What's your favourite game of 2025? Any upcoming releases you're looking forward to in 2026? Let's end the year with a bang with a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where we take a quick look back on the greatest hits (and misses) over the past twelve months!
It's actually been a big year for mobile with a lot more to come, including the upcoming release of Arknights: Endfield, some Monument Valley shenanigans, and the whole Netflix x Warner Bros x Paramount kerfuffle.
Iwan continues with some big hits in the form of the Stardew Valley x Infinity Nikki crossover, Subnautica's launch, and Squid Game Unleashed going MIA, before Will reminisces about Suzerain and the consequences of his choices that will remain with him forever. He then gushes about Warframe which has a definite year-round appeal, before he literally slides away into the abyss.
It's my turn to gush about my favourite pick of the year, which is The Longing - and you have to spend 400 actual days IRL to finish the whole thing. You can't speedrun this one, but speaking of, Iwan speedruns through the most notable news of 2025 like Dredge, Disco Elysium, and Star Wars Hunters, before we wrap things up for the final episode of the year.
Thank you so much for sticking around and listening to us serve up the news with a side of goofiness, and we hope you'll keep hanging out with us for all things mobile next year and beyond!
How do you spend your holidays gaming-wise, and is Santa Claus at all safe? Grab some eggnog or cosy up with a cup of tea as we welcome you all to a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast!
After confirming exactly why this is the most wonderful time of the year (and expressing our genuine concern over Santa Claus' safety), we get right to it as Iwan recommends The Darkside Detective if you're in the mood for some spooky-slash-goofy tones while you chill by the fireplace this month. The point-and-click adventure has plenty of cosy moments despite its titular darkside-ness - or if you're looking for something more mainstream, Balatro is always a good pick.
Vampire Survivors is one of Iwan's go-to options too, but for something more laidback and a little less frantic, Neko Atsume is my own top pick for the season. The idle nature of this kitty collector will have you laying out toys and treats for stray cats in a desperate attempt to win their love - and if they do deem you worthy of their time and attention, they'll leave you fish that you can then use to buy them even more treats.
It's a loop you'll want to get trapped in especially if you fancy logging in, setting up treats, then logging out and going about your day before checking in every once in a while whenever you feel like it. Plus, cat masters. 'Nuff said.
As for Will, he does a complete one-eighty with Maneater, where you basically roam the seas as an apex predator and eat people just because. And if you're wondering how exactly that relates to Christmas, then you'll have to tune in to find out (just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water).
Will also leaves us with a heartwarming message this Christmas, so even if we're still not entirely sure about Santa's whereabouts at the moment, we at least end this holiday special with some warm and fuzzy feelings before we sign off.
Are you a fan of waifu games and Metroidvanias, and what is the meaning of life? We tackle everything from the state of the world we live in to the overall plot of Star Wars in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.
We kick things off with a quick game of "how many Christmas metaphors can Will blurt out in three seconds" before Iwan drops the big news on Umamusume: Pretty Derby winning Mobile Game of the Year at The Game Awards, along with Wuthering Waves bagging an award with the Player's Voice category.
It's a fantastic way of celebrating what makes mobile great, which inevitably includes waifus - and this is where Will's news on Snowbreak: Containment Zone comes in. There's plenty of outfits to get a hold of in the latest update too, so if you fancy celebrating the holidays in style, this might be one to watch.
Speaking of things that have tons of style, Dead Cells is the freebie of the week for the Epic Games Store, which is honestly levelling up its catalog, in my opinion. It's free to grab until the 19th, and you don't even need to be logged in to the store after downloading it to play it.
We go pretty meta with our transitions and sound effects for a bit before Iwan perfectly transitions into a new Star Wars CCG in the works, and after we waffle on a tad about Star Wars losing its plot, Will throws out the existential question of how PUBG has suddenly become THE game for sportscars.
Before things get too bleak when it comes to cars exploding and the overall fate of humanity, let's segue into Cozy Caravan and restore our faith in the world with its cute critters and overall cosiness. Similar adventures like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing have never really been my thing (I'm so sorry!), but with the stop-motion-esque animation in Cozy Caravan, I might just give this sim a try.
