» 20.4M+ downloads
» $77.3M+ IAP revenue
» $24.9M revenue from the US
» Strong RpD in East Asia: HK: $15.69 and JP : $12.93
» Large organic scale in BR (1.9M downloads) and IN (1.7M downloads)

What stands out to me:
Lands of Jail proves that theme matters just as much as mechanics. Proves that a strong theme can still unlock massive scale.

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P

Funding, Investments & M&A

1. $198M → LY Corp acquires majority stake in Kakao Games

2. €180M → Asmodee acquires ATM Gaming — expands social board game portfolio

3. $50M+ → Nazara raises to fund acquisitions and AI-led expansion

4. $5.2M → Pixie Chess closes funding round

5. €210K → Paparuda Studio funds first globally targeted video game

6. Shift Up acquires Unbound — Shinji Mikami’s new studio joins Korean publisher

7. Behaviour Interactive acquires The Fun Pimp — undisclosed

8. Mistplay acquires Connected Rewards — links gameplay with real-world loyalty

Studios & Ecosystem

9. Quantic Lab transitions out of Embracer Group

10. Maxim Krippa becomes co-owner of Burny Games

11. Rumour: Disney executives eyeing Epic Games acquisition

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P

NEXON took a 20-year-old PC MMORPG and turned it into a $164M mobile hit in just 5 months.

Here’s the kicker: downloads started declining almost immediately after launch, but monthly revenue kept climbing.

Stats:
→ $164M in IAP revenue in ~5 months
→ $44M peak month (Month 4)
→ 7.6M installs
→ ~40% of revenue from $100+ SKUs alone

Broke down its reward system and monetization model: 27 reward mechanics, 9 monetization layers, and 10 hot deal trigger categories.

If you’re a game designer, producer, or anyone working on LiveOps and the game economy, this is worth studying.

Charts are curated monthly at iCartic.com
tCARe, Cartic P

Games to Track in April:

1. Gossip Harbor: Merge & Story – Breaks into top 6 revenue at $100M+, a merge game crossing that threshold is a statement from Microfun Limited

2. Magic Tiles 3 - Piano Game – Holds 11 downloads with 10.4M+, music games showing quiet resilience in a puzzle-dominated chart

3. Subway Surfers City – New variant debuts at 8 with 11.8M+ while the original holds 5 at 13.5M+. Miniclip testing a spin-off strategy — same brand equity, new gameplay loop. If this sustains, expect more studios to franchise their runners

vs February — What Shifted:

1. Block Blast! locks a 3-month streak at 1 downloads — not a spike, a pattern

2. Whiteout Survival surges ~22% in revenue vs Feb — 4X survival genre keeps climbing

3. Gossip Harbor crosses the $100M monthly revenue threshold for the first time

4. Traditional/casual games (Ludo King, Vita Mahjong) maintain strong chart positions — simple mechanics, massive global reach

Charts are curated monthly at iCartic.com
tCARe, Cartic P

1. $30M → Sett automates mobile games UA & marketing with AI agents

2. $18M → Bit Odd (ex-Supercell devs) soft launches debut game

3. $5M → Verse8 raises for AI-driven game creation platform

4. $4.9M → games2gether Series A led by Griffin Gaming Partners

5. $3.5M → Psychedelic Games backed by KRAFTON, FlyQuest & Arbitrum Gaming Ventures

6. $400K → Afrime Studios enters seed round

7. Reforged Studios acquires Headup — expands global publishing footprint

8. Ramen VR acquires Coplay AI game dev assistant — undisclosed
   

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic

Funding & Investments

1. $4.5M → Antihero Studios raises seed round (a16z speedrun, Laton Ventures)

2. $4.5M → Cheer Games closes pre-seed led by Makers Fund

3. $4M → Vento Games closes seed round (Makers Fund, Arcadia Gaming Partners)

4. $2M → Minit Games raises to bring instant play gaming into the feed era

5. $23M → Sandbar secures Series A for AI note-taking ring

6. ~$9.2M → Hyperloop Games (India) secures debt funding from Syndicate Finance

7. $400K → Afrime Studios raises to build Afrofuturistic RPG Unyverse

8. ~$400K → Malmö backs new gaming startups annually

9. $1.5M valuation → Winter Wolves Studios secures investment in Türkiye’s first Roblox deal

