Tiktok Sale
Trump signs executive order approving TikTok sale at $14bn valuation
TikTok ban delayed until January 20th, 2026 to finalise sale and approvals
New Studio
Former AppLovin leaders launch new mobile studio Cheer
Cheer will focus on creating casual puzzle titles
Job News
ZBD appoints Nicole Diaz as senior vice president of product
She will lead strategy for ZBD’s global payments and multi-currency solutions
New Offerings
Google Play launches raft of new games features
Rolls out includes other features like the You tab and Play Games Leagues
New Partnerships
Niantic Spatial partners with Kojima Productions to merge storytelling with geospatial AI
The collaboration showcases AI’s potential to transform how people interact with the physical world
Milestone
Fateless completes Alpha Wave cycle with 36k players for upcoming RPG Godforge
Alpha Wave 3 drew 36,000 players, logging over 355,000 hours of gameplay
Collaborative Creed
How the Reverse: 1999 team adapted for an Assassin’s Creed collab
Reverse: 1999 has built a brand around the 20th century, but has found a way to explore the Renaissance and ancient Greece with Assassin's Creed
Creator Chief
Roblox appoints ex-Zynga and Airbnb veteran Vlad Loktev as chief creator ecosystem officer
He will start the new role on September 29th, 2025, set to lead developer relations and platform events
Soft Launch
55 top mobile games in soft launch: Angry Birds Rush, Tom and Jerry Blast, Coin Master - Board Adventure, and more
The top mobile games in soft launch right now
Ugc
Fortnite's next evolution with new creator rewards
Epic Games is shaking up UEFN
Clampdown
Trump imposes a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick claims big companies are on board with the plan despite millions of dollars in extra costs
Online Safety
US Congress calls on Twitch, Steam, Reddit, and Discord CEOs to testify on online radicalisation
The hearing is scheduled for October 8th 2025
Adaptations
MrBeast joins the cast of Angry Birds 3
The film will hit cinemas a month earlier on December 23rd, 2026
Hot Five
Hot Five: Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer, Angry Birds Rush soft launch, and Steer Studios lands Tom and Jerry licence
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Week In Views
Balatro update delayed to avoid crunch and Monster Hunter Now celebrates second anniversary | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Growth
Playstack revenue surged 52% in H1 2025 to £30.7m
Balatro and Abiotic Factor sold over 3m units in the first half of the year
Scholarships
BAFTA awards over £277,000 in grants through its 2025 scholarship programmes
The fund provides up to $2,700 each for training, equipment, and other essential costs
Legal Proceedings
Tencent rejects Sony’s claim that Light of Motiram is a “slavish clone” of Horizon
The Level Infinite parent company argues Sony is trying to monopolise common genre elements
Global Launch
Pocketpair confirms Palworld will exit Early Access in 2026 with a major 1.0 update
The studio says that the cleanup work in 2025 will prepare the game for a stronger full release
New Games
New release roundup: Uno Wonder, Bricks Breaker RPG, Angry Birds Rush and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover and are all set to do big business
New Offerings
Fortnite creators will be able to sell in-game items directly from their islands starting in December
Epic says creators will earn 50% of V-Bucks value from sales, rising to 100% through late 2026
Challenges And Opportunities
Lilith Games talks China’s comeback, market maturity and one year of AFK Journey
"While the growth curve looks different, it reflects both the evolution of the industry and the direction we intentionally took with this sequel."
Market Growth
Cross-industry game engine adoption surges, led by Unreal, Unity and Godot
Unreal Engine remains dominant at 65% adoption, with Unity growing to 53% as the second most popular engine
Industry Insights
A developer’s guide to negotiating publishing deals
Wiggin’s Peter Lewin breaks down what indie developers need to know when negotiating publishing deals
New Partnerships
Flexion partners with Microfun to bring Seaside Escape to alternative app stores
Seaside Escape earned $6m net revenue in August
Acquisition
Verve acquires Captify in $30.3m deal to boost data and sales reach
Captify CEO Mike Welch to step down moving into a strategic advisor role
Milestone
Metacore celebrates fifth anniversary alongside Merge Mansion’s five-year milestone
The mobile title has surpassed 60m downloads and $700m in lifetime revenue
Podcast
From offerwall to always-on: Xsolla’s take on player engagement
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team and guests give you the state of play, here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode
New Offerings
Epic Games launches new open content marketplace Fab
Developers can now access Fab’s full asset library and manage acquisitions
Industry Partnership
Pocket Gamer Connects partners with Global Game Jam
New collaboration aiming to elevate game creativity and games industry networking
Jobs Roundup
September 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Roblox's head of agency partnerships, Women in Games' new community manager, and Epic Games hires Supercell veteran
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Trade Body
Ukie launches Interactive Entertainment Scotland to champion games sector
IES will represent Scottish studios in government and policy discussions to support industry growth
Industry Outlook
UK games industry generates £12bn annually and supports 73,000 jobs
Despite this growth, TIGA warns the UK lags behind global rivals with its 20.4% tax relief
Monster Milestone
Monster Hunter Now celebrates second anniversary and $271m in lifetime player spending
Originally a Niantic game, Now was purchased by Scopely as part of a larger $3.5bn deal this May
Marvellous Mena
Saudi-based Superbullet Studios aims to let anyone build Roblox games in three days
Founder Erickson Talaue and team are developing EvoLife as both a flagship Roblox game and proof of its AI workflow
Investment News
Lingokids raises $120m to invest in AI and scale learning content
The funding will also help expand partnerships with popular IPs
Pgc Helsinki
"Why your players hate your web store"
Appcharge’s Miikka Luotio discusses the four steps of a web store and which element might be "broken"
Milestone
Fable Town celebrates first anniversary after generating $9m in lifetime revenue since launch
A special three-week Anniversary of Magic event runs until October 2nd to mark the milestone
Ai Ebook
Free AI Gamechangers ebook: Key insights into how developers are harnessing AI
Download our 37-page collection of interviews with CEOs and experts sharing real-world insights on making AI work for your business
Key Hires
DTC platform Stash names ex-Homa president Henry Lowenfels as CEO
Company makes wave of senior hires as it plots mission to democratise direct-to-consumer for all studios
New Offerings
Apple debuts dedicated Games app in iOS 26
Apple Games app now serves as a central hub for App Store titles
Tiktok Sale
US and China reach framework agreement for TikTok sale
Follows years of political disputes over ByteDance’s ownership
Delayed Release
LocalThunk delays Balatro update to avoid crunch and burnout
Despite the delay, Balatro 1.1 will still release as a free update across all platforms when it’s ready
Job News
Roblox recruits Unity's Mike Schoelch as new head of agency partnerships
Schoelch will lead agency development within the company's global brand partnerships and advertising division
Epic Grant
Cascadeur receives $50,000 Epic MegaGrant to develop dedicated Unreal Engine Live Link plugin
Over 40% of Cascadeur users rely on Unreal Engine
Esports Tournament
NetEase Games launches Dunk City Dynasty Global Championship 2025
Teams from seven regions will compete for the $100,000 prize pool in the offline finals
Soft Cancel
EA Sports FC Empires canned
EA Sports FC Tactical looks like it could be next up after it was last updated in April
New Offerings
Hungry Studio partners with Govee to bring Block Blast designs into home spaces
Since its 2021 launch, the game has reached over 200m players worldwide
Super Mario Movie
Nintendo releases first trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The sequel is set to release on April 3rd, 2026
New Offerings
Roblox launches The Takeover event to showcase genre diversity
The Takeover spans 48 games, from survival titles like Pressure to roleplay experiences such as Dress to Impress