LinkedIn Launches New Logic Puzzle Game Patches
LinkedIn has introduced Patches, a spatial‑logic puzzle game launching on March 19 2026. The title builds on the success of Zip and draws inspiration from the Japanese Shikaku puzzle, offering simple mechanics that grow harder throughout the week. LinkedIn Games reports millions of daily users, with an 86 % next‑day return rate, and adds new leaderboard tools for network score comparisons. The rollout signals LinkedIn’s push toward lightweight, social experiences that deepen professional engagement.
“A Tale of Two Halves”: The Mobile Mavens Weigh in on GDC 2026
GDC 2026 rebranded as the Festival of Gaming and recorded noticeably lower attendance, a trend linked to heightened U.S. political tensions and travel restrictions stemming from conflicts in Iran and the broader Middle East. The Expo floor contracted, leading many...
Values Value and InGame Job Launch 10th Annual Survey Tracking Global Games Industry Employment
Values Value and InGame Job have released the 10th edition of the Big Games Industry Employment Survey, tracking global labour‑market trends in game development. The study, backed by partners such as Mellow, Scorewarrior, Tribe and major industry bodies, gathers responses...
King’s Farm Heroes Saga Officially Hits $2 Billion
King’s Farm Heroes Saga has officially crossed the $2 billion lifetime revenue threshold, doubling the $1 billion milestone announced in 2019. Launched in 2014, the match‑3 title now boasts roughly 50 million global players and continues to receive regular content updates. The achievement...
Afrime Studios Enters Seed Round After Raising $400,000 to Build Afrofuturistic RPG Unyverse
Afrime Studios, a majority Black‑owned US game developer, has closed an angel round of roughly $400,000 and is now moving into a seed funding phase. The studio is building a public demo of its debut Afrofuturistic sci‑fi RPG, Unyverse, to...
Playstack Profit Jumps 59% as Balatro and Abiotic Factor Drive Record Sales
Playstack reported a 59% jump in profit before tax for 2025, reaching £12.2 million ($16.2 m), driven by record sales of the titles Abiotic Factor and Balatro. The publisher logged 20 million new installs and more than 150 million hours played, pushing its Steam...
Smartly Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Measurement Platform Incrmntal
Smartly has signed a letter of intent to acquire Incrmntal, a real‑time marketing measurement platform. Smartly’s AI‑driven suite automates campaign creation, while Incrmntal provides incremental lift analytics across channels. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition aims to embed live...
Epic Games Store GM Says Google Deal Marks a "Meaningful Reset" For Mobile Market
Epic Games Store general manager Steve Allison announced a global settlement with Google that cuts the standard Android store fee from 30% to 20% and adds a 5% optional payment charge. The deal, pending U.S. court approval, also permits developers...
Ludus Hits $3m Monthly Revenue as Installs Surpass 8m
Ludus, Top App Games' PvP strategy title, achieved a 74.6% year‑over‑year revenue increase, reaching about $3 million in monthly revenue by March 2025. The growth was driven by scaled user acquisition and the addition of rewarded traffic, which now accounts for 25%...
Razer Reveals AI Tools to Speed up Game Development Pipelines
Razer unveiled an AI‑powered suite at GDC 2026 to streamline game development, highlighted by the QA Companion AI that automatically detects bugs from gameplay footage and creates detailed reports. The tool offers zero‑integration deployment, letting studios embed it without SDKs or...
Sega Sammy Plans to Expand Transmedia Strategy as Mobile and Live Service Titles Take Centre Stage
Japanese game publisher Sega Sammy announced a broadening of its transmedia strategy, turning its flagship franchises into multi‑platform entertainment brands that span games, films, merchandise and live experiences. The plan places mobile and live‑service titles at the forefront, highlighted by...
Study Shows 77% of Mobile Gamers Spend $100 or More per Month on Online Purchases
A new AppLovin report finds that 77% of U.S. mobile gamers spend $100 or more per month on online purchases, while 70% play daily, making the medium a high‑frequency touchpoint for brands. Nearly 40% of surveyed gamers bought a product...
