Capcom has partnered with Novaly Studios to introduce Street Fighter characters into Untitled Boxing Game on Roblox, marking a notable expansion of one of Japan’s most established fighting game franchises into user generated gaming experiences. The four-week collaboration began on October 9, 2026, with Ryu becoming playable in Untitled Boxing Game. Developed by Novaly Studios and launched in 2023, Untitled Boxing Game has accumulated more than 1.4 billion lifetime visits, with average concurrent player counts in the thousands, making it one of Roblox’s established fighting game experiences.
Why this matters: The collaboration is particularly significant given the historically cautious approach of many Japanese entertainment companies toward third-party use of their IP. Although Japanese gaming and anime franchises are highly popular on Roblox, much of their presence has traditionally come through unofficial, unlicensed experiences created by users. Capcom’s partnership represents a more direct approach to engaging these audiences through authorized content.
Join us at gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2026
Niko Partners is heading to gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show on October 29-30, 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. Our Senior Team and Thailand Analyst are excited to connect and share our latest insights in Southeast Asia’s largest gaming business and consumer event. Let us know if you want to set up a meeting with us!
Find us at GamingCon Bharat
GamingCon Bharat 2026 comes to Mumbai on October 17-18 for its third edition. This year, Niko Partners is thrilled to be the event’s Knowledge Partner. In addition, Niko’s Senior Analyst Narinder Kapur moderating “India’s Gaming Moment: From Players to Global Powerhouse” on the first day and other panels. Come say hi if you’re around!
Kakao Games partners with Abu Dhabi to explore MENA publishing expansion
South Korean publisher Kakao Games has signed an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) to explore opportunities to expand its publishing, localization and live operations across the Middle East and other international markets. The partnership was formalized at the Abu Dhabi Investment Forum in Seoul, which brought together more than 400 government officials, investors and business leaders. The partnership forms part of Abu Dhabi’s broader efforts to strengthen economic ties with South Korea. ADIO announced three agreements at the forum covering investment, financial innovation, gaming and advanced technology.
Why this matters: Under the agreement, ADIO will explore ways to support Kakao Games’ regional expansion, including connections with Abu Dhabi’s gaming, creative and technology ecosystems. Potential areas of cooperation include local publishing capabilities, Arabic localization and ongoing live service operations. However, the agreement remains exploratory, with no specific investment commitments, game launches or operational timelines announced. The Abu Dhabi Chamber also reported that Korean companies registered as members increased by 5.9% in 2025, while member companies with Korean partners grew by 9.2%.
Korea isn’t the only East Asian market we track to be boosting its presence in MENA. Niko and Media City Qatar recently published a Research Brief on Japanese IP in GCC, and you can download it for free here.
Something fun for our readers
Lisa spoke at an AWS Game Tech event in Los Angeles last week where there was an illustrator who conjured up an image based on the topics of the talk she gave. Check it out!
Interested in this kind of presentation? Talk to us →
Moonton Games celebrates MLBB‘s 10-year milestone with community festival in Surabaya, Indonesia
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) celebrated its 10th anniversary in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, from October 9-11 through the ALL IN MLBB 10th Anniversary Festival, bringing together players, community members, and developers. The event highlighted Indonesia’s role in the game’s growth since its 2016 launch and served as an opportunity for developers to engage directly with local players. According to Moonton, MLBB has grown from 10 heroes at launch to 133 heroes, 42 season updates, 24 casual game modes, and more than 1.5 billion global installations. The company also highlighted the title’s expanding esports presence, including participation in the International Olympic Committee-sanctioned Asian Games, MSC’s debut in Europe at EWC 2026 in Paris, and the road to the M8 World Championship Finals in Istanbul.
Why this matters: MLBB‘s anniversary activities in Indonesia’s second-largest city highlight the importance of long-term community building in sustaining leading live service mobile games across Southeast Asia. The event also showcases that a major game event in the country can also be hosted outside of Jakarta, with Surabaya also being known to be a major population hub. For publishers, the event demonstrates how strong local engagement and cultural localization can support both player retention and broader ecosystem growth over time.
