Daily Mobile Gaming News

A cleaner daily brief on mobile game launches, updates, and pre-registration moves worth watching.

Launch Mon, Sep 28, 2026

Supercell, EA, Zynga and more soft-launch new mobile tests

Here’s a round-up of soft-launch and early-test mobile titles from major publishers, collected from MobileGamer.biz and AppMagic and updated as games enter or leave testing windows. The list is sorted by publisher in the paragraphs below, and notes platforms, regions, and current test status where available. This column is sponsored by FastSpring: global payments and web store support for developers and publishers. Blizzard’s Overwatch Rush is in soft launch across the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia on both Android and iOS, marking the studio’s made-for-mobile hero shooter testing window. Century Games has a new merge project called Frozen Manor: Merge Mystery listed in AppMagic; the product page suggests an Android-only build so far but no Google Play download counts have appeared yet. EA’s Plants vs. Zombies 3: Evolved is in Early Access on iOS and Android in markets including the Philippines, Indonesia and the UK; Title Update 1.0.5 reworked the new-player tutorial and rebalanced rewards ahead of further rollouts. Fingersoft’s Hill Climb Racing 3 has soft-launched on Google Play in the UK, Norway, Sweden and Finland and introduces real-time multiplayer for the series. Garena’s Free City first soft-launched on Android in Argentina per AppMagic, and is now registering downloads in the Philippines and a handful of smaller markets as well; it’s being positioned as a GTA-style project from the Free Fire maker. Hoyoverse confirmed Petit Planet will release on mobile and PC in winter 2026; the studio behind Genshin Impact described it as a cutesy life sim in its announcement. King and Mojang briefly soft-launched Minecraft Blast in Malaysia and Canada on iOS only, but the build now appears to have been removed; an FAQ on Minecraft.net described the project as “extremely early days.” Level Infinite/Tencent’s Crownstone Survival surfaced on AppMagic with Google Play listings seemingly targeting the Philippines, France, Indonesia, Türkiye and the US. Limit Break — the studio led by former Machine Zone boss Gabe Leydon — is testing Puzzle Panic, a 3D arcade puzzle mobile debut, in a limited iOS test in Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. Meta’s Pocket, an AI-powered minigame creation and sharing app, rolled out to US players after an earlier Brazil-only test, according to TechCrunch; Pocket lets users generate short interactive ‘gizmos’ via text, photos, touch and sound prompts and appears to be in early testing without official marketing support. Miniclip and Sybo-related tests include Bird Find – Logic Puzzle Game on Android in India, Puerto Rico and the US, and Hoverboard Party — a Subway Surfers-themed party game under Sybo’s stealth account — in the UK, Denmark, Italy and Portugal on Android and iOS. Miniclip’s Derby studio is running Pure Crime: Gangster Shooting in testing on iOS and Android in the UK, Canada and the Philippines. Miniclip-owned Sybo has multiple soft tests: Paint Brawl, a Splatoon-like arena shooter rebranded to include Subway Surfers characters, is currently picking up downloads in the UK; and Rival Nations, a multiplayer war game, is soft-launched on Android in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, the UK and France per AppMagic. Moon Active is running Dream Bay — a renovation-themed merge title — on Google Play in a broad European mix including the UK, Austria, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Moon Active’s Royal Splash: Tower Blast is available on Android and iOS in India and Israel. Ninja Kiwi’s Bloons Blitz, styled as a bullet-hell take on the Bloons series akin to Vampire Survivors, is moving to a global launch on iOS and Android after a Philippines-only soft launch in May; pre-registration is open. Playrix has several live tests: Aqua Match, a match-3 set underwater, is available in 12 markets on iOS and Android; Austin’s Odyssey is on Google Play in Australia, Canada, India and the United States; Match Around, a match-3 plus merge hybrid, is registering downloads in India and Indonesia and set up for soft launch in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the US on Google Play; Questbound, a fantasy squad battler, is live on Android in Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia and the US; and Roomscapes is picking up downloads on Google Play in India, the US, Indonesia, Canada and Australia. PlayStation Mobile’s Ratchet & Clank: Ranger Rumble is playable in France, with developer Oh BiBi confirming that region; AppMagic reports additional availability in Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Norway, Sweden and the Philippines, and pre-registration is open. Scopely’s WWE Generations: Eras Collide soft-launched on iOS in Ireland and the Philippines; the turn-based RPG lets players build a team of WWE stars from different eras. Sega and Rovio have several tests: Angry Birds Match World is on iOS in the Philippines, UK, Australia, Canada and Finland; Angry Birds Rush is in early testing on iOS and Android in the US and Latin America in collaboration with OhBiBi; Bloom City Match is live in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic and the UK on iOS and Android. Supercell’s Mo.co has returned to beta after an invite-only launch in 2025; the studio said the game “needs big changes to achieve mass appeal” and plans to iterate while Mo.co runs in a low-maintenance soft-launch state. Supercell also confirmed the title will not be removed from sale in any markets as a result of the decision. Project Rise, Supercell’s long-running action RPG spin-off of Clash of Clans, will open a beta test from August 19 until September 2 according to the publisher; the project was originally revealed as Clash Heroes in 2021 and rebooted and renamed in 2024. Take-Two/Zynga and partner NaturalMotion have Borderlands Mobile briefly visible on iOS in the US before it was removed from sale, with AppMagic still listing it as active development at NaturalMotion’s UK studio. Zynga and NaturalMotion’s CSR 3 has been testing since around February 2024 and is live on iOS and Android in France, Italy, Malaysia, South Africa and Indonesia. Small Giant’s Defend the Castle is soft-launched on Google Play in the Philippines, and Zynga’s Dice Companions is picking up a small number of downloads in the US as a cosy board-game adventure. Rollic’s Farm Rush Fever was in soft launch on iOS and Android before the Android build was pulled and the iOS version remained live, per AppMagic. Rollic’s Paws Out is in early iOS testing; the puzzle game asks players to drag colour-matched cats through tight spaces to reach gates. Nordeus’s Top Goal: Soccer Champion, a PvP online football title from the Top Eleven studio, is soft-launched in 12 markets including Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Argentina, Mexico, Italy and Colombia on both iOS and Android. Takeaway: several big-name studios are running geographically targeted soft launches and platform-limited tests right now — from Blizzard’s Overwatch Rush in Southeast Asia to Supercell’s Project Rise beta window (Aug 19–Sep 2) and Mo.co’s renewed beta — so the active test list is shifting frequently and AppMagic and publisher announcements remain the clearest way to track which builds are live where.

