Investment Shift
Saudi Arabia's PIF to transfer $12bn in gaming shares to Savvy Games Group
The move includes stakes in Nintendo and Bandai Namco Holdings, strengthening Savvy’s global games portfolio
Barbie Partnership
Barbie joins the Talking Tom & Friends universe through Outfit7 partnership
Barbie will be integrated into My Talking Angela 2 in Spring
Ai In Games
Shift Up CEO says AI is key to competing with China’s game industry scale
Kim argues AI adoption will boost productivity rather than replace jobs in the games industry
Lawsuit
Paramount sues Warner Bros. Discovery over Netflix offer disclosure
The lawsuit follows WBD's rejection of Paramount’s amended tender offer to acquire the company
Industry Outlook
Games industry M&A hit a record $161bn in 2025
Electronic Arts’ $55bn buyout and Netflix’s $82.7bn acquisition of Warner Bros. dominated dealmaking during the year
New Offerings
Epic Games rolls out in-island transactions for Fortnite Creative
Creators can now sell digital items and offers using V-Bucks inside their custom Fortnite Creative islands
Layoff News
Warner Bros. Games reportedly cuts staff at San Francisco studio
Senior staff confirmed the cuts via LinkedIn, with at least one entire team affected
Hot Five
Hot Five: Four years of Savvy Games Group, Pixel Flow’s seven-figure investment, and how soft launch is changing in 2026
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week In Views
Pixel Flow attracts investment, Roblox gets global age checks and Sonic Rumble’s early results | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Transmedia Boom
Beyond games: Why transmedia has reached an inflection point
Kelly Vero, Russell Harding and Josh Chapman discuss the rise of transmedia projects
New Games
New release roundup: Heartopia, Cozy Caravan, Ichinome Monsters, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past weeks
Podcast | Episode 78
2026 games industry predictions and trends | 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 78...
Looking Ahead
The big games industry trends and stories to watch in 2026
We take a look at what's in store for the sector in the year ahead
Milestone
AppsFlyer surpasses $500m in ARR as firm reportedly nears sale
The milestone comes amid reports of a potential $2bn acquisition
Online Safety
Roblox rolls out mandatory facial age checks for in-game chat worldwide
Users must now complete an age check before they can chat with others
Game Jam
Global Game Jam aims to surpass 500,000 lifetime participants ahead of 2026 event
The annual event brings together developers, students, and creatives to build games around a shared global theme
Anniversary
Savvy Games Group CEO Brian Ward talks four years of growth, major acquisitions and what comes next
“If the people who played Scopely’s games over the last 12 months were a country, they would be the third largest country in the world"
Layoff News
Ubisoft closes Halifax studio weeks after unionisation
The closure will result in 71 employees losing their jobs
Discovery Decision
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board unanimously rejects Paramount’s latest offer
The offer was made after an $82.7 billion deal with Netflix was already agreed, meaning multiple fees would be charged for backing out
New Offerings
Roblox reveals new Homepage Feature and expands programmatic partnerships
The company said younger audiences are shifting from passive viewing to active participation in creator-led environments
Very Big Indie Pitch
Oh! Robot: Legendary Mechanic wins the Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Korea 2025
Find out who took the top three spot at PGC Korea's mobile big indie pitching content
Going Public?
Report: Discord confidentially files for US IPO
Chat platform said to be working with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co
Milestone
Mattel163 surpasses 550m players worldwide across its digital games portfolio
Players have completed more than 65bn matches globally, marking a major milestone for the publisher
Job News
Scopely-owned Niantic recruits Jori Pearsall as SVP of games
He will lead the creative and strategic direction of Scopely’s Tokyo Studio
Industry Insights
Should developers look for long-term partnerships and what makes a studio worth backing?
