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...

February 9, 2026

M&a

Private equity firm Haveli to acquire Budge Studios

Terms of the deal were not disclosed

February 9, 2026

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

February 9, 2026

Latest

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

February 9, 2026

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

February 9, 2026

Collab Incoming

Honkai: Star Rail characters are coming to Fortnite

The crossover will commence on February 26th, 2026

February 9, 2026

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

February 9, 2026

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 

February 9, 2026

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

February 9, 2026

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

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

February 6, 2026

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

February 5, 2026

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

February 5, 2026

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

February 4, 2026

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

February 2, 2026

Acqusitions

JetSynthesys confirms EverMerge acquisition from Big Fish Games

The deal supports JetSynthesys’ global expansion plans, with India a key growth market

February 6, 2026

Acquisition

Skillz acquires Beamable's backend tech

Team that built the platform will continue working on the product

February 4, 2026

Indie Publishing

LootLocker makes strategic investment in indie label Pantaloon

Pantaloon offers publishing services and an email newsletter to promote indie games

February 3, 2026

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

February 2, 2026

Funding News

Vietnam’s Panthera Global raises $1.5m to scale mid-core RPG ambitions

The Hanoi-based studio is doubling down on sustainable, higher-LTV game design over hit-driven scale

January 28, 2026

Acqusitions

Mistplay to acquire Mobivity’s Connected Rewards platform

The deal is expected to close in early Q1 2026, pending standard regulatory and closing conditions

January 27, 2026

New Partnerships

Savvy Games Group and NEOM sign MoU to fast-track Saudi gaming startups 

The deal connects Savvy’s Nine66 Incubator directly to NEOM’s Level Up Accelerator, creating a clearer growth pathway for startups

January 27, 2026

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

February 4, 2026

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...

January 31, 2026

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

January 30, 2026

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

January 22, 2026

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...

January 18, 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

February 9, 2026

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

February 9, 2026

Market Report

AppMagic: Games revenue growth stalls at 0.2% in 2025

AI has become mainstream in game marketing, with 56% of the top 100 grossing games using AI-driven ad creatives

February 6, 2026

Industry Outlook

UKIE welcomes new SIC codes for UK games publishing and development

The change marks the first time the UK games industry will be formally separated from broad software and IT categories in official economic data

February 6, 2026

Milestone

NYT Games' multiplayer word game Crossplay surpasses one million downloads

Launched in January, the title marks NYT’s move from solo puzzles into real-time competitive play

February 6, 2026

Endfield Earnings

Arknights: Endfield hits $30m in two weeks on mobile

Gryphline’s new gacha was released globally on January 22nd

February 5, 2026

Switch 2 Sales

Switch 2 surpasses 17m unit sales as Nintendo’s net sales rise 99%

The original Switch has become Nintendo’s best-selling console in history, at over 155m units and 1.5bn software sales

February 5, 2026

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...

January 24, 2026

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

January 16, 2026

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...

December 20, 2025

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...

December 11, 2025