Gaming
GDLX23 Back with a Bang to Kick Off London Games Festival
After a year away, Game Dev London Expo (GDLX) is back! Kicking off the London Games Festival on 29th March, GDLX 2023 is the place to be for indie developers and the indie gaming community; established by creators, for creators. Want to learn more about the game design process, or how to get the most out of a publisher relationship? GDLX 2023 has talks from industry insiders to help indies and their games excel! Want to trial the concept, or raise interest from potential backers? The showcase stage enables devs to show off their games – and for others to try them out. Curated entirely for the indie game developer community and their needs, this event is a fantastic place to meet new collaborators, understand how to excel in the indie game development world, and experience the latest creative ideas in the field at the official after party.
Expanding on the success of the first GDLX, GDLX 2023 is set to double its offering for game lovers and has partnered with a network of game artists, MLC, to create a truly special event. GDLX originally featured over a dozen individual talks and panels from experts intent on cultivating the next generation of indie developers, a whole host of indie showcases, and a sellout industry afterparty: GDLX 2023 intends to go even further. Panels will feature experts in every aspect of the indie game industry, from publishers to coders, financiers to artists, all of whom will be offering their insight on how to produce a successful game by every possible measurement. The main stage is of course set for the developers themselves to showcase their indie games to an audience of both peers and players, as well as to the attending industry insiders: creating an opportunity to build both fans and backers.
GDLX is founded and organised by Game Dev London, a community support organisation for aspiring and established game developers. Game Dev London has a leading industry podcast and organises several events throughout the year, including hosting the third-largest jam site globally during Global Game Jam 2023 and regular online and in-person meet-ups.
Stuart De Ville, one of the directors at Game Dev London had this to say about GDLX and its mission,
“GDLX provides a local platform for developers to exhibit the fruits of their labour and receive the feedback and encouragement they need to take it to the next level. This event acts – and will continue to act – as one of the key cornerstones for London’s indie gaming community, and as a hub for the UK’s independent gaming industry. We are committed to ensuring inclusivity and accessibility, and that means providing opportunities for studios and games that would normally not be able to access expos and conferences vital to their development. GDLX is proud to give a voice to small startups and independent developers, and we believe that every game deserves a chance to shine.”
GDLX 2023 takes place on Wednesday March 29th at 26 Leake Street, London, SE1 7NN.
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Adam Smart Director of Product Gaming at AppsFlyer
AppsFlyer State of Gaming Report: AI Is Flooding Mobile Gaming Marketing Channels and Raising the Cost of Standing Out
State of Gaming for Marketers 2026 reveals how AI-driven scale, global UA spend, and China-based publishers are reshaping mobile gaming competition
AppsFlyer, the Modern Marketing Cloud, today released the State of Gaming for Marketers 2026, an in-depth analysis of how AI, creative scale, and rising paid pressure reshaped mobile gaming marketing in 2025. Drawing on AppsFlyer data, the report examines how studios adapted as marketing activity expanded faster than player attention.
In 2025, AI-enabled production coincided with a sharp increase in advertising across iOS and Android. Creative output scaled rapidly across all spending tiers, with top gaming advertisers producing between 2,400 and 2,600 creative variations per quarter, up 25–30% YoY. That expansion increased pressure on paid acquisition channels. Paid install share rose 10% YoY across iOS and Android, while ad impressions increased 20%, indicating a significant rise in the number of ads competing for the same pool of players. To manage rising marketing volume and fragmentation, AI-enabled tools became a common part of daily workflows with 46% of AI assistant queries focused on reporting and performance breakdowns, reflecting the need for faster visibility as data volumes grew.
“AI has dramatically increased the speed and volume at which games and marketing assets reach the market,” says Adam Smart, Director of Product, Gaming at AppsFlyer. “The result is not a shortage of creativity, but a surplus of it. As paid activity and creative supply expand faster than player attention, marketing success depends on how effectively teams can measure, interpret, and act on an increasing volume of fragmented signals.”
Additional key insights from the State of Gaming for Marketers 2026
- Global gaming app UA spend reached $25B in 2025. Midcore UA spend increased 28% YoY on iOS, while Android spend remained largely flat.
● China-headquartered publishers increased their share of global gaming UA spend. Their share grew by 26% YoY in the UK, and 22% globally, with gains strongest on Android.
● iOS paid installs reached record highs. Share in the UK rose across Casino (+13%), Hypercasual (+10%), and Midcore (+30%).
● iOS advertisers expanded media mix to find incremental scale. iOS gaming advertisers increased the number of media sources they used by up to 15% YoY, reflecting growing fragmentation and the need to diversify beyond core channels.
● AI is still used primarily to manage marketing scale, not strategy. With 46% of AI assistant queries focused on reporting and performance breakdowns, teams are using AI to keep pace with rising data volumes rather than replace decision-making, but some genres are already employing more complex tasks and asks.
