Online Safety
UK government votes against blanket social media ban for under-16s
The government is consulting on whether games, AI chatbots and social media should face stricter controls
Kingshot Crown
Kingshot’s first year: $800m, 11 months of growth, but backlash from whales
Century Games’ Kingshot was the most lucrative new mobile release of 2025
Monetisation In Africa
Africa’s monetisation debate: founders weigh in on mobile, PC, and the realities of game revenue
Several founders warn that treating Africa as a single gaming market ignores the continent’s diverse economic and payment realities
Jobs Roundup
March 2026's Movers and Shakers: Pokémon’s product marketing manager, multiple King promotions, founding Rocket Game Talent, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Market Report
Vietnam’s mobile games market reached $825m in revenue in 2025
The country now has around 54m gamers, placing it among the world’s top seven markets by mobile game downloads
Developer Support
Tenjin joins Turkish government incentives programme for game developers
Eligible Turkish studios can now receive government reimbursement when using Tenjin’s services
Event Report
Pocket Gamer Connects Summit San Francisco smashed expectations
Mobile-focused business event sets the tone for GDC week, bringing together leading games companies from around the world
Generate Identify & Scale Playables
Beyond the guesswork: introducing Playable Factory’s AI-generated playables
How Playable Factory is using over 50 billion playable sessions to move beyond the ‘guess and check’ era
Bossfight Comeback
Squid Game: Unleashed dev Boss Fight Entertainment relaunches as indie studio Bossfight
The original studio was shuttered under Netflix due to a change in course at the streaming giant
New Offerings
Epic Games cuts V-Bucks bundles as Fortnite pricing update rolls out
Players will receive fewer V-Bucks across most purchase tiers under the new pricing structure
Mobile Mavens
“Finally, real evolution in the app store”: The Mobile Mavens weigh in on Google Play changes
Our Mobile Mavens share their insights on the latest Google Play changes and what they could mean for developers and the mobile games industry
Compatibility Test
Rovio’s Beacon tech "indispensable" to its own games but less compatible with Sega’s
Sega has yet to achieve "the level of results that had been expected" prior to Rovio’s acquisition
Industry Insights
How Azur Games increased retention and doubled revenue with Hidden Objects 2
Daria Korbyleva explains how structural design and live ops helped Hidden Objects 2 outperform its predecessor
Friends And Features
Discord expands its Social SDK with native mobile linking and focus on friends
Discord users will now see a linked friend’s status in-game, such as competing or watching
Layoff News
Electronic Arts lays off an undisclosed number of employees across multiple Battlefield studios
The cuts impact teams at Criterion Games, DICE, Ripple Effect Studios and Motive Studio
New Office
Maysalward opens new headquarters in Amman
The new office will host The Capsule, a programme designed to expand the studio’s capacity-building efforts
Market Report
Around 70% of UK adults are gaming with increasing focus on social connections
One in four UK players expect to spend less time on social media to make room for gaming
Portugal's Game Dev Scene
Redcatpig’s Marco Bettencourt on making games in The Azores
Redcatpig released its first vehicular combat game, KEO, in Early Access in 2021 and is in the process of developing its second title, Hovershock
Data Insights
5 takeaways from the ThinkingData Summit: AI, drowning in data, and Habby's secret sauce
Insights from speakers at Blizzard, Habby, Mavis Games, Reality Games and ThinkingData
Acquisition
NCSoft acquires 70% of JustPlay in $205m deal to expand its games portfolio
The South Korean publisher will strengthen its European presence through the acquisition
Scopely Celebration
Scopely celebrates 15 years with more than $15bn in lifetime revenue
The publisher has achieved over 150bn hours of playtime across its portfolio
Apple Troubles
German publishers urge antitrust fine against Apple ATT
Industry groups say Apple’s proposed ATT changes fail to resolve competition concerns
New Partnerships
Sumo Digital partners with Arm to explore AI-powered "PC-class" graphics for mobile games
Arm’s neural technology adds AI accelerators to GPUs to push mobile visuals closer to PC quality
Ai And Leadership
ZiMAD’s Anastasia Zaiceva on AI adoption, sustainable growth and advancing diversity in games
Zaiceva discusses how AI is reshaping mobile game development and how the industry can continue improving gender diversity in senior roles
Rainbow Six Start
Rainbow Six Mobile snaps up $1.6m in first 14 days
Player spending has been led by the US since global launch, already surpassing any country with soft launch access
Building A Brand
Angry Birds: "unfair advantage", marketing strategies, and competing in the UA auction
We speak with Rovio’s VP of marketing Luis de la Camara during Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026
Clash Comeback
Clash Royale celebrates 10 years and $4.9bn in player spending after resurgence
2025 was a major comeback year for the title, bolstered by changes to daily battles, influencers and more
New Offerings
Roblox launches Incubator and Jumpstart programmes to help developers build more advanced games for its platform
The company is pushing for a new generation of Roblox experiences that go beyond the traditional look
Market Report
Mobile accounts for 55% of total games revenue in 2025 as studios shift towards retention
A new Adjust report shows day one retention across gaming apps reached 27% in 2025
Creator Crossover
PUBG Mobile teases MrBeast collab as eighth anniversary approaches
The version 4.3 update is set to launch on March 12th as part of PUBG Mobile’s eighth anniversary celebrations
Growth Markets
Why growth is moving to game markets like China, MENA and Spain
Three of the regional game sectors driving the next phase of growth in 2026
Pgc Summit San Francisco
How important is the power of a publishing label?
