Manual enrollment only. It never happens by default. Who qualifies:

1. Under $1M USD in proceeds last cal year

2. New developers, from day one

3. Proceeds means net of Apple’s cut, so ~$1.3M gross can still qualify

Reduced rate only kicks in 15 days after the fiscal month your enrollment is approved. Every month you wait is margin handed back to Cupertino.

PS. EU alternative terms devs get a further cut to 10%

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

1. Kaon AI raised $60M for AI story worlds (FlowGPT, Emochi), gaming-adjacent. Emochi claims 2M daily users at 150 mins a day. Session time most games would kill for.

2. Bold Games raised $6M, Istanbul-based studio.

3. Kantrip raised $2.75M, UK-based AI game engine developer.

4. Slitherine acquires Blood Bowl license and publishing rights from Nacon, undisclosed.

5. Scopely invests in Studio AuKnow, the ex-Umamusume Pretty Derby director’s new studio, undisclosed.

6. Google opened a $1M Indie Games Fund for African developers.

7. Innovate UK opened a £10M (~$12.7M) Createch funding call for game developers.

Capital chases engagement, not categories.

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

PS. Other posts from last week: June chart, micro dramas stats

From top downloads to breakout revenue earners, a snapshot of Jun26 WW global chart:

Top Grossing Titles: Honor of Kings holds #1 with $110.6M (down 29% from $155.9M in May), followed by Whiteout Survival with $109.1M, followed by Royal Match at #3 with $102.7M.

Top Downloads: Arrows: Puzzle Escape at no.1 with 25.3M+, followed by Amaze GO! at #2 with 23.2M+ (listed as Arrows GO! in May, same publisher, same rank), Free Fire MAX at #3 with 22.7M+ downloads

Games to track in July

1. World-cup season: eFootball, KONAMI climbs 6 spots to #12 revenue ($43M), its best month ever. World Cup attention is lifting the whole football category in downloads,

   1. Soccer Superstar (+20 spots)

   2. Football League 2026 (+21)

   3. EA SPORTS FC Mobile 26 (+9). eFootball is the only one converting that attention into IAP at scale. July tells us who retains.

2. Arrow Puzzle: Tap Puzzle Games, climbs from #10 to #5 (16.4M installs).

   1. Three titles with the same mechanic now sit in the top 5 downloads. Two of them share a publisher :?

3. Tasty Travels: Merge Game, the playtime leader at 117.2 mins per user, earning $24.7M.

   1. Royal Match does $102.5M on 90.1 mins.

   2. Candy Crush does its number on the lowest playtime on the board, 63.2 mins.

vs May, What Shifted:

1. Honor of Kings sheds $45M and still wins. A 29% IAP drop would end most games’ reign. Tencent’s MOBA is prone to big swings, and $110.6M is still well above its Nov-Dec 2025 dip below $90M.

2. Whiteout Survival has posted roughly $110M for four straight months.

3. Royal Match, roughly $100M for three.

4. Last War: Survival declines for a third month, $71.4M (down from $80.7M). Downloads are at their lowest since November 2023, when the project began scaling. The earlier D2C hypothesis still holds, but the UA pullback looks like the bigger driver.

5. Candy Crush Saga drops to just over $77M, its weakest month since April 2022. On AppMagic’s May chart it sat at $90.4M.

6. PUBG Mobile falls to just over $62M. It was $118.2M in February.

7. Brawl Stars exits the top 20 at under $27M, after three months in the $34-38M range.

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

Micro-drama has D1 retention 27%. D30 ~2%. D90 ~1%.

US ARPDAU from $2.50+ down to under $0.50.
US and Japan downloads plateaued, so UA shifted to India, Indonesia, Brazil.

The Indian download spike is an act to please investors, rather than focus on India as a market; India is more of a metric to them than a market. (That’s another story to brainstorm).

Isn’t it the same biz metric as hyper-casual games: LTV, stickiness, session length, retention

Hotstar’s tadka and Amazon MX Player’s fatafat are jumping in. Classic laggard move: rent a new audience to stretch your late-maturity stage.

