One mobile game can carry the value of an entire company when it becomes a regional habit. In March 2026, ByteDance agreed to sell Moonton, the studio behind Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, to Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group. Bloomberg reported a $6 billion price. Reuters had previously reported negotiations in a $6 billion to $7 […]
Why Supercell Bought the Rest of Merge Mansion After Six Years of Funding It
Supercell did not discover Merge Mansion in 2026. It helped finance the game before launch. In September 2020, Metacore announced a €15 million investment and €10 million credit line from Supercell as Merge Mansion launched globally. In May 2021, Metacore added a €150 million credit line from the same backer. By August 2026, Supercell had […]
Why AppLovin Sold 10 Game Studios and Kept the Ad Machine
AppLovin spent years owning both sides of mobile gaming: the software that sells ads and the studios that supply ad inventory. Then it separated them. On June 30, 2025, AppLovin completed the sale of its mobile gaming business to Tripledot Studios. The consideration was $400 million in cash, subject to adjustments, plus roughly 20% of […]
$12.7 Billion Later: Did Take-Two’s Zynga Acquisition Work?
When Take-Two agreed to buy Zynga in 2022, the headline number was $12.7 billion. The logic was larger than FarmVille or Words With Friends. Take-Two was buying a mobile publishing system: free-to-play operations, user acquisition, advertising technology, analytics, live services and a portfolio capable of producing bookings between major console releases. Four fiscal years later, […]
The $17 Billion Checkout Tab: Why Mobile Games Are Moving Revenue Off-App
For years, mobile game commerce had one obvious checkout: the app store. The store distributed the game, stored the user’s payment method, handled tax and fraud, delivered the purchase and retained a platform fee. That convenience made Apple and Google part of nearly every virtual-currency transaction. Now publishers are building another checkout on the web. […]
Free Event, $15.1 Million Day: How Pokémon GO Monetized Access Without Selling Admission
Pokémon GO Fest 2026: Global did something commercially uncomfortable: it removed the admission price. The worldwide event on July 11 and 12 was free to every player. Yet on the first day, Pokémon GO generated an estimated $15.1 million through the App Store and Google Play. It was the game’s second-highest store-revenue day on record […]
Revenue Up 289%, User Acquisition Down 70%: The Disney Solitaire Paradox
Disney Solitaire looked like the kind of game a publisher should pour money into. Its revenue rose 288.6% year over year and helped Playtika swing back to profit in the second quarter of 2026. Then management said marketing investment in SuperPlay (the studio behind Disney Solitaire) would fall by roughly 70% in the second half […]
15 Million Pre-Registrations, Two Years, Then Shutdown: What Killed Warzone Mobile?
Before Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile launched globally, more than 15 million people had pre-registered on Google Play. The game promised the Warzone experience on a phone, including shared progression with console and PC. It carried a brand most studios would trade their whole portfolio to use. On April 17, 2026, its servers went offline. […]
The $70 Million Bet That Took Seven Years: How MONOPOLY GO! Became a $6 Billion Machine
Most mobile-game success stories are told backwards. Once the charts, revenue milestones and celebrity campaigns arrive, every decision looks inevitable. The mechanic was obvious. The intellectual property was perfect. The studio simply executed. MONOPOLY GO! is useful because its real history is much less comfortable. Scopely began working on the game around 2016, discarded several […]
Why Rovio Deleted Its Own Best-Selling Angry Birds Game
In February 2023, Rovio Classics: Angry Birds was the second best-selling paid app in the entire US App Store. Rovio killed it. The Android listing came down on 23 February. The iOS version stayed up under a new name, Red’s First Flight, scrubbed of the words that would let anyone searching for Angry Birds actually […]