Mobilegamer.biz
Mobile games business news and scoops by Neil Long.
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eFootball vs EA FC, Apple Arcade stats, Stillfront, Queen, alt app stores, payments, more
The mobile games industry is currently experiencing significant shifts in monetization, platform accessibility, and regulatory oversight.
- Konami’s eFootball has achieved a highly effective monetization model in Japan, generating $915 million in lifetime revenue from 12 million downloads, resulting in a revenue-per-download figure exceeding $75.
- Regulatory pressure is mounting globally, with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority expected to force Apple and Google to remove steering restrictions on payment systems by the end of the year.
- Apple Arcade functions primarily as a family-oriented platform, as data since its 2019 launch shows top-performing titles like Sneaky Sasquatch and Hello Kitty Island Adventure are non-hardcore, while titles targeting traditional gamers see minimal engagement.
Weekly Industry Brief: Google Play Fees, Kingshot Ads, and Funding
The mobile gaming industry experienced significant shifts in late June 2026, characterized by major regulatory changes, substantial capital investments, and strategic corporate restructuring.
- Google Play will open up billing options and lower store fees for developers in the US, EU, and UK starting June 30, with other regions to follow.
- AppsFlyer received a $1 billion investment from Google, Unity, Meta, and Moloco, valuing the ad measurement firm at approximately $2.7 billion.
- Kabam, the developer of Marvel Contest of Champions, is undergoing layoffs and downsizing its Los Angeles office to streamline operations.
Google Play store fees, Kingshot's World Cup ads, AppsFlyer gets $1bn, Kabam layoffs, more
The mobile games industry is currently navigating significant shifts in platform policy, investment trends, and studio operations. A primary development is Google’s adjustment of Play Store fees, effective June 30.
- Starting June 30, Google Play is lowering store fees for most developers in Western markets, effectively reducing the standard 30% fee to approximately 25% for in-app purchases.
- AppsFlyer secured a $1 billion investment from Google, Meta, Unity, and Moloco, a move analysts suggest is intended to bolster the company's independence and measurement capabilities against AppLovin's market dominance.
- Queen Digital Entertainment, a startup founded by former King executives that raised up to $50 million in VC funding, has ceased operations after failing to scale its casual puzzle game portfolio.
Kingshot ads with Harry Maguire, Michael Owen, John Terry, Fabrizio Romano, Thiago Silva + Jorginho.
The marketing strategy for the mobile game King Shot centers on a high-profile influencer campaign featuring prominent football figures, including Harry Maguire, Michael Owen, John Terry, Fabrizio Romano, Thiago Silva, and Jorginho.
- The mobile game 'King Shot' utilized a high-profile influencer marketing campaign featuring football stars Michael Owen, John Terry, Thiago Silva, Jorginho, and journalist Fabrizio Romano during the 2026 World Cup.
- The core value proposition emphasized across all influencer creative is the complete absence of in-game advertisements, positioning the title as an uninterrupted, 'ad-free' gaming experience.
- Influencer messaging consistently targets the 'waiting' periods surrounding major sporting events, framing the game as a casual, easy-to-pick-up companion for football fans.
Mobilegamer.biz Weekly Update: May 2026
The June 2026 weekly update from mobilegamer.biz provides a comprehensive overview of the mobile gaming industry, focusing on studio developments, market performance, and significant sector trends.
- Queen Digital Entertainment, a new studio founded by two former King executives, has closed after operating for at least three years, employing 25 staff, and soft-launching four titles.
- Amateur-made football drafting game '38-0' by Josh Pavey achieved over 100,000 downloads and entered the UK App Store's top ten games within days of its launch.
- The nine-person studio Northern Forge's RPG 'Orna' has surpassed 4.5 million downloads over eight years by maintaining a lean operation and focusing on its community.
Amateur devs score hits with 38-0, WWDC reactions, May's top games, Orna, jobs, data and more
The mobile gaming industry is currently witnessing a surge in amateur-developed hits, driven by the accessibility of AI-assisted coding tools.
- Amateur developers are achieving viral success with AI-assisted football drafting games like '38-0' and '38-0-0', which secured over 100,000 downloads each in a single weekend with zero marketing spend.
- Honor of Kings dominated May’s top-grossing charts with $161 million in in-app purchase revenue, while 'Last War Survival' saw a significant decline, dropping to 10th place with $82 million.
