Uk Best Of 2026
The Top 50 UK Game Makers of 2026
The UK movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!
Region Guide
Learn all about the UK games industry with our free region report
Dive into the state of one of the world's oldest and largest games hubs in our new report, publishing in partnership with Xsolla
Pgc Barcelona
Building Barcelona: The evolution of Spain's brightest games hub
We speak with Barcelona & Partners CEO Montse Puig to get the lowdown on the evolution of Barcelona’s games hub and what makes it attractive to international publishers like King, Rovio, Scopely and more
Latest
Ai Agents
Saga introduces AI influencer agent to mobile game Diamond Jewels
Crystal Beaumont will have a presence in-game and across social media platforms like Instagram
Avakin Life On Steam
Avakin Life officially launches on Steam after 200m registered users on mobile
The pioneering social simulator hits Steam after generating 500 million downloads
Competitive Gaming
Esports Nations Cup 2026 introduces wildcard slots
Solidarity Slots, Host Region Slots and Special Invites aim to boost opportunities and make competitions more accessible
Driving Downloads
Fortnite’s global iOS comeback drives downloads to eight-year high
Fortnite generated 3.4 million installs over its first week back with a daily peak of 674,000 on May 23rd
Finland Games Strategy
Jyväskylä city forms shared strategy for games sector development
The agreement brings the city, education institutions and Expa together to develop Jyväskylä’s games ecosystem
Mobile Games Awards
Closing soon - Nominate now for the Mobile Games Awards 2026
Get your nominations in by Monday, June 1st
Editor's Picks
Podcast | Episode 92
The Sensor Tower / AppMagic deal unwrapped and Xbox's random rebrand | 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 92...
Mobile Games University
Mobile game ad monetisation: What you need to know
Aurion11 CEO and Co-founder Igor Lautar gives a detailed rundown of mobile games advertising in this intermediate level guide
Scopely Spotlight
Why Spain is a key engine powering Monopoly Go developer Scopely
We profile Monopoly Go developer Scopely’s presence in Spain and chat with director of operations Néstor Pequeño about the challenges and opportunities the country’s games industry faces
Opinion
The advantage of operating a portfolio is that we can share learnings across teams, which helps us move faster and make better decisions.
COO Eunice Lee on Scopely's 15-year journey
The conclusion for product teams is this: live ops mechanics do not determine success on their own.
Oxana Fomina explores how three breakout sort puzzle hits built different monetisation strategies
#Pocket Gamer Connects
Pgc Barcelona
Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona - Everything you can't miss this June 15th and 16th
Tale part in seminars, Investor Connector, Publisher SpeedMatch, Big Indie Pitches, AI Gamechangers, Careers Zone, Aurora Europe and more!
Pgc Barcelona
This June, games industry deals happen in Barcelona
Build the right connections at Pocket Gamer Connects on June 15th and 16th
Pgc Barcelona
GAMEx’s Aïda Figuerola to discuss building elite teams at PGC Barcelona in June
Another star speaker joins the speaker lineup for Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona on June 15th and 16th
Pgc Summit MalmÖ
Meet companies like Sony, Landfall, Raw Fury, Rovio and Sybo at PGC Malmö on May 27th and 28th
See who you could do business with at Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Malmö
Industry Voices
Epic Conclusion?