Riot Games establishes subsidiary in Guangzhou to develop strategy game
Riot Games has established a new Chinese subsidiary, Aoquan Guangzhou Network Technology Co., Ltd., with recruitment activity indicating that the company is building a full development team in Guangzhou. Job descriptions provide indications that at least one project could be a mobile city building strategy game, although Riot has not officially announced the project. The Guangzhou expansion is notable because Riot’s development footprint in China has previously been concentrated in Shanghai.
Why this matters: Its Shanghai development center opened in 2021 as Riot’s first major development center outside its Los Angeles headquarters and has grown to approximately 300 employees, with plans to reach around 500. The team is working on a new League of Legends IP action RPG, among other development initiatives. Guangzhou could provide Riot with access to a different talent pool that can build titles beyond what Riot Games is traditionally known for.
Link to original article (Chinese) →
Tencent expands investment in Turkey’s mobile games industry
Turkish mobile game developer Flow Games has secured a $46 million funding package, with Tencent contributing approximately 75%. The investment represents one of Tencent’s largest minority investments in a Turkish game development studio and reinforces its growing interest in the country’s mobile games industry. Istanbul-based Flow Games is the developer of Smash Fest, a physics-based mobile shooter that has experienced significant download growth in recent months.
Why this matters: The funding will support the studio’s continued development and expansion, while providing Tencent with exposure to an emerging mobile title and the expertise of a local development team. Tencent previously led a $25 million Series A funding round for Istanbul-based Circle Games, while its subsidiary Miniclip acquired Turkish developer Masomo, best known for Head Ball 2, in 2019. The investment highlights Tencent’s strategy of expanding its global mobile games portfolio through minority investments and acquisitions, most recently in the casual and hybrid-casual segments.
There’s nothing artificial about our consumer insights and business intelligence.
Singapore Game Fest 2026 to be hosted on two weekends in October, focusing on games and esports
C2E4, a Singapore-based organizer focused on video games, esports, pop culture, and community events, has announced GAME FEST 2026. The event will be held across two weekends in October. The festival will combine game communities and competitive esports, with the first leg at Downtown East on October 11 featuring Pokémon activities, driving simulators, cosplay, and creator events, followed by the main esports program at Suntec Convention Centre on October 17–18. Games included in the tournament includes Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Teamfight Tactics, and Super Smash Bros: Ultimate.
Why this matters: GAME FEST Singapore 2026 is a multi-genre gaming, esports, and pop culture convention celebrating women and communities in the ACG (Anime, Comics, Games) ecosystem across multiple dates and venues in Singapore. The competitive program includes Campus Legends Singapore, Cyberathlete Community Cup, Predator League Singapore qualifiers, TCG Challengers Series, Silver Showdown, and a BYOD gaming zone. C2E4 will also take GAME FEST to Singapore Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, and Republic Polytechnic through campus roadshows in October and November.
Garena expanded its Free Fire global licensing program
Garena has announced the expansion of Free Fire’s global licensing program ahead of its 10th anniversary in 2027. The program aims to seek new partnerships to extend the mobile game into consumer products, retail experiences, and localized brand activations. Since its 2017 launch, Free Fire has expanded its ecosystem through collaborations with major entertainment IPs including Squid Game, Spider-Man, and Naruto Shippuden, as well as other non-entertainment consumer brands such as Lamborghini, Infinix, realme, nubia, SNICKERS, and Red Bull. The collaborations have connected in-game content with physical products and promotions.
Why this matters: Garena is also preparing Free Fire Daybreak, an anime adaptation co-produced with KADOKAWA and scheduled to premiere globally in Spring 2027, creating additional opportunities for licensed merchandise and entertainment partnerships. With hundreds of millions of players worldwide and a strong presence across Southeast Asia, Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East, Garena sees Free Fire as an opportunity for partners to reach an engaged global mobile gaming audience.
Apple releases new data on Chinese app developers
An average of 167 million users visited the Chinese Apple App Store each week in 2025 according to an Apple commissioned study. The study estimated that digital goods and services generated RMB 149 billion (approximately $22 billion) in revenue within