Blocking App Store Competition: EU Hits Apple With $570M Fine

Apple’s $570M Reality Check Here Apple just got a €500 million wake-up call from the EU for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). At the heart of it? Anti-steering practices. The tech titan blocked developers from guiding users to better deals outside the App Store, breaking the DMA’s rulebook on fair play and consumer choice. Despite attempts to dodge the rules with workaround terms, Apple still took a cut, even when developers linked to external stores. Now, the EU demands a full stop: remove all restrictions and don’t even think about repeating the stunt. Apple has 60 days to clean up or face rolling penalties. Epic Weighs In Epic Games cheered the ruling, urging other global regulators—from the UK to Brazil—to follow suit. They say it’s time to break Apple’s grip on digital markets and restore real choice and innovation. […]

Gamigion April 24

Highlights

HOGO Games Secures Investment at $5M Valuation

One of Turkey’s rising stars in the gaming world, HOGO Games, just announced a new investment round led by Red Axe Games and a group of angel investors, all at a $5 million valuation. Founded in December 2022 at the Bilişim Vadisi Gebze Campus, HOGO is a lean team of 11 developers creating both mobile and PC games. Their mobile titles are already live on Google Play and the App Store, and they’ve also released two PC games to date. Their debut title, Rock Star Life Simulator, made headlines as the first AI-driven game approved by Steam. Both PC games performed exceptionally well, ranking in the top 5% globally on Steam in terms of sales and revenue. Currently, HOGO is working on two new PC titles as they continue to scale. Speaking about the investment, Ahmet Çetinli, Founder and CEO […]

Gamigion April 24

Highlights

Jobs in Mobile Gaming: April’19

🎨 1166 Jobs in Mobile Gaming » 12-19 April 👉🏻 Data from Gamigion.com/jobs 🕺🏻 Dev 💻 Art 🎨 Product 📱 Marketing 🎯 Business 💰 Data 📈 QA ⚒️ Hottest Job of the Week - Fully Remote! Senior Mobile Growth Manager - AppAgent 🇨🇿 Founded in 2017, AppAgent is a team of 30+ Strategists, Marketers & Designers from different backgrounds - united by the same passion for Mobile Games. The agency has helped over 150 game publishers, including industry giants such as Supercell, Netflix, Metacore, and Outfit7, reach their full growth potential and unlock creativity. 💻 Dev VP, Corporate Development Scopely 🇨🇳 Engineering Manager Scopely 🇲🇽 IT Systems & Platform Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 🇲🇽 Senior/Software Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Senior Analytics Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Executive Producer - Scopely 🇨🇳 🇺🇸 Unity Client Engineer - Scopely 🇪🇸 Senior Director of Engineering - Unannounced […]

Gamigion April 19

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Google’s Adtech Monopoly Ruled Illegal

A federal judge just struck a seismic blow to Google’s adtech dominance. After a three-week bench trial, the court ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in two vital pillars of digital advertising: publisher ad servers and ad exchanges. At the heart of the matter? Google’s AdX product and its tightly bundled relationship with DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP). Source: Inside Telecom The Plot Twist Judge Brinkema didn’t mince words. She declared Google’s conduct exclusionary—sidelining competitors, harming publishers, and ultimately shortchanging the public’s access to a competitive, open web. Google, it turns out, tied its tools not for better quality or security, but to maintain its grip on the market. The court found no valid justification for these ties—only power plays. Industry Voices Speak Out Andrew Casale, CEO of Index Exchange and one of the trial’s opening witnesses, called the verdict […]

Gamigion April 17

Journal

Turkic Game Jam: A Journey of Culture Beyond Lahmacun

Here's a cool story, written by Murat Secilmis. Turkic Game Jam? In April 2025, we hosted the Turkic Game Jam – an unforgettable event in Ankara that brought together culture, creativity, and Game Dev passion across 5 countries. But did you know… it all started with a craving for Lahmacun? Yup. This is a 4-year journey that began with a game jam... and a longing for Turkish food. Let’s rewind. 2021 – Ireland, Lahmacun Withdrawals & a Dream In 2021, I moved to Ireland for 1.5 years. Before leaving, my crew and I at Boxu hosted a farewell game jam: Local Game Jam 1. That event sparked something. I promised myself there’d be a second, and it would be bigger, deeper, and rooted in culture. I’ve always been passionate about culture, but living abroad made me truly feel its value. […]

Gamigion April 17

Highlights

Mobile Gaming Today: April’15 Week

Ahoj Fam, Ready for another SOLID DIGEST? Lezgo! 👌🏻 Top Gaming Content » When Visuals Drive Performance 🧩 Triple Match 3D’s Quiet Comeback: Polished, Smarter, Still in the Game Once the king of Match 3D, Triple Match 3D is staging a sleek comeback. After being outpaced by Match Factory, the game has undergone a full visual reboot—new item designs, a modern UI, and an overall smoother feel that aligns with today’s top-tier puzzle titles. But it's not just a facelift. The game’s new “Mix & Match” offer system and clever use of Royal Match’s Super Light Ball show it's learning, adapting, and aiming to stand out, not just catch up. It might not retake the crown, but in a growing subgenre, a strong second place with solid monetization and retention is still a big win. Keep the momentum alive. ⚡️Game […]