News Mon, Sep 28, 2026

Unity adds engine support for Meta VR Glasses at Meta Connect 2026

Unity has begun engine support for Meta VR Glasses on the device's announcement day at Meta Connect 2026 (announced locally on the 23rd), letting developers build and test content ahead of the headset’s planned spring 2027 retail launch. The company says creators can start development immediately and iterate in the Unity editor even without physical hardware. Existing Meta Quest apps will run on VR Glasses, and studios can expand OpenXR-based titles using their current workflows. Unity’s support includes expanded eye and hand tracking, a rendering mode that reduces GPU cost without sacrificing visual quality, and improved spatial audio. Studios can also test VR Glasses interactions and user flows directly inside the Unity editor, which Unity notes removes an early hardware dependency from development and QA. A mix of teams are already using Unity to make content for VR Glasses: Cardmada, Dragon Grove, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Dual Destinies VR, Dice Throne Digital, Story of Seasons, Supernatural, and Two Point Hospital – Mixed Reality Edition. Alex Blum, Unity COO, said Unity “supports the majority of top-selling games on Meta VR” and emphasized that a single codebase can run across multiple devices whether studios add hand-tracking to existing Quest titles or create fresh VR Glasses experiences. Supernatural CEO James Senior credited Unity for enabling a rapid relaunch of their app, saying they restored six Unity projects, removed platform dependencies, and had a full end-to-end playable fitness experience in under two months. Development can begin with Unity 6.6 or later, or by downloading Meta XR All-in-One SDK v207; Unity’s command-line workflows and the AI tools included in Meta’s SDK are also available to studios. If you want the short, practical takeaway: studios can reuse existing Quest code and Unity toolchains to target VR Glasses while using the editor to validate interactions before hardware arrives — a concrete path from current projects to the new headset without rebuilding from scratch.

