EA vs Miniclip

Building EA's Next Chapter

EA announces completion of acquisition by PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, and shares its next chapter.

Remakes, Remasters, Sequels: Safe Bet But Threat to Innovation

The article discusses the prevalence of remakes, remasters, and sequels in the gaming industry, citing examples like the 'Gothic' remake, 'The Witcher 3' remaster, and 'Oblivion' remaster. This trend is driven by risk-averse publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Microsoft due to high development costs and consumer preference for familiar titles. Data from the German trade association Game shows that nine of the top 10 best-selling games in Germany in 2025 were sequels or franchise titles. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, 5,000 to 15,000 game workers have lost jobs annually, with Microsoft cutting over 3,000 positions in its Xbox division. The article highlights nostalgia as a powerful marketing tool used by major publishers, but warns overreliance on it could harm long-term creativity. It suggests indie games like 'Drova' can offer fresh experiences while evoking nostalgic feelings, and calls for gamers to be more open to new ideas beyond photorealism.

• Between 5,000 and 15,000 game workers lose their jobs annually since the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Microsoft cut over 3,000 jobs in its Xbox division and shut down several studios.
• Nine of the top 10 best-selling games in Germany in 2025 were sequels or new titles from old franchises (according to the German industry association Game).

EA SPORTS FC™ 27 is available now, bringing new ways to play The World’s Game

EA SPORTS FC 27 has launched, introducing new gameplay features. Additionally, EA announced the availability of Star Wars Zero Company, a new Apex Legends x Street Fighter 6 crossover event, and the launch of FC's The Grounds open world.

SYBO CEO on Subway Surfers at 15, City Pivot, and Next Steps

In an interview, Mathias Gredal Nørvig, CEO of SYBO Games, discusses the 15-year journey of Subway Surfers, which remains the most downloaded mobile game ever with nearly 4.9 billion lifetime downloads. He reveals that the game still achieves about one million new installs per day at zero user acquisition cost, attributing this to its viral nature and strong organic presence on platforms like TikTok. Nørvig addresses the performance of Subway Surfers City, which has seen 40-50 million downloads and is profitable but is pivoting to better differentiate from the original. He contrasts the business models: the original relies heavily on ads (90% of revenue) while City focuses on in-app purchases. He also discusses the acquisition by Miniclip in 2022, the challenges of the evolving mobile gaming industry, and upcoming projects including a new game expected to soft launch early next year and a potential movie that is still in development.

• Subway Surfers has surpassed 4.5 billion lifetime downloads, with SYBO CEO citing 4.8-4.9 billion including reinstalls.
• The game still generates about one million new installs per day at zero user acquisition cost.
• Subway Surfers City has achieved 40-50 million downloads and is profitable but is undergoing a strategic pivot.

Miniclip launches AdSurge ad network with Tencent AI, Easybrain data

Miniclip, a Tencent-owned mobile games company, launched AdSurge, an AI-powered mobile advertising platform, as an independent standalone company. AdSurge offers integrated user acquisition and ad monetization for third-party game publishers, initially targeting games monetized through in-app ads. It aims to improve user experience by making ads skippable in half the time and requiring fewer clicks to close. Developed over three years, AdSurge leverages Miniclip's scale, the Easybrain acquisition, and Tencent's AI expertise, though its algorithms are built from scratch. It captures a low single-digit share of wallet on ad monetization across Miniclip's portfolio, with double-digit margins. CEO Paul Bugryniec cited squeezed publisher margins as motivation. The next phase will extend to games using IAP and hybrid monetization.

• Miniclip launched AdSurge, an AI-powered mobile advertising platform, as a standalone company.
• AdSurge provides integrated user acquisition and ad monetization, initially for ad-monetized games.
• AdSurge ads are skippable in half the time and require fewer clicks to close.