MENA is a fast-growing gaming territory with high-paying and highly engaged players, but what will it take for the region to gain recognition on the global stage? Our host, Peggy Anne Salz, sits down with a Saudi studio for an insider look into the local opportunities and challenges. Miikka Lindgren, VP of Publishing at Sandsoft Games—a studio making waves in MENA and displaying impressive growth in a growing industry—shines a light on Sandsoft’s strategic focus on global publishing and its...

Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week. We cover the news that Supercell is launching Squad Busters globally on May 29th, Embracer Group's break-up into three new public companies, the TikTok ban, and why Apple's Vision Pro isn't selling any headsets. ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/ 👉🏻...

MENA is a region ripe with opportunities for game industry professionals. Our host, Peggy Anne Salz, sits down with an expert on the area and headline speaker at the GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects, Kadri Harma. Co-Founder of the investment fund and mentoring program, GameFounders, and Venture Partner at Sisu Game Ventures, Kadri brings her on-the-ground expertise to the show this week, lifting the lid on unlocking the MENA market. She shares the investment opportunities and player...

Brian Baglow, Paige Cook, Craig Chapple and Daniel Griffiths from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the in our new 'Week in Views' series. We cover a new report that delves into the UK games industry's skills crisis, the Fallout TV show's success, App Store emulators, and Epic's endless court battles with Apple and Google. Craig and Brian also have a moan about Rebel Moon. Extra links: RaptorVerse Presents... The DMA Breakdown Webinar:...

Acquiring valuable users is only half the battle. To truly power profitable growth, studios must focus on the smart strategies that retain their users for years rather than days. Faith Price, pioneers this approach in gaming as the Director of Growth Marketing at DoubleDown Interactive, a leading social casino and mobile games studio. She joins host Peggy Anne Salz in this episode to share how she uses lifecycle marketing to extend the lifespan of DoubleDown’s 13-year-old app—and the tips you...

Brian Baglow, Paige Cook, Craig Chapple and Daniel Griffiths from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the in our new 'Week in Views' series. We cover Squad Busters heading into soft launch, the state of the Finnish games industry, and retro game emulators on the App Store ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/ 👉🏻 Facebook -...

In today's noisy, data-constrained market, studios can't afford to splash the cash on multiple soft launches. Instead, they must identify innovative ways to test and validate concepts while keeping their costs low. It's a path stacked with strategic decisions that can seem daunting for smaller studios or leaner teams. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz links up again with Piyush Mishra, Director of Growth at Product Madness, to learn about his playbook for producing stellar games on a...

Craig Chapple and Daniel Griffiths from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the in our new 'Week in Views' series. We cover Sensor Tower's acquisition of data.ai and our interview with COO Tom Cui, we discuss 10 years of Monument Valley, and PocketGamer.biz's upcoming MENA Month! ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/ 👉🏻 Facebook -...

For smaller studios on shoestring budgets, diving deep into data can feel daunting. But having a leaner team doesn’t equate to less impressive results—if you have the right tools at your fingertips. When tasked with managing her studio’s UA and monetisation, Clary Xiaodan Zhang, Head of UAM at Elia Games, created a fully customisable, no-code automation system that transforms marketers’ time management and democratises data using two readily available, low-cost tools—Google Sheets and Notion....

Brian Baglow, Craig Chapple, Paige Cook and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the in our new 'Week in Views' series. We cover the European Commission's investigations into Apple and Google over possible DMA violations, offer takeaways from a big week at GDC, and delve into the big news coming out of the MENA market. ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group -...

Brian Baglow, Daniel Griffiths and Paige Cook from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest news from the mobile games industry in our new 'Week in Views' series. We cover Sensor Tower's acquisition of rival mobile market intelligence firm data.ai, the reveal of the Epic Games Store coming to mobile by the end of 2024, and discuss Apple's latest antitrust woes - this time with the US Department of Justice. ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group -...

Brian Baglow, Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest news from the mobile games industry in our new 'Week in Views' series. We cover Supercell's new development structure for new games and live ops, as well as dive into TikTok's potential ban in the US and what it means for games.

Players who relate to your game are easier to retain. But how do you pinpoint the story that enhances your game’s USP, resonates with your player base and sparks the desire to stay in the game? Deniz Kekeç, Performance Marketing Manager for casual simulation game Sunrise Village at Innogames, has cracked the code with a pioneering approach to UA that she calls “narrative marketing.” It’s a content-driven approach that involves writing a game’s story or enhancing an existing one “in a way that...