When you say Micro-drama absorbs hypercasual gamers’ attention I agree, But You cannot fill a games-sized revenue hole with 1% D90 retention.
tCARe, Cartic P
/ iCartic.com

1. Funding and M&A: $3.1M → Spill Games raises seed round to scale mobile games portfolio

2. Griffin Gaming Partners acquires strategic stake in tinyBuild (undisclosed, AIM-listed)

3. Kepler Interactive acquires minority stake in Oro Interactive (undisclosed)

4. CVC Capital Partners invests in Chess(dot)com (undisclosed)

5. Fund Launch: $50M → Denmu launches fund dedicated to visionary game makers

6. Adjacent Capital: $320M → General Intuition Series A at $2.3B post-money, AI-for-gaming infra, adjacent

7. $150M → Tripo AI raises for GenAI 3D tooling, gaming adjacent

8. New Studio Launch: Atmospheric, new studio from nDreams founder, original IP across games and music

9. Studios & ecosystem: Savvy Games Group partners with Genvid and Massive Studios to expand AI access for Saudi developers

Pure gaming raised $3M last week. AI-for-gaming raised $470M.
The money isn’t going into games, it’s going into what powers them.

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

Wanted to introduce a new Job Board meant exclusively for Tech Artists. Currently, it has 129+ open roles, updated weekly (refreshed 2-3 times per week).

One click. No signup wall. No recruiter spam. Free to browse. Covering:

• Environment, Character, VFX

• Houdini, Shaders, Pipeline, Tools

Share it with anyone who might find it helpful! 🧡
tCARe, CARtic P

1. Funding & M&A: $10M → Playtika veterans secure funding for AI-powered mobile app operations platform

» Fund Launch:
2. $163M → Nexon Korea launches fund for early-stage game developers (5-year commitment)
3. $50M → Denmu raises fund to fuel game makers
4. $10M → VGames launches new Indie Fund

5. Adjacent Capital: $1B → AppsFlyer raises from Moloco, Google, Meta and Unity — ad measurement infra

» New Studio Launches & Spinouts:
6. TRAILMARK Games launches
7. Orixa Games launches
8. 34BigThings spins out from Embracer Group

The money is moving up the stack: Less into individual studios, more into funds, infra, and platforms.

Where do you think gaming capital flows next?

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

YouTube Playables, a platform with 2B MAUs, Unity, Godot, Cocos, PlayCanvas has SDK support.

2 formats, 2 platforms. Which port would you ship first?
tCARe, Cartic P

/ iCartic.com

1. UAE: under-15 ban, 12months clock started on June 18th. Behavioural ads to minors prohibited.

2. UK: under-16 ban, Spring 2027 deadline. Livestreaming and stranger-contact restrictions

Regulators stopped tightening social media. They’re tightening games now.

If your DAU under 16 sits in voice chat, party systems, UGC creation, or co-op-with-strangers loops, your product just got a deadline.
Not your legal team. Your product.

Planning to reprioritize your tickets in JIRA? Or are you still betting the legal definition holds?

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

Funding & M&A:

1. $2.4M → AutoVRse (VR simulation) raises from Singularity AMC and Lumikai

2. $1.34M → Breaking Change closes funding, UK games dev software

3. Spektra Games receives investment from APY Ventures (Türkiye) → undisclosed

4. Voltage acquires OperaHouse anime studio → undisclosed

5. PULLUP Entertainment divests Douze Dixièmes to founding partners → undisclosed

6. UA Financing: $14M → Luni secures financing from PvX Partners
7. Adjacent Capital: Affle acquires AdColony assets from Digital Turbine - ad tech, gaming adjacent

Another week, another PvX UA financing round. Luni’s $14M proves this is now a permanent funding pillar. Not a trend.

What’s your read on UA financing going mainstream?

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

• Grossing rank: 1,519 on launch day, up to 129 by May 30

• Download rank: top 6 on May 27, down to ~217 today

• Daily IAP: flat under $10K in soft launch, then a 20x spike to a $222K peak, now holding at $200K

Most gamedevs chase the download line, here they found the spenders and retained them while the tourists churned.