- Apple’s new developer policy offers free access to its AI foundation models for apps until they reach 2 million first-time downloads, a move aimed at supporting indie developers.
Weekly Industry Brief: Summer Game Fest and Market Updates
This weekly industry brief provides a comprehensive overview of the mobile gaming landscape as of June 12, 2026, highlighting significant shifts in corporate strategy, market trends, and viral success stories.
- A viral football drafting game, '38-0-0', developed overnight by an amateur using Claude AI, has become the number one iOS game in the UK, surpassing Fortnite.
- Supercell has ceased development on one of its US-based game projects, and staff departures suggest the other US-based project is also inactive.
- Supercell is in the process of fully acquiring Metacore, the maker of 'Merge Mansion', as part of a restructure that will result in 159 job cuts in Finland and the closure of Metacore's German and Swedish offices.
Summer Game Fest thoughts, Supercell kills US projects, Xbox chat, EA's mobile misstep, more
The mobile games industry currently faces a significant disconnect between its massive market dominance and its lack of visibility at major industry events.
- Supercell has effectively wound down its US-based game development operations, with the team behind a project in development for three and a half years disbanded and the remainder of the 2022-announced US team no longer with the company.
- Metacore, the developer of Merge Mansion, is cutting 159 jobs in Helsinki and closing its offices in Germany and Sweden as part of a major restructuring.
- Xbox Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ball acknowledged that mobile is the largest and most valuable segment of the gaming industry, yet confirmed the company's primary focus remains on the console business, which he noted has the least growth potential.
Weekly Industry Briefing: Europe
This weekly industry briefing provides a comprehensive overview of significant developments within the mobile gaming sector as of early June 2026.
- Supercell, King, and Sybo executives have criticized new EU proposals, stating they could render free-to-play games "unplayable in Europe."
- Atari acquired Hipster Whale, the developer of Crossy Road, for an initial $29.3 million, with an additional $10 million in earnouts over three years, as part of Atari's expansion into mobile game development for platforms like Netflix and Amazon.
- Liftoff's IPO is back on, valuing the adtech firm at $3.83 billion after offering 19 million shares of common stock at $23 each, raising $437 million.
Supercell, King and Sybo slam EU plan, Atari buys Hipster Whale, Zynga's Mark Pincus, more
The mobile games industry is currently navigating significant regulatory, corporate, and strategic shifts.
- Industry leaders from Supercell, King, and Sybo are lobbying against EU legislative proposals, arguing that new regulations on free-to-play mechanics could render mobile games unplayable and threaten a sector that generated 7.5 billion euros in revenue and supported 63,000 jobs in 2025.
- Atari has acquired Hipster Whale, the developer behind Crossy Road, as part of a strategy to expand its retro-adjacent mobile portfolio through projects involving Amazon, Netflix, and Air Console.
- Zynga founder Mark Pincus, in his upcoming book 'Life at the Speed of Play,' advocates for a 'proven, better, new' design methodology, citing Supercell's Hay Day and Clash of Clans as examples of games that successfully adopted this iterative approach.
Weekly Industry Briefing: Block Blast, Monopoly Go, and SciPlay
The weekly industry briefing provides a comprehensive overview of significant developments within the global mobile gaming sector as of late May 2026.
- Tencent Games had a blockbuster quarter, generating $11 billion, as indicated by data digest reports.
- Scopely's Monopoly Go earned Hasbro $41 million in licensing revenue during the last quarter, which was largely in line with expectations.
- SciPlay is undergoing layoffs affecting a limited number of roles, following a 7% year-on-year revenue drop, attributed to a tough social casino market.
Take-Two, Ubisoft, Monopoly Go and SciPlay news plus data and soft launch nuggets
The mobile games industry is currently characterized by a significant divergence in performance between major publishers, with mobile platforms increasingly serving as the primary revenue driver for large-scale gaming companies.
- Take-Two Interactive's mobile division now accounts for over half of the company's total bookings, with Zynga-led titles like Toon Blast (up 25%) and Top Eleven (strongest quarter ever) driving performance.
- Ubisoft reported a fiscal 'low point' as mobile revenue dropped from 16% to 7% of total bookings year-over-year, citing slower-than-expected launches for Rainbow Six Mobile and The Division Resurgence.
- Hasbro generated $41 million in quarterly revenue from Scopely’s Monopoly Go, a title that has reached $6 billion in total player revenue and remains a significant contributor to Hasbro's bottom line.