Mena Market Growth
Saudi Arabia leads MENA in VC investments and games market growth in 2024
With 21 million active gamers, the KSA is MENA's largest games market to be valued at $6 billion come 2027
Resleriana Revenue
Atelier Resleriana adventures past $50 million via the power of fan-favourites
Most lucrative day coincided with release of Klaudia, a main character from best-selling game in the series Atelier Ryza
Trends Survey
What are the hottest trends right now? Let us know in the 2024 Mobile Games Industry Survey
All participants will get a 30% discount on tickets to PGC London. You'll also be in with the chance to receive a £200 Amazon gift voucher, a free ticket to PGC, and promotion on our sites worth up to $8,000
Layoffs
Bungie to lose 220 staff as it takes "a new path"
The Destiny, Halo and Marathon game dev giant is just the latest victim to fall foul of rising costs versus revenue rewards
Independent Ai
Mark Zuckerberg: “Nah, f*ck that”. Meta’s mouthpiece still isn’t a fan of closed platforms
Try to tell Zuck what game to play and he’s going to take his ball home
Microsoft's Mobile Mystery
Microsoft made $88 billion profit in FY2024 thanks to Activision Blizzard boost
Xbox revenue was up 61% in Q4 2024, but mobile specific figures remain a mystery
Milestone
Whiteout Survival races past $1 billion revenue
The US leads as the game's top revenue region
This Means War
SAG-AFTRA takes the AI war to the next level with games industry strikes
From tomorrow 10 big names in games will see picket lines protesting the use of AI to replace human talent in games
Milestone
Netmarble's Solo Leveling: Arise has passed $100 million revenue
More than 30% of the game's revenue comes from South Korea
Interview
"Navigating the MENA region's funding landscape specifically in Saudi Arabia has been quite promising"
Starvania Studio CEO and co-founder Meaad Aflah discusses her studio's latest project and the opportunities and challenges facing Saudi Arabia's games industry
Rpg Reposition
RPGs overthrown by strategy genre as new consumer spending king
RPGs have topped consumer spending charts since "at least" 2017, but were dethroned in Q2 2024
Podcast
How AppHarbr puts a stop to bad ads before your users can see them | Podcast
The PocketGamer.biz podcast team and guests give you the state of play every week. Here's where to get it and what's inside this week's episode…
Ai Acquisition
GiantX acquires League of Legends AI coaching app maker iTero Gaming
The app, launched in late 2022, has been downloaded almost 250,000 times
Cash Splash
Q2 mobile app spending hits a new record of $36.2 billion
Apple owners are responsible for the latest spending surge for Q2 2024, though downloads in the quarter declined
Mena Trends
The trends and opportunities that are shaping Turkey's app market
Adjust’s Ender Özcan discusses what's new and what's driving growth in the MENA region
Multi-platform Gaming
Japan and Korea's 97 million gamers drive growth for multi-platform games
The latest Niko Partner's report shows a clear shift as Japanese mobile players embrace console and PC
Game Cancellation
Dinosaur Polo Club scraps Magic School in order to renew focus on its Mini series
The goal of Magic School was to explore new ideas beyond the studio's typical minimalist simulations. But it's an experiment that failed
German Gaming
German mobile gamers spent €2.9 billion in 2023, 98% via in-app purchases
The German video games industry more broadly generated €9.97 billion last year
Alternative App Stores
The Xbox Mobile Store lives… Or at least there’s a webpage for it
As their self-imposed July deadline draws to a close, could an official roll-out be imminent?
Squad Spenders
Squad Busters takings pass $50 million, but how does it compare to Supercell’s greatest hits?
The US currently represents the game's biggest market share, where it's earned $19.6 million so far
Funding News
dotplay raises $1 million funding to transform mobile game distribution
"We believe the mobile web can compete with app stores for distribution," says dotplay's CEO Iskander Pataudi
Investment Bounceback
M&A is on the rise for the third quarter in a row
That's according to Drake Star whose latest Global Gaming Report for Q2 only carries good news on the games industry's rebound
Lively Layoffs
Lively Studio undergoes layoffs for the sake of "long-term health"
The Keywords subsidiary will reportedly lay off a small number of people, while sister studio Electric Square remains unaffected
Mobile Mavens
Mobile Mavens: How is the trend for cross-platform changing the state of gaming?
