The Pocket Gamer Podcast Episode 79 - Fortnite vs the App Store, Netflix Games roster quality, and Guild Wars Reforged ads

The Pocket Gamer Podcast Episode 82 - Dave the Diver's mobile launch, Kenan and Kel's match-3 puzzle, and AI use in games

What's your stance on the AI rabbit hole in games? We dive into a healthy back-and–forth on all things mobile in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast [https://www.pocketgamer.com/podcast/], where we chat about Netflix, 90s kids, and making sushi. Iwan starts off all the excitement with the announcement of Dave the Diver [https://www.pocketgamer.com/dave-the-diver/coming-to-mobile-worldwide/] coming to mobile, which spirals into discussions on cooking games and recipe accuracy IRL (plus shoutouts to Tales of the Neon Sea [https://www.pocketgamer.com/tales-of-the-neon-sea/review/] and Burrito Bison [https://www.pocketgamer.com/burrito-bison/review/]). There's also a lot of real-world stuff going on in Orange Pop! [https://www.pocketgamer.com/orange-pop/kenan-and-kel-new-game/], which is intriguing enough given TV's Kenan and Kel are behind the match-3 puzzler. Will talks about the legacy of these two 90s icons, including the charitable cause the game is connected to once it's officially launched. There are a lot of cheeky references in there too, especially when it comes to Kel's favourite drink [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2DQjCxTdNk] (IYKYK). It's nice to see the seemingly wholesome energy here as opposed to just making a mobile game for marketing purposes. Is it possible the dynamic duo might want to appear in a future podcast episode to talk about Orange Pop? This is an open invitation if so! In any case, we dive back into the catalogue of games on Netflix with Tomb of the Mask [https://www.pocketgamer.com/tomb-of-the-mask-netflix/coming-soon/], reminding us that there's hope yet for the streaming platform and its growing library (Budget John Marston makes a comeback to the podcast too, whether we like it or not).  Iwan caps it all off by opening a can of worms, so to speak, as he goes into detail about the use of AI in Neural Dawn [https://www.pocketgamer.com/neural-dawn/tech-demo-coming-soon/]. Have a look at the trailer and let us know what you think - we'd love to know! You can listen to the podcast below, through the Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1HrJu05HUm3OPrgBXUNn7q] embed, or head over to our Spotify Page. If you fancy giving us a follow, you'll actually get the new podcasts pushed to you as they're uploaded (which means you can give them a listen before we've even got the story live on the website).  Plus, we've been teasing more ways of getting it to you for the past months, and now the time has finally come. You can catch us on Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4809abab-c46c-4325-ae46-6958eb12659b/the-pocket-gamer-podcast] or on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-pocket-gamer-podcast/id1837503271] too - because life is hard enough already, and we wouldn't want you to struggle with finding us!

The Pocket Gamer Podcast Episode 81 - Vampire Survivors rebrand, Where Winds Meet on mobile, and limited-time events vs DLCs

Did you catch all the summer games reveals over the weekend? We dive into a healthy back-and–forth on all things mobile in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast [https://www.pocketgamer.com/podcast/], where we're buzzing about all the new stuff that's dropped in the wonderful world of gaming. I get the ball rolling with the announcement for Hidden Folks 2 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCFAvbl2AzI], which will be landing on mobile sometime in 2027. That might seem like it's still a long way to go, but I think it's definitely worth the wait given its lovely hand-drawn aesthetics and its mouth-based sound effects. This brings us to a discussion on hidden objects, pixel hunting, and blending in too well with the background, but before Iwan goes on a rant about that, he gets distracted by the latest round of updates for Vampire Survivors. It's now being renamed as Vampire Survivors - First Survivaton [https://www.pocketgamer.com/vampire-survivors/legacy-of-bloodmoon-expansion/], which goes hand-in-hand with the upcoming string of new developments that poncle will be launching around the brand. It's got Will and Iwan pretty pumped about its future on the platform, which is just one of the things that we feel works really well on mobile. This reminds Will of Gigabash Mobile [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_7I0ZCV2OQ], a kaiju-based fighting game that's also been announced to arrive on mobile. We do ponder what it means to make more mobile-optimised ports, which leads us to Where Winds Meet [https://www.pocketgamer.com/where-winds-meet/why-you-should-play-it-on-mobile/], and Netease's upcoming third-person action-adventure, Blood Message [https://www.neteasegames.com/news/20260608/37000_1303293.html]. There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to adapting stuff to the mobile platform and catering to mobile trends, which is why Will raises the important issue of whether or not it's healthy for games to push more limited-time events as opposed to more "traditional" DLC expansions. This will always be a point of argument for a lot of people - but what do you think, though? Do you prefer your constant stream of monthly updates and limited-time perks, or would you rather just do the one-and-done thing of buying an expansion pack and going at your own pace?