How do you feel about the big Netflix x Warner Bros kerfuffle, and do you think you deserve a visit from three ghosts this Christmas? We tackle everything from Hello Kitty's supposedly dark past to really old lizard-looking sugar monsters in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.
As we ponder the intricacies of a bearded stranger breaking into people's houses uninvited this Christmas season, Iwan kicks things off with what's arguably the biggest news of the past week, which is Netflix's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. There's no doubt going to be a whole bunch of stuff to consider when it comes to the subscription service's catalog of games on mobile, but it'll also no doubt take ages before anything solidifies, so we'll all just have to keep tuning in to find out.
That said, what's certain this week is the launch of Hello Kitty and Friends World, which is exactly what it says on the tin - you decorate the popular kitty's world along with her pals, and what's even more interesting is that all of the Sanrio characters are already immediately unlocked from the start. It essentially removes microtransactions, given it's supposed to be targeted toward kids, which is a lovely change of pace.
But if you're looking for something that's entirely free - at least for the moment - Epic Games Store is bringing The Darkside Detective to mobile as its freebie of the week. Will tells us all about its well-balanced features (check out Iwan's review on it too if you're curious), before Iwan decides who's doomed to receive an untimely visit from three ghosts this season (Hello Kitty herself included).
We then move on from creepy spectres to cult classics with the upcoming Dungeons of Dusk, which honestly features such a rich backstory that it's best to have a look at Iwan's interview with 68K Studios to know all the nitty-gritty.
Now, if you're a fan of interesting narratives like I am, this one's caught my eye - Planet of Lana has now made the leap onto mobile. I do feel like it's perfectly suited for the platform with its lovely visuals and optimised controls; plus, it reminds me a lot of Far: Lone Sails with all the wordless and evocative scenery. So, if that's your kind of vibe, I'd say this is worth giving a go.
And finally, Will caps things off with the adorable Om Nom joining the blocky world of Minecraft as a special add-on, which brings us to the existential question of what exactly this little green blob is and why it's still stealing our hearts (and sugars?) to this day.
What's your take on AI in video games? What's your favourite Final Fantasy game, and would you like to try to handcraft a universe of your own making? We tackle everything from managing football careers to arguing about what a warframe actually is in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.
After Iwan blows off some steam about mobile ads and what the heck they're actually doing to our economy, Will shares some insider tips about how you can ward off these unholy abominations with a little Wi-Fi trick (controversial opinions and hardcore gaming secrets only in this podcast).
Then, Iwan updates us on Sega Football Club Champions 2026's upcoming launch, which completely goes over my and Will's heads because sports and paperwork simply do not compute.
But if you do want to find something you actually can compute, you'll be happy to know that Netflix Puzzled has just launched to offer free daily brainteasers you can play both on mobile and on the Tudum website, with a special Stranger Things-themed coat of paint at the moment to celebrate the show's fifth season.
We talk a bit about aging actors and how that's what's strange, before we move on to something that our finite minds can actually comprehend - crafting universes with our own hands. Will segues into the Epic Games Store's freebie of the week, Universe For Sale, but while the aesthetics here are definitely on point, I personally had a rough time crafting the universes being peddled. If you're curious, you can have a look at my Universe For Sale review. Your mileage may vary though, so why not give it a go? It's free until December 4th, after all.
While we're on the subject of free stuff, Iwan diverts his enthusiasm to Where Winds Meet. He sheds light on the use of AI here not only in the gameplay but also on how you create your character, as you can apparently use your own voice to generate the sound your character makes - life truly is stranger than fiction.
And speaking of fiction, Will announces Warframe's Android closed beta, then helps me wrap things up with Final Fantasy IX's crossover event within Another Eden. Of course, in true PG fashion, we add more waffles into the waffling on as we tease an upcoming podcast special, but not before revealing that Iwan may or may not be AI himself.