Evgeny Maurus shares insights on the shifting mobile games market and what studios must do to stay competitive
New Offerings
Teebik to launch Plague Inc. and Rebel Inc. in China this year
The publisher is positioning the releases as part of a broader push for premium Western mobile games in China
Steam Mobile
The mobile gaming links from Steam's 2025 top sellers list
The rankings shows how publishers are extending their franchises across platforms
New Studio
Former Boss Fight Entertainment team launch new studio Sunwise Games
The studio’s launch follows Netflix’s decision to shut down its internal games division last fall
Hot Five
Hot Five: Top grossing games of 2025, Nitro Games promotions, and New York’s mental health warnings for social media
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
D2c Revolution
Publishers bank record direct-to-consumer revenue
The latest results of the D2C revolution are in
Company Spotlight
Company Spotlight: Fluent
Find out more about how fluent helps studios acquire high-value players
New Year
Mobile Mavens' New Year's resolutions for 2026: Fewer bubbles, stop doomsaying, and sustainable growth
The Mobile Mavens share their ambitions for the coming year
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens' New Year's resolutions for 2026: Advocate through action, play more games, and keep experimenting
The Mobile Mavens share their ambitions for the coming year
Big Year
Steel Media in 2025: Supporting the games industry with our biggest ever year of events and media
Serving up 8 PGConnects conferences for 11,000 delegates, 200,000 monthly visitors to PG.Biz and1.9M+ monthly on PocketGamer.com
Mobile Mavens
Games industry predictions for 2026: Make-or-break for pandemic era investments, D2C's evolution, and rapid scaling
The Mobile Mavens gaze into the crystal ball to share their thoughts and expectations for the year ahead
Warning
New York to require mental health warnings for social media platforms
New law targets young users and platforms with "addictive" feeds, auto play or infinite scroll
Rebrand
Amir Satvat’s industry network rebrands to Always Supporting the Games Community
Support network supports hundreds of thousands of industry professionals
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens' games companies of the year 2025: Microfun, Supercent, Homa, Supercell, and more
The Mobile Mavens share which companies they think have had a notable year
Word Rivals
NYT Games comes for Scopely and Zynga with Crossplay
Media firm to compete with Words With Friends and Scrabble Go
Trade Union
Ubisoft Halifax workers unionise
74% of staff voted yes to forming the union and join CWA Canada
Company Spotlight
Company Spotlight: Tebex
Find out more about the monetisation platform used by Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive
Opening Up
Japan cracks open the App Store and Google Play to rival payment providers and marketplaces
Top mobile platforms must now let developers use alternative payment providers and let users install rival marketplaces
Best Of 2025
Isa Muhammad's top stories of 2025: Saudi Arabia’s $55bn EA bid, Roblox growth, Netflix’s Warner Bros gamble, and more
PocketGamer.biz MENA reporter Isa Muhammad revisits his top stories from 2025
Best Of 2025
Aaron Astle’s top stories of 2025: Solitaire’s surge, Nintendo Switch 2, and Pokémon TCG Pocket dethrones Pokémon Go
PocketGamer.biz news editor Aaron Astle revisits his top stories from 2025
Best Of 2025
Paige Cook's top stories of 2025: Squad Busters shutdown, a transmedia boom, the Digital Fairness Act and more
PocketGamer.biz deputy editor Paige Cook highlights some of the top stories of 2025
Regulation
Brazil’s Apple App Store set to open up to alternative payments in 2026
Apple has introduced a set of new fees as part of three-year deal with regulator CADE
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens on the biggest games industry trends of 2025: Slow growth, AI experimentation, web shops, and more
Our Mobile Mavens share the trends that are shaping the industry
Come Together
Why Scopely hosted real-world event Dough Fest for Monopoly Go
The community get-together combined with global in-game trading event Trade Fest
New Offerings
Apple to expand advertising placements within App Store search results from next year
The expanded search ads will roll out on devices running iOS 26.2 and later from early 2026
Acqusitions
Little Umbrella acquires Discord game Karaoke Battle from Mayk AI
The deal includes a music licensing partnership with Stingray