The Pocket Gamer Podcast Episode 80 - Monopoly Go x The Simpsons, Once Human and survival fatigue, and the welcome idleness of King of Fighters AFK

Do you prefer going all-in on your mobile games, or are you content with the idle AFK life? We dive into a healthy back-and–forth on all things mobile in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast [https://www.pocketgamer.com/podcast/], where everything from Mr Burns' Monopoly money to learning Japanese through swords pops into the picture. The big news this week is Monopoly Go's epic collab with The Simpsons, which, whether or not you're a big fan of the long-running animated series, still means there's plenty of new content to discover (and a rivalry-filled animated short [https://www.pocketgamer.com/monopoly-go/simpsons-collaboration-announced/] at that). Do you feel like The Simpsons has overstayed its welcome, or is it still relevant? Much like The King of Fighters AFK [https://www.pocketgamer.com/king-of-fighters-afk/nakururu/], do legacy franchises still make the same impact today as they did before? Regardless, the RPG is a testament to the appeal of idle gameplay, whether it's an OG fighting game like Street Fighter [https://www.pocketgamer.com/street-fighter-duel/tier-list/] or a big gacha like Summoners War [https://www.pocketgamer.com/summoners-war-rush/tier-list/]. Now, mobile conversions aren't always completely different from their original versions, as Will points out with Slime Rancher [https://www.pocketgamer.com/slime-rancher/review/]. It's enjoyable enough as it is, so, as they say, if it ain't broke, why fix it? Iwan moves things along with the announcement of Skeletor: Until Next Time, which is lovably campy, given the protagonist of the endless runner. We do wonder how big the fanbase for He-Man is at the moment, but still, it does seem to be a pretty fun runner that obviously doesn't take itself too seriously. Endless runners will always be a thing, much like Survivors-likes on mobile these days, which is what WamojiSword [https://www.pocketgamer.com/wamojisword/available-now-globally/] is surprisingly about. It's meant to teach you a thing or two about Japanese culture and kanji, but having played it over the weekend, I realise it's also got an interesting mechanic that turns your name into a sword. It's worth giving a go if you're at all curious about Japan. Things wind down toward the end of the episode, which Will hammers home by saying he's tired of survival crafting despite Once Human's cool new update [https://www.pocketgamer.com/once-human/visional-wheel-season-four/]. Does this fatigue affect you too? Or are you into big mobile endeavours like Where Winds Meet [https://www.pocketgamer.com/once-human/visional-wheel-season-four/]?

The Pocket Gamer Podcast Episode 79 - Fortnite vs the App Store, Netflix Games roster quality, and Guild Wars Reforged ads

