Mobile Gaming Today #104
Weekly Highlights: April 9-16, 2026
Been a BUSY WEEK 😶🌫️
Lots of BIG updates in this newsletter…
Tried to make the explanations better for ya. Lmk :))
First, our new Deconstruction is out! 🤘🏻
👉🏻JigSolitaire 100-LV - Bon Appetit ¯\(ツ)/¯
🦧 OK. What’s HOT?
💰 Ex-Gram Veterans, Mission Control Games Secured $4M Pre-Seed!
The round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Arcadia Gaming Partners & e2vc.
Mission Control was co-founded by Kivanc Okutur & Murat Gurel, Turkish veterans of the team behind Merge Dragons…
🇹🇷 The State of Turkish Gaming Ecosystem 2025
Invest in Türkiye & Startups.watch just published the State of Turkish Gaming Ecosystem 2025 Report.
747 Active Studios, 13 incubators / 22 accelerators, 12 gaming funds, 3 unicorns, 7 major exits!
PTurkish Studios still ship hits, raise, and exit despite the global slow growth.
🔥 Google & Apple Removed Almedia’s Freecash App over Misleading Ads!
This isn’t a crackdown on rewarded UA…
It’s a move against questionable practices, and likely a step toward tighter regulation as the space matures! 😶🌫️
An App with millions of monthly installs, backed by $100M+ UA spend.
🦄 What’s up, Habby? New Game Dicero & Beyond!
Yeah, we’re talking about 350M Downloads & $1.2B+ IAPs!
DICERO T1 & US launch is finally comin’ NEXT WEEK!
Had a great chat with Habby’s Head of Global Publishing, Lei 🕺🏻
⚡️ Zynga VP on Monopoly Go, Last UA Lever & UA Managers’ Future!
Love this episode 🕺🏻
Amit Carmi hosted Shay Ze’ev Yosifon on Sett Podcast!
🇬🇧 UK’s £30M Games Growth Package?
£30m “Games Growth Package” aimed squarely at early-stage devs & new IP.
Finally, new studios have a leg to stand on, and here’s what stands out:
This is no longer fragmented support.
It’s multi-year thinking.
It’s explicitly about IP creation and company building
👎🏻 Game downloads fell on both Mobile App Stores in 2025.
On one hand, App Store downloads are down 5.7%, and Google Play’s downloads are down 7.3%. But on the other hand, revenue is held.
🇮🇳 Scaling Ad Revenue in India: What Actually Works
India has a massive population, around 1.47 billion people.
While Indian users typically have lower lifetime value and rarely convert through in-app purchases, they are highly engaged with ads.
That makes IAA one of the most effective monetization levers in this market.
🦄 NYT Games Wordle & Crossword: The most PREMIUM Audience in Gaming!
NYT Games has over 8.5M DAU!
But instead of maximizing ARPDAU through ads or better monetization, it focuses almost entirely on subscriptions and long-term engagement.
It’s a 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 for the entire New York Times ecosystem.
👉🏻 Movers & Shakers in Mobile Gaming: March 2026
Which Games Saw Standout Growth?
Breakout Stars in IAP Revenue & Big Movers in Downloads
⭐️ What Pixel Flow-Like Games are worth your attention?
Of the top 5,000 pubs, at least 15 have shipped a ‘similar game.’
As of April, Pixel Flow has ~60% category (sort + conveyors) share of IAP + AdRev.
Here are the five best-performing fast follows / derivatives so far…
👀 Why the Latecomers Could NOT Replicate Pixel Flow!
On the surface, there are obvious explanations. UA, capital, first-mover advantage.
The core play is almost identical. And everyone says the same thing: pressure, release, pressure, release. The basic rhythm of level design. But that is exactly where a question started to emerge.
🔥 Hottest NEW Mobile Games??
Top Hand-picks for ya!
Hottest Merge, Match-3, 4X, Hybrid & HC Games!
Avia Games → Mahjong Clash: Win Real Cash
Skill-based + Real money + Vita cloneetermax on Mahjong Ming!
Yep, you’re right. Both Vita clones xDBorderlands Mobile, Zynga brought that IP here!
Color Fire: Puzzle Shooter 3D by Kwalee
→ Hybrid Puzzle + Hypercasual Defense + Finisher Mini-Game!
Doge Escape by Unico Studio
Doge Meme + Block Puzzle → Pure marketability play
HexMoji by MagicLab Games
That’s My Seat publisher is now on logic puzzle depth!
Top 5 here, ALL? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Many more inside.
Last??
Ofc JOBS 🤟🏻
After all these LAYOFFS…
Doing our best for ya. 🌿
Thank you for reading, really.
It’s fully FREE!
Feel free to pass it on to a friend 🕺🏻