Have you voted for your pick for Game of the Year yet? Who's your fave Hunter from Solo Leveling, and what is the point of it all, according to Iwan? We tackle everything from racing careers to missing vegetables in the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast.
Iwan's testing a new mic this week from Maono for a review that'll be up on the site soon, so if you think he's sounding pretty darn good (or pretty darn worse), do let us know.
But first, Will proves he's the coolest kid on the block with his intro this week, before we dive right into The Sims Labs: Town Stories that's now in soft launch. Iwan sheds some light on the project and basically spills the tea as the resident Sims expert, and if you're curious, you can catch more of Iwan's hot takes over on our sister site, The Sims News.
The highlight of our episode is, of course, the 12th Pocket Gamer Awards, which is now in its voting phase! This is your chance to let your voice be heard as you can vote for your favourites across a wide variety of categories, including the coveted Mobile Game of the Year. Super Farming Boy, for instance, is right up there with Pokemon TCG Pocket and Umamusume: Pretty Derby, and after a bit of horse-related feminism, Will moves on to kidnapped dads and bad parenting.
That's because Dadish 4 is coming to mobile next month, and this time, it's the titular dad-that's-a-radish that's been abducted (and by the Homeowner's Association, no less). It's up to DJ (or Dadish Jr, of course) to rescue him and save the day.
Unanswered letters to Thomas K Young turn to unanswered letters to poncle as Iwan discusses the Vampire Survivors spin-off Vampire Crawlers (and the powerful psychic damage he's been sending over to poncle), but not before taking us through the new AFK Journey collab with Delicious in Dungeon. This takes us to scary territory for some reason, which is why I segue into the equally cryptic TR-49 - inkle's upcoming narrative mystery that's all about real-life code-breaking documents from WWII.
It doesn't take long before Will gets down to business with the very business-y Laura Walker from Solo Leveling: Arise, because when you mean serious business, you can't go wrong with a secretary with a whip.
How do you rage against a giant judgmental pillar, and how soon can you get your hands on some Pals on mobile? We tackle everything from bad voice acting to the power of pronunciation in the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast this week.
After John Marston makes a brief cameo in this episode, Iwan brings us news of Red Dead Redemption's mobile port coming to iOS and Android courtesy of Netflix Games. It is, as he writes, "beginning to look a lot like Red-mas", so while the price tag is pretty hefty, you might be able to justify its purchase on Steam this season - or you can simply subscribe to Netflix to get it for free.
Another big franchise is coming soon to mobile too with Horizon Steel Frontiers, a cross-platform MMORPG I'm super pumped about but likely won't be able to play too much because of my cursed tennis elbows. Still, it promises to bring all the totally awesome machines from the PlayStation hit onto mobile; plus, it looks like we're going to get some cool mounts too as the cherry on top.
Then, Will tells us the odd lore behind ScourgeBringer, which is free on the Epic Games Store if you want to know what it's like to have an evil pillar as your mortal enemy (really). But if you're more into typical manga narratives rather than giant judgmental monoliths, Seven Knights Idle Adventure is doing a collab with popular manhwa The Swordmaster's Son, or you might want to put Mongil: Star Dive on your radar for even more anime-style visuals and feels.
Apart from Netmarble's monster-taming adventure, G-Star 2025 also showcased Palworld Mobile in Korea over the weekend, where Krafton opened alpha test sign-ups for the highly anticipated project.
And finally, we close out with the upcoming The Witcher collab within Sword of Convallaria - a title that might just elude Will's pronunciation prowess forever. We do offer this idea out into the ether, though: Geralt in a hot tub on wheels as a mount or as a kart racer - now that's a sure hit.
What happened over the weekend in LA, and is this truly the Iwan and Friends show? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast focuses on Arknights: Endfield and all the hype surrounding it, with a few bits of immersive candies and pig squeals thrown in for good measure.
After a bit of a kerfuffle about fake tax records, Iwan dives right into the heart of the matter, which is Arknights: Endfield's beta 2.0. Iwan gives us a very detailed look at all the bells and whistles at the event, especially with everything the upcoming RPG has to offer.
