Company Spotlight
Company Spotlight: Neon River
Find out more about the headhunting firm that specialises in recruiting senior executives into mobile games companies around the world.
Acqusition Rumours
Take-Two in talks to sell adtech division Chartboost
AppLovin and LoopMe are potential buyers
Bloom Boom
Pikmin Bloom celebrates record-breaking third year budding $63 million in lifetime earnings
53% of all in-game revenue was earned over the past year
Esports In Mena
YaLLa Esports invests $12.5 million to accelerate growth in the MENA region over the next two years
YaLLa Esports will host five major esports tournaments in Qatar and UAE by 2026
Revenue Result
Microsoft makes $24.7bn profit in Q1 after video game cutbacks
Microsoft’s games business increased its revenue to $5.6bn for the quarter, but that didn’t spare Xbox from job cuts
Very Big Indie Pitch
The Big Indie Interviews: Cozy Game Studio on their award-winning casual farming game Spirit World
Taling cats, mindfulness and European folklore combine in this PGC Helsinki pitch competition winner from a Danish indie developer
Marvellous Mena
"Africa needs an educated society, and EdTech is a vital tool for achieving that"
Enechawet Games’ CEO and co-founder Abiy Hailu talks opportunities in EdTech, leveraging emerging technologies in game development and publishing challenges
Podcast | Episode 35
Facebook Instant Games is back! And Games First 2024 takeaways | 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 and what's inside this week's episode 35...
Earnings Report
Roblox hits $1.1 billion bookings in Q3 as it cuts losses
Daily active users grew 27% year-over-year to 88.9 million
Funding News
Levellr raises $1.75 million for Discord management tools
Company appoints SuperAwesome co-founder Dylan Collins as chairman; aims to add Reddit integration in 2025
Netflix Ai
Netflix appoints Mike Verdu as VP of GenAI for games
Streaming giant eyes potential for AI to power its games business
Hot Five
Hot Five: Pokémon vs Palworld, Fingersoft layoffs, and Facebook Instant Games’ in-app purchases on iOS
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Ad Advice
Creative fatigue in mobile games marketing: How to identify and combat it
AdQuantum’s Anton Kuzmin shares how you can avoid creative fatigue and keep your audience engaged
Earnings Report
Meta's VR/AR division struggles with $4.4 billion loss as expenses rise to $4.7 billion in Q3
Revenue for Reality Labs was $270 million, driven by hardware sales
Week That Was
Nintendo's curious Palworld case, Pokémon TCG Pocket launches, and Instant Games' big news | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Vote For Pocket Gamer Awards
Voting now open for the Pocket Gamer Awards 2024
Cast your vote and celebrate the best in mobile games
Instant Games
Remember Facebook Instant Games? It’s back
The long-awaited introduction of in-app purchases on iOS is another example of a new era for games
New Studio
Supercell invests in Barcelona-based studio Penguin Armada
PC-first developer working on top-down PvP title
Union Support
Sony faces backlash from CWA over studio closures amid layoffs
The union says it plans "to raise the anti-competitive impacts of Sony's increasing monopoly with the appropriate antitrust regulators"
Five New Games
New release roundup: Pokémon TCG Pocket, Frostpunk, Bloons Card Storm, and more
We highlight five new games that have broken cover over the past week
Funding News
3D animation platform Swoove Studios secures $7.5 million in seed round
This brings the studios' total funds raised to $11 million since 2020
Games First Takeaways
4 takeaways from Supercell’s Games First Helsinki 2024
We round up the insights from a day of deep dives into the industry and game design practices
Storytelling 101
Narrative design in mobile games
Tactile Games’ Jedidjah Noomen on writing for the small screen
Trick Or Treat
Pokémon Sleep turns spooky with 107% revenue spike as Halloween event gets underway
Popular Alolan Pokémon Mimikyu has debuted in-game for Halloween alongside bundles and an event
Apple Ai
Apple to introduce AI-generated app review summaries with iOS 18.1
These summaries aim to help users better assess apps before downloading or purchasing
Incredible Indies
Incredible Indies: Johnny Monsarrat on why there is plenty of room left for AR-powered outdoor RPGs