News Sun, Sep 27, 2026

Minecraft unveils Ice Caves biome at Minecraft Live on the 27th

Mojang Studio revealed a new cave biome called the Ice Caves during Minecraft Live on the 27th (KST), introducing placeable glowing ice crystals, light-reactive stalactites, and a new enemy called the Frozen Zombie. The announcement also teased a new dimension named The Shift and a Minecraft-themed park planned to open in London in 2027. The Ice Caves use subtle lighting as a core visual idea: softly glowing ice crystals act as the primary light source and can be placed or stood on by players, which makes them useful both as lamps and building blocks. Stalactites grow on cave ceilings and will fall when exposed to strong light, dealing damage on impact; stalactites are also placeable blocks, so torch placement inside these caverns becomes a tactical choice rather than just decoration. A Mojang developer noted the deliberate contrast of lava and ice — not strictly realistic, but chosen because the pairing looked interesting and beautiful in their view. The biome is intended for mining as well as exploration. Ores will still generate mainly in stone and deepslate, so players moving through ice-block interiors should still find resources in familiar layers, and Mojang plans to add a special ability that makes ice easier to mine. Alongside terrain and tools, the Frozen Zombie arrives as the biome’s signature hostiles: it inflicts a new Freeze status that slows movement and amplifies incoming damage, making encirclement by multiple Frozen Zombies particularly dangerous. Frozen Zombies can spawn carrying an ice ball which they throw at players; the ice ball’s damage scales with its speed, so a close-range hit can hurt more. Killing a Frozen Zombie carrying an ice ball yields the projectile as an item, which can be used to craft a Freeze Potion that deals a small amount of damage and applies slowing effects—an item Mojang specifically positioned as useful in PvP situations. Mojang says the Ice Caves content will enter testing soon. Takeaway: torch placement now matters in a practical way—glow crystals and light-sensitive stalactites turn cave lighting into a tactical choice, while the Frozen Zombie and its ice ball create a clear path from ambient hazard to PvP tool via the Freeze Potion.

Launch Fri, Sep 25, 2026

Castlevania launches free 40th Anniversary mobile release

Castlevania: 40th Anniversary, Konami’s enhanced mobile rerelease of the original game, is now available for free on iOS and Android. The build adds a visual touchpad and supports offline play, and it retells the classic Simon Belmont vs. Dracula story that started the series. Konami’s official anniversary site also announced Castlevania 40th Anniversary An Orchestral Concert, scheduled for Spring 2027 in Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles. Several Castlevania collections are currently on sale across storefronts, and a new title, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on October 15, 2026, with a free demo arriving October 1. If you like retro play with modern quality-of-life touches, the free mobile rerelease is the quickest way back into Simon Belmont’s original hunt — and the 2027 concerts give the soundtrack a proper stage.

News Thu, Sep 24, 2026

Pokémon TCG Pocket Deluxe Pack: Mega launches Sept 29–Oct 28

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is adding a limited-time Deluxe Pack: Mega booster from September 29 through October 28, the company announced. The pack pulls cards from earlier sets spanning Mega Rising through Ruler of the Skies and will be available on iOS and Android. Each Deluxe Pack: Mega booster contains four cards and is guaranteed to include at least one ♦♦♦♦ rarity card or higher. The selection specifically includes every ♦♦♦♦ rarity card that was released in previous booster packs, and several cards in the drop will feature new illustrations plus glossy parallel foil variants. Late October brings a batch of system updates and seasonal events. A new community deck feature will let players view public decks and recreate similar lists using only cards they own, while a separate rental option will allow unlimited use of decks built with the latest booster cards. The step-up battle feature will be reworked and several existing features will be retired; additionally, a Parallel Foil Cards Mass Outbreak Event will run from late September into early October, adding parallel foil cards to rare and bonus picks alongside missions that award shop tickets. Competitive and event schedule details land in October as well. Ranked Match Season B4b SP is planned for mid-to-late October and adds consecutive-victory bonuses for win streaks up to 10 matches; losing a match during this season will not deduct rank points or drop players in rank. The Mega Garchomp ex Drop Event is slated for mid-to-late October and special solo battles during the period will award B Series Promo Packs Vol. 13. A Wonder Pick Event in the same window will feature Charmander and Drampa promo cards obtainable via event shop tickets. Takeaway: if you missed high-rarity releases from Mega Rising through Ruler of the Skies, the Deluxe Pack: Mega guarantees at least one ♦♦♦♦ or higher every four-card booster, and the new rental decks let you trial recent meta builds without owning their cards.