There are a lot of interesting tidbits surrounding the mechanics and how they all relate to Arknights, so if you're curious, you can have a look at Iwan's preview, or find out more about what goes on behind the scenes in his interview with producer Light Zhong (it's a really insightful one!).
And because immersion and interactivity are the name of the game these days, we move on to quirkier news as Candy Crush creates music that you can apparently actually taste - we're not even kidding. Will gives us the lowdown on these odd but certainly interesting musical twists, and while we do get into a bit of back-and-forth on whether or not this is actually a good idea, the hype is definitely real for this one, as the lollipops were instantly sold out online.
Speaking of immersion, Clash Royale, on the other hand, is offering you the chance to immortalise yourself forever as the new hog squeal sound effect in the game, so if you're interested, there's still time to make a name for yourself on the official website.
Before we end, we announce the official launch of Sword of Justice, where AI-powered NPCs actually remember how you interact with them - this means you'll likely have a much more immersive experience as you go along, because it seems we're all about immersion today. And finally, Totally Fishing now has an official TestFlight build you can give a go for all your wacky fishing needs.
Do you really need a Pal during the apocalypse (yes, you do), who is The Sassy JRPG Hater, and have we just irrevocably angered FF7 fans with our discussion on Healing Materia? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast offers both fast news and chaotic insights in this week's episode with the three of us back in.
Will very dramatically takes us into the 12th annual Pocket Gamer Awards nominations, which are now open until mid-November. This means if you fancy seeing your fave picks up there, let your voice (or vote) be heard by filling in the nomination form!
Then, you can dabble in a little bit of eldritch horror in Asphalt Legends Unite, where Iwan gives us the details on the popular racer's Cthulhu crossover event. And to continue with all the leftover Halloween spooks, Bendy and the Ink Machine is the Epic Games Store freebie of the week, so you can go ahead and creep yourself out with horrific mascots and cursed, abandoned lairs.
Iwan and Will talk a bit about the circumstances surrounding the Epic Games Store's free games program, before we segue into the equally horrific world of Once Human collaborating with the not-so-horrific world of Palworld. While the crossover might seem odd at first glance, it actually does make sense given the nature of the gameplay, so if you're curious about how your Pals can help you survive the apocalypse, now's your chance.
Then, we move on to the sad news of Squad Busters unfortunately getting shuttered next year, which definitely comes as a surprise given it's been fully launched and not in soft-launch as opposed to other games Supercell previously shut down. Iwan gives us the lowdown on the comings and goings in the biz behind the scenes for a bit before Will launches into an inspirational speech complete with motivational music on how he believes in Supercell - and perhaps we all should too.
And finally, we cap off the episode with Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis' crossover with Final Fantasy XIII, in which we might've angered some FF7 fans by pondering the intricacies of Healing Materia and Aerith's popularity in the midst of it all (but not before we meet Iwan's alter-ego, The Sassy JRPG Hater).
Alucard - er, Iwan - welcomes you all to a very special episode of the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, where we talk about our favourite (and by "our", I mean Will and Iwan) horror and horror-adjacent games on mobile this Halloween.
After a twisted intro involving thunder and some chaotic Castlevania callbacks, we (almost) waste no time in diving right into the horror of it all with Vampire’s Fall 2, a gothic fantasy RPG that Will had to talk over Iwan to recommend to us first.
And because Iwan is apparently too young to have played Diablo I, he swiftly moves on to what he swears is one of the greatest games of all time, Alien: Isolation. It's also a bit of a technical marvel given it was released on mobile four years ago, but before Iwan can wax poetic about how this made the Xenomorphs terrifying again, he gives a special shoutout to Phobies for Stephen's sake.
It's supposed to have all these creatures that are embodiments of fears (I do present a theory I read somewhere about Lippy that Stephen may or may not debunk), and because that's incredibly creepy, Will eases us into Candies n' Curses, which, on the tier list of horror levels, is comfortably categorised under "something even Cat can play".
