Settlement Reached
Ubisoft Halifax workers approve settlement following sudden studio closure
Terms of the deal remain confidential but mark a key outcome for affected workers
Winners Revealed
Clair Obscur and Dispatch take top accolades at BAFTA Games Awards 2026
More than 1,700 BAFTA members voted across 17 categories
Hot Five
Hot Five: Supercell’s strategy, Aptoide vs Google, and the UK Games Fund’s £28.5m pledge
Our quick-fix roundup of the hottest stories on PocketGamer.biz
Latest
Week In Views
Xbox Game Pass’ value debate and Doki Doki Literature Club’s policy clash | Week in Views
The Pocketgamer.biz team pick their highlights from the headlines this week and deliver the stories behind the stories
Funding News
Reforged Studios secures $30m to scale global games IP platform
The funding follows the company’s acquisition of German publisher Headup
New Offerings
Roblox launches agentic AI tools to speed up game development workflows
The company said 44% of top creators already rely on AI tools across Roblox’s ecosystem
Industry Outlook
Layoffs leave over half of redundant games workers still jobless
New report from Skillsearch shows budget cuts are among the top three reasons for industry redundancies
Adaptations
Paramount's Call of Duty film set for June 2028 release date
Taylor Sheridan and Peter Berg lead the adaptation of the shooter franchise
Disney Deluge
Disney Solitaire celebrates first anniversary with $230.9m in player spending
Total earnings are likely higher including D2C and ad revenue
Editor's Picks
Studio Strategy
Supercell president: "If we want to be one of the very best mobile game companies in the world, great live ops isn't enough"
We speak with Sara Bach about Supercell's new and live game challenges, lessons from China and how it's restructuring to adapt to the modern mobile market
Us Best Of 2026
The Top 30 US Mobile Game Makers of 2026
The US movers and shakers of the last 12 months revealed!
Jobs Roundup
April 2026's Movers and Shakers: Scopely, Rovio, Blizzard, Ubisoft, King, and more
Our regular roundup of the mobile games industry's movers and shakers
Opinion
We view direct-to-consumer as a meaningful growth driver.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick eyes a further push into D2C alongside other top games publishers
Ads remain the most common and viable monetisation model across Africa's gaming markets today.
Africacomicade founder Michael Oscar Esio debates Africa's monetisation landscape
#Pocket Gamer Connects
Pgc Summit MalmÖ
Who you will meet in Malmö this May
Business-first summit will gather leading game companies on May 27th and 28th
Big Indie Pitch
How pitching competitions support indie developers
Turn your indie game from work-in-progress to global launch
Pgc Summit Shanghai
Discover how to enter and navigate China's games market in 2026 at PGC Summit Shanghai
Gain insight and connect with China’s game professionals in Shanghai on July 29th
Pgc Summit MalmÖ
Find out the secrets behind Sweden's games industry success in Malmö on May 27th to 28th
Gain market insight and build partnerships as the Nordic games industry meets for business
Industry Voices
Thinking Ai Launches Agentic Engine
ThinkingAI and MiniMax Announce Partnership on Agentic Engine to Deliver Real-Time Operations
ThinkingData has rebranded as ThinkingAI and partnered with MiniMax to launch Agentic Engine - an autonomous enterprise agentic platform designed to disrupt traditional data analysis
Anniversary
Starvania Studios CEO reflects on four years of growth, Bahamut breakthrough and what comes next
“We once nearly lost hope of getting Bahamut and the Waqwaq Tree to the finish line, and now it is an award-winning success across multiple platforms”
Industry Insights
Why game developers should prioritise player trust over instant dopamine
Jaroslav Stacevic says that game developers should focus on respecting players’ time and building trust
Industry Insights
Forecasting mobile game profitability: How publishers predict UA performance
Iaroslav Kobozev discusses how mobile studios predict long-term profitability from early user acquisition performance
Global Merchant Of Record
Navigating the global payments frontier - an interview with Fastspring's Christopher Bunk
“We become the seller of record in every transaction, which means we own the tax obligation, we own the fraud risk, and we handle compliance globally”
#MENA
Finding Funds
Mission Control Games launches with $4m pre-seed to rethink casual puzzle design
The funding will be used to grow the team and build its first title
New Studio
New studio Kemet Entertainment opens in Cairo
While starting with mobile games, the studio plans to expand into broader entertainment experiences
Enhancing Esports
ESL FACEIT Group teams up with KICK for esports streams
Viewership of Counter-Strike and Dota 2 competitions will aim to expand in the MENA region
Africa Is Mobile
Why monetisation in Africa is still a retention problem