PGC Summit San Francisco panel asks the age old industry question: should you self-publish or use a publisher?
Us Best Of 2026
The Top 30 US Mobile Game Makers of 2026
The US movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!
Pgc Summit San Francisco
Discord’s plans for acquisition, retention and monetisation
Senior developer advocate Anthony Tešija discusses the messaging platform's current and upcoming features for engaging players with your game
Pgc Summit San Francisco
PGC Summit San Francisco kicks off with Second Dinner, Scopely, Discord, Helika and more
Mobile-focused one-day conference set to bring together games industry professionals as GDC week begins
Women In Games
Dr Marie-Claire Isaaman on driving gender equality in the games industry
Isaaman explains why gender equality isn't optional and how embedding fairness at every level strengths performance
Developer Support
Tech firms urge Google to abandon developer registration for apps distributed outside the Play Store
An open letter warns that the policy could undermine the historic openness of the Android ecosystem
Industry Signal
What Loom Games' $1bn exit with 20 people tells us about the future of game studio hiring
The Loom Games acquisition isn't just a great exit story. It's a signal that the games industry hasn't fully reckoned with yet
Online Safety
Türkiye proposes new regulations for digital platforms and game distributors
Digital game distributors may be required to appoint a local representative to operate in the country
Winners Revealed
Ukie reveals winners of its UK Video Game Awards 2026 alongside Hall of Fame honours
PowerWash Simulator was crowned Best UK Mobile Game at the UK Video Game Awards 2026
Trump's Tariffs
Nintendo is suing the US government over Trump’s tariffs
Nintendo’s net profit were up 51% with the Switch 2’s release, but may have seen even greater growth without tariffs in the US
Hot Five
Hot Five: Google cuts mobile games fee, AppsFlyer halts $1.9bn sale talks, and Hay Day Match unveiled
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
International Women's Day
Leading with impact: Ada Mockute Jaime on growth, inclusion and global games strategy
Nordcurrent CMO Ada Mockute Jaime discusses data-driven growth and why diverse teams build stronger global games
Week In Views
UK online safety consultation raises questions for games, and Pokémon’s $10bn mobile success | 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: Stoneage Idle Adventure, Hatch Dragons, Angry Birds Friends, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Pgc Summit San Francisco
Meet Tencent, Scopely, Jam City, Discord and more at PGC Summit San Francisco
From indie developers to the biggest brands in mobile represented at the games business event on March 9th
Funding News
Cheer Games raises $4.5m pre-seed to build puzzle franchises
The studio plans to use the funding to develop new puzzle titles and expand its Barcelona team
Speaker Spotlight
Tebex's Liam Wiltshire: "New regulations quietly change who owns the player relationship"
The monetisation platform's VP and GM discusses monetisation, UGC and cross-platform gaming ahead of his PGC Summit San Francisco talk
500 Million Lifetime Downloads
Avakin Life surpasses 500 million downloads, cementing 12-year legacy as a global powerhouse
Lockwood Publishing's Avakin Life surpasses 500 million lifetime downloads, as the platform celebrates 12 years of continuous growth
New Offerings
Roblox launches AI-powered chat system that automatically rephrases inappropriate messages
The feature replaces blocked text with more respectful language while preserving the original meaning