Sadly, because this is supposed to be a short one, we wrap up the episode with one game we (and again, by "we", I mean Will and Iwan) wish would make the leap to mobile. Iwan picks House of the Dead for all its brain-eating action, while Will picks The Binding of Isaac as he believes it's also something "Cat can play".
And in true podcast fashion, we bid adieu by leaving you with the image of the Saja Boys from KPop Demon Hunters barging into your room in the middle of the night - truly the stuff of nightmares.
What does a creepy cat and a creepy cafe have in common (hint: they're creepy), and why are we talking all things cursed in this episode? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast is a two-player back-and-forth this week as Will and I discuss everything from Cinderella's crops to a speedy hedgehog in a car.
Will dives straight into Play Together's Halloween update, where said cursed farms and spectral princesses abound, and as we talk about the oddities of monsters popping up all over Kaia Island, we also ponder the mysteries of just why Cinderella might be cursing an entire town with nightmare veggies.
Speaking of cursed critters, Escape Game: Cat and Cafe is, at first glance, supposed to be a relaxing puzzler where you cosy up with a cute cat and a lovely little cafe - but honestly, with the way the visuals are presented and the mystery of this odd "escape game", it looks more like there's some form of impending doom just lurking around the corner or bubbling beneath the surface here. It's entirely free to play though, so if you're curious, you can give it a go and see for yourself (or we might just be overthinking things and it really is just a puzzler about a cafe and a cat).
Moving on to more festive news, Bleach: Brave Souls is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a cool offline event where the OG voice cast will be doing live readings next month, as well as a bunch of freebies within the RPG itself. Everyone's favourite blue hedgehog is also a testament to long-running franchises, which is how we segue into Sonic Rumble and its release window next month.
We talk a bit about how multiplayer Sonic games have never really taken off - mainly because there's one that actually put Sonic in a car - but with any luck, this new Stumble Guys-esque adventure will be just the thing to kick off the genre.
And finally, we end the episode with a bang by announcing that nominations for the 12th Pocket Gamer Awards are now open! You can nominate your faves across a variety of categories, so if, like me, you love Shogun Showdown's roguelike card battles, or, like Will, you fancy Super Farming Boy's quirky anti-capitalism charm, then this is your chance to flaunt your fandom.
How can walking heal your soul, and how much time does Iwan have left on this week's episode? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast tackles pay-to-win mechanics, stressful jobs, and free games this week.
With Iwan back from a death-defying sabbatical from the park, he kicks things off with Dragon Ball: Gekishin Squadra, which is making welcome balance tweaks to its 4v4 Team Battles to keep things spicy for its community of players.
We then keep the "action" going with the launch of Blue Protocol: Star Resonance, which might just be the best action RPG on mobile, according to Shaun's very positive experience with it. Most notably, it's interesting how this one seems to be veering away from the typical pay-to-win gacha mechanics in favour of giving you the option to pay for cosmetics instead, which is something we might also see with upcoming projects like Ananta and Duet Night Abyss.
On to even more exciting developments in the mobile space, Square Enix has surprise-dropped what they're calling a "New Dissidia Final Fantasy" project that's apparently going to be a Team Boss Battle Arena. Mum's the word at the moment though, but despite the developers breaking our hearts and trampling them to the ground with all of their previous mobile shutdowns, we're still pretty excited and willing to get burned yet again when the time comes.
But to help us wait it out until then, Iwan brings good tidings in the form of the Epic Games freebie of the week, which is the Double Dragon Trilogy. Interestingly enough, it also has a mobile-optimised difficulty option, which brings us to the topic of touchscreens, wonky controls, and a throwback to Iwan's review of the CRKD Atom.
Speaking of wonkiness, the spelling for 1f y0u're a gh0st ca11 me here might be all over the place simply because the calls you're answering here are similarly chaotic. The visual novel is out now if you want to stress yourself out as an Underworld call centre agent.
To de-stress before the episode ends (with a special shoutout to The Very Big Indie Pitch at Pocket Gamer Helsinki!), Will takes us through the path of Monster Walk, which is out now to help you keep up your fitness while healing the world and yourself.
