Aream & Co.

PGC Summit Shanghai Kicks Off with Major Game Studios

Pocket Gamer Connects (PGC) Summit Shanghai opened on July 29, 2026, featuring talks from game companies including Habby, Thatgamecompany, Mattel163 and Kingsoft. Organised in association with MyGamez, the conference gathers international firms such as Xsolla, Amazon Web Services, SocialPeta and multiple investors and studios. The event includes a Big Indie Zone expo, the Big Indie Pitch, networking parties (including a Pocket Gamer Party sponsored by Century Games) and a Pocket Gamer Mixer in association with EnjoyPay. PocketGamer.biz will report live from the summit and make top talks available via its YouTube channel. Pocket Gamer is also a strategic content partner with ChinaJoy 2026 and promotes a China region report published with Xsolla.

AI Gamechangers Summit Highlights AI's Impact on Games

Pocket Gamer previews the AI Gamechangers Summit closing Pocket Gamer Connects Shanghai on July 29, 2026, which will examine how AI can change gameplay and where investment is flowing. Sessions include a solo provocation by AI practitioner Chris Zhou about how AI might alter play, creation, learning and companionship in games, plus a panel (“The AI Paradox”) with studio and investor voices from Mattel163, BITKRAFT Ventures, Aream & Co, BBX Ventures and Play Ventures. Panelists discuss concrete AI deployments (monetisation prediction, content pipelines, localisation), investor expectations for AI-native startups, and China-specific advantages from state-driven adoption. The piece also notes ChinaJoy’s “Level Up with AI” programming and an exhibition zone demonstrating AI NPCs and reactive storytelling.

Games industry M&A hits $2.3B in Q2 2026

Games industry M&A recorded 54 transactions worth $2.3 billion in Q2 2026, the highest quarterly deal count since 2022, driven by an uptick in mid-market deals above $100 million. PC and casual mobile studios accounted for the largest transactions, including Scopely’s $1 billion acquisition of Loom Games and several seven- and eight-figure deals. Public offerings recovered to $1.7 billion across 25 deals (up 72% year‑over‑year) while private investment surged to $3.1 billion across 108 deals, fuelled largely by gaming-adjacent mega-rounds in AI and AdTech (notably AppsFlyer’s $1 billion raise). Mobile performance weakened: quarterly gross in‑app purchase (IAP) revenue fell 4% year‑over‑year and installs dropped 12%. The report flags geographic growth in Singapore and Türkiye and continuing market volatility for mobile-first publishers.