Accelerator Program
Saudi Arabia’s NEOM to welcome 10 studios for largest Level Up accelerator cohort
Initiative designed for teams that have developed a minimum viable product or a vertical slice of their game
Hot Five
Hot Five: Clash of Clans: The Epic Raid board game, Machine Zone CEO out, and Final Fantasy XIV Mobile’s tentative launch date
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Valorant Mobile
Riot Games’ Valorant Mobile set for China launch
Hero shooter coming to global markets at a later date
Podcast | Episode 50
AppLovin and Machine Zone layoffs, celebrity marketing, and Supercell's aversion to soft launch | 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 50...
Transmedia
A Minecraft Movie and The Last of Us fly the transmedia flag
A look at the successes and failures of games spinning off into other entertainment mediums
Game Jam
Savvy Games Group and HP launch climate-themed Game Jam in Saudi Arabia
The top three teams will then join the Savvy Incubator program in September
Minecraft Movie
A Minecraft movie soars past $550m at the box office
The film initially made $301m globally in its first two days
New Games
New release roundup: Disney Solitaire, Jetpack Joyride Racing, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Board Game Branding
Clash of Clans: The Epic Raid board game to launch on Kickstarter with early pledge reward
Supercell has teamed up with Maestro Media to launch the project on Kickstarter this month
Job Losses
Machine Zone CEO out as AppLovin lays off 97 staff
Machine Zone CEO and design director out as ad tech firm makes another round of job cuts
Web3 & Ai
Saga’s Rebecca Liao on how AI agents can power mobile game retention
Saga’s CEO on bringing a Hero Hunters game character to life
Mo.co Milestone
Supercell’s Mo.co surpasses $2.5m in under a month
The Clash of Clans maker’s latest title launched globally on March 18th
Indian Iphones
Apple airlifted $2bn worth of iPhones from India in March to evade Trump tariffs
The imports marked a substantial increase from January and February
Layoff News
Niantic Spatial lays off 68 staff after $3.5bn games business sale to Scopely
The redundancies affect the newly formed company which launched with $250m in funding
Marketing Strategies
Dream Games taps LeBron James, Jimmy Fallon, Shakira and more for Royal Kingdom marketing campaigns
Actors from The Big Bang Theory also brought in for celebrating marketing campaigns
Market Report
Gaming VC deals rose 35% in Q1 2025 to $373m
But deal value was down 41% year-over-year
Done Deal
SayGames’ idle arcade games portfolio surpasses $300m
SayGames is publishing LoadComplete’s Chainsaw Juice King as the "first of many partnerships" with South Korean studios
Minecraft Mobile
Minecraft’s daily mobile revenue hits three-year high at $969,000 after A Minecraft Movie’s release
The mobile version has its most lucrative day since Christmas 2021 on April 12th, 2025
Developers Contest
Neowiz launches indie game dev program with a $115,000 prize pool
The contest is open to all indie game developers, teams, and entrepreneurs at no cost
Expansions
KGeN opens MENA HQ in Bahrain
The new office will serve as a bridge between gaming, communities and global publishers
New Partnerships
Rise Worldwide and Blast partner to boost India’s esports scene
The joint venture will lead to new games, teams, sponsors, and investments
Game Analysis
Trillions upon trillions of variations: A data-driven look at a midcore battler’s meta
Azur Games’ Vasily Novoselov takes a deep dive into the data that drives the midcore battler Kingdom Clash
Major Milestone
Bleach: Brave Souls hits 100m installs ahead of 10th anniversary
KLab’s action gacha title first released in Japan in July 2015
New Offerings
Wuhan opens first mini-game incubation base in China
Tencent, AWS and others have reportedly signed on to launch operations at the new base
Esports In Mena
Savvy Games Group and Saudi Esports Federation Sign MoU to boost Saudi Arabia esports sector
The MoU will create internship opportunities for graduates of the Saudi Esports Academy
Trade Wars
Confusion as Trump tariffs temporarily exempt smartphones
US administration plans to open investigations into the electronics supply chain, claims the US President
Hot Five
Hot Five: Trump tariffs turmoil, Agonalea Games’ $2m funding, and games M&A hits $6.6bn in Q1
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 49
Trump tariffs chaos and Supercell doubles down on celebrity marketing and investments | 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 49...
