January 26, 2026

D2c Moment

Inside mobile's DTC moment: Control, margins, and the user relationship

Digital Turbine EVP of global strategy and partnerships Matt Tubergen discusses a new era of direct-to-consumer that spans distribution, monetisation and marketing

January 26, 2026

Cloud Gaming

Netflix unveils new cloud-first direction for its games strategy

Netflix plans to expand cloud-based games on TV as it moves beyond mobile

January 26, 2026

Hot Five

Hot Five: PGC London talks, MoneyTime’s $3m seed round, and mobile’s $167bn year in IAP revenue

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

January 26, 2026

Mentorship

Supercell opens applications for AI Innovation Lab programme

The nine-week programme is designed for top-tier AI and games founders turning early ideas into breakthrough products

January 25, 2026

Ai Workshop

Sign up for AI Basics: Thrills or Chills? free workshop with Martin Percy

Continue the conversation: free workshop with the award-winning director

January 23, 2026

Week In Views

Ubisoft's Creative House restructure, RuneScape's big milestone and industry optimism at PGC London | Week in Views

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

January 23, 2026

New Games

New release roundup: Crossplay, Dragon Traveler, Arknights: Endfield, and more

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

January 23, 2026

New Partnerships

Court reveals secret $800m deal between Google and Epic Games amid antitrust case

The deal was revealed during a court hearing in San Francisco, with a judge questioning its impact on Epic’s legal demands

January 22, 2026

Company Restructure

Ubisoft moves mobile studios and IP into new Creative House under wide-ranging restructure

The reset is built around a new operating model, a refocused content roadmap and accelerated cost-reduction measures

January 22, 2026

Pgc London

Around 60% of Snapchat ads are for games

Snapchat’s Sara Antonelli spoke at PGC London about "impressive" Playables results

January 22, 2026

Investment News

ZBD lands $40m Series C financing to accelerate growth in games and app payments

The funding will support the company's expansion as a licensed, vertically integrated payments provider built for games

January 22, 2026

Charity Campaign

Aviagames raises over $136,000 through Wonderland Wishes charity campaign

Funds raised will support toys, care kits, bicycles and educational resources for children in foster care

January 21, 2026

Pgc Summit San Francisco

Stay ahead of the curve at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit San Francisco on March 9th

A high-impact summit connecting you with the right contacts to drive partnerships and momentum at the start of a crucial industry week

January 21, 2026

Funding For Games

Anka Ventures launches early-stage VC fund targeting mobile games and apps

The fund was established by VLMedia to help founders scale internationally through network access and follow-on funding

January 21, 2026

Funding News

UK government opens bids for £27m creative industries cluster funding

The move forms part of the next phase of the creative industries sector plan under the Industrial Strategy

January 21, 2026

Expansions

Outfit7 launches PlayValley to expand into PC and mobile game development

The new studio is developing original new IPs aimed at expanding Outfit7’s portfolio beyond its existing franchises

January 21, 2026

Accelerator Program

Ukie and Tencent expand Games Growth Programme with 30 UK studios in new cohort

The programme combines an Accelerator track for emerging studios with a Scale-up track for high-growth companies

January 21, 2026

Developer Support

Arcade launches data-first publishing model for casual and hybrid-casual studios

The publisher’s model centres on analytics-driven decision-making and hands-on product execution

January 21, 2026

Market Report

Global mobile in-app purchase revenue hit $167bn in 2025

Over 280,000 apps were downloaded per minute, reaching 149 billion downloads in 2025 according to a new report from Sensor Tower

January 21, 2026

Live Ops

Live ops in 2026: What 2025 revealed and how studios should prepare

Balancy's leaders speak on the evolution of live ops and what comes next for studios

January 20, 2026

Aurora Award

Aurora celebrates women in the UK games industry

Ten women recognised for leadership, creativity, sustainability and long-term industry impact live at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026

January 20, 2026

Esports World Cup

Esports World Cup 2026 to feature a $75m total prize pool

The winning Club will earn $7m as part of the expanded Club Championship payouts

January 20, 2026

Pgc Summit San Francisco

Save up to $300 on PGC Summit San Francisco

Super Early Bird prices end at midnight Thursday, January 22nd

January 20, 2026

New Partnerships

Coda partners with Unity to integrate in-app purchasing into web store platforms 

Developers can manage digital catalogues across mobile, web, and PC through Unity’s existing IAP workflow

