PocketGamer.biz
B2B mobile games publisher and industry events operator.
Available information varies by company and source.
Profile record updated:
Company facts
- Official name
- Steel Media Ltd
- Entity type
- COMPANY
- Founded
- 2005
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Company size
- 10–49
- Market role
- Publisher & Media Owner
- Official website
- pocketgamer.biz
What PocketGamer.biz does
Steel Media operates a vertical B2B media model centred on a specialist professional audience in mobile gaming. It creates industry content that attracts recurring readership from decision-makers, then monetises that attention through ad inventory, branded content and promotional packages. It compounds this by converting audience trust and sector reach into event attendance, sponsorship sales, exhibitor packages and related partner services.
Category differentiation
This company is a B2B games publisher and events operator, not a game developer, adtech platform or consumer gaming app. PocketGamer.biz is the trade media brand; Steel Media Ltd is the operating company behind it.
Strategic context
AI-supported assessment from the existing company research; distinguish interpretation from sourced facts.
Steel Media Ltd is a UK-based specialist games media company operating PocketGamer.biz as its B2B publishing brand for the mobile games sector. The business produces daily editorial coverage, analysis, market commentary, jobs listings and event coverage for industry professionals, and it extends that audience through Pocket Gamer Connects, a conference and networking series for developers, publishers, investors and service providers. Since 2019, Steel Media Ltd has been owned by Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. The company makes money through a hybrid media-and-events model. PocketGamer.biz monetises its professional readership via advertising, sponsored content and lead generation, while the events business adds ticket sales, sponsorship and exhibitor revenue. Its customers are businesses operating in the mobile and handheld games ecosystem rather than consumers.
Company news briefing
Briefing updated:
PocketGamer.biz continues to track the mobile gaming sector's evolution towards direct-to-consumer models, publisher coalitions for ad-quality verification, and emerging agentic commerce monetisation. Recent coverage highlights industry infrastructure developments including Xsolla's new D2C mobile web shops, alongside market analyses showing Q2 2026 global IAP revenue reaching $43.6 billion and a puzzle-genre surge amid declining overall app installs.
Business model & monetisation
Steel Media uses a blended monetisation model built around Ad-Supported publishing and fee-based events. PocketGamer.biz generates revenue from display advertising, sponsored content, promotional placements and lead generation packages. Pocket Gamer Connects adds ticket sales, sponsorship fees and exhibitor packages. Jobs listings and company listings provide additional paid exposure within the same professional audience.
- Advertising on B2B publishing properties
- Ad-Supported
- Sponsored content and promotional packages
- Service Fee
- Conference sponsorship and exhibitor packages
- Service Fee
- Event ticket sales
- One-time Sale
- Jobs board and listings
- Service Fee
Products & capabilities
No products with linked sources are available in this view.
Products & market categories
Media Channel
Technology
Recent recorded signals
Dates refer to the source publication. Older entries are historical context, not evidence of a new event.
Puzzle Games Surge as Mobile Installs Decline
Interactive Entertainment (Gaming) · Recorded impact score: 3/5
A mid-2026 market analysis (based on Azur Games internal data and published on PocketGamer) finds mobile game installs falling as user attention shifts to short-form video platforms, even while revenue and eCPMs have grown. More than half of the current top 300 games by installs were released before 2024. Block puzzle (including Arrow-style) mechanics saw a sharp downloads increase in early–mid 2026 and have become an established subgenre; puzzle development and long-term live-ops demand significant content pipelines and specialist expertise. Hybrid casual growth has been driven by experienced hypercasual teams repositioning themselves. The report cautions that genre-level conclusions must be validated at individual-title level.
- Mobile game installs declined in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, while revenue increased across most genres (per Azur Games data).
- More than half of the current top 300 games by installs were released before 2024; new releases made up 2% of the top 300 in mid-2026 (versus 8% in mid-2023).
Publishers Push for Publisher Coalition at MAU Vegas
Advertising Quality · Recorded impact score: 3/5
At MAU Vegas 2026, Charlie Castell, founder and CEO of PubRev+, outlined 'Steps to Recovery' urging publishers to organise after pressures from deteriorating ad quality, opaque invalid traffic (IVT) verification, vendor‑funded broken fixes, and unilateral standards that penalise supply. He proposed a Publisher Coalition—uniting publishers, SSPs and industry bodies including the IAB—to secure a formal supply‑side seat when standards are written, push for independent IVT monitoring and transparent data, back open‑source tools such as BidOn, and develop fairer, enforceable verification frameworks. The piece warns that worsening ad quality harms mobile game retention and monetisation and urges publishers to sign pledges, reclaim leverage over where inventory is sold, and demand coordinated, transparent industry solutions. He specifically called on the IAB to coordinate responses and stressed independent verification so publishers are not unfairly penalised by opaque metrics.
- Charlie Castell (founder & CEO, PubRev+) presented 'Steps to Recovery' and proposed a Publisher Coalition at MAU Vegas 2026.
- Publishers face four problems: declining ad quality, opaque IVT verification, vendor‑funded broken solutions/conflicted demand-side interests, and unilateral standards that penalise supply without recourse.
Global mobile IAP revenue hits $43.6B in Q2 2026
Financials · Recorded impact score: 3/5
Global mobile in‑app purchase (IAP) revenue rose 5.3% year‑on‑year to $43.6 billion in Q2 2026, while total app downloads remained broadly stable at 36.8 billion. Sensor Tower's Digital Market Index shows mobile gaming downloads declined 12% YoY as non‑gaming downloads grew 6% (driven by categories including Generative AI and Movies & TV). Regional highlights include China adding $519 million YoY (reaching $5.7bn, +10%), Mexico growing 30% YoY (fastest among highlighted markets), and India remaining the largest market by downloads (~6.5bn). Separately, US digital advertising spend rose 15% YoY to $49.4bn in Q2 while US retail media impressions fell 19% to 108bn.
- Global mobile app in‑app purchase (IAP) revenue rose 5.3% year‑on‑year to $43.6 billion in Q2 2026.
- Worldwide app downloads were broadly stable at 36.8 billion; mobile gaming downloads fell 12% YoY while non‑gaming downloads grew 6% YoY.
Free Report Released on Türkiye’s Games Industry
Interactive Entertainment (Gaming) · Recorded impact score: 2/5
PocketGamer / Steel Media published a free downloadable report profiling Türkiye’s games industry, produced in association with video-games commerce company Xsolla. The report compiles data, interviews with industry figures, and studio profiles — including a Top 30 Türkiye Game Makers of 2026 list — and highlights why Türkiye’s games sector has been more resilient to industry headwinds. Physical copies are available at the Steel Media booth at Gamescom (Hall 2.1, stand E033).
- Steel Media published a free-to-download report on Türkiye’s games industry.
- The report was published in association with video-games commerce company Xsolla.
Explore company relationships
Questions about PocketGamer.biz
What is PocketGamer.biz?
PocketGamer.biz is the B2B publishing brand of Steel Media Ltd covering the mobile games industry with news, analysis, jobs and event content.
Who uses PocketGamer.biz?
Its users and buyers are mobile games industry professionals including developers, publishers, advertisers, investors, analysts and service providers.
How does PocketGamer.biz make money?
It makes money from advertising, sponsored content, lead generation, jobs listings, event ticket sales, sponsorships and exhibitor packages.
Sources & coverage
This profile uses public, official and technically observable information. Missing information does not prove that a product or relationship does not exist. The list below does not imply that every profile statement has been verified.
15 publicly documented primary sources and citations linked across the market graph.
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