Beyond Bloons
Inside Ninja Kiwi’s next game: Building beyond Bloons with Fightland
Ninja Kiwi’s CEO Scott Walker shares staying true to the studio’s roots while building the next generation of games
Expansions
ESL FACEIT Group opens new regional headquarters in Riyadh
The venue will act as an esports venue and talent development hub for Saudi nationals
Patents
US Patent Office is reviewing Nintendo’s patent on a battle support summon mechanic
The review signals concerns that could eventually lead to the patent being overturned
New Offerings
Meta shifts app advertising focus toward acquiring higher-value spenders
Advertisers can now optimise campaigns for purchase value, not just purchase volume
Market Growth
Daily play dominates as 85% of mobile gamers return multiple times
Japan leads global mobile games spend with 38% of players making multiple monthly purchases
New Partnerships
Yodo1 takes over Transformers: Earth Wars under license from Hasbro
The deal includes the game’s publishing rights, code, assets, and development team
Market Report
Jordan’s $312.8m games market could nearly double by 2030
The sector is expanding at an annual growth rate of 11.5%
Mergers & Acquisitions
Web3 giant Animoca Brands plans to go public through a reverse merger
The deal would create what both firms call “the world’s first” publicly listed digital assets conglomerate
Ai Safety
Japan's CODA urges OpenAI to stop using member content to train models like Sora 2
The group accuses OpenAI of potential copyright infringement linked to Sora 2 outputs
Buyout Concerns
EA assures staff it will retain full creative control under the proposed $55bn sale
The company insists its mission, values, and player-first culture remain unchanged
Mobile Mavens
"You can’t world-build your way out of a broken core loop": The games industry weighs in on the transmedia boom
Our Mobile Mavens share if transmedia projects help to elevate games or simply cause more distraction
Podcast | Episode 70
Squad Busters shuts down and Google Play's transformative changes | 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 70...
New Partnerships
Mad Hook partners with Audiomob to expand in-game audio monetisation
Mad Hook said the partnership has boosted revenue and opened new opportunities
Pulling The Plug
IOC parts ways with Saudi Arabia on Olympic Esports Games deal
The split comes 14 months after announcing a 12-year deal for the Olympic Esports Games
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell is shutting down Squad Busters, Pokémon TCG Pocket hits $1.3bn, and Google Play opens up
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
New Games
New release roundup: Hill Climb Racing 3, Monopoly Go Chat, Angry Birds Match World, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Pgc Aqaba
PGC Aqaba 2025 schedule revealed featuring Epic Games, ID@Xbox, Xsolla, Unity, Maysalward, Tamatem, and more
Master the MENA market with these eight conference tracks at PGC Aqaba
Major Shift
Google Play injunction can "transform Android game economics"
Tech giant forced to allow alternative payment systems in the US until 2027 under court ruling in Epic Games case
Buyout Concerns
CWA urges federal review of $55bn PIF-led EA buyout
CWA President Claude Cummings Jr warned the deal could harm workers, consumers, and the wider US games industry
Service Disruption
Microsoft Azure global service outage impacts Minecraft and Xbox services worldwide
The Windows company said an accidental configuration change triggered the global disruption
Crush & Tell
Crush & Tell: Candy Crush’s behind-the-scenes series will explore game design and development
Candy Crush VP of marketing Luken Aragon gives the scoop on King’s series premiering today
Cracked Open
US Google Play store opens up to alternative payments in boost for DTC
Injunction will run until November 1st, 2027
Company Buyout
AppsFlyer reportedly nearing a $3bn buyout
Four investment funds have entered the final bidding stage
Layoff News
Amazon to cut around 14,000 corporate jobs including roles in its games division
Tech giant claims it wants to operate like the world's largest startup as it axes staff
New Offerings
Saudi Arabia launches Riyadh Season-themed entertainment experiences on Roblox
Developed with UGC creator The Gang, the experience brings Boulevard City and Boulevard World to life in Roblox
Unreal Mobile Games
How does mobile development fit into the overall product strategy for Unreal Engine?
Find out how Epic Games is making mobile a fundamental part of Unreal Engine's future - and what the future holds for mobile games in UE5
Layoff News
Report: Amazon plans to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs
The layoffs will affect around 10% of corporate staff across HR, operations, devices, and AWS
Age Verification
Google is rolling out age verification on the Play Store
The rollout will vary by region, with some areas exempt from verification requirements
Ad Experiments
What five in-game ad experiments taught us about player behaviour and revenue
GameBiz Consulting’s Božo Janković shares how small in-game changes led to big surprises in ad performance
Studio Closure
Netflix shuts down Boss Fight studio behind Squid Game Unleashed
Both Netflix Stories and Squid Game Unleashed remain playable
Apple Troubles
Apple faces up to $2bn damages after UK court rules against its App Store practices
Case represents millions of iPhone and iPad users in the UK
Milestone
Resident Evil Survival Unit surpasses 2m pre-registrations worldwide
The total includes combined sign-ups from the App Store and Google Play across multiple regions
Hot Five
Hot Five: Sensor Tower’s AI investment, Monopoly Go's Chat app, and AWS chaos
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Very Big Indie Pitch
Idle City Builder wins the Mobile Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2025
Find out who took the top three spot at PGC Helsinki's mobile big indie pitching content
Investment News
Sensor Tower secures new investment for generative AI insights
Market intelligence firm aims to fuel its genAI ambitions with new capital
Week In Views
Unity enters the DTC race and HoYoverse's next big game | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Chat App
Scopely releases Monopoly Go Chat app
After amassing $5 billion and millions of players, the publisher looks to expand on the mobile game's blockbuster success
New Games
New release roundup: Foundation: Galactic Frontier, Hitman Absolution, Spooky Express, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
Ai-first
Is Krafton's $69 million AI-first shift a sign of things to come?
The PUBG maker is saying publicly what some other publishers are doing privately
Revamped Offering
Amazon relaunches Luna with beginner-friendly multiplayer games designed for social play
The new GameNight collection adds over 25 local multiplayer titles for friends and family
New Partnerships
Stability AI and EA partner to co-develop generative AI tools for game creation
The collaboration aims to improve creative workflows, enabling faster prototyping and visual storytelling
New Offerings
AdInMo launches player-first hybrid monetisation tech as a new SaaS platform for mobile developers
The tool supports player lifetime value by predicting and integrating relevant ad opportunities during gameplay
Sonic Slowdown
Sonic Rumble braces for new November 5th release date
The Sega title was previously expected on May 8th, but was pushed back last minute
Podcast | Episode 69
The big AWS crash and Google delays Android regulation | 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 69...
Market Status
CMA designates Apple and Google with strategic market status on mobile
The designation gives the CMA new powers to ensure fair competition across mobile ecosystems
Unity Dtc
Unity gets into DTC with cross-platform "unified digital stores"
The update streamlines monetisation and live operations across mobile, web and PC
New Partnerships
Gadsme teams up with Zynga to bring immersive in-game ads to select titles
The integration blends ads into gameplay while supporting engagement and revenue
Accelerator Programme
Xsolla and Scaffold Institute launch accelerator to help studios grow and monetise games
The 12-week programme guides developers in building a playable demo and publisher-ready pitch deck
Closed Beta Coming
HoYoverse’s Petit Planet entering closed beta on November 7th
The life sim will be made available in closed beta on PC and iOS
Xbox Discovery Day
Don't miss Xbox Discovery Day at PGC Aqaba next month
Connect with ID@Xbox in person for practical insights into every stage of the development journey