10. NODWIN Gaming announces pre-IPO funding round

11. Quicksave Interactive secures investment from HyperScope Ventures

M&A

12. $6B → ByteDance sells Moonton to Savvy Games Group

13. $100M → Nazara acquires 50% controlling stake in Bluetile & BestPlay

14. $397M → Hasbro prices $400M public debt offering due 2031

15. €65M → Betsson acquires Rhino Entertainment Group’s Canadian operations

16. NCsoft acquires 70% stake in mobile developer JustPlay

17. Saudi EGDC purchases 5% stake in Capcom — becomes one of the largest shareholders

18. Meta acquires AI agent social network Moltbook

19. Balor Games acquires Humble Games catalog — seeks new indie partners

20. Xsolla acquires Vietnam-based games publisher Wetaps Corporation

21. NetEase acquires 10% minority stake in Xinghan Mingkong

22. Shamrock Capital acquires gaming creative agency Mutiny from Trailer Park Group

23. Splash Damage acquires Croatia-based Gamepires from Jagex

24. Tencent plans to acquire a stake in Block Blast! developer Hungry Studio

Studios & Ecosystem

25. Shinji Mikami forms new AAA studio Unbound

26. Ex-APPS team members form new mobile studio Rayo Games

27. Boss Fight Entertainment founders relaunch studio as Bossfight

28. Supercent and Sumo Digital sign MOU to co-develop next-gen mobile titles

29. Apple cuts App Store fees in China after regulator talks

30. Nintendo sues the US government over illegal Trump tariffs — demands a refund

31. Google Play rolls out Game Trials for full paid games before purchase

32. Games with loot boxes to receive a minimum age rating of 16 across Europe

33. India’s Karnataka bans social media for children under 16

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic


My other posts from last week:
» Benchmark Drop, IAP trends in HC puzzle
» Skip the sessions. Book the meetings

It’s not a battle pass. Not a starter bundle. It’s a fail offer — a $5.99 popup that appears the moment you lose a level.

Fail offers now account for:
→ 33% of total IAP revenue in Pixel Flow
→ 20% in Color Block Jam
→ 14.5% in Screwdom

And they convert 17–34% of first-time spenders.
HC puzzles have quietly turned player frustration into their #1 monetization engine.

The mechanic is borrowed from classic casual puzzles, but it’s scaling faster here — Sort, Screw, and Block Puzzles have doubled IAP revenue YoY.

The formula is deceptively simple:

Difficulty curve + limited lives + well-timed offer = revenue.

tCARe, CARtic P
/ iCartic.com

First GDC. Definitely not my last.
What stood out most from GDC for you this year?

tCARe, CARtic P
/ iCartic.com

Here’s your curated look at last week’s top deals in gaming, Top Funding & M&A Headlines.

Funding, Investments & M&A

1. $6.5M → Power Protocol raises to expand Fableborne

2. £32M → British Business Bank backs UK gaming sector

3. Clear Angle Studios acquires DI4D facial capture tech & IP

4. $8M → Giant raises to build interactive storytelling for kids

5. $3M → Tencent in talks for small stake in Hungry Studio (Block Blast!)

6. $19.5M → Interactive Strength acquires connected fitness game co Ergatta

Studios & Ecosystem

7. Mellow launches support program for indie studios

8. Netflix drops Warner Bros. Discovery deal — Paramount wins bidding war

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P


My other posts from last week:
» What dominated global charts in Feb26?
» Console dilemma: Build for India — or build for the world?

4. Block Blast! – Holds #1 for second consecutive month with 24M+ installs,

5. Vita Mahjong – Climbs to #4 with 13.9M+ downloads, a traditional games finding their mobile moment

Games to Track in March:

6. Magic Tiles 3 - Piano Game – New entry at #14 downloads (8.6M+), music games making a comeback?

7. Pokémon GO – Back in top 15 revenue at #13 ($44M+), Niantic’s AR pioneer showing resilience in year 9

Charts are curated monthly at iCartic.com
tCARe, Cartic P

Prices also climbed:
$373 → $446

That’s not just inflation
That’s buyer concentration

Consoles aren’t luxury…
…but they’re no longer casual buys

Now the India lens:
U.S. console = premium gadget
India console = luxury electronics

So when prices rise…
India doesn’t “shift upward”

India shrinks
And if you’re an indie?
Your audience was niche
Now it becomes super niche

