Actions being taken on Sexualised Ads

It’s encouraging to see action finally being taken on sexualised ads in our industry. The UK’s ASA has just banned ads from five mobile games for breaching guidelines, including ones featuring hyper-sexualised and stereotypical portrayals of women. This follows a string of similar cases, and it’s clear the industry is now under real scrutiny; who knows how long before the IAB enforces something even further?I covered this issue in detail last year with Gamesforum, pointing out how this kind of advertising doesn’t just fail morally, it also fails commercially. It undermines trust in the product, the platform, and ultimately the industry, which reduces retention rates and other qualitative gaming metrics. These aren’t edge cases, they’re still far too common.This ASA ruling is a much-needed first step, but we’ve got a long way to go. It’s not enough to quietly hope […]

John Wright March 26

Highlights

Supercell Supports Offroad Games in High-Speed Studio Launch

Buckle up: a crew of Space Ape veterans just launched Offroad Games, a brand-new London studio with one mission—drive car games into the future with full-throttle energy. Even better? They’re not doing it alone. In a bold move to keep beloved games alive and thriving, Supercell and Offroad Games have joined forces, handing over the keys to Chrome Valley Customs, Fastlane: Road to Revenge, and the long-dormant Go Race: Superkarts. This partnership protects jobs, powers up innovation, and fuels growth across London’s buzzing dev scene. At the wheel is Geoffrey Gilles, Offroad’s CEO and former GM of Chrome Valley Customs and original game lead on Beatstar. Backed by a team of ten (and growing), Offroad is already profitable and running at full speed, with no outside funding and no time to waste. “Offroad is buzzing with gallons of nitro energy! […]

Gamigion March 26

Highlights

Q1 2025 Korean Mobile Game Publisher Report

1. Supercent Dominates Global Downloads As of March 24, 2025, Supercent has secured the top position among Korean publishers in global downloads, recording an impressive 130 million downloads. Supercent has solidified its position as a leading player in the casual gaming market, consistently achieving strong performance worldwide. Following behind, Mobrix ranked second with approximately 18 million downloads. While casual game giants continue to lead, emerging publishers such as KIGLE and SUD have also entered the TOP 5, drawing industry attention. KIGLE specializes in kid-friendly content, offering games accessible to all age groups. Meanwhile, SUD, a two-person indie studio, has rapidly expanded by continuously releasing its ‘Dal-in’ game series, which means ‘master’. 2. Revenue Performance in the Global Market Despite their dominance in download figures, Korean publishers struggle to generate significant revenue from individual games in global markets. Among the Top […]

Myoungwon Kim March 26

Highlights

DoubleU Games Finalizes Paxie Games Acquisition

DoubleU Games has officially sealed the deal with Turkish game studio Paxie Games, completing the acquisition on March 26 following regulatory approval. The $29.9 million upfront payment secures 60% ownership, with the remainder to be acquired over three years via an earn-out structure. This bold move brings Paxie’s breakout title, Merge Studio: Fashion Makeover, under DoubleU’s wing—a hit that’s already clocked 28 million downloads and $34 million in revenue. Paxie’s expertise in the booming Merge-2 genre and its strong female user base align strategically with DoubleU’s global ambitions and core social casino business. "This acquisition supercharges our competitive edge in the global gaming market," said Jay Choi, CFO of DoubleU Games. "We’re committed to partnering with high-potential studios to drive long-term growth." Paxie CEO Direnç Çelik echoed the excitement: “Merge Studio is just the beginning. With DoubleU’s global reach, we’re […]

Gamigion March 26

Highlights

Scopely x CD Projekt: Mobile Power Combo Incoming

CD Projekt x Scopely: A Mobile Power Combo Is ComingWitchers, Cyberpunks… and Monopoly? Witcher Puzzle-RPG? 😅 Big news in gaming: CD Projekt, the studio behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, is teaming up with mobile giant Scopely, the force behind Monopoly Go, to bring one of its iconic franchises to mobile. The collab was quietly dropped during CD Projekt’s earnings call. No title yet, no gameplay, just a hint: something big is brewing. And with Scopely recently buying Pokémon Go dev Niantic for $3.5B, the timing is exciting. Imagine Ciri leading a monster-hunting AR game. Or a neon-lit Cyberpunk squad battler. This could be the moment deep RPG storytelling truly hits mobile, powered by Niantic’s tech and Scopely’s hit-making magic. Meanwhile, CD Projekt has 400+ devs full speed on The Witcher 4, starring Ciri. “We can do a lot of […]

Gamigion March 26

Highlights

Mobile Gaming Today: New Games & New Money

Hey Fam, My buddy, Andre, prepared a cool Gaming Recruitment Survey. Both for Founders & Employees. Let’s support our industry. 🤟🏻 Candidate Survey Employer Survey 👌🏻 Top Gaming Content » Engaging Mini Games & Where to Find Them! Mini games have become the secret sauce for keeping players hooked. While strong core loops get things rolling and long-term motivation keeps them around, it’s mini games that fill the gap—offering variety, quick fun, and a break from the grind. Hits like Royal Match, Toon Blast, and Monopoly GO are leading the charge, using them to boost retention and bust boredom. What once started as “fake advertising” turned into actual mini games :)) As LiveOps takes center stage, expect mini games to level up, built into calendars, tailored to genres, and optimized for engagement. What started as ad bait is now baked […]