From Large Language Models to Learning Languages - Seven More Fabulous Fireside Chats From PGC London 2026
PGC London 2026 hosted a series of seven fireside chats that gathered top voices from the mobile‑games ecosystem, including Duolingo, 52 Entertainment, Finz Games, Studio Atelico, Zaibatsu Interactive and TapNation. The conversations explored how Duolingo applies game‑like core loops to language learning, how monetisation now...
Mobvista Reports $2.05bn Revenue for 2025 as Mintegral Drives Growth
Mobvista posted full‑year 2025 revenue of $2.05 billion, a 35.7% jump from 2024, driven primarily by its programmatic platform Mintegral. Mintegral delivered $1.96 billion in revenue, up 35.9%, with AI‑powered smart bidding accounting for more than 80% of that income. Gaming remained...
Stillfront Announces Change to Nomination Committee Ahead of AGM
Swedish games publisher Stillfront Group has restructured its Nomination Committee ahead of its May 13, 2026 annual general meeting, replacing Roger Storm of Handelsbanken Fonder with Christian Wawrzinek (appointed by Laureus Capital) and Mohamad Haj Hasan (appointed by Knuth Capital)....
Kingshot’s First Year: $800m, 11 Months of Growth, but Backlash From Whales
Century Games’ mobile strategy game Kingshot marked its first anniversary with $811.9 million in gross player spending across Google Play and the App Store. The title posted explosive growth, rising from $5.9 million in March 2025 to a peak of $102.2 million in January 2026...
How Azur Games Increased Retention and Doubled Revenue with Hidden Objects 2
Azur Games revamped Hidden Objects 2 with a diversified content strategy and AI‑assisted art pipeline, delivering far more levels and visual styles than its predecessor. The changes lifted day‑one retention from just above 30 % to over 40 % on both Android and iOS, and...
Maysalward Opens New Headquarters in Amman
Jordan‑based game developer Maysalward has inaugurated a new headquarters on Abdali Boulevard in Amman, marking a new phase after 23 years of development and 14 years of community building. The office will host "The Capsule," an initiative aimed at scaling...
Around 70% of UK Adults Are Gaming with Increasing Focus on Social Connections
Around 70% of UK adults now engage in gaming, with more than half playing daily, according to Dentsu’s Ready Player Brand report. The study shows a clear shift of leisure time from streaming services and social media toward interactive play....
Sumo Digital Partners with Arm to Explore AI-Powered "PC-Class" Graphics for Mobile Games
Sumo Digital has partnered with chip designer Arm to evaluate Arm’s new neural technology, which embeds AI‑powered accelerators within its GPUs. The collaboration aims to deliver "PC‑class" graphics on mobile devices by leveraging AI‑driven rendering techniques. Sumo is testing the...
Clash Royale Celebrates 10 Years and $4.9bn in Player Spending After Resurgence
Supercell’s Clash Royale marked its 10‑year anniversary with a surge in player spending, reaching nearly $5 billion in lifetime revenue and $646.8 million in 2025 alone—a 149 % increase over the prior year. The game’s resurgence follows a series of in‑game overhauls, including...
How Important Is the Power of a Publishing Label?
At Pocket Gamer Connects Summit 2026, industry leaders debated the relevance of publishing labels versus self‑publishing. Anshar Publishing highlighted how genre‑focused labels like Hooded Horse can amplify visibility for strategy games, while Avalanche Studios emphasized label‑driven platform access for B2B...
Discord’s Plans for Acquisition, Retention and Monetisation
Discord reports over 90 million daily active users, with gamers accounting for 90% of its monthly activity and 5 billion hours of gameplay logged in a single month. At Pocket Gamer Connects, senior developer advocate Anthony Tešija highlighted the Social SDK, which...
Dr Marie-Claire Isaaman on Driving Gender Equality in the Games Industry
The Women in Games Manifesto 2026, launched in January, frames gender fairness as a strategic imperative rather than a moral add‑on. Dr Marie‑Claire Isaaman warns that women, who comprise nearly half of global gamers, remain scarce in senior leadership, creating blind spots...
Leading with Impact: Ada Mockute Jaime on Growth, Inclusion and Global Games Strategy
Ada Mockute Jaime, Nordcurrent’s senior leader, explains how the company scales mobile games by aligning product, marketing and community functions while leveraging creator‑driven discovery. She highlights the success of global titles such as Airplane Chefs and Cooking Fever, noting that universal mechanics...
