Event Report
Biggest ever Pocket Gamer Connects London united the games industry in resilience and optimism
Around 3,000 attendees gathered in the UK capital for two packed days of networking
Key Takeaways
5 takeaways from Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026
We round up some of the big stories and trends coming out of our biggest PGC yet
Pgc Summit San Francisco
Stay ahead of the curve at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit San Francisco on March 9th
A high-impact summit connecting you with the right contacts to drive partnerships and momentum at the start of a crucial industry week
Latest
Week In Views
Ubisoft's Creative House restructure, RuneScape's big milestone and industry optimism at PGC London | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
New Games
New release roundup: Crossplay, Dragon Traveler, Arknights: Endfield, and more
We highlight the latest new games that have broken cover over the past week
New Partnerships
Court reveals secret $800m deal between Google and Epic Games amid antitrust case
The deal was revealed during a court hearing in San Francisco, with a judge questioning its impact on Epic’s legal demands
Training Camp
GameSkills opens applications for pan-European advanced training programme for game developers
The initiative will support 250 participants from 50 European studios through expert-led, hands-on training
Incubator
LVL Zero opens applications for inaugural gaming-focused incubator in India
Ten selected teams will each receive a $10,000 equity-free grant, creating a $100,000 funding pool
Acqusitions
1SP Agency acquires games industry matchmaking platform MeetToMatch
The deal strengthens 1SP’s data-driven networking and event technology capabilities
Editor's Picks
Pgc London
PGC London welcomes UK Government Minister to the show
The Minister offered support for the UK's creative industries and shook hands with the industry on the show floor
Lack Of Support
"If I had to start a 100 person studio today in games, I wouldn't do it here in the UK"
Members of the newly formed UK Video Games Council had stark words for government support as they look to help chart a new path forward
Aurora Award
Aurora celebrates women in the UK games industry
Ten women recognised for leadership, creativity, sustainability and long-term industry impact live at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026
Opinion
A successful soft launch in 2026 will be a strategic, data-rich incubation
Claire Rozain discusses top soft launch strategies for this year alongside Matej Lancaric
Building a whole sector and ecosystem from scratch to self-sustainability is a massive endeavour.
Savvy Games Group CEO Brian Ward on building a new gaming hub in the Middle East
#Pocket Gamer Connects
Pgc London
Around 60% of Snapchat ads are for games
Snapchat’s Sara Antonelli spoke at PGC London about "impressive" Playables results
Pgc Summit San Francisco
Save up to $300 on PGC Summit San Francisco
Super Early Bird prices end at midnight Thursday, January 22nd
Here We Go
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 kicks off with talks from Arcadia Gaming Partners, Duolingo, the UK Video Games Council, and more!
PGC London takes place across January 19th and 20th - and we're anticipating it will be our largest show ever
Pgc London
Thanks to the sponsors of Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026
The fantastic companies that make this week's two-day event possible
Industry Voices
Live Ops
Live ops in 2026: What 2025 revealed and how studios should prepare
Balancy's leaders speak on the evolution of live ops and what comes next for studios
Growth Strategies
How developers can build games for the long haul and why not every project is cut out for it
Sergey Martinkevich talks on long-term growth in a mobile market dominated by legacy hits
Industry Insights
When should a mobile games studio hire a CFO?
