Last chance to nominate for Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2025

Submit your favourites across 22 categories before Friday, June 27th

SciPlay invests $4m to expand Cedar Falls studio amidst hiring push

SciPlay invests $4m to expand Cedar Falls studio amidst hiring push

The company has over 900 employees, including 145 in Cedar Falls and follows a hybrid model

The Top 50 UK Game Makers of 2025

Uk Best Of 2025

The Top 50 UK Game Makers of 2025

The UK movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!

Hot Five: Fortnite’s Blitz Royale, Moshi Monsters’ comeback Kickstarter sabotaged, and UK Government launches £30m games industry fund

Hot Five: Fortnite’s Blitz Royale, Moshi Monsters’ comeback Kickstarter sabotaged, and UK Government launches £30m games industry fund

Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz

Why Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai is an ultimate gateway to the world’s largest games market

Shanghai Summit

Why Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai is an ultimate gateway to the world’s largest games market

Explore our curated tracks offering insight on how to enter the regional market as well as grow globally

The solitaire gold rush and Finland's new immigration rules bite | Week in Mobile Games podcast

Podcast | Episode 57

The solitaire gold rush and Finland's new immigration rules bite | 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 57...

Kickstarter's curious campaigns, Finland's new immigration rules, and why publishers love solitaire | Week in Views

Kickstarter's curious campaigns, Finland's new immigration rules, and why publishers love solitaire | Week in Views

The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories

How the generative AI revolution is changing games

How the generative AI revolution is changing games

Reality and opportunity converge to spark industry disruption

Enhancing ad performance with GeeMee's AI-powered advertising solution

Ai Enhanced Ads

Enhancing ad performance with GeeMee's AI-powered advertising solution

Find out how GeeMee is enhancing ad impact through technological innovation, giving developers a competitive edge

New release roundup: Fortnite Blitz Royale, Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond, What Duck. and more

New release roundup: Fortnite Blitz Royale, Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond, What Duck. and more

We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week

Celebrate the games industry at Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards live ceremony

Mobile Games Awards

Celebrate the games industry at Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards live ceremony

Tickets are now available to our awards ceremony during Gamescom week in Cologne

Why Flexus doesn't set hard development deadlines

Behind The Scenes

Why Flexus doesn't set hard development deadlines

Flexus founder Semyon Kozyura on why new games aren’t built on deadlines but on originality and vision

David Olim explains how FootAR is reinventing the live sports experience through augmented reality

The Future Of Football?

David Olim explains how FootAR is reinventing the live sports experience through augmented reality

FootAR was recently awarded "Best Application of the Year" at VRAR Expo China. CEO David Olim explains why the augmented reality app is so revolutionary

Social platform Root raises $9m in seed funding ahead of closed beta

Social platform Root raises $9m in seed funding ahead of closed beta

Funding was led by Headline Ventures and Konvoy Ventures

Workers at mobile studio Ubisoft Halifax file to unionise

Workers at mobile studio Ubisoft Halifax file to unionise

Of the developer's 60 staff, 39 have publicly said they want to unionise with CWA Canada