Launch Thu, Sep 24, 2026

Golf Clash launches $100,000 Bryson DeChambeau Backyard Challenge

Golf Clash has added Bryson DeChambeau’s famous backyard Par 3 to the game and is tying the in-game event to a $100,000 real-world finale on September 30. The competition, called Bryson’s Backyard Games, will pit 10 golf creators against each other on the hole at DeChambeau’s Dallas home, with the ultimate winner earning the chance to play DeChambeau for the $100,000 prize. Contestants include Grant Horvat, George Bryan, Wesley Bryan, Brad Dalke, Sarah Winters, Chazzy Golf, Martin Borgmeier, Rhett Anderson, Chance Taylor and Arlynn Spence. Episodes will drop daily on DeChambeau’s YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X, and the creators compete in single-hole elimination matches — one stunt shot is a blind tee over the house. If DeChambeau wins the final, the $100,000 prize will instead go to a randomly selected follower. Golf Clash players can play a recreation of the backyard Par 3 through Season 105, which runs through October 18. The season adds an 18-hole course featuring the hole, Backyard Games Front and Back 9 tournaments, a Golden Shot challenge and the Bryson Classic tournament. Players can also unlock Bryson-themed emotes, tees and golf balls that include DeChambeau and his dog, Bear. If you’re after the backyard hole without hopping a flight, Season 105 keeps the Par 3 and multiple Bryson events and cosmetics live through October 18 — and the winner-versus-Bryson final lands on September 30 with a $100,000 prize on the line.

News Thu, Sep 24, 2026

Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross] & Dark Road playable in browsers via fan archive

A fan preservation project has made Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross] and Kingdom Hearts Dark Road playable again in desktop browsers, with a Japanese edition also available. The web build is based on version 5.0.1 of the former Android app, and both sets of game files were archived after the originals were delisted. The port runs from an HTML file in Chrome, Chromium, or Firefox: players download the accompanying content files, open the included index file in their browser, and select the extracted Content folder. The archive also adds several quality-of-life options for revisiting Dark Road — instantly unlock cutscenes, set BP for buying items or levelling characters, and speed battles up to 8x. The project team asked former players for feedback on numerical tweaks like higher BP gain or lower shop costs, and the archived packages include example modifications such as a 40% increase to level-based stat bonuses and changed enemy defeat requirements. If you want to load the originals in a browser, the archive gives the actual 5.0.1 files plus optional example mods so you can replay Dark Road with shortcuts and adjustable difficulty tweaks.

News Wed, Sep 23, 2026

AFK Arena launches Kaiju No. 8 crossover globally, event runs to Oct 20, 2026

Lilith Games’ AFK Arena has launched a global crossover with Naoya Matsumoto’s Kaiju No. 8, going live today across all regions on both the Classic Server and Companion Server. The event runs through October 20, 2026, and brings Kaiju No. 8 characters Kafka Hibino and Kikoru Shinomiya into Esperia after a spatial disturbance. New players are being offered up to 1,000 in-game summons during the event window. The crossover adds two playable heroes: Kafka Hibino and Kikoru Shinomiya. When used together, they share specific combat interactions — Kafka’s transformation immediately grants Kikoru a full segment of Unleashed Combat Power, and Kikoru can be shielded from one lethal attack. The event also introduces a themed activity called Subjugation Begins, with Subjugation Prep quests and daily missions that hand out crossover artwork and progression rewards. Completing the event parchment unlocks the crossover poster and an exclusive sticker named Guardian's Vow. Lilith’s approach for these tie-ins tends to adapt an IP’s characters and mechanics into AFK Arena rather than only offering cosmetic skins; the Kaiju No. 8 heroes carry skills and visuals inspired by the manga and anime’s character designs and monster theme. AFK Arena has run similar anime collaborations before, including One-Punch Man, Solo Leveling and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, while AFK Journey recently teamed up with Digimon. If you’re new to AFK Arena or a Kaiju No. 8 fan, the practical upside is immediate: the event’s global launch across both server types plus the up-to-1,000 summons for newcomers makes pulling for Kafka and Kikoru far more accessible during the crossover window. Expect the crossover activities and the Subjugation Begins rewards to be the fastest route to acquiring the new heroes and their exclusive art before the October 20 deadline.