Design 101 says avoid genre mash-ups, too many mechanics. Clash of Critters is the counterexample, has 4 genres under one hood:

• Grid lane defense: session depth

• Pinball progression: pacing (just like Monopoly Go!)

• Tatari collection: gacha

• Cozy base building: personalization

tCARe, CARtic P
/ iCartic.com

Funding & M&A:
1. ~$29M → Anima Kitchent closes late-stage round (Spain, animation studio)
2. $20M → Board raises Series A, physical-digital gaming device
3. €3.5M → CardNexus closes seed led by Piton Capital
4. Roblox acquires Morpheus AI, undisclosed
5. Secret Mode acquires Chained Together from Anegar Games, undisclosed

6. Debt Financing: $57M → Nazara Technologies raises debt
7. UA Financing: $20M → Two Desperados secures UA financing from PvX Partners
8. Adjacent Capital: $7M → Sony Innovation Fund leads WeRize pre-Series C, fintech, gaming adjacent
9. Studios & Ecosystem: Jin Universe Studios launches with backing to fund debut title Aether Dawn

Roblox buying an AI company! They are focusing on building tools that makes experience. The platform isn't just hosting games anymore. What's your read on Roblox acquiring Morpheus AI?

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

Indian studios with experience in RMG, ludo/board, and fantasy do not mint hybridcasual founders. What other genres are we shining now?

What would it take to build the Indian Peak Games/puzzle games?
tCARe, Cartic P

/ iCartic.com

1. Funding & M&A: $39.3M → Atari acquires Crossy Road creator Hipster Whale

2. Funding & M&A: Honig Games closes pre-seed — Behold Ventures led, IBB Ventures participated — undisclosed

3. IPO Watch: Liftoff Mobile prices IPO at $3.83B valuation — second attempt, first delayed in 406#

4. Fund Launch: AMF Capital launches — independent UA financing fund — Akin Babayigit & Makers Fund — size undisclosed

5. Adjacent Capital: ~$200M → Tripo AI raises for AI 3D and world model tech — gaming adjacent

6. Developing Story: TruFin conditionally agrees to sell 84.5% stake in Playstack — not closed

7. Crowdfunds: Star Citizen crosses $1B in crowdfunding — sci-fi universe still building

8. Studios & Ecosystem: Saga sells crypto branch — pivots to AI-driven digital characters

UA financing now has its own named fund.
What’s your thought on Liftoff’s second IPO attempt?

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

From top downloads to breakout revenue earners, a snapshot of May26 WW global chart:

Top Grossing Titles: Honor of Kings at no.1 with $155M+ rev (up sharply from $138M in April), followed by Whiteout Survival with $105.2M+ rev, followed by Royal Match at no.3 with $105.1M+ rev

Top Downloads: Arrows: Puzzle Escape at no.1 with 28.6M+, followed by Arrows GO! at no.2 with 23.8M+, Free Fire: Undersea Mystery at no.3 with 21M+ downloads

Games to Track in June:

1. Gossip Harbor: Merge & Story sits at no.5 revenue with $96.1M+, its second-best month on record. Will it become a top-4 in June?

2. Brawl Stars, back in the top 15 rev at $38.2M, its best month since December 2024. Supercell’s live ops cadence is reactivating a base most assumed had plateaued.

3. Royal Kingdom, the only title charting in both lists (no.11 downloads at 10.3M+, no.14 revenue at $39.6M+). Dream Games is quietly proving it can run two match-3 franchises in parallel.

vs April, What Shifted:

1. Block Blast!’s streak ends. After four straight months at no.1, HungryStudio’s puzzle leader drops to no.4 (19.5M downloads). Not a collapse, but the first real crack in its run.

2. The arrow puzzle takeover. Arrows: Puzzle Escape (no.1) and Arrow Puzzle: Tap Puzzle Games (no.10) share the same publisher, Miniclip, with Arrows GO! at no.2. One mechanic, three top-10 slots, near-zero IP spend.