Or, you can always just fight other people with your monsters while you're out and about - that's totally fine too.
Last week saw the Pocket Gamer Podcast keeping Will and Iwan in rotation, but I'm swapping in for our resident newshound this time around to talk zombies in card games and toxic gas in meeting rooms.
Will launches right into the spooky season with Marvel Contest of Champions, where the Founders’ War Saga is currently underway. Joining Isophyne, Lumatrix, and Solvarch is the ultimate Eidol Imperiosa, along with Dracula and Franken-Castle just in time for Halloween.
We talk a bit about the clever pun-ness of Frank Castle's Punisher before moving on to an equally Halloween-themed event within Marvel Snap, which is bringing hordes and hordes of the undead to the fray. This ties in with the Marvel Zombies show, and in the card battler, you'll get to see Zombie Scarlet Witch and Headpool in action.
But also also also, did you know that Epic Games Store has been giving away freebies that rotate each week? Will gives us the skinny on Doodle Devil and a free Firestone reward pack, and if you pay close attention to the info on this episode, you might just discover how humans can attain ultimate knowledge from a simple fruit.
Speaking of freebies though, we dive into a closer look at a few games that are trying to break the mould when it comes to monetisation - Ananta and Duet Night Abyss. It's an interesting would-be trend that might just be the so-called "Genshin-killer" people have been buzzing about, because these two are apparently going to try to forego the tried-and-tested gacha monetisation model in favour of paid cosmetics. Whether or not that works in the long run remains to be seen, but it's interesting to see some big players trying to shift things around.
That said, what is free-to-play at the moment is Hello Kitty Merch Match, an adorable match-3 puzzler where you hoard Sanrio-themed merch to clear a board. Honestly, it can't get any better than that. It's out now, and if you're a fan of collecting stuff but you've never had enough shelf space, now's your chance for vindication.
And finally, we leave one more spooky-ish news in the form of Clash of Clans' Revenge Button, where the devs have locked themselves in a meeting room to endure punishments that the community of players have voted on while they go through a Reddit AMA. It's horrendous, it's funny, it's genius.
It's all about the biggest news on Tokyo Game Show this week as the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast dives deep into deadly sins, anime GTAs, and why mobile should be more of a focus in these kinds of events.
Will kicks things off with The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin, an upcoming open-world RPG with Closed Beta Test sign-ups now open. The Netmarble press conference also included appearances from the voice cast behind main characters Tristan and Tioreh, which all just means that the hype is very much real for this one.
Iwan keeps the ball rolling with the gameplay trailer for Ananta, which covers everything from Arkham-esque takedowns to letting you swing around like your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man across the urban jungle. There's a bit of talk about the implications of "taking inspiration" from a bunch of different stuff, but Iwan remains "tentatively interested" in this one.
That said, inspiration takes shape in the form of Aniimo as Will points out, which is filled with all kinds of creature-collecting, monster-taming, weather-manipulating goodness. Naturally, the Pokemon-Palworld battle comes to mind, which Will kindly sheds light on for anyone who isn't in the know about all the legal jargon.
With all of these dazzling new trailers comes Limit Zero Breakers too, which has teamed up with Mappa (of Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man fame) to bring all the animated goodness of the trailer to life. Tougen Anki: Crimson Inferno joins the TGS party as well - mobile has never been bigger, honestly.
Wai Wai World Craft makes a surprise cameo in the episode too, and if you're curious about that, you'll just have to tune in to find out.
Moving on from TGS, Will talks about The Vallis Undermind update in Warframe, where a Fun Guy - er, fungi - makes a special appearance (these two always crack me up). And finally, Angry Birds is making a big comeback to mainland China thanks to a team-up among Rovio, Xiaomi and Kingsoft Shiyou. Iwan being our ever-reliable newshound - who's always privy to all the latest in the biz - gives us a background on what this might mean for the market, before Will rounds it up with an existential question about birds and snakes.
This week sees the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast gearing up for the spooky season and pondering the meaning of life when it comes to voice casts and cabbages.