Gamigion April 15

Highlights

Boby.ai Raises $1.25M Seed Round to Expand AI-Powered Apps

Boby.ai, a startup focused on developing AI-powered applications for end-users, has raised $1.25 million in seed funding to enhance its existing apps and launch new AI-based mobile products. The funding round was led by London Venture Partners —one of the world’s most reputable gaming industry funds—alongside Diffusion Capital Partners and F4 Fund participation. From Mobile Gaming to Mobile AI Apps Founded by Gökçe Nur Oğuz (CEO), Onur Olgun (COO), and Berat Oğuz, Boby.ai has shifted its focus from gaming to developing user-friendly, creative AI applications directly for mobile users. CEO Gökçe Nur Oğuz previously co-founded two successful gaming startups—Playable Factory and Fabrika Games—which reached millions of players worldwide. Now, she’s channeling her game industry expertise in rapid product development, scaling, and global growth into the mobile AI space. “Everything we learned from years in gaming—how to build fast, scale smart, and focus on […]

Gamigion April 15

Highlights

Jobs in Mobile Gaming: April’12 Week

🎨 710 Jobs in Mobile Gaming » 5-12 April 👉🏻 Data from Gamigion.com/jobs 🕺🏻 Dev 💻 Art 🎨 Product 📱 Marketing 🎯 Business 💰 Data 📈 QA ⚒️ 💻 Dev Analytics Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Unity Client Engineer - Scopely 🇪🇸 ESports Tech Engineer Supercell 🇫🇮 Senior Software Engineer I Zynga 🇮🇳 Senior Manager, Engineering Zynga 🇮🇳 Senior Software Engineer- Website Development Zynga 🇮🇳 Senior Software Engineer (Client) - Words With Friends Zynga 🇨🇦 Senior Software Engineer (Client) - Wizard of Oz Slots Zynga 🇺🇸 Gameplay Technical Director - Echtra Games Zynga 🇨🇦 C# Client developer Playtika 🇵🇱 Senior C# Developer/ Tech Lead Playtika 🇷🇴 Unity Technical Lead Playtika 🇵🇱 Unity Senior Expert Playtika 🇵🇱 Technical Support Engineer (Tier 3) Moon Active 🇮🇱 Corporate Development Manager Moon Active 🇮🇱 Software Engineer (New Grad) Dream Games 🇹🇷 Senior Game Developer Spyke Games […]

Gamigion April 13

Highlights

$3M Raised: Storycraft’s AI Game, Turning Gamers into Storytellers

Storycraft — the AI-powered game platform where players create, explore, and share their own interactive story worlds — has raised a $3 million seed round. The funding for the Montreal-based startup will accelerate the global multiplatform launch of Storycraft’s multiplayer mobile game built on Google Cloud, which combines AI creative tools, online community, and social storytelling in never before seen ways. Khosla Ventures led the round, which follows an earlier $2 million pre-seed round led by London Venture Partners and Signalfire. Storycraft was cofounded by Andy Mauro. He’s a longtime applied AI innovator behind Nuance’s Nina, the world’s first enterprise mobile voice assistant, and Automat, the leading product recommendation chatbot (acquired in 2021). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzlDJaJazMI&t=8s&ab_channel=GamesBeat Storycraft creations With Storycraft, Mauro wants to create the Minecraft of storytelling—a place where anyone with a story to tell, not just game designers, can turn their […]

Gamigion April 11

Journal

Tech TENSION: Unity 6 Pulled from China

It's official. Unity 6, the world’s most popular game engine, has been pulled offline in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and future updates won’t reach Chinese users. In its place? A new, homegrown version: 团结引擎. Unity Technologies says the move ensures services are better tailored to China's game development scene. But timing is everything, and this shift lands squarely in the middle of escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, suggesting the tech cold war just leveled up. See: Gaming Under Fire: China vs. Tariffs Released on January 1, 2024, 团结引擎 will now carry the torch. A newly announced pricing model takes effect June 2025, mirroring Unity's global structure: a free Personal license for small teams and a Pro license for studios making over $200K annually. The mission? Catch up fast. The local roadmap prioritizes replicating Unity 6’s key features — but […]

Gamigion April 11

Highlights

Mika Games Invests $2M in the Future of Tower Defense

Mika Games Invests $2 Million in Hybrid-Casual Game Set to Surpass Plants vs. Zombies A new challenger has entered the arena, and it's gunning for Plants vs. Zombies' crown. Mika Games, the ambitious gaming fund founded by Wargaming co-founder Nick Katselapov, just dropped $2 million into Agonalea Games, the Buenos Aires-based studio behind Punko.io — a hybrid-casual tower defense title with mid-core depth and mobile market bite. Why? Forget the watered-down reboots. Punko.io hits different. It blends the strategic soul of Clash Royale, the addictive thrill of Archero, and the nostalgic charm of classic Flash games — all while dodging the hyper-casual traps of cheap gimmicks and over-monetization. RPG-style item management, slick design, and a progression loop that actually respects the player? That’s the formula Agonalea is perfecting. Founded by industry veterans Pedro Aira (ex-Sensor Tower) and Vanina Fregoti (ex-Pixowl), […]

Gamigion April 11

Highlights

Gaming M&A to $6.6B in Q1 2025: Scopely’s $3.5B Power Move

Aream & Co. Quarterly Gaming Report here. M&A activity surged to $6.6 billion in Q1 2025 — the highest in two years — more than doubling the $3.2B from Q1 2024. Leading the charge? Scopely’s massive $3.5 billion takeover of Niantic’s licensed games business — think Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom. That one deal alone carried the quarter, propelling M&A past even pre-pandemic highs. Without it, numbers would’ve slightly dipped year-over-year. Mobile gaming dominated, as usual, driving most of the quarter’s value. Private consolidators stayed aggressive despite financing hurdles, reshuffling portfolios, and hunting for opportunity. Miniclip followed close behind with a $1.2B acquisition of puzzle giant Easybrain The momentum didn’t stop at M&A: Mobile saw modest growth, with Asian studios like Habby, Dream Games, and Florere leading the U.S. market surge. On PC, Steam hit a record concurrent […]

Gamigion April 10

Gamigion

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