Plus devkit + compliance friction makes “console-first” even harder

So here’s the practical playbook:
PC-first global → build traction
Prove retention + monetization
Port to console later → harvest upside

Console-only from day 1?
That’s a high-risk bet on a narrow funnel

tCARe, Cartic P
/ iCartic.com

Funding, Investments & M&A
1. £140k → TruePlayers (UK) closes pre-Seed round
2. Scopely buys Loom Games (Pixel Flow) — undisclosed
3. Meshcapade joins the Epic Games ecosystem — official
4. €4M → Ocellus Services scales stylized game art & production
5. $3B → Saudi PIF transfers entire Take-Two stake into Savvy Games Group
6. Submer acquires GPU cloud provider Radian Arc (Australia) — undisclosed

Studios & Ecosystem
7. Tencent shuts TiMi Montréal
8. Meta moves Horizon Worlds off VR → goes mobile
9. Anchor Point breaks from NetEase — goes independent

What are you watching closely right now? Drop it below 👇

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P

1. Türkiye Development Fund invested in Ace Games

2. Mattel acquires Mattel163 from NetEase for $159m

3. Private equity firm Haveli to acquire Budge Studios

4. Savvy Games Group is in adv talks to acquire Moonton

5. Xross Road raises $1.5M & launches closed beta of AI manga engine

6. HOGO Games secures investment from Nokta Games at a $10M valuation

7. UAE developer iBloxx Studios raises $5.4M to complete development of StrayShot

8. Ironwood Studios has closed a $4 million seed funding round led by Lifelike Capital

Studios & Ecosystem:

1. OpenAI has acquired OpenClaw

2. Liftoff Mobile delays IPO amid tech stock sell-off

3. Former Unity CEO David Helgason exits company as Bernard Kim joins board

4. Savvy Games Group signs MoUs with Saudi Ministry of Education for games and esports programs
   

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P

Funding & Investments

1. Ares Interactive raises $70M as it plots expansion plans and new game launch for its portfolio.

2. ZBD secures $40M Series C financing commitments to accelerate growth of its Bitcoin-powered payments platform.

3. 4Divinity (Singapore) secured $10M strategic investment to scale its games publishing operations.

4. GCL announces expanded $10M strategic investment from ADATA Technology to accelerate global entertainment and digital growth.

5. Tesoro XP raises $5.4M to scale its rewards platform for games, expanding player loyalty infrastructure.

6. iBloxx Studios (UAE) raises $5.4M to complete development of StrayShot, its flagship title.

7. Levellr secures $2.5M seed round to turn Discord conversations into real-time game intelligence.

8. Orion Twin closes funding round at a $2.5M valuation, adding fresh capital to its development pipeline.

M&A & Strategic Moves

9. Skillz acquires Beamable’s backend tech, consolidating game infrastructure and developer tooling.

10. Zupee acquires microdrama startup Vertical TV, expanding beyond skill-based gaming into short-form entertainment.

11. JetSynthesys acquires casual mobile game EverMerge in global expansion push, strengthening its mobile portfolio.

12. Aristocrat Leisure divests Big Fish Games assets following a strategic review of its games businesses.

13. Murka completes management buyout, targeting faster execution and new markets for its social casino portfolio.

Studios & Ecosystem Moves

14. LootLocker makes a strategic investment in indie label Pantaloon, backing tools and publishing infrastructure.

15. Nazara Technologies invests in FAU-G developer nCore Games, deepening its India-focused mobile gaming strategy.

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P

Last week's post: Benchmark Drop: CPI rates

✔️ Focus budget on:
Android for volume plays (33% cheaper than iOS)
Latin America and APAC for cost-efficient growth
Casual and Puzzle for rapid user acquisition

⚠ Approach cautiously: Strategy and Shooter genres (high intent, high cost)
❌ Avoid unless you have deep pockets: Hardcore/RPG on iOS ($6.00 CPI)

The smart play is:
1. Validate product-market fit in Tier 1 markets (US, UK, DE)
2. Scale aggressively in Tier 2/3 once core loops are proven
3. Use regional arbitrage for CPI-optimized games (hypercasual, puzzle)

Which approach are you taking in 2026?
» Scaling on Droid for volume?
» Doubling down on iOS for LTV?
» Testing new geos before they get expensive?

tCARe, CARtic P
/ iCartic.com

1. Liftoff Mobile targets a $5.17B valuation in its planned IPO, signalling a major mobile ad-tech exit.

2. Z League secures $21.4M from an undisclosed investor to scale its skill-based tournament platform.

3. Sound Games raises $6.5M to build cross-platform premium titles across mobile, PC and console.

4. Overworld raises $4.5M pre-seed for AI-driven tools that automate game dev workflows.

5. Levellr lands a $2.5M seed to build Discord AI insights for community managers and player-behaviour analytics.

6. Panthera Global closes a $1.5M seed to back early-stage games and adjacent verticals.

M&A & Strategic Moves

7. Aristocrat Leisure sells Big Fish Games assets to newly formed BGF Entertainment, offloading a legacy casual portfolio.