Week In Views
Supercell's investment push, Minecraft movie rakes in $301m, and industry M&A hits $6.6bn | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Five New Games
New release roundup: Black Mirror: Thronglets, Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE, Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic+, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Global Divisions
Political maelstrom: Trade wars and rivalries are shaking up games and tech
How the week's upheavals are creating uncertainty as to what happens next
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: What are Nintendo Switch 2's chances of success and is there an opportunity for mobile devs?
As Nintendo prepares for the launch of the Switch 2 we spoke to our Mobile Mavens to get their insights on the next big console release
Investment News
Argentina studio Agonalea Games raises $2m to shake up tower defence genre
Investor Mika Games backs studio and its hybridcasual title Punko.io
Major M&a
Games industry M&A hit $6.6bn in Q1 2025 with mobile domination led by Scopely
The figure was a two-year high and more than doubled Q1 2024’s result, according to Aream & Co.’s first quarterly Video Game Market Update report
Content Check
Roblox launches new parental controls to block specific friends and experiences
The update builds upon Roblox allowing parents to view friends lists
Prize Pool
Esports World Cup 2025 to feature record-breaking $70m+ prize pool
New games joining the lineup include Valorant and Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves
Supercent Game Challenge
Supercent announces 4th Supercent Game Challenge to discover future hitmakers
Enter the Supercent Game Challenge - with a prize pool of $2,000,000
From Tv To Games
How Netflix and Charlie Brooker are turning Black Mirror into more than just a TV show
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker and Netflix’s GM of narrative games Sean Krankel share details on the collaborative process behind the new game Thronglets
Trade Wars
Trump gives most countries 90-day pause on tariffs as China trade war escalates
Most countries will see a universal 10% levy, while China is hit with new 125% charges on imports
Pgc Barcelona
Indie developers! Level up your game at PG Connects Barcelona 2025
Make the most of our exclusive opportunities to showcase your studio this June 3rd to 4th
Feathered Film Forecast
The Angry Birds Movie 3 set for January 29th, 2027 release
The third entry will release over 10 years on from the original The Angry Birds Movie
Pgc London Fireside Chats
MORE expertise, experience and insight - another six superb fireside chats from PGC London 2025
HyprMX's fireside chats from PGC London 2025 continue with the speakers, business leaders and pioneers who are changing the future of mobile games.
Deal Tracker
Show Me The Money: Scopely acquires Niantic's games business for $3.5bn, and Tencent invests $1.25bn in Ubisoft in March 2025
Our deal tracker highlights the key acquisitions, investments, and partnerships from the last month
Earth Day
PlanetPlay launches Earth Day 2025 campaign with Sybo, Niantic, Sir Ian Livingstone and others
Livingstone and other celebrity ambassadors have been confirmed ahead of the 55th Earth Day on April 22nd
Trade Wars
Trump tariffs come into effect as economic turmoil continues
Hardware manufacturers Nintendo, Apple and Samsung face challenges amid emerging trade wars
Charity Chair
The IGDA Foundation appoints Microsoft veteran Shannon Loftis as new chair of the board
Loftis has stepped in after Ed Fries spent two years at the helm
Mena Month
How Savvy aims to grow its games empire after $3.5bn Niantic deal
PocketGamer.biz speaks to CEO Brian Ward about buying the Pokémon Go developer Niantic, how it works with Scopely, and its plans outside of mobile
Smadex Ctv Guide
The Smadex Connected TV Guide: A must-read for any marketer
Unlock the full potential of CTV
Minecraft Money
A Minecraft Movie earns $301m in first two days, double its production budget
Celebrities continue to cash in on games, with A Minecraft Movie stars including Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Danielle Brooks
Welsh Waves
Welsh generative AI games studio 10six Games comes out of stealth with six-figure investment
Susan Cummings, Lee Cummings and Nick Button-Brown are all involved, as are "so many women"