Our Mavens share their thoughts on appeal of taking your game cross-platform and what the current trend means for the future of the games industry
Pokemon Power
The Pokémon Company caught $10.8 billion from merch and licenced goods last year
License Global’s latest Top Global Licensors Report places Pokémon seventh among all licensors based on 2023 revenue
Esports World Cup
Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason event to kick off with a $3 million prize pool
Players can earn event currency by logging in, playing matches, or spectating matches
Pgc Stories
PGC Stories: "PGC enabled me to grow my network and presence"
Raptor PR's Rana Rahman shares his favourite PGC memories
Hot Five
Hot Five: HoYoverse’s next game, Monster Hunter Now’s multiplayer mindset, and three years of Pokémon Unite
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Podcast | Episode 22
How Lilith Games builds billion-dollar mobile hits | 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 22...
Week That Was
Netflix sticks with games, Humble Games closure confusion and Monster Hunter Now levels up | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Investment Round
UGC platform developer Look North World raises $4.5 million in seed funding
Start-up publishes premium mods and games for Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft
Jobs News
Xsolla appoints former Kami Vision and Samsung exec as new chief financial officer
Cathleen Nilson has previously worked at Google, EA and Intel, among other firms
Strike Action
SAG-AFTRA members go on video games strike over AI and fears of “flagrant exploitation”
Representative of producers fights back and claims it had agreed “historic” wage increases
Attack Of The Clones
Clones and how to combat them: Examples from the games industry
Futura Digital delves into the world of clones and what legal action developers can take
Ecosystem Expansion
Dubai is confirmed as Games of the Future host in 2025
Qualifiers are underway via the World Phygital Community’s Phygital Games 2024/25 tournament
Milestone
Monopoly Go! hits $3 billion in revenue
The game leads leads Hasbro's licensing-portfolio with Q2 revenue growing 20% year over year led by Monopoly Go!
App Stores
Epic confirms Fortnite’s EU iOS comeback as it quits Samsung Galaxy Store
Fortnite and other games will now be available on AltStore for iOS in the EU
Five New Games
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from Asphalt Legends Unite to Laid-Back Camp: Puzzle Camp
We highlight five new games that have broken cover this week
Monster Multiplayer
Monster Hunter Now’s Dimensional Links show a conscious effort to include rural players
Multiplayer levels up with this latest online matchmaking feature
Monetisation Masterclass
PocketGamer.biz MasterClass: Monetisation models, resources, and taking players on a journey
Fundamentally Games CEO Oscar Clark shares insights into the art of pricing while actually making a good game
Content Creator Collab
Monster Hunter Now looks to bring "meaningful integration" with MrBeast collab
The game’s first collab outside the Monster Hunter IP is with YouTube’s biggest creator
Awards Season
BAFTA's Tara Saunders on mobile gaming's awards snub and how the event is evolving for 2025
BAFTA's chair of the games committee discusses the importance of the awards as entries for the 2025 edition open
Vote Now
Final chance: Vote for the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards 2024 in association with Gamelight
Deadline is midnight, Friday July 26th (and Mid-Term tickets end today!)
New Game Approved
HoYoverse’s next game Astaweave Haven among 105 Chinese approvals this July
This month’s domestic approvals in the country are at their highest since March
Safety First
Roblox claims to be "overwhelmingly positive experience" despite over 13,000 child exploitation incidents in 2023
The platform reported 13,316 incidents last year as work to navigate the "complexities" of online child safety continues
Esports Growth
Olympic Esports Games set to commence in 2025
Saudi Arabia will host the first edition next year
Live Service Look
Digital Extremes CEO believes "terrified" game makers drop live service titles too soon
Warframe is still in service after 11 years and continues to expand to new platforms
Milestone
Hero Wars: Alliance celebrates $1.5 billion in revenue
The game has garnered more than 150 million installs on mobile
Pgc Jordan
Save up to £305 on PG Connects Jordan - ends TODAY!
Time's running out for Super Early Bird prices for November's unmissable global games industry conference
Interview
"It is crucial that investors recognise the importance of investing in and believing in the local industry"
Raheebeen Studios founder Ahmed Alshaikh talks about the funding opportunities and efforts to support local developers in the KSA