Gaming goes permanent as Pokemon tops global tattoo trends
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 by Brittany Hainzinger
Tattoos have long been a way for people to mark the moments, memories, and obsessions that define them. Once associated mainly with rebellion or counterculture, tattoos are now fully mainstream.
Video games, meanwhile, have grown up alongside those same generations. What started as simple arcade entertainment has evolved into a $200-billion global industry, shaping c...
The risks of iPad childhood
Monday, January 26, 2026 by Brittany Hainzinger
A typical 8-year-old in the UK now spends almost three hours a day online, and by age two, around 4 in 10 children already have their own tablet. At the same time, children’s enjoyment of reading is at a record low in UK surveys. The issue has gained new urgency after Australia announced a world-first ban on social media for under-16s, according to BBC.
...
OpenManus launches Atoms
Tuesday, January 13, 2026 by Brittany Hainzinger
The VC-backed AI coding startup OpenManus is launching Atoms, a next-gen business team - that they say is a new product representing a milestone towards building the AI economy, as the brand-new narrative revolutionises how AI works for entrepreneurs.
Atoms is the first AI team that autonomously builds, launches, and grows real businesses, not just repos, withou...
How AI will reshape games, talent, and growth in 2026
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 by Austin Harris
How AI will reshape games, talent, and growth in 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, the future of games will be shaped by a fundamental shift in how companies operate: how they scale creativity, empower talent, and engage players in real-time. AI is no longer a point solution, but the connective layer redefining marketing, organizational design, and player experience. Toget...
App development in 2026: Vickie Chen of AviaGames weighs in
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 by Vickie Chen
Now more than ever, consumers have demanded tech companies be more involved and transparent in social and philanthropic causes, using their resources to give back to those that need it the most.
App development in 2026
As the CEO of Avia, a leading developer on the forefront of skill - based mobile games, my 2026 prediction is that more app developers and publishe...
2026 redesigned: What is next for developers
Monday, December 22, 2025 by Austin Harris
Matt Tubergen, EVP of Global Strategy & Partnerships at Digital Turbine, shares (below) his 2026 outlook for software, and the technology industry at large.
What I'm seeing today is a reorganization of the mobile economy driven by changes in consumer spending and global market dynamics, as well as the overwhelming integration of Artificial Intelligence into, ...
Tebex Predictions for 2026
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 by Austin Harris
2025’s fight for developer choice and fair platform fees brought us a turning point in digital monetization: Google’s settlement allowed lower Play Store fees but also opened the door to rival third-party app stores on Android. This set a precedent that will create lasting momentum that snowballs into 2026, where alternative payment systems will continue to ...
DoubleVerify detects hidden iOS ad fraud
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 by Trey Abbe
DoubleVerify’s Fraud Lab has discovered a new fraud scheme lurking on customers’ mobile devices. It uses innocent-seeming iOS gaming apps to charge advertisers for phony ad impressions.
Operated by independent cybercriminals using a shared framework called UniSkyWalking, the scheme, which our Fraud Lab has dubbed SkyWalk, is sophisticated, coordinated and...
tldraw sdk 4.0 release new starter kits and licensing model
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 by Richard Harris
The team behind tldraw, a London-based startup, has announced the fourth major version of its software development kit. The tldraw SDK is a TypeScript library designed for developers building web-based applications with infinite canvas capabilities. This significant update introduces a suite of new resources for developers, important changes to the product's licensi...
Kids app design shifting from limits to long-term learning
Monday, October 27, 2025 by Richard Harris
Excessive screen time among kids has been shown to have detrimental impacts. Tragically, research shows that even kids as young as nine or ten who spend more time on screens face a higher risk of developing mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
That’s why, in an attempt to hold Big Tech accountable, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in t...
Ludo.ai Debuts sprite generator for instant 2D animation creation
Friday, October 17, 2025 by Richard Harris
Ludo.ai has launched Sprite Generator, a tool designed to simplify the creation of animated sprites for 2D games. The platform allows developers to generate engine-ready sprites from text prompts or existing 2D assets, producing downloadable sprite sheets compatible with game engines such as Unity, Godot, and GameMaker. By automating aspects of the animation pipeline, S...