News Wed, Sep 23, 2026

CookieRun: Kingdom adds Rajapendra Cookie and raid; CookieRun: Crumble expands with Princess Bari and Rumble Arena

CookieRun: Kingdom and CookieRun: Crumble both posted fresh update details from Devsisters, with Kingdom landing Episode 11 of Timeline of Fate, “Flames that Devour the Ages,” and Crumble adding new Cookies, modes, and content across mobile and PC. Kingdom’s episode sends Golden Cheese Cookie into Burning Spice Cookie’s memories to attempt to restore a war-devastated kingdom, while Crumble’s patch includes new mercenaries, a competitive arena, and expanded challenge content. Kingdom’s headline additions include Rajapendra Cookie of Mortality, a Beast Cookie whose Fire Centipede attacks all enemies, burrows underground, and resurfaces to apply The Brand of Mortality to every enemy Cookie — even those normally immune to damage. The update also introduces Mogra Cookie, an Epic healer whose scroll heals and shields the entire team, then consumes Story Records to stun monsters and spread a stacking story buff to allies. Players can enter the Rajapendra of Mortality Raid, a cooperative seasonal boss mode where teams fight the massive, uncontrollable Rajapendra to contribute to server-wide progress and earn rewards. Burning Spice Cookie receives a Legendary Costume called Embrace of Jasmine Flames. Crumble’s additions are similarly extensive. Princess Bari Cookie arrives as a Fire-type TSSR who targets the enemy with the highest Attack, then protects herself and allied Charge Cookies with souls that damage nearby foes. Moon Rabbit Cookie gets a Grass-type SSR Tank variant called Pampered with Persimmon, which body-slams enemies before transforming into a giant rice-cake rabbit that deals area damage and reduces enemies’ Attack and Critical Hit rates. Players can equip the SSR pet Candy Shade Pouch to raise allies’ Lift Resistance and Max HP. Crumble also expands its modes: Rumble Arena is a seasonal competitive mode where Mercenary Cookies from every server fight under a unique passive each season, and Rumble Arena Medals can be exchanged for exclusive rewards. Dimensional Rift opens a boss-only challenge for Mercenary Cookies that have cleared all main stages; players raise Dimensional Energy Level to boost stats, earn season-exclusive profile frames, and trade Dimension Fragments for an exclusive Pet. All five Daily Dungeons now run through Stage 770. If you like steady new playable characters plus fresh cooperative and competitive endgame tracks, both titles delivered sizable, concrete additions this round.

News Wed, Sep 23, 2026

Mario Kart Tour opens Anniversary Tour ahead of Sept 30 shutdown

Nintendo has launched a final Anniversary Tour for Mario Kart Tour as the mobile racer heads toward its September 30, 2026 shutdown. The event arrives alongside a series of “final MKT reports” posted to the game's official X account that look back at the title’s characters and items. The shutdown process has been underway for a few weeks: ruby sales stopped on July 7, 2026, and automatic Gold Pass renewals plus new subscriptions were halted during maintenance that day. Players can still spend any rubies they already own until the game closes on September 30, but no new ruby purchases or auto-renewals are available. Nintendo’s first final MKT report lists the number of drivers in Mario Kart Tour and names the 20 most-used drivers in races. Bowser sits at number one, followed by Peach and Toad; the full 20 includes Mario, Toadette, Metal Mario, Daisy, Dry Bowser and Yoshi. Nintendo says later reports will publish top-20 rankings for Mii Racing Suits, karts, gliders and other categories, plus lists of special skills used in races, balloon designs used in battles and profile badges. If you want a stat-based stroll down memory lane, the final MKT reports are where Nintendo is compiling the game’s roster and item tallies as the service winds to a close. For anyone cataloguing favourites or finalising collections, those category-by-category lists will be the most useful record left behind.