January 20, 2026

Milestone

RuneScape surpasses $3bn in lifetime revenue as Jagex marks 25th anniversary

The RS25 programme is positioned as the most ambitious evolution in RuneScape’s history

January 20, 2026

Talent Development

Belfast XR Festival launches £200,000 immersive development programme

Teams will receive stipends, mentoring, masterclasses, and hands-on prototyping support

January 20, 2026

Growth Strategies

How developers can build games for the long haul and why not every project is cut out for it

Sergey Martinkevich talks on long-term growth in a mobile market dominated by legacy hits

January 19, 2026

Vision 2030

Scotland targets £1bn games sector by 2030 with new national action plan

The plan reframes games as a driver of economic growth, skills development and cross-sector innovation

January 19, 2026

Regulations

Italy watchdog opens probes into Activision Blizzard over mobile game monetisation

Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile are under scrutiny for allegedly misleading free-to-play practices

January 19, 2026

Funding News

Turborilla secures $5m non-dilutive user acquisition funding to accelerate growth

The studio reported its strongest financial performance in more than three years in December

January 19, 2026

Pgc London

Thanks to the sponsors of Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026

The fantastic companies that make this week's two-day event possible

January 19, 2026

New Offerings

Orbital expands to PC after surpassing 200,000 downloads on mobile

The mobile title recorded more than 180,000 hours of player engagement since its 2022 launch

January 19, 2026

Industry Insights

When should a mobile games studio hire a CFO?

Martin Macmillan explores why finance leadership in mobile games is driven by complexity not just revenue

January 17, 2026

Week In Views

Legal pressure in the Warner Bros. deal and Umamusume expands to US cinemas | Week in Views

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

January 16, 2026

Strategic Move

Spry Fox founders take substantial pay cuts following Netflix buyback 

The founders reduced their salaries to $20,000 per year during the "extremely fast" sale

January 16, 2026

New Games

New release roundup: A Webbing Journey, MU: Dark Awakening, Motto Immortal, and more

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

January 16, 2026

Milestone

Game District surpasses 2.2 billion downloads in 2025

The mobile developer reached a peak of 22m daily active users last year

January 16, 2026

Next Steps

Krafton enters execution phase of long-term franchise IP strategy

The publisher plans to increase first-party investment while expanding its publishing output and tightening resource allocation

January 15, 2026

Subway Surfers City

Subway Surfers City opens pre-registrations ahead of February launch

The "next chapter" for the Subway Surfers IP will release on February 26th, 2026

January 15, 2026

Hybrid Monetisation Domination

IAA, IAP, or both? Why hybrid monetisation now dominates mobile apps

Hybrid monetisation may have emerged from the hypercasual games genre, but is now becoming the dominant business model across multiple app categories.

January 15, 2026

Market Growth

German games sector hits €3.73bn in revenue

Federal games funding has been a key growth driver, providing studios with $145m in annual support

January 15, 2026

Pgc Summit San Francisco

PG Connects returns to San Francisco with a streamlined mobile-centric summit in 2026

A focused gateway to the mobile games sector, March 9th

January 15, 2026

Funding News

Liquidnitro Games raises $19.1m to scale AI-driven live services platform 

The company is targeting growth across India, MENA, and Southeast Asia

January 15, 2026

Funding News

TaleMonster Games raises $30m Series A to scale Match Valley

The Istanbul-based studio plans to scale its debut title and launch a second game later this year

January 15, 2026

Direct-to-consumer

Appcharge: US web store purchases are 3x higher on average than payment links

Appcharge claims 65% of one-time buyers on web stores make a second purchase

January 14, 2026

Milestone

Scopely’s Monopoly Go fastest mobile game to hit $6 billion

Hit title hit the milestone in 1,275 days, according to Sensor Tower estimates

January 14, 2026

Pgc London

Meet the British Columbia games industry at PG Connects London

Connect with East Side Games, Hyper Hippo, A Thinking Ape, Smoking Gun Interactive and more

January 14, 2026

Theatre Time

Umamusume: Pretty Derby movie marked for US theatrical release

Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era will be the franchise’s first theatrical release in North America, coming February 27th

January 14, 2026

Jobs Roundup

January 2026's Movers and Shakers: Meta Reality Labs lays off dev relations head, Jagex creative design director exits, Unity's Larry Hryb is out, and more

Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers

January 14, 2026

Going Public

Liftoff files for IPO in the US

IPO proceeds are expected to be used for general corporate purposes and to repay outstanding debt