Raring To Go
Pokémon anime will lean into mobile portfolio with Unite, Sleep and Pokémon Go references teased
The new arc of Pokémon Horizons will begin on May 22nd, with more time to fill before the next main series games
New Era
Apple CEO Tim Cook to step down
Apple senior VP of hardware engineering John Ternus will replace him in the top job from September 1st, 2026
Mobile Mavens
“Government support has moved from a nice-to-have benefit to a priority”: The Mobile Mavens on where games studios choose to build
Our Mobile Mavens discuss whether government support has become essential for studios competing in the global games market
Government Backing
The UK's games hub gets a boost in the face of global competition
A look at UK and global incentives for the games industry and their impact
Smash Out Of Stealth
Smash Games secures $2m UA financing to scale Animal Suika
PvX Partners led the round, supporting UA on mobile
Collab Central
Wuthering Waves lands collabs with Angry Birds, Resident Evil, Pragmata and more
Character designs will feature on the new Expedition Motorbike, introduced in version 3.0
New Partnerships
SayGames expands into Vietnam with BagMaster Isekai
The partnership signals SayGames’ push into Southeast Asia
Settlement Reached
Ubisoft Halifax workers approve settlement following sudden studio closure
Terms of the deal remain confidential but mark a key outcome for affected workers
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s strategy, Aptoide vs Google, and the UK Games Fund’s £28.5m pledge
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week In Views
Xbox Game Pass’ value debate and Doki Doki Literature Club’s policy clash | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Funding News
Reforged Studios secures $30m to scale global games IP platform
The funding follows the company’s acquisition of German publisher Headup
New Offerings
Roblox launches agentic AI tools to speed up game development workflows
The company said 44% of top creators already rely on AI tools across Roblox’s ecosystem
Industry Outlook
Layoffs leave over half of redundant games workers still jobless
New report from Skillsearch shows budget cuts are among the top three reasons for industry redundancies
Adaptations
Paramount's Call of Duty film set for June 2028 release date
Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg lead the adaptation of the shooter franchise
Disney Deluge
Disney Solitaire celebrates first anniversary with $230.9m in player spending
Total earnings are likely higher including D2C and ad revenue
Rewarded Ads
Almedia responds after Freecash removal from App Store and Google Play
The company said media reports behind the removal were misleading and is working towards a resolution
New Partnerships
Highrise partners with Neopets for a limited-time mobile crossover
Weekly free Neopet giveaways will run throughout the event
App Delisting
Freecash removed from App Store and Google Play after data scrutiny
The app’s removal follows scrutiny over data practices and marketing tactics
New Games
New release roundup: Jetpack Joyride Racing, Mongil: Star Dive, Chill with You: Lo-Fi Story, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Thinking Ai Launches Agentic Engine
ThinkingAI and MiniMax Announce Partnership on Agentic Engine to Deliver Real-Time Operations
ThinkingData has rebranded as ThinkingAI and partnered with MiniMax to launch Agentic Engine - an autonomous enterprise agentic platform designed to disrupt traditional data analysis
Studio Startup
Barcelona-based Side Quest Games establishes to make sports games for "underserved" fans
The studio has been co-founded by Alexandre Besenval and Oscar Jardi
Settlement Reached
Roblox agrees $12.5m deal to enhance child safety
The company is committing $10m to programmes encouraging children to engage in offline activities
Strategic Move
Amazon ends third-party support on Luna as service shifts strategy
All subscriptions bought via Luna will be automatically cancelled after the next billing cycle
Anniversary
Starvania Studios CEO reflects on four years of growth, Bahamut breakthrough and what comes next
“We once nearly lost hope of getting Bahamut and the Waqwaq Tree to the finish line, and now it is an award-winning success across multiple platforms”
Industry Insights
Why game developers should prioritise player trust over instant dopamine
Jaroslav Stacevic says that game developers should focus on respecting players’ time and building trust
Pokemon Unite
Pokémon UNITE WCS 2026 India Qualifier revealed with $25,000 prize pool
The winning team will represent India at the World Championship Finals in San Francisco
Job News
Imperia Online taps Mario Vasilev as new chief operating officer
New COO role targets improved efficiency and collaboration across teams
Investment News
Sony launches Innovation Fund 4 as venture platform targets $534m in assets
The PlayStation company begins deploying capital from its latest fund, targeting high-growth startups
Competition Case
Aptoide sues Google over alleged Android App Store monopoly
Aptoide claims Google unfairly steers developers toward the Play Store while limiting rival app stores
Partnership Extension
Games for Change and Tencent expand Raising Good Gamers initiative to support families
The programme focuses on promoting healthy play, respectful behaviour and positive gaming communities
Finding Funds
Mission Control Games launches with $4m pre-seed to rethink casual puzzle design
The funding will be used to grow the team and build its first title
Milestone
War Robots marks 12th anniversary as My.Games reports 325m registered users worldwide
War Robots continues to grow adding around 20m players annually
Industry Insights
Forecasting mobile game profitability: How publishers predict UA performance
Iaroslav Kobozev discusses how mobile studios predict long-term profitability from early user acquisition performance
New Studio
New studio Kemet Entertainment opens in Cairo
While starting with mobile games, the studio plans to expand into broader entertainment experiences
Digital Dice
Dice Throne launches $100k Kickstarter for digital adaptation
The digital adaptation will feature full cross-platform play across Steam, mobile and VR devices
Global Merchant Of Record
Navigating the global payments frontier - an interview with Fastspring's Christopher Bunk
“We become the seller of record in every transaction, which means we own the tax obligation, we own the fraud risk, and we handle compliance globally”
Big Indie Pitch
How pitching competitions support indie developers
Turn your indie game from work-in-progress to global launch
Enhancing Esports
ESL FACEIT Group teams up with KICK for esports streams
Viewership of Counter-Strike and Dota 2 competitions will aim to expand in the MENA region
Live & Kicking
How Tilting Point and AN Games are taking on the 4X strategy space with Avatar: Realms Collide
We chat with project director Junhyoung Lee about the developer's live ops strategy and working on the popular IP
Titan Tech
Supercell’s Titan engine: Spanning flagships to "the cheapest, oldest Android handset" in the world
The "homegrown" engine is built for mobile and aims to enable reach to as many players as possible
Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass "too expensive for players", as per leaked memo
New Microsoft Gaming EVP and CEO Asha Sharma’s internal memo has been leaked
Disney Development
Epic Games reportedly developing a Disney extraction shooter
A Bloomberg report suggests the new game will launch in November this year
Parental Controls
Roblox introduces new age-based accounts as it fights to alleviate safety concerns
UGC platform further expands parental controls and age-verification rules
Podcast | Episode 89
Ilkka's BAFTA Fellowship, record D2C revenue and the Super Mario Galaxy Movie's blockbuster opening | 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 89...
Store Policies
Google removes Doki Doki Literature Club from Play Store over policy violation
The studio is exploring alternative distribution options for Android users following the removal
Game Closure
Pocket Mortys shuts down after 10-year run
The Rick & Morty-themed RPG built a loyal audience using mechanics inspired by the Pokémon formula
Big Indie Pitch
Gnomad wins the Big Indie Pitch at PGC Summit San Francisco 2026
Find out who took the top three spots in our popular indie game developer pitching contest
Week In Views
Playtika’s next move, The Division Resurgence’s early numbers and Game of Thrones’ next mobile title | 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: Borderlands Mobile, Netflix Playground, Sea of Stars, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Out Of Nowhere
Zynga launches Borderlands Mobile on the App Store
Free-to-play mobile game appears to be developed by NaturalMotion