Monsarrat shares how the AR boom has sparked new potential in RPGs
Job News
Unity appoints Alex Blum as new COO as executive shakeup continues
He previously served as senior vice president of corporate development at Unity
Halloween Sale
Ghoulish networking tips to make connections at PG Connects London 2025 without getting spooked
Pay To Play
Monster Hunter Now tests Pokémon Go event formula with Carnival Global
Now’s first in-person event is getting an online follow-up for players who couldn’t attend in Shibuya
Jobs Roundup
October’s Mobile Movers and Shakers: New Unity CTO, Stillfront CEO and Supercell CMO exit, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Earnings Report
EA Mobile net bookings decline by 3% amid game closures
While PC and other segments continue to grow, console remains EA's largest contributor to net bookings
Managing Millions
Trophy Games revenue rises by 56% in Q3 as Airline Manager and Energy Manager drive new installs
Developer recorded a 108% year-on-year increase in paying users during Q3 2024
Emerging Markets
Supercell’s Games First 2024 explores emerging markets in LATAM, India and Africa
Emerging markets are presenting opportunities to grow audiences and new studios
Pgc Jordan
Game industry leaders to gather at Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan 2024 next week
Combining the very best of the MENA region to meet, network, and innovate with top games professionals...
Instant Games
Facebook Instant Games finally gets in-app purchases on iOS
IAPs now supported across web, iOS and Android devices
Investment News
Konvoy invests in Magic Potion Games to build safe and social immersive experiences
“The gaming landscape is changing, especially for younger audiences"
The Web Way
Nitro Games’ Autogun Heroes launches on CrazyGames web portal
Cross-progression and cross-play are both available between mobile and web versions
Revenue Result
Reverse: 1999 celebrates first anniversary in the West with $100m on the horizon
The time travel title celebrated one year since global launch on October 26th
New Game Launch
Monument Valley 2 is now available on Netflix
Subscribers can now play the first two games of the Monument Valley series for free
Investment News
Maintain Altitude secures $500,000 in pre-seed round to accelerate game development
The studio will use its newly secured funds to accelerate game development and collaborate with music rights holders
Legal Battle
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company vs. Pocket Pair: Understanding the details
Futura Digital’s Alexandra Kurdyumova and Evgenia Shikholeva explain why Nintendo is filing a patent rights lawsuit over a copyright infringement
Pokemon Power
Pokémon TCG Pocket launches tomorrow, but will it be the very best like Pokémon Go...?
The digitalised card game is debuting with plenty of nostalgia-infused Kanto classics, much like the geolocation giant before it
Mobile Marketing
71% of marketing spend is focused on just 10 countries
A new study from Moloco suggests potential high-value users in many regions are being overlooked
Empowering Start-ups
Germany is supporting game studios with new funding program
Start-up founders can now apply for the Press Start: Games Founding Grant
Growing Ip
Behind the scenes: Bringing The Dragon Prince: Xadia to mobile
We discuss the games development with both Wonderstorm and Blind Squirrel Games
Save The Date
The Dubai GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects, a key event in the MENA games industry, returns May 7 - 8, 2025 as Part of Dubai Esports and Games Festival
New Partnerships
SAG-AFTRA and Ethovox partner to build AI voice replicas and empower actors
The Ethovox model creates digital voice replicas based on extensive voice data
Mega Money
Microsoft CEO's compensation grows to $79m despite job cuts
Satya Nadella had requested a reduction in his pay package, which could otherwise have approached $85m
Podcast | Episode 34
Subscription without upsell is death! And IDFA changes are good now? | 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 and what's inside this week's episode 34...
Web Shop Waves
100% of top social casino games have a web shop, while casual’s only reached 30%
Across the 20 highest-grossing mobile games, Appcharge finds 72% have a web shop