Pocket Management
Leadership transition at Pocket Gamer HQ
Founder Chris James moves into chairman role as Dave Bradley takes on day-to-day leadership of the business
At A Crossroads
Supercell is willing to die on the hill of innovation
CEO Ilkka Paananen says that launching a new game is harder than ever, but does it have the right approach to face this challenge?
New Games Strategy
Supercell's plan to recapture the hunger and inventiveness of a startup after 16 years
CEO Ilkka Paananen shares his vision to find a successful new game after seven years and looks to attract founders to the cause
Latest
Financials
Supercell revenue declines 4% to €2.65bn in 2025
EBITDA rose by 6% year-over-year as Clash Royale growth makes up for Brawl Stars decline
Under Pressure
Pressure to launch a new game led to Squad Busters' global release
Supercell reveals the KPIs and emotions that went into the title's release and failure
Aurora Uk Awards
“There is still significant work to be done - particularly at leadership level”
Studio HEFT CEO Kate Booth on being authentic and challenging games’ corporate culture
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group signs MoU with NMBRS to boost Saudi Arabia’s games and esports creative capabilities
As part of the partnership, NMBRS will establish a local operations presence in Riyadh
Square Sales
"Weakness in existing titles" as Square Enix’s net sales fall 13% Y/Y
Despite the decline, operating income has risen by 39% year-over-year
Africa Is Mobile
Mobile leads as Africa’s games industry generated $2.29bn in 2025
Google Play continues to dominate mobile distribution across Africa, while Apple App Store retains a smaller but higher-value audience in select markets
Editor's Picks
Forever Games
2026 live ops trends: Templatisation, personalisation and AI
We speak to Balancy CEO Pavel Ignatov about the latest trends in live ops and the strategies developers can employ right now
Pgc London
Direct-to-consumer at PGC London: "The Pandora’s Box is open"
Appcharge founder and CEO Maor Sason spoke with Play Ventures founding partner Harri Manninen at PGC London 2026 about the evolution of D2C
Making Monopoly Go
"Playfulness and mischief": The strengths of subtle storytelling in Monopoly Go
Monopoly Go's director of content design Phil Williams talks fresh events, seasons and connecting with players
Opinion
AI isn’t replacing creative teams, it’s removing friction from development pipelines.
SciPlay CEO Josh Wilson reflects on 2025 and what priorities are shaping the year ahead
Culture-led stories improve awareness and make paid campaigns perform better.
Ada Mockute Jaime shares insights on how culture-led campaigns drive engagement
#Pocket Gamer Connects
Dubai Gameexpo
Your gateway to MENA’s growing games market
Dubai GameExpo Summit on May 20th to 21st is an essential access point to the world’s fastest growing games market
Pgc Barcelona
Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona returns in June after our most successful launch event ever in 2025
Drawing over 1,000 attendees from 47 countries in 2025, PG Connects Barcelona returns June 15th to 16th, 2026. Tickets are on sale now
Events
Dubai GameExpo Summit returns in May after record 1,400 game professionals from 70 countries in 2025
The two-day event returns on May 20th and 21st 2026 to engage with the vibrant MENA games market once more
Industry Voices
"It's near impossible for a small team to launch a game following the traditional UA model"
From platform expansion to AI tools, Martine Spaans and Ethan Levy discuss how mobile studios can adapt to increasing UA costs
Industry Voices
Week In Views
Recognition for UK games, Iron Lung's indie film success and nine years of Fire Emblem Heroes | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Ugc Finance
Why you should bring your finance team into product strategy
Travis Hughson from Tipalti Mass Payments explores the vital role of finance and payouts in making games a success globally
State Of Play
Neogames: The state of Finland's games industry in 2026
Neogames Finland's Suvi Latva and KooPee Hiltunen analyse the opportunities and challenges facing the Finnish games sector
Aurora Uk Awards
On games as a universe where "we can be who we want to be, regardless of gender or disability"
Athena Worlds' Jane Whittaker on making game worlds for women, non-binary and disabled gamers
Week In Views
Record engagement on Roblox, Netflix Games’ cloud focus and Pokémon Go’s event strategy | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
#MENA
Global Games Show
Global Games Show Riyadh 2026 returns to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 games ambitions
The Riyadh edition will bring together developers, publishers, investors, and esports leaders for two days of talks, demos, and networking
New Partnerships
Savvy Games Group signs MoUs with Saudi Ministry of Education for games and esports programs
The agreements aim to integrate games education into national curricula and formal learning frameworks nationwide
New Partnerships
Arab Youth Centre and Games Ventures partner to train next generation of MENA game developers
The programme is designed to mirror real-world game studio environments rather than classroom-based learning
Arabic Localisation
Resident Evil Survival Unit launches across MENA with full Arabic language support
The mobile strategy title is now available in 17 additional MENA countries on mobile
Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions
M&a
Private equity firm Haveli to acquire Budge Studios
Terms of the deal were not disclosed
Funding News
Levellr secures $2.5m funding to scale community intelligence platform for game studios and brands
The startup is focused on helping studios understand the reasons behind player behaviour
Acqusitions
JetSynthesys confirms EverMerge acquisition from Big Fish Games
The deal supports JetSynthesys’ global expansion plans, with India a key growth market
Funding News
UAE developer iBloxx Studios raises $5.4m to complete development of StrayShot
The funding will also support global marketing, live operations and preparation for console releases
Acquisition
Skillz acquires Beamable's backend tech
Team that built the platform will continue working on the product
Indie Publishing
LootLocker makes strategic investment in indie label Pantaloon
Pantaloon offers publishing services and an email newsletter to promote indie games
Funding News
Tesoro XP raises $5.4m to scale its rewards platform for games
The company plans to expand its SDK, publisher tools, and partner network ahead of a Q1 2026 launch
Jobs News
Jobs Roundup
February 2026's Movers and Shakers: Supercell and Outfit7 land marketing VPs, Scopely hires new GM, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Podcast | Episode 81
Ubisoft turmoil and what happened to Big Fish Games? | 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 81...
Job News
Delphi Interactive appoints ex-Konami tech director Julien Merceron as new CTO
He will oversee a reimagined FIFA simulation launching exclusively on Netflix later this year
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...
#Regulation
Tiktok Troubles
European Commission finds TikTok in breach of Digital Services Act over addictive design
Infinite scroll, autoplay and personalised recommendations were cited as potential risks to users’ mental and physical well-being
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
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...
More News
New Offerings
Appcharge launches new Checkout aimed at boosting mobile D2C revenue
The new Checkout is built specifically for mobile games, targeting friction at the most sensitive point of the monetisation funnel
Super Bowl Surprises
Pokémon and Mario splash the cash with Super Bowl LX ads
Lady Gaga’s favourite Pokémon, how Yoshi rides a motorbike and more unveiled at the NFL’s premium event
Podcast | Episode 82
What do game developers really think of Project Genie? | 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 82...
Milestone
Resident Evil Survival Unit surpasses 5m downloads following global expansion
Strong traction in North America, Europe, and Japan helped power the milestone alongside new launches in Korea and Taiwan
Collab Incoming
Honkai: Star Rail characters are coming to Fortnite
The crossover will commence on February 26th, 2026
Delayed Ipo
Liftoff Mobile delays IPO amid tech stocks sell-off
Investor caution around generative AI disruption is weighing on first-time tech listings
Mobile Retreat
EA Sports FC Tactical to go offline as EA shuts down another mobile game
Turn-based sports title set to go offline on May 7th
Latest Videos
Podcasts
Podcast | Episode 80
Pocket Gamer Connects London 2026 unwrapped | 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 80...
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...