"The studios that win here will be the ones who understood the conditions that actually exist, not the ones chasing a market size number that doesn't reflect their reality"
Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions
Milestone
CookieRun: Kingdom launches KPop Demon Hunters crossover with limited-time event
The collaboration runs until May 6th 2026, giving players a window to engage with themed content and limited-time rewards
Funding Round
Cloud gaming firm Playruo raises $2.5m
Company aims to expand its services globally following investment
Developers Unite
Five studios come together to form Nova Assembly
Developers unite to share specialised expertise and production experience
Developer Support
Codfish Academy partners with Dear Villagers to launch game pitching clinic in Portugal
Five selected teams will present their projects directly to a publisher with the potential to secure funding and publishing support
Freedom Regained
Quantic Lab exits Embracer Group
The transition took effect on April 1st, 2026, marking the end of Quantic Lab’s period within the Embracer portfolio
Acqusitions
LY Corp acquires majority stake in Kakao Games with $198m investment
Kakao will remain a strategic partner despite stepping down to second largest shareholder
Esports
Esports Foundation selects 40 clubs for $20m partner program ahead of 2026 Esports World Cup
Participating clubs can receive up to $1m each to expand their brands and fan engagement ahead of the tournament
Jobs News
Job News
Imperia Online taps Mario Vasilev as new chief operating officer
New COO role targets improved efficiency and collaboration across teams
Industry Outlook
UK games sector loses 1,537 jobs as 14-year growth streak ends
Large studios also reduced staffing levels, shedding more than 700 development roles across the sector
Closure
Rec Room to shut down after failing to achieve profitability from 150m players
The company cited shifts in the VR market and broader games industry pressures as key factors behind the decision
Jobs News
Nodwin Gaming appoints chief strategy and investments officer ahead of potential IPO
He will lead mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy and fundraising to support the company's global expansion
Job Losses
Epic layoffs spark launch of ‘Awesome People List’ job site for more than 1,000 displaced staff
The platform allows hiring managers to browse candidates across engineering, design, production, community management, and security roles
#Regulation
Mobile Mavens
"This is a fundamental shift in the way that games are rated": The Mobile Mavens on PEGI's new rules
Our Mobile Mavens share their insights on PEGI's updated age rating criteria and what it means for the wider games industry
Apple Troubles
German publishers urge antitrust fine against Apple ATT
Industry groups say Apple’s proposed ATT changes fail to resolve competition concerns
Security Review
Report: Trump administration reviews Tencent gaming investments over security concerns
Officials are assessing whether the company’s investments pose potential national security risks.
Child Safety
UK consultation on kids’ online lives: what the video games industry needs to know
Celia Pontin explains the UK government’s consultation on keeping children safe online
More News
Rewarded Ads
Almedia responds after Freecash removal from App Store and Google Play
The company said media reports behind the removal were misleading and is working towards a resolution
New Partnerships
Highrise partners with Neopets for a limited-time mobile crossover
Weekly free Neopet giveaways will run throughout the event
App Delisting
Freecash removed from App Store and Google Play after data scrutiny
The app’s removal follows scrutiny over data practices and marketing tactics
Studio Startup
Barcelona-based Side Quest Games establishes to make sports games for "underserved" fans
The studio has been co-founded by Alexandre Besenval and Oscar Jardi
Settlement Reached
Roblox agrees $12.5m deal to enhance child safety
The company is committing $10m to programmes encouraging children to engage in offline activities
Strategic Move
Amazon ends third-party support on Luna as service shifts strategy
All subscriptions bought via Luna will be automatically cancelled after the next billing cycle
Pokemon Unite
Pokémon UNITE WCS 2026 India Qualifier revealed with $25,000 prize pool
The winning team will represent India at the World Championship Finals in San Francisco
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Podcasts
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...
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PocketGamer.biz Podcast: Skillz, Beamable and the live ops shift
We unpack Skillz's acquisition of Beamable, what the future looks like for the two companies, and more
Podcast | Episode 88
Unity copies the AppLovin playbook with Vector | 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 88...
Podcast
PocketGamer.biz Podcast: Data doesn't solve problems - decisions do
We talk with GameAnalytics head of BD and customer success Falko Boecker to discuss data, AI and finding the right insights