Week In Views
Marvel Snap lands new publisher and Pokémon Sleep surpasses $140m | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Ai Safety
U.S. Copyright Office rules AI-generated content without human input won’t be protected
An “extremely low” level of creativity is still needed
Investment News
Social games platform Little Umbrella lands $2 million in funding
It will use the funds to scale its live ops operations and fast-track the launch of new titles
New Offerings
Paper Boat Apps teams up with Mattel to bring Barbie to Kiddopia
The collaboration will bring Barbie-themed games to the children's learning platform later this year
Acqusitions
Nodwin Gaming acquires esports broadcaster StarLadder for $5.5 million
StarLadder will become a fully-owned subsidiary of Nodwin and will retain its brand
Five New Games
New release roundup: Bump! Superbrawl, LOK Digital, DinoBlits and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
Very Big Indie Pitch
Club Soko's unique style wins the Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects London
Find out who took the top three spot at PGC London's big indie pitching content
Financial Outlook
Xbox hardware sales plummet but Game Pass hits new records
Gaming revenue declined 7%, driven by a 29% drop in Xbox hardware sales
Mobile Monsters
Capcom's operating income drops 38%, but Monster Hunter series hits 100 million sales
"Digital contents" have contributed $189.9 million out of total $201.3 million operating income this year
Storytelling Reinvented
Reimagining Storytelling: How AI Makes Narratives More Personal and Interactive
Storytelling has always been about connection - through books, films, or games - Talefy explains how AI can help make those connections deeper, stronger and more personal
Royal Revenue
Royal Match earned 51% of all match-3 IAP revenue in 2024 as casual genre made $15.2 billion
Meanwhile, Monopoly Go earned 55% of casual casino’s earnings
Funding News
Dream Games seeks $2.5 billion in debt and equity to double valuation
The Turkish firm plans to use the funding to buy out existing investors and set a valuation of nearly $5bn
Live Ops
Rockbite Games: What we didn’t know about live ops until we released a hit
Founders, Avetis Zakharyan and Gevorg Kopalyan share on their live ops journey
Milestone
Curve Games' Human: Fall Flat has sold 55 million units
The game's Vilnius-based developer is currently developing Human Fall Flat 2
Delivering Deals
Report: Games industry M&As valued at $10.5 billion in 2024 with 21% volume increase
Drake Star’s Global Gaming Report 2024 highlighted the biggest investors of the year from venture capitalists to games studios
New Ip Holder
Kukouri Mobile Entertainment shuts down game operations and sells IPs to Social First
“Unfortunately Pixel Worlds has not been a commercially viable product for some time,” said Kukouri CEO Petri Piipari
Jobs In Games
Fingersoft welcomes back Teemu Närhi as CEO
Teemu previously served as the company's CEO from 2014 to 2019
Lucrative Love
Love and Deepspace celebrates first anniversary and over $400m after record-breaking month
The dating simulator made $61 million in December 2024
Midnights On Mobile
40% more North Americans are playing mobile games at 1AM than global average
Mobile players are most active at 8PM worldwide, but some regions stay up later than others
Esports Integrity
Olympic Esports Games 2025 in Saudi Arabia delayed
Concerns have been raised about the tight 2025 timeline, uncertainties over game titles, venues, dates, and qualification methods
Growth Drivers
VR games surge on Android as Meta Quest 3 drives 60% growth
Android VR game downloads saw a 198% increase in December 2024 compared to April 2023
New Partnerships
Aptoide partners with My.Games to expand game distribution beyond major app stores
Rush Royale and the survival shooter Left to Survive will be added to the store
Global Games Marketing Trends
SocialPeta released mobile game white paper: global mobile game advertisers surpass 250,000
SocialPeta's 2024 Global Mobile Games Marketing Trends & Insights White Paper features insights from industry leaders at Google, AdQuantum, App Masters, Gamelight and many more
Snapping Back
Marvel Snap secures new publisher Skystone Games after "surprise" takedown
Second Dinner’s hit game went down in the US alongside the temporary TikTok ban
Soft Launch
Krafton expands Dark and Darker Mobile soft launch to the US
The title is described as a medieval dark fantasy extraction RPG set in perilous dungeons
Dubai Investment Summit
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 powering global investment, fueling games innovation