8. Mistplay to acquire Mobivity’s Connected Rewards platform, consolidating mobile player loyalty infrastructure.

Studios & Ecosystem

9. Coyote Time Publishing launches in Finland as a new global-focused indie publisher for PC and console.

Platform & Tooling Shifts

10. Godot 4.6 ships, strengthening its position as an open-source alternative to Unity and Unreal.

11. Netflix donates €240K to Blender, backing the open-source 3D pipeline many game teams rely on.
    

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P

My other posts from last week
» On Steam, players follow studios. On mobile, they follow next icon.
» What dominated global charts in Jan26?
» Thoughts on the first AI usage policy in gaming

They are defining AI into 2 classes:

1. AI as a tool - Used for coding/programming enhancement, like Copilot, debugging tools. Steam is calling these “efficiency tools.”

2. AI as a creator - This needs to be tagged:

   1. AI to generate content for the game: It can be assets used in the game (BG, props, characters…), used in creatives (store page, screenshots, reels….)

   2. AI content generated during gameplay: AI content generated during gameplay based on the attributes you track. It can be procedurally generated narrative, content…..

Let me break this with an example: If you’re cooking a dish with an AI-based oven/air fryer/stove (as tools), it doesn’t matter to Steam. Whereas if the dish you’re cooking has AI in it, like lab-grown veggies or synthetic meat, you need to label them.

A good move that will shape the future of AI usage in games.

LMK if you’re planning to publish a Steam game with an AI tag?
tCARe, CARtic P
/iCartic.com

Top Downloads:
» Block Blast! – HungryStudio rockets to #1 with 25M+ installs, the puzzle game phenomenon that’s capturing casual gamers
» Free Fire x JUJUTSU KAISEN – 23M+ downloads, GARENA’s anime collaboration strategy paying dividends

Games to Track in Feb:
» Vita Mahjong: Jumped 1 spot to #6 in downloads (13.5M+)
» Heartopia: New entry at #11 with 11M+ downloads from X.D. Network—early traction suggests this could be the next breakout casual title

Charts are curated monthly at iCartic.com
tCARe, Cartic P

And this isn’t a studio that ignored mobile. They’ve done it all:

1. Mobile premium

2. Apple feature placements

3. Apple Arcade

4. Netflix exclusives

Yet, they’re rethinking where the foundation of their business should be. And they’re not alone.

So what’s really happening? This isn’t about mobile being dead. It’s about control.

Even with webshops, featuring, and exclusive deals:

1. You don’t own player identity

2. You don’t own emails

3. You don’t truly own the community

That’s why PC keeps pulling studios back. PC players follow studios, not just games/IPs.

Share your thoughts on where you see Mobile gamers loyality is?

tCARe, Cartic P
/ iCartic.com

1. Turborilla – $5M non-dilutive UA facility to accelerate growth.

2. ZBD – $40M Series C to scale Lightning-powered payments across games & apps.

3. Talemonster Games – $30M Series A led by Arcadia & a16z to build new titles.

4. Midnite – $35M Series C for its UK-based betting & iGaming platform.

5. MoneyTime – $3M seed to grow its play-to-earn savings / finance app.

6. Loom Games – seven-figure seed round (undisclosed) to scale development.

7. Anka Ventures – launches a new early-stage VC fund targeting mobile games & apps.

Ecosystem, Infra & Strategic Moves

8. New £200K UK XR fund – backing TV, film & games projects experimenting with XR.

9. Outfit7 – launches PlayValley, expanding into PC and mobile game development beyond Talking Tom.

10. 1SP Agency – acquires MeetToMatch, the games-industry matchmaking & B2B meeting platform.

Stay ahead. Curated weekly at iCartic.com
tCARe, CARtic P