Methodology
AppsFlyer’s State of Gaming for Marketers 2026 is based on anonymized, aggregated data from 9.6 thousand gaming apps worldwide, analyzing 24.8 billion total installs, including 14.1 billion paid installs, alongside ad spend, creative production, monetization, AI-assisted workflows, and media source usage across iOS and Android during 2025.
The full report is available at: appsflyer.com/resources/reports/gaming-marketers/
The post AppsFlyer State of Gaming Report: AI Is Flooding Mobile Gaming Marketing Channels and Raising the Cost of Standing Out appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Arena Racing Company
Arena Racing Company awarded United Arab Emirates Gaming-Related Vendor License
Arena Racing Company (ARC) has been granted a Gaming-Related Vendor license from the United Arab Emirates’ General Commercial Gaming Authority (GCGRA), an independent entity of the UAE Federal Government with exclusive jurisdiction to regulate, license, and supervise all commercial gaming activities.
The license, operational with immediate effect, affords ARC the opportunity to provide its products and services to licensed operators in the region. Notably, the Racing1 Markets service, an all-in-one horse and greyhound racing solution delivered in conjunction with Racing1 alliance media rights partners at 1/ST CONTENT, Racecourse Media Group (RMG), and Tabcorp, alongside technical partner Pythia Sports. ARC has been added to the list of licensed vendors as per the GCGRA website.
Jack Whitaker, Commercial Manager at ARC, said: “Obtaining this license is a great achievement for ARC and its Racing1 partners. The emerging regulated UAE market is incredibly exciting, and we look forward to showcasing our innovative products and services in the region.”
The post Arena Racing Company awarded United Arab Emirates Gaming-Related Vendor License appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry Newsroom.
Battle of the Tribes
POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Celebrated strategy game The Battle of Polytopia confirms its first ever World Championships has exceeded expectations with over 10,000 sign-ups in its qualifying rounds. While no stranger to tournaments, previously hosting smaller scale, local tournaments called ‘Polysseums’, developer Midjiwan’s first step into global esports has been met with extreme success. The inclusive esports event has a $10,000 prize pool and will conclude on 6 December 2025, 14:00-21:00.
The finals will take place in front of a live-studio audience, with expert commentary and a chance to peek behind the scenes at Midjiwan itself. First place will receive $4,000, the runner-up will take away $2,000, the third and fourth place finishers will get $1,500, and the fifth and sixth place $500.
The Polytopia World Championship 2025 is being hosted by eSports platform, Challengermode, who Midjiwan has relied on for its monthly local tournaments since 2022. Midjiwan also partnered with Black Molly Entertainment to help organise and manage the event. Black Molly Entertainment have years of experience managing eSports tournaments, with notable events including the Geoguesser World Cup and CS:GO Pinnacle Cup Championship.
Midjiwan has worked closely with its community to ensure engagement is high with each round, building a bespoke ‘Spectator Mode’ into the game so fans can watch each game live through the game itself. In the spectator mode the viewer has visibility of all players simultaneously, with stats on how many cities, technologies, kills and more available for quick access.
Christian Lovstedt, CEO of Midjiwan commented:
“Polytopia has always been about welcoming all kinds of players into the world of 4X strategy. That’s why our championship is open to everyone – not just pros with sponsors. We’ve been thrilled at the amount of interest this tournament received from our community, reaching participation numbers way beyond our expectations. We’re excited to bring the finalists to Stockholm and can’t wait to see the strategies that emerge.”
The Polytopia World Championship 2025 kicked off in September, with its ‘Battle of the Tribes’ qualifying round – weekly battles where players competed to be the best in each of the game’s 12 tribes. After an exciting six weeks, the top player from each tribe faced-off, reducing the qualifiers to six finalists. These six winners are listed down below.
|
Tribe |
Qualifying Player |
|
IMPERIUS |
ArthurL248 |
|
BARDUR |
slimmingboy |
|
OUMAJI |
Dreamlander3000 |
|
HOODRICK |
Theetat |
|
XIN-Xi |
LeLiberateur |
|
LUXIDOOR |
Meisterlampe |
Recaps of each round of the tournament prior to the finals can be watched on the official Battle of Polytopia YouTube channel.
-
Part 1: Polytopia World Championship 1st Qualifiers Wrap-Up – BARDUR, IMPERIUS, KICKOO, ZEBASI
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Part 2: Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Oumaji Hoodrick Yadakk & Quetzali – World Champoinship 2025
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Part 3: Final Qualifiers Wrap-Up – Xin-Xi, Luxidoor, Ai-Mo & Vengir – World Championship 2025
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Face-off stream: https://youtube.com/live/GnU6mWPoJiY?feature=share
To watch the finals live on December 6,visit here: https://polytopia.io/stream/
To stay up to date on the Polytopia World Championship 2025, or purchase one of the limited tickets for the live event, visit the official website or join the Official Polytopia Discord.
The post POLYTOPIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 BREAKS RECORD PARTICIPATION AS FINALS DRAW CLOSER appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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