3. Last War: Survival’s revenue drops. IAP fell roughly 30% to $80.7M (no.10, down 8 spots), its lowest since March 2024.

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

1. $400K → Lumikai backs Meta Fashion in pre-seed round

2. Goldenpeak acquires majority stake in Ampere Analysis — undisclosed

Adjacent Capital

3. $300M → Decart raises — tech leaders back as both customers and investors — AI, gaming adjacent

4. $14.7B → HoYoverse reportedly investing in AI over next three years — multi-year plan, unconfirmed (developing story)

Quiet week on pure gaming capital, but HoYoverse betting the next platform is AI — not a game engine — is worth your attention. What’s your read on HoYoverse’s AI play? Drop it below 👇

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

Funding, Investments & M&A

1. Bragg Gaming Group acquires Drayton International — accelerates games-first strategy, undisclosed

2. StreamElements in acquisition talks — shutdown speculation triggered discussions (developing story)

IPO Watch

1. NODWIN Gaming eyes $100-200M fundraise ahead of IPO — target announced, round not closed (appeared 416#)

Studios & Ecosystem

1. Cosmic Division launches — new studio from Harry, ex-Housemarque game director

Quiet week on disclosed capital. What are you tracking this week?

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

Funding, Investments & M&A

1. $100M → GreaterThan Group launches investment platform for gaming studios

   1. Former NetEase investment head Simon Zhu launches GreaterThan Group to back top gaming teams.

2. 70M → Grand Games raises Series B

   1. A major studio funding round and one of the week’s biggest disclosed deals.

3. Rs 93 Cr → Zerodha buys Nazara Technologies stake

   1. A fresh India gaming signal amid a major promoter exit.

4. $8M → Origin Lab raises seed round

   1. Building licensed game-world data infrastructure for world models and multimodal AI.

5. $5M → Odd Meter raises for next project

   1. The Indika developer secures funding for its next title.

6. Undisclosed → Soloband Games secures Series A from Zubr Capital

   1. Fresh capital for the studio’s next phase of growth.

7. Undisclosed → Sensor Tower acquires AppMagic

   1. Market intelligence consolidation for mobile apps and games.

8. Undisclosed → Veroplay acquires Moving Eye Games and Swamp Attack

   1. Portfolio expansion through studio and IP acquisition.

Studios & Ecosystem

9. GreaterThan backs Arcanaut Studios

   1. Casey Hudson’s Arcanaut Studios is among GreaterThan’s first investments.

10. Stupendium Softworks launches

    1. A new indie studio from an industry veteran and YouTube musician.

Adjacent Capital

11. $56B → eBay rejects GameStop bid

    1. A gaming-adjacent corporate move that did not land, but is still worth tracking.

This week’s pattern: AI infrastructure, mobile intelligence, India exposure, and founder-led studios are all pulling attention.

Which deal surprised you most this week?

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

Funding, Investments & M&A

1. $56M → Astrocade raises to expand AI-powered game creation platform

2. $7M → Kohort raises to build UA AI agents for mobile

3. $3.2M → Chance Studios raises for trading card collectibles platform

4. $2M → Mindtail Games raises for AI-driven puzzle games (Türkiye)

5. Supercell fully acquires Metacore (Merge Mansion) — undisclosed

6. EasyWin closes second seed at $20M valuation — raise undisclosed, backed by private EU investor

7. Mistplay acquires MAF’s MyChips — boosts rewarded play platform

8. InMobi acquires MobileAction — mobile growth platform

9. Atari acquires exclusive rights to first five Wizardry games and IP — undisclosed

10. CCP Games rebrands to Fenris Creations — Google takes minority stake

Fund Launch

11. $100M → Griffin Gaming Partners launches project financing fund for indie games

Adjacent Capital

12. $55B → GameStop submits bid to acquire eBay — corporate M&A, gaming adjacent

Studios & Ecosystem

13. Starbreeze partners with Gamefam — new Payday game coming to Roblox

14. Studio Ricochet launches — former heads of Gearbox Studio Quebec

Which deal surprised you most this week?

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