Tickets Now Live for Pocket Gamer Connects Summit Shanghai, July 29th
Pocket Gamer Connects has opened ticket sales for its Shanghai summit on July 29, 2026, positioning the event as a business‑focused gateway ahead of ChinaJoy. The conference will gather global publishers, investors, developers and platform partners for curated meetings, expert...
Tebex's Liam Wiltshire: "New Regulations Quietly Change Who Owns the Player Relationship"
At Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco, Tebex VP Liam Wiltshire warned that studios are still treating platform stores as the sole channel for player acquisition, a practice he says hampers long‑term growth. He highlighted the rise of direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) strategies...
Avakin Life Surpasses 500 Million Downloads, Cementing 12-Year Legacy as a Global Powerhouse
Lockwood Publishing announced that its flagship social metaverse Avakin Life has surpassed 500 million lifetime downloads, marking a 12‑year run of steady growth. The platform now supports 1.6 million monthly active players and averaged 220 000 daily active users in 2025. Avakin Life’s...
Roblox Launches AI-Powered Chat System that Automatically Rephrases Inappropriate Messages
Roblox has introduced an AI‑powered chat feature that automatically rephrases profanity in real time. Instead of masking words with asterisks, the system rewrites them into respectful equivalents while keeping the original intent. Early rollout data shows the tool improves moderation...
Pitchify Launches Pitch Direct to Make Pitching to Publishers More Transparent
Pitchify has introduced Pitch Direct, a new service that lets game developers browse detailed publisher requirements and submit pitches directly to suitable partners. The platform displays criteria such as budget, timeline, platform and genre, and includes built‑in CRM tools, search...
Mistplay Launches Playtime Events to Deepen Engagement in Rewarded Ads
Mistplay has introduced Playtime Events, a hybrid reward system that blends time‑based incentives with event‑driven milestones to extend mobile gameplay sessions. Early testing in North America showed a 30% increase in average playtime and a 20% lift in D30 return...
NDreams Proposes Restructuring with 78 Roles at Risk and Two Studios Set to Close
VR developer nDreams announced a sweeping restructuring that could eliminate 78 positions and shut two internal studios, Near Light and Compass. The Elevation studio, housing roughly 120 staff, will become the nucleus of the leaner organization, while a smaller XR...
Ofcom Invites Small Games Studios to Workshop on Navigating Regulation
UK communications regulator Ofcom has announced a virtual focus group for small video‑game studios to discuss regulatory challenges. The workshop aims to collect real‑world feedback on current guidance and identify ways the regulator can better support early‑stage developers. Interested companies...
Pokémon TCG Pocket Hits Six-Month High as Franchise Turns 30 Years Old
Pokémon TCG Pocket logged its highest daily spend in six months on Pokémon Day, generating $4.7 million—up 57% from the previous day and 486% week‑over‑week. The surge coincided with the franchise’s 30th anniversary and the launch of the Paldean Wonders card...
Former PlayStation and Xbox Hiring Lead Launches Rocket Game Talent
Former Sony PlayStation and Xbox Game Studios talent leader Fiona Cherbak has founded Rocket Game Talent, a boutique fractional talent firm. The company targets indie developers, startups, and growing studios that lack the hiring infrastructure of major publishers. It will...
Mobile Games Host Three Times More Malicious Ads than Other Apps Says AppHarbr
AppHarbr’s in‑app network quality index reveals that mobile games display malicious ads at a rate of 58 per 165 ads, nearly three times the frequency seen in non‑gaming apps. The report links weaker ad‑quality controls and formats such as rewarded...
TIGA Calls on the UK Government to Strengthen the Video Games Expenditure Credit in the Upcoming Autumn Budget
The UK games trade body TIGA is urging the government to boost the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC) in the upcoming Autumn Budget, proposing a 53% credit rate for projects with budgets up to £23.5 million. It also recommends expanding qualifying...
Report: Trump Administration Reviews Tencent Gaming Investments over Security Concerns
The Trump administration is reviewing Tencent’s gaming investments for potential national‑security risks. Senior officials are assessing the Chinese conglomerate’s stakes in Riot Games, Epic Games, Supercell and other Western studios. The review comes amid heightened U.S.–China tensions and just before...