Discover how Dubai GameExpo Summit 2025 powered by PG Connects is shaping the future as a destination for games investment
New Studio
NextBeat CEO Simon Hade on spinning out from Space Ape Games and a “music-first” future
The team intends to launch a rock and mental focused rhythm game as well as creating new music games and having a focus on wellness and education
Leadership Change
Sony appoints Hideaki Nishino as president and CEO ushering in a new era for PlayStation
Hideaki Nishino will now be sole CEO after previously sharing responsibility with Herman Hulst
Web3 Way
Pixion reaches $12.4m in total investments for web3 RPG Fableborne
The latest round was led by Delphi Ventures with further support from Animoca Brands, Sky Mavis and more
Jobs In Games
Ten Square Games taps Dayan E. Yar as new chief product officer
He will focus on revitalising the company's flagship titles through product development, live ops, and innovation
Tenuous Tiktok
Rumour: Microsoft is in talks to purchase TikTok, says Trump
President Donald Trump has claimed several companies have "great interest" in TikTok, including Microsoft
Acqusitions
Pocket Worlds acquires AI-driven UGC platform Infinite Canvas
The team will now focus on innovation within Highrise, Pocket Worlds' flagship platform
Resolution Revolution
Resolution Games celebrates 10 years and over 30 million players across VR, mobile and more
The Swedish developer has just launched its third Apple Vision Pro title, Gears & Goo
Hybrid Monetisation
Hybrid Monetisation: A Comprehensive Guide for App Developers in 2025
In today's diverse mobile market, no single monetisation strategy fits all apps - GeeMee explains why hybrid monetisation should be on every developers radar in 2025
Game Cancellation
Nexon cancels Warhammer RPG in development with Thought Pennies
The game was planned for PC, consoles, and mobile platforms
Loads Of Layoffs
Moon Active reportedly lays off "dozens" of staff despite "record revenues exceeding $2 billion" in 2024
Employees are believed to have been impacted in Israel and across Moon Active’s worldwide sites
Ad Strategy
The key to success: How top 100 downloaded games implement interstitial ads and related in-app purchases
GameBiz Consulting’s Božo Janković shares a deep analysis on ad implementation practices
Esports Growth
Garena unveils 2025 Free Fire esports roadmap with a focus on talent growth
Two major international events will take the spotlight later this year in Jakarta Indonesia
Layoffs
Phoenix Labs cuts “majority" of staff amid second restructuring
The Dauntless developer laid off 140 employees last year and cancelled ongoing projects
Polar Night Pulled
Atelier Resleriana to end global services after just 14 months
The latest entry in the Atelier series has earned almost $57.7 million on mobile worldwide 90% of which has come from players in Japan
Charity Collaboration
3% of Monument Valley 3’s profits will go to IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund for next three years
ustwo games and the IFRC will partner to help players learn about flood relief efforts worldwide
Ai Advances
Practical AI: How Sifor Games harnessed genAI tools to build its games
"AI can help level the playing field for indie developers"
Cloud Service Closure
Cloud gaming subscription service Utomik closes
The platform first launched its cloud gaming service, Utomik Cloud, on Android devices in 2022
Layoffs
Ubisoft shuts down Leamington studio with 185 Job cuts across Europe
The cuts will impact staff from Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Stockholm and Ubisoft Düsseldorf
Partnership
Homa and Gnarly Game Studio on surpassing 100m downloads through the power of collaboration
Homa and Gnarly Game Studio released the action FPS game Agent Hunt and Frontline Heroes together
Publishing
Former Gearbox president Steve Gibson launches Cooldown Games
The new publisher is on the lookout for promising game developers and projects to bring to market
Ea Estimates
EA lowers estimates for FY2025 after Global Football’s Q3 "slowdown"
EA’s net bookings prediction for FY2025 has adjusted from a maximum $7.8 billion down to $7.15 billion
Successful Sleep
Pokémon Sleep snoozes past $140m in time for 1.5 year anniversary
The Pokémon sleep tracker has slowed down in earnings these past six months with fewer Legendary events
Marvellous Mena
Games Majlis unites experts to transform Middle East mobile games industry
The initiative is led by industry veteran Mohamed El Sheakh alongside 20 founding members
Ecosystem Examination
UK’s CMA to investigate Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems "in parallel"
These two investigations form the second of three "areas of digital activity" the CMA intends to examine