After Will proves that he's doing just fine, Iwan launches into a discussion on the latest updates on the new Angry Birds 3 movie cast, while we ponder the intricacies of voice acting and what it means to be a nice guy in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, I lament the tortured fate of the legendary Cabbage Merchant in Avatar Legends: Realms Collide, while Will questions Aang's involvement in it all by recounting the fate of the aforementioned veggie vendor.
Then, Will eases us into the spooky season with Torchlight: Infinite's upcoming The Overrealm update, along with all of the clockwork bosses and biomechanical threats you'll have to face when it kicks off on October 10th.
Iwan then steers the discussion to Apple bringing full-screen gaming to Safari in an upcoming update, which brings us to the question, "What does mobile gaming mean nowadays?" It's an exciting world we live in, most definitely - and it's also going to open up plenty of opportunities for our weekly Off the AppStore feature.
With all this talk of new things on the horizon, we move on to the official launch of Seven Knights Re:BIRTH, which reimagines the popular franchise into a more accessible idle form, much like MU: Pocket Knights.
And finally, we round it all off with Dragonheir: Silent Gods celebrating its 2nd anniversary after its recent relaunch, and in true gamer fashion, we reflect on horse-themed characters and their like just a tad before the episode ends.
What are your fondest memories of Angry Birds, and have I somehow been transported to the Arctic without me knowing? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast offers the latest news as Will and Iwan do a quick two-player episode this week.
Iwan immediately starts off with the soft launch of Angry Birds Rush, which is an interesting new take on the classic franchise that many - Iwan included - grew up with on mobile. Will gives us his two cents about Angry Birds and its valiant forays into different genres, before taking us in a different direction with the 7th anniversary of Azur Lane.
After a bit of a healthy discussion on the…accuracy of the shipgirls, Iwan leads us into the announcement of Tom and Jerry Blast, which, while the details are scant at the moment, does seem like it's going to be a puzzler or block blast of some sort.
Then Will laments his own poor choices as he's forgotten to download Monument Valley from the Epic Games Store - but fret not! Monument Valley II is the freebie of the week, so if you don't want to end up like Will, now's your chance to grab it while you can. There's also The Battle of Polytopia as the second freebie of the week, in which Iwan educates us on what 4X actually means (the more you know).
The regular crew is back this week with the (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast, with Catherine (me) making a (triumphant?) return to join Will and Iwan for another round of mobile mayhem.
As I'm eager to be back, I get the ball rolling with Mirren: Star Legends, now debuting a new Crunchyroll Login feature to switch up the monetisation for its library of games. We talk a little bit about the different gaming catalogues for these kinds of subscription services, before I gush on and on about Shogun Showdown and my glowing 5-star review.
Will steers the wheel and brings us to the official launch of King of Crabs: Invasion on iOS, while it's still currently in pre-registration for Android users. And in a not-so-surprising reveal, we all share our deep fear of the equally deep sea, mainly because of Subnautica's imminent launch on mobile. Keep Team Pocket Gamer far away from the ocean, is the key takeaway here.
Meanwhile, on other equally stressful things, we talk about the launch of Is This Yours?, a seemingly cosy puzzler about cute animals losing their things. In reality, it's actually incredibly stressful, especially since you'll be helping these careless customers with their stuff under a timer.
We then talk about the perils of working in customer service, before Will turns it around with the adorable launch of I, Slime. Iwan counters with the report that the launch of Final Outpost: Definitive Edition has been pushed back, with a healthy discussion on these types of post-apocalyptic genres and the inevitable zombie outbreak.
Finally, we discuss what it truly means to play an idle game in this busy world we live in today, with Summoners War: Rush launching as a mix of AFK elements and tower defence.
We're getting used to our new format now for the Pocket Gamer Podcast (New and Improved!), with Will and Iwan doing their dynamic duo thing once more this week.
Iwan kicks off the discussion with Tribe Nine getting cancelled after only three months - that's pretty short, and a sad casualty of the saturated mobile market. In the same vein, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is being pulled off the App Store and Play Store too - so Will jumps in to give his two cents about all these shutdowns happening left and right.