Aurora Awards Europe - Nominations Now Open!
The Aurora Awards Europe is now accepting nominations for women working across the European games industry, with submissions due by May 14. Winners will be revealed live at Pocket Gamer Connects Barcelona 2026, a two‑day conference that gathers over 1,000 global...
Nordic Networking? Come Meet PGC Summit Malmö 2026 This May 27th and 28th
The PG Connects Summit Malmö × MeetToMatch, powered by Xsolla, will run on May 27‑28, 2026 alongside Nordic Game 2026. Hosted in the MeetToMatch Publisher Lounge at the Comfort Hotel, the two‑day event offers pre‑arranged, high‑value B2B meetings for developers, publishers, investors...
Istanbul-Based Vento Games Secures $4m to Scale Family-Friendly Mobile Puzzle Portfolio
Istanbul‑based Vento Games announced a $4 million seed round co‑led by Makers Fund and Arcadia Gaming Partners. Founded in June 2024 by former Peak Games, Fugo and Zynga executives, the studio is leveraging its team’s experience on hits like Words of...
UK Consultation on Kids’ Online Lives: What the Video Games Industry Needs to Know
The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has launched a 62‑question consultation titled “Growing up in the online world” to gather evidence on child safety across the internet, with a particular focus on gaming platforms. It probes legal age...
UK Government Opens Consultation on Social Media Age Restriction, Curfews and Games Crackdown
The UK government has launched a consultation, running until May 26, 2026, to explore stricter controls on children’s access to social media, AI chatbots and online games. Proposals include minimum age thresholds, nighttime curfews, and bans on addictive design elements...
Pokémon Go Celebrates 30 Years of Pokémon with Rare Encounters and Web Shop Promotions
Pokémon Go will mark the franchise’s 30‑year anniversary with a week‑long event from March 3‑9 2026 featuring the return of rare Pokémon such as Ditto, Mewtwo, Giratina, Zygarde and Urshifu, plus Mythical raid battles like Darkrai and Genesect. The celebration, announced during...
Sixteen Tons Appoints Former Wooga VP Creative Sebastian Nußbaum as Chief Creative Officer
Sixteen Tons Entertainment has hired former Wooga vice‑president of creative Sebastian Nußbaum as chief creative officer to lead the next growth phase of its Emergency franchise. Nußbaum previously helped shape June’s Journey, a hidden‑object title that generated over $1 billion in lifetime revenue....
GDAI Expands Leadership to Deepen Policy Engagement Across India’s Games Sector
India’s Game Developer Association (GDAI) has expanded its executive team to deepen policy engagement across the country’s fast‑growing games sector. Shruti Verma, former head of Epic Games India, joins as CEO, while Krafton India’s Sean Hyunil Sohn takes a board...
Hot Five: Overwatch Rush Unveiled, Arknights: Endfield’s $46m Month, and "Bad News for Xbox"
Arknights: Endfield generated $46 million in its debut month, with iOS accounting for 61 % of revenue. Blizzard announced Overwatch Rush, a mobile‑first spinoff built by a team with deep mobile expertise. Turkey introduced a unified incentive framework to boost user‑acquisition funding for...
Türkiye Backs Games Studios with Array of New Incentives and Financial Support
Turkey has overhauled its tech incentive framework, consolidating fragmented programs into a single model for mobile‑game studios and software exporters. The new scheme offers up to 25 million TL in marketing subsidies, 50 million TL for digital product promotion, and a 50 %...
New Kids Gaming Hub Netflix Playground Soft-Launches in the Philippines
Netflix has soft‑launched Netflix Playground, a kids‑focused gaming hub, in the Philippines. The ad‑free service is bundled at no extra cost with a standard Netflix subscription and targets preschool‑ and kindergarten‑age children. It offers a suite of minigames featuring familiar...
Replay Global Backs Vietnam-Based Playard to Scale Its Mobile Games Portfolio
Playard, a Vietnam‑based mobile game studio founded in 2025, has secured an undisclosed investment from Replay Global to accelerate team expansion and portfolio growth. The partnership allows Playard to remain independent while receiving capital and strategic collaboration across strategy, operations,...