Epic's final battle approaches
After years of legal battles, the Fortnite developer is nearing the end of a journey that has come with a high cost
Mobile Esports Growth
Esports World Cup CGO: "Mobile has arguably the biggest ceiling when it comes to both gaming and esports"
Esports Foundation chief games officer Fabian Scheuermann on title selection, mobile esports and dropping StarCraft 2
Week In Views
Fortnite’s global return, Xbox’s uncertain future and the rise of Melon Sandbox | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Mobile Mavens
“Mobile has become too expensive for the old playbook”: The Mobile Mavens on rising barriers to entry
The Mobile Mavens discuss whether mobile gaming is becoming too difficult and expensive for new developers to break into
M&a
Why Sensor Tower acquired rival AppMagic
Sensor Tower chief revenue officer outlines the company's reasons for the major deal that consolidates power in the mobile market intelligence space
#MENA
Esports Nations Cup
Esports Nations Cup 2026 unveils rankings system and Team Builder ahead of roster reveals
The rankings system tracks player performances from major international tournaments
New Partnerships
Xsolla partners with Dubai Films and Games Commission to expand global opportunities for MENA developers
The partnership will create a Dubai-based studio accelerator program for game developers
Esports World Cup
Esports World Cup 2026 relocates from Saudi Arabia to Paris amid regional uncertainty
The Paris tournament marks EWC’s first edition outside Saudi Arabia
New Offerings
Dubai Films & Games Commission partners with Good Game Club to promote games as a force for good
Dubai is targeting 30,000 gaming jobs and $1bn GDP contribution by 2033
Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions
M&a
Private equity firm Goldenpeak acquires majority stake in Ampere Analysis
Ampere also acquires streaming audience analytics firm PlumResearch
Turned Up To Eleven
TyrAds announces exclusive strategic partnership with Nordeus
The partnership will power 'player-first' rewarded engagement in Top Eleven
Partnership Extension
Qiddiya expands Google Cloud partnership to build AI-powered gaming and entertainment city
The project links gaming, AI and smart city infrastructure under Saudi Vision 2030
New Partnerships
Xsolla partners with Skich to support alternative mobile game distribution
Xsolla becomes merchant of record for Skich mobile marketplace
Acqusitions
Atari acquires rights to first five Wizardry RPGs as it plans franchise revival
Wizardry’s revival extends beyond games into film, TV, and merchandise
M&a
Sensor Tower acquires mobile market intelligence rival AppMagic
Terms of the deal were not disclosed
Acqusitions
NCSoft subsidiary Veroplay acquires Moving Eye Games and Swamp Attack franchise
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed
Jobs News
Job News
Room 8 Group appoints Juanita Draude as CEO
She joins the company with more than 20 years of leadership experience across media and entertainment
Data
Sweden's games industry in numbers
The key data behind Sweden’s bustling games industry and the stats powering its success
Leadership Hires
Xbox hires Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet in leadership team expansion
Focus is on improving execution and speeding up product development
Company Restructure
Embracer keeps mobile in-house as it spins off Fellowship Entertainment
Mobile stays with Embracer, keeping DECA, CrazyLabs and A Thinking Ape
Jobs Roundup
May 2026's Movers and Shakers: Xbox leadership reshuffle, Stillfront hires CHRO, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
#Regulation
Into The Sandbox
Melon Sandbox: 150m installs and UGC evolution
Publisher PlayDucky shares insights into the ragdoll physics title, which has transformed into part sandbox game, part creator ecosystem
Dma Review
EU's Digital Markets Act has "not yet reached its full potential"
Cloud and AI markets are next in the Commission's enforcement crosshairs
Regulations
Türkiye passes sweeping digital law restricting social media access for under 15s
Meanwhile, foreign gaming platforms with over 100,000 daily Turkish users must now appoint a local representative
Regulations
India launches Online Gaming Authority with strict compliance mandates from May 2026
Online money games are explicitly barred from recognition as esports under Indian law
More News
Ai Ahoy
HoYoverse reportedly investing up to $14.7bn in AI over next three years
AI plans are said to include enhancement of NPCs in upcoming Petit Planet
Settlement
Microsoft agrees $250m settlement in Activision Blizzard deal lawsuit
Both parties deny any and all allegations of fault, liability, wrongdoing or damages
Bulky Bookings
Take-Two Interactive celebrates "fantastic mobile performance" as net bookings surpass $6.7bn
Almost half of those net bookings came from mobile games, accounting for $3.3bn
Growing Games
Hasbro makes $1bn in Q1 including $41m from Monopoly Go
The company’s Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment led the quarter with $298m in operating profit and a 51% operating margin
Winners Revealed
Clash Royale wins Business Excellence Award at Finnish Game Awards 2026
The awards recognised the sector's top games, developers and impact of individuals
Expansions
Fortyseven Communications expands with new London office
The company also launched a new global Creator Relations practice
Events
Game AiCon Seoul brings together developers, publishers, investors and more next week
PocketGamer.biz can get a special discount to attend the show on May 26th to 28th
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Podcasts
Podcast | Episode 91
Sensor Tower's AppMagic acquisition and Sega's brutal Rovio comments | 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 91...
Podcast | Episode 90
Week in Mobile Games podcast: Episode 90
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 90...
Podcast
Podcast: The state of the UK games industry with UKIE CEO Nick Poole
We discuss the challenges facing the UK's games industry and what developers need in the coming years to boost their success
Podcast | Episode 89
Week in Mobile Games podcast: Episode 89
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 89...