SMU researchers show AI creates realistic game characters
Thursday, October 16, 2025 by Richard Harris
When Jake Klinkert was growing up, his father suggested that since he loved video games, he should consider making them. That simple encouragement left a lasting impression. Klinkert embraced the idea and pursued it academically, ultimately earning a Master of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development from SMU Guildhall. His early passion for interactive media ...
Formation Games launches CLUB
Sunday, October 12, 2025 by Brittany Hainzinger
CLUB Game is available now for iOS and Android users ahead of the 2025/26 season kick-off.
The highly anticipated game combines the real-world strategy of Fantasy Football management, casual squad building with the real-time thrill of owning a football club. Players make decisions beyond the pitch helping to progress and nurture the identity of their dream football f...
Ad tech antitrust trial begins as Google seeks to avoid breakup
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 by Richard Harris
Alphabet’s Google is facing a U.S. antitrust trial in Alexandria, Virginia, that could determine whether the company must sell part of its online advertising business. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of states are seeking to limit Google’s control over its ad exchange, AdX, which facilitates automated online advertising auctions for publisher...
AI is changing game development faster than ever
Tuesday, September 9, 2025 by Richard Harris
The gaming industry is entering a transformative period. For decades, game development has been a costly and unpredictable process, with many titles failing to achieve commercial success. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are being explored as potential tools to improve efficiency and optimize various aspects of game creation. According to Sierra Artificia...
OpenAI introduces GPT-5
Thursday, September 4, 2025 by Russ Scritchfield
OpenAI recently introduced GPT-5 as the most advanced AI system so far, with a significant leap in intelligence over previous models. It featured state-of-the-art performance in coding, math, writing, health, visual perception, and more. GPT-5 was described as a unified system that could determine when to respond quickly and when to spend more time reasoning to giv...
Meet the people coding a more sustainable world
Friday, August 29, 2025 by Brittany Hainzinger
Around the world, developers are finding innovative ways to address sustainability and environmental challenges through technology. Mobile apps and games are no longer limited to entertainment or productivity - they are also becoming tools for education, conservation, and the creation of new career paths in the green economy. A recent #WeArePlay feature showcased a grou...
Cracking the live ops code
Monday, August 25, 2025 by Austin Harris
Sensor Tower recently released a report called Cracking the Live Ops Code: How Mobile Games Can Leverage Live Ops Insights, following its acquisition of Playliner, a company focused on live ops intelligence. This report combines app analytics, event data, and revenue trends to offer a clearer look at what’s really happening in the world of mobile game monetization...
Google appeal rejected in Epic Games app store antitrust case
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 by Russ Scritchfield
https://appdevelopermagazine.com/epic-games-sues-google-for-blocking-app-distribution/Alphabet Inc.'s Google was unsuccessful in its attempt to overturn a federal court ruling that ordered the company to reform its Android app store practices. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a unanimous decision rejecting Google’s claims that the trial j...
Apple age rating update
Monday, August 11, 2025 by Richard Harris
Apple recently announced updates to the age rating system for apps and games available on the App Store. Aimed at improving safety and age-appropriate access for users of all ages, including children, the revised system introduces more granular rating categories and new evaluation criteria.
Apple age rating update in App Store Connect: More detailed rating categories...
How AGI tags help developers and players
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 by Richard Harris
The Microsoft Game Dev blog recently highlighted the launch of the Accessible Games Initiative (AGI), a collaborative effort led by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and major industry players like Xbox, Electronic Arts, Google, Nintendo of America, and Ubisoft. The AGI introduces a set of standardized “tags” that clearly communicate the accessibi...
How Nightdive Studios is future-proofing the video game past
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 by Austin Harris
Video games are a form of art, and their preservation is in trusted hands at Atari’s Nightdive Studios, regarded as the premier game remastering studio in the industry. System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Edition recently launched on Xbox Series X|S, reviving a seminal sci-fi horror classic for a new generation. For Nightdive Studios, however, this release ...
Donky Kong Bananza developer interview
Thursday, July 24, 2025 by Austin Harris
In the 19th volume of Nintendo’s Ask the Developer interview series, where creators share the company’s thoughts and development details in their own words, the spotlight turns to the team behind Donkey Kong Bananza, the Nintendo Switch 2 game. (Translated from the original Japanese. This interview was conducted before the game’s release.)
Donky Kon...