How much are you willing to accept ads into your life? And how do you feel about alternative app stores? We dive into a healthy back-and–forth on all things mobile in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast [https://www.pocketgamer.com/podcast/], where even a Kpop Demon Hunters-inspired rhythm game is suggested into the ether. We get right into the big news about Fortnite making its big comeback [https://www.pocketgamer.com/fortnite/back-on-the-app-store-may-2026/] into iOS App Store, which, if you're not familiar with the whole saga, is eloquently explained by Iwan right off the bat. There's a lot to be said about what this means for developers, companies, and players alike, but at the end of the day, the so-called crusade might soon come to an Epic conclusion.  That said, what do you think about this whole battle? Do you think it's truly altruistic, or is it all just the same thing? In any case, Will segues into Crawl Tactics next after berating me for my choices on interesting games, which is a mix of Final Fantasy Tactics and Into the Breach [https://www.pocketgamer.com/into-the-breach/] vibes on Netflix. Bringing up the subscription service opens up a can of worms, because we do feel like the quality of games on offer has dropped lately, save for maybe Spirit Crossing [https://www.pocketgamer.com/spirit-crossing-netflix/review/] that's out now. They might still have some sort of saving grace for when a Kpop Demon Hunters [https://www.pocketgamer.com/cookie-run-kingdom/kpop-demon-hunters-collab-now-live/] game comes out sometime in the future, so fingers crossed. All this talk about monetisation reminds me of my experience playing Guild Wars Reforged [https://www.pocketgamer.com/guild-wars-reforged/soft-launch-in-select-regions/]over the weekend, so I go into the specifics of just how the monetisation there works (at least, for its soft-launch phase at the moment). It does seem bizarre that it's got unlockable premium features and ads too at the same time - have any of you ever played an MMORPG with this kind of monetisation? We'd love to know. Finally, Iwan caps it off with the latest expansion for Where Winds Meet [https://www.pocketgamer.com/where-winds-meet/imperial-palace-expansion-release-date/], where you can expect to interact with 3000 NPCs across one million square meters at the Imperial Palace. It's extremely ambitious, but we don't doubt they'll pull it off.

The Pocket Gamer Podcast Episode 78 - Gambonanza, Monopoly, and the Pocket Gamer People's Choice Award 2026

Would you love to get a crash course on chess? Let Iwan enlighten you in this week's (New and Improved!) Pocket Gamer Podcast [https://www.pocketgamer.com/podcast/], as we talk about why pawns should be sacrificed and what happens when Cthulhu tries to save the seas.  Before anything else, it's worth noting that our sibling site PocketGamer.biz [http://pocketgamer.biz] has just opened nominations for the Mobile Gaming Awards' People's Choice Award [https://www.mobilegamesawards.com/] this year, where nominations [https://www.pocketgamer.com/peoples-choice-award/2026/nominate/]will stay open until June 29th! Only games released between June 2025 and May 2026 are eligible, so choose wisely. Then begins Iwan's very brief thoughts on Gambonanza [https://www.pocketgamer.com/gambonanza/review/], where we learn everything about chess and jokers and gambits and life. All kidding aside though, he does offer a lot of interesting thoughts on the Balatro-like, and if you're interested in how it all plays out, Iwan's review breaks it down pretty thoroughly (and so does his Gambonanza beginner's guide [https://www.pocketgamer.com/gambonanza/beginners-guide/]!). To keep things moving, I jump into the upcoming release of Nekomancer [https://www.pocketgamer.com/nekomancer/coming-soon-to-mobile/], which is slated for release on May 31st for all your roguelike tower-defending pleasure. Will is a little spiteful that I snagged this topic from him - as he is the Number One Tower Defence Fan over at PG Towers - but it's all good because the title is very pun-ny and we love it. Defences and dolphins segue into Cthulhu and the cosmic horror's appearance in Monopoly [https://www.pocketgamer.com/monopoly/return-of-cthulhu/], where it's all about the WDC (Whale & Dolphin Conservation Center) and its efforts to save the whales. 20% of each purchase of the collaboration bundles will go directly to the WDC, so if you've always wanted to do your part to conserve nature (with the help of some eldritch friends), now's your chance. Lending others a helping hand is also the central theme in Spirit Crossing [https://www.pocketgamer.com/spirit-crossing/out-now/], this cosy new multiplayer adventure that's out now on Netflix. You help fulfil quests for cute spirits here and build bonds with them along the way, and while it doesn't have the most original concept, its Ghibli-esque vibes make it pretty distinct as it is. Finally, Will caps it all off with Dead Be The Fallen [https://www.pocketgamer.com/dead-be-the-fallen/coming-to-mobile/], where, while it does seem like it's got some pretty obvious AI-generated visuals, it might be your cup of tea if you're looking for a stylised monochrome FPS horror on your phone.