Brian Baglow, Craig Chapple and Daniel Griffiths from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest news from the mobile games industry in our new 'Week in Views' series. We cover Apple's battle with Epic and the European Union's Digital Markets Act, Deconstructor of Fun's games industry predictions for 2024, and InnoGames' disclosure of staff salaries.

Extending a game’s lifespan is every studio’s grand objective, but the path to effective execution is packed with difficult decisions. Studios can lean into Live-Ops to keep content fresh and cultivate profitable partnerships to enhance their marketing mix, or they can centre community management and leverage audience listening. Or, like Innogames, they can do all of the above. Our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow welcome three guests from Innogames for insider insights into how the...

Brian Baglow, Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest news from the mobile games industry in the first episode of our new ‘Week in Views’ series. We cover layoffs, Apple Arcade, Unity’s troubles, why the head of the European Games Developer Federation is unhappy, and much more! ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/ 👉🏻 Facebook -...

In Guy Gadney’s eyes, implementing AI into your game development is like “cooking with eggs.” You can use it as an ancillary tool to optimise your current creative endeavours, or you can “make an omelette”, baking AI into your game from the beginning and establishing it as a fundamental component of character or world creation. The application options are endless—if guided by the right questions. Peggy Anne Salz welcomes Guy Gadney, Co-Founder and CEO of Charisma—a plug-and-play platform...

How did Yahtzee break revenue records? What’s up with webshops, and are subscription models shaping up to match past hype? We answer all these questions and more in this episode of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast live from the floor of PGC London. Host Peggy Anne Salz leads a captivating conversation with Steel Media Ltd. executives Chris James (CEO), Craig Chapple (Head of B2B Content), and Aaron Astle (News Editor). The group gets into the weeds about redefining customer relationships,...

Past predictions into mobile gaming foresaw an industry slowdown in 2024, but recent data reveals a different reality. Peggy Anne Salz welcomes two mobile mavens onto the show this week to lift the lid on the actual state of the market, and the trends studios should pay the closest attention to in the coming year. First, Karl Knights, Global VP of Customer Success at mobile data and analytics platform data.ai, digs into the latest data in the State of Mobile 2024 report. He shares surprising...

While some studios are cashing in their chips on hypercasual and casual games, a few future-focused brands are doubling down and winning big by placing their bets on rewarded play. Indeed, though once a taboo UA tactic, rewarded play now opens doors for lasting loyalty and long-term engagement. That’s why Mistplay, a leading loyalty platform for mobile apps, provides rewards that fit the bill for every player. Gabriel Lewis, Senior Director and Global Head of Accounts at Mistplay, joins Peggy...

In an industry where data-driven decision-making pays dividends and a deep content pool is the difference between customer churn and a long-term connection, game studios need a tool capable of gathering granular user data and satiating consumers' content cravings. NAK3D—a startup recently awarded for its innovation by the World Economic Forum—delivers on both ends. Kelly Vero, CEO and CTO of NAK3D joins Peggy Anne Salz for an on-the-ground interview into how the interoperable fashion...

To acquire valuable players and boost rank in the app stores, studios have to shift focus and budget to offer each user a customised experience that aligns with their unique player motivations. But the path to pinpointing player intent isn’t straightforward--especially in a privacy-first landscape that makes prediction more challenging than ever. It’s a perfect storm of conditions for revisiting and rethinking approaches that reward players for staying in the game.  Adam Jaffe, Founder and...

Profitable UA is about connecting with the right players at the right time in the right context. Using traditional targeting tools, UA managers can manually parse through data to predict who is the best fit. But ultimately, this approach eats up marketers' time—and ad spend. Gamelight’s AI-powered algorithm cuts out the guesswork, locating only the players sure to produce high LTV and delivering 4x ARPU uplift in just a few days. Günay Aliyeva, Co-founder of Gamelight, a company that removes...

The games industry faced a brutal year in 2023, with unofficial layoff estimates reaching an alarming 10,000. The stakes remain high in 2024, and job seekers need to double down to secure a position amidst reduced hiring and increased competition. We learn how to “pimp our LinkedIn” and get the most out of networking opportunities in this episode with Oleg Paliy, CEO of Games Factory Talents, a recruiting agency that connects global talent with leading Finnish games studios. Joining our hosts...