State of Unreal 2025 recap
Friday, July 18, 2025 by Austin Harris
https://appdevelopermagazine.com/fortnite-returns-to-ios/The State of Unreal 2025 recently concluded, offering the audience a first look at the cutting-edge technologies Epic Games is developing and releasing to help developers and creators build immersive experiences.
All the big news and announcements from the State of Unreal 2025
The show began with a technical...
Mobile Gaming Market Trends Analysis Report
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 by Russ Scritchfield
The "Mobile Gaming Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Platform, Device, Game Genre, Distribution Channel, Monetization Model, Age Group, and Region with Growth Forecasts, 2025-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets's offering.
Mobile Gaming Market Trends Analysis Report: The Mobile Gaming Market was valued at USD 139.38 billio...
AppsFlyer Data Trends Report
Tuesday, July 15, 2025 by Austin Harris
AppsFlyer, the provider in marketing measurement, attribution, and data analytics, has released its annual lookback at the past year's mobile app trends. The year saw notable growth in user acquisition ad spend and revenue fueled by increasingly advanced monetization strategies and the expanded use of AI in marketing. The findings reflect the industry’s increa...
Finnish game news July 2025 highlights
Tuesday, July 8, 2025 by Austin Harris
In June, Finnish game companies brought several major new releases and updates to the market. Supercell introduced a SEGA collaboration in Squad Busters and released a new evolution card in Clash Royale. Remedy launched a new co-op game set in the Control universe, and Nitro Games expanded its Autogun Heroes brand.
Good Game News from Finland: Finnish game news July ...
Valhalla blockchain game lands from Floki
Friday, July 4, 2025 by Richard Harris
Floki has announced the mainnet release of its long-awaited metaverse game, Valhalla, a blockchain-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The launch, which follows more than three years of development, marks a major step in the company’s move beyond its origins as a meme token.
Floki launches Valhalla blockchain game with multi million i...
Google Cloud and Somnia bring AI to gaming and game development
Tuesday, July 1, 2025 by Austin Harris
Somnia, the high-performance Layer 1 blockchain supported by a $270m fund and designed for reactive, fully on-chain applications in gaming and entertainment, recently announced a collaboration with Google Cloud.
This collaboration integrates Google Cloud's sophisticated technical infrastructure, AI agent development platform and frameworks, and robust security fe...
2025 Apple Design award winners
Thursday, June 19, 2025 by Austin Harris
Apple has announced the winners and finalists of the 2025 Apple Design Awards, honoring 12 exceptional apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement. These accolades, presented during WWDC25, celebrate creative excellence across a diverse set of development teams from around the globe.
Apple recognizes 2025 Apple Design award winners and f...
2025 Mobile Gaming Report
Friday, May 30, 2025 by Austin Harris
The mobile gaming industry in 2025 is characterized by dynamic growth, evolving monetization models, shifting market geographies, and increasingly sophisticated player engagement strategies. According to Appfigures’ comprehensive analysis of the top 1,000 revenue-generating mobile games across both the App Store and Google Play, the global mobile games market reac...
Unreal Fest Orlando 2025
Thursday, May 29, 2025 by Richard Harris
Unreal Fest Orlando 2025 is set to take place at the Orange County Convention Center in the North-South Halls from June 2 to June 5. This year’s event marks a major milestone as the State of Unreal will be hosted at Unreal Fest for the first time. It’s an exciting opportunity for creators, developers, and enthusiasts across industries to gather, learn, and c...
Fortnite returns to iOS
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 by Richard Harris
Fortnite has returned to the iOS App Store in the United States after nearly five years of absence, marking a turning point in the strained relationship between Epic Games and Apple. This reappearance is not just a routine relisting of a popular mobile game, it signifies a dramatic shift in the power struggle between large tech platforms and the developers who rely on t...
Coinbase partners with Riot Games Esports
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 by Richard Harris
Coinbase has announced a significant expansion of its presence in the esports world through a new partnership with Riot Games. As the new exclusive cryptocurrency exchange and official blockchain technology partner for League of Legends and VALORANT Esports global events, Coinbase will collaborate closely with Riot Games to enhance the fan experience. This partnership w...
Apple charged for illegal app store fees
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 by Austin Harris
The European Commission has recently found that Apple is violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA requires Apple to allow developers to direct customers outside of apps to make purchases and find other app distribution channels without incurring any charges. Apple has been breaking the law by imposing illegal fees, displaying scare screens, and placing restricti...