Gamigion March 25

Highlights

Public Mobile Gaming Publishers: Resilience & Adaptation in a Shifting Landscape

Written by our Partner, InvestGame. Survival Strategies, Market Trends, and the Path Forward The mobile gaming market remains one of the largest segments in interactive entertainment, with in-app purchases (IAP) generating ~$60B in 2024. However, the mobile gaming industry has undergone a significant transformation over the past five years, shifting from a high-growth expansion to a mature market characterized by operational efficiency, financial discipline, and single-digit growth. During the 2020–2021 boom, mobile gaming saw record-high UA spending, valuation surges, and aggressive M&A activity. Between 2020 and 2022, mobile gaming accounted for over 60% of all gaming M&A transactions’ value, with major deals such as Zynga’s $12.7B acquisition by Take-Two and Scopely’s $4.9B sale to Savvy Games Group. Even in Q4’24, mobile remained at the center of industry consolidation, with three of the four largest M&A deals involving mobile gaming assets. The momentum has continued into 2025, with Dream […]

Gamigion March 25

Journal

Four Things from GDC

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗚𝗗𝗖 𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚This revelation insight from former Machine Zone CEO Gabe Leydon spun my head throughout the conference. He's right: our passion isn't dead, but it's undoubtedly been crowded out. Mobile obsesses over acquisition, while HD fixates on fundraising. New platform dreams—web3, AR/VR, HTML5, UGC—have largely fizzled. Yet these platforms persist, surviving but not thriving. Mock AR/VR as the "Dippin' Dots of Games" if you like, but at least those developers burn with genuine passion.The rest of the industry must reignite the will to survive—the kind we see from firms like Supercell, Lessmore, and Hypehype.𝟮. 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆-𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲; 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄Michail Katkoff made an excellent observation about the absence of the "world-changing" bravado heard from SF founders intoxicated by Paul Graham essays. Instead, the talks were pragmatic—topics like " 'Angry Birds' and AI […]

Phillip Black March 24

Journal

How Turkey became a Mobile Games Powerhouse

How did 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘆 became a mobile games powerhouse b/t 2020-2025? 💪 Here's an eye-opening retrospective from Investgame."Following Peak’s landmark acquisition, a wave of entrepreneurship emerged, with over 80 new startups founded by or employing former Peak employees. Approximately half of these startups remained in the gaming sector, fostering knowledge transfer and driving the ecosystem’s rapid growth." - InvestgamePersonally, I hadn't realized the impact of the Peak acquisition on the local industry.This also, (coupled with the agile / 'fail fast' culture) explains the dominance of Casual in Turkish development.

Matthew Emery March 24

Journal

New Match-3: Block Genre?

Is Block 🟥 the new Match3? Block Blast by Hungry Studio continues to scale past 1,2 Million downloads a day 🤑 its the 11th most downloaded App on all of the stores and 2nd most downloaded game after Garena FF for last month. On the other side Color Block Jam by Rollic did $12 Mil. in IAP 💰 revenue last month. We have already covered Block Blast on two & a half gamers podcast in January, but since then it has aggressively grown its active users by nearly 40% 😱. And the giant market appeal of this core gameplay (which stems from Tetris) is starting to be very obvious. In June it should comfortably hit 500 Mil. lifetime downloads 🏆.Interestingly, the next game in the genre charts based on downloads is Color Block Jam, which is still heavily monetized by […]

Jakub Remiar March 21

Journal

Alternative App Store… for Cars?

Since recently, I tried many different cars. Not because I like to switch cars but because during the COVID period, I frequently visited Jeju Island, where renting a car was essential due to the limited public transportation. This gave me the chance to drive a variety of models in Korea from the Hyundai Kona Electric to the Kia EV6, and even the lesser-known Renault SM3 Electric. Also after a few (unfortunate) accidents where I was always the victim (100%! 😅), I even got to experience higher range models like the Porsche, Range Rover, Benz etc. while my car was being repaired. But despite testing so many different cars, one thing remained constant: I never used the built-in navigation or media system. Most in-car navigation systems were outdated and inconvenient. I also couldn't access my media except using my phone (who […]

Laurent Pawlowski March 20

Journal

Indian Hybridcasual Studio Qila Games Raises $1M

Qila Games Secures $1M to Disrupt India’s Hybridcasual Gaming Scene Bengaluru-based Qila Games has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to supercharge its mission of redefining hybrid-casual gaming in India. The round was led by Chimera VC, with support from Visceral Capital, Atrium Angels, Ventatana Ventures, 91 Ventures, Untitled Ventures, and a cohort of angel investors. Founded in 2024 by industry veterans Dhananjai Hari and Neeraj Mishra, Qila is setting its sights on the sweet spot between casual and midcore gaming. Hari, now CEO, brings his experience from launching Dream Cricket at Dream Game Studios, while Mishra draws from his eight-year stint at Zynga, where he led game design in India. With this funding, Qila will build original IPs, expand its game lineup, and sharpen its tech and design edge—all with a laser focus on delivering socially driven, culturally resonant […]

Gamigion March 20

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