Martin Macmillan explores why finance leadership in mobile games is driven by complexity not just revenue
Speaker Spotlight
"Focusing on UA alone is no longer healthy in today's more competitive environment"
Snapchat's app growth strategy lead Sara Antonelli discusses ser acquisition challenges, sustainable growth and adapting to a world with fewer deterministic signals
Speaker Spotlight
"Don't be scared of data, learn to live alongside it"
Persona.ly head of ML product Joseph Iris discusses in-app advertising, gameplay loops over monetisation, and a key benefit of AI tools
#MENA
Funding For Games
Anka Ventures launches early-stage VC fund targeting mobile games and apps
The fund was established by VLMedia to help founders scale internationally through network access and follow-on funding
Esports World Cup
Esports World Cup 2026 to feature a $75m total prize pool
The winning Club will earn $7m as part of the expanded Club Championship payouts
New Offerings
Orbital expands to PC after surpassing 200,000 downloads on mobile
The mobile title recorded more than 180,000 hours of player engagement since its 2022 launch
Milestone
Game District surpasses 2.2 billion downloads in 2025
The mobile developer reached a peak of 22m daily active users last year
Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions
Investment News
ZBD lands $40m Series C financing to accelerate growth in games and app payments
The funding will support the company's expansion as a licensed, vertically integrated payments provider built for games
New Partnerships
Oh BiBi partners with Rovio to develop Angry Birds Rush
The upcoming title marks the franchise’s first move into the luck battler genre, offering a fresh twist on the mobile gaming IP
New Offerings
Rovio partners with Kingsoft Shiyou to relaunch Angry Birds in China
Kingsoft will exclusively publish and operate the Angry Birds franchise in China, marking its first major return to the market in years
New Partnerships
Coda partners with Unity to integrate in-app purchasing into web store platforms
Developers can manage digital catalogues across mobile, web, and PC through Unity’s existing IAP workflow
Funding News
Turborilla secures $5m non-dilutive user acquisition funding to accelerate growth
The studio reported its strongest financial performance in more than three years in December
Investment News
Play-to-earn app MoneyTime secures $3m seed funding round
Akin Babayigit’s Arcadia Gaming Partners leads investment round in rewarded play platform
Funding News
Liquidnitro Games raises $19.1m to scale AI-driven live services platform
The company is targeting growth across India, MENA, and Southeast Asia
Jobs News
Company Restructure
Ubisoft moves mobile studios and IP into new Creative House under wide-ranging restructure
The reset is built around a new operating model, a refocused content roadmap and accelerated cost-reduction measures
Podcast | Episode 79
Pocket Gamer Connects London preview | 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 79...
Layoff News
Playtika to lay off 500 employees in latest round of cuts
CEO Robert Antokol says the company is moving away from an unsustainable growth strategy
Jobs Roundup
January 2026's Movers and Shakers
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Layoff News
Ubisoft cuts 29 jobs at Abu Dhabi studio
The layoffs follow Ubisoft’s confirmed closure of Ubisoft Halifax as part of wider global restructuring
#Regulation
Regulations
Italy watchdog opens probes into Activision Blizzard over mobile game monetisation
Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile are under scrutiny for allegedly misleading free-to-play practices
Podcast | Episode 78
2026 predictions | 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 78...
Looking Ahead
The big games industry trends and stories to watch in 2026
We take a look at what's in store for the sector in the year ahead
D2c Revolution
Publishers bank record direct-to-consumer revenue
The latest results of the D2C revolution are in
More News
Charity Campaign
Aviagames raises over $136,000 through Wonderland Wishes charity campaign
Funds raised will support toys, care kits, bicycles and educational resources for children in foster care
Funding News
UK government opens bids for £27m creative industries cluster funding
The move forms part of the next phase of the creative industries sector plan under the Industrial Strategy
Expansions
Outfit7 launches PlayValley to expand into PC and mobile game development
The new studio is developing original new IPs aimed at expanding Outfit7’s portfolio beyond its existing franchises
Accelerator Program
Ukie and Tencent expand Games Growth Programme with 30 UK studios in new cohort
The programme combines an Accelerator track for emerging studios with a Scale-up track for high-growth companies
Developer Support
Arcade launches data-first publishing model for casual and hybrid-casual studios
The publisher’s model centres on analytics-driven decision-making and hands-on product execution
Market Report
Global mobile in-app purchase revenue hit $167bn in 2025
Over 280,000 apps were downloaded per minute, reaching 149 billion downloads in 2025 according to a new report from Sensor Tower
Milestone
RuneScape surpasses $3bn in lifetime revenue as Jagex marks 25th anniversary
The RS25 programme is positioned as the most ambitious evolution in RuneScape’s history
Latest Videos
Podcasts
The Slingshot Formula
Podcast: How Angry Birds reached the stars
The Slingshot Formula book author and ex-Rovio leaders discuss Angry Birds Rio, Space, Star Wars and more
Podcast | Episode 77
Games industry trends 2025 review | 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 77...
Podcast | Episode 76
Netflix's $83bn Warner Bros. deal doesn't value games and why awards shows hate mobile | 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 76...
Podcast | Episode 75
How mobile devs use AI and Pikmin Bloom blossoms | 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 75...