There is SOME good news, though. Game of Thrones: Kingsroad has officially launched, welcoming you back to the world of Westeros - this time as a scion of noble House Tyre. Netmarble has never been one to shy away from epic franchises, so here's hoping this one does the IP justice.
And speaking of big franchises, Fortnite is back on the App Store in the US - if you're unfamiliar with the big drama between Epic and Apple, Iwan goes into detail on this episode to get you up to speed.
Meanwhile, Will shares his enthusiasm on Mythwalker's new Tethering update, and the pair go on to discuss community-building especially with Pokemon Go's Road Trip 2025. Shenanigans about the implications of trucks, safaris, and gyms ensue, before Will caps off the episode on the pre-registration sign-ups for Destiny: Rising. NetEase has been pretty busy as of late, with Sea of Remnants being teased and Once Human launching on mobile, so it's bound to be a big thing.
It's a special episode of the Pocket Gamer Podcast this week as Cristina joins Will and Iwan on another deep dive into what's hot, what's not, and what's sort-of-sizzling-but-not-quite-yet in the wonderful world of mobile gaming.
This time around, with the short and sweet 30-minute format, Iwan kicks things off with Squad Busters' major overhaul. Aptly called the Hero update, this revamp now lets you rely more on your heroes rather than just your squaddies, making full use of their abilities to win. Will this fresh coat of paint work well with players? Cristina is a tad apprehensive, but I suppose we'll all just have to give it a go and see for ourselves.
Meanwhile, Will is pretty pumped about Chronomon's launch, especially since anything with a -mon attached is always appealing. It's supposedly Stardew Valley mixed in with Pokemon, as what seems to be the trend nowadays.
It's always monster-taming combined with something else, but if it has plenty of cosy vibes, we're all for it - just like Dorfromantik, a new tile-matching puzzler that Cristina is a fan of. It's all very wholesome and is similar to Armello with a touch of Kingdomino - and we all need something to help us relax at the end of a busy day, don't we?
And speaking of busy bees, Iwan reports that Krafton's been busy rebranding Dark and Darker Mobile, now titled Abyss of Dungeons. What exactly brought about the name change? Tune in for all the tea - especially since Will caps off the episode with the interestingly titled In Their Shoes (coming in 2026 with slice-of-life feels). If you've always been curious about what mumblecore actually is, this might just be the day you finally find out.
Finally, there's the so-called relaunch of Dragonheir: Silent Gods - does this mean people will be more interested, or will there be a "medieval-style siege", as Iwan puts it?
*Note: It's a shorter one this week as Iwan's having electricity issues, while Will's audio quality isn't at its best. We'll still bring you what we can about this week's hottest news though, so hopefully you'll stick around!How will K-pop dominate the world, and is Will currently on a top-secret experiment involving this new technology called the telephone? The (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast is a dynamic duo affair this week as they tackle hitmen, bingo, and printing money in no particular order.
Will kicks off his "experiment" with the new Grid Master event within Old School RuneScape, where you get to dive into bingo-esque shenanigans to - like the event name says - master the grid, all in exchange for cool rewards for a limited time. Iwan then immediately jumps into Enhypen World and gives his hot take on the upcoming "cinematic adventure", but if you're curious, pre-registrations will be opening on September 15th.
They talk about the endless possibilities of a possible KPop Demon Hunters mobile game for Netflix for a good bit and how massive this would be (I agree!). Iwan even describes it as something that would print money and officially puts his professional pedigree on the line - a brave man.
Will then moves on to Persona 5: The Phantom X's version 2.0 update, which is absolutely exciting given the slew of new content you can experience along with a brand-new story chapter.
Iwan laments his fate as the sword of Damocles hangs over his head, which is why he swiftly segues into Hitman: World of Assassination launching on iOS - something our very own editor-in-chief praised in his review.
Unfortunately, Iwan's real-world problems catch up with him at this point, so the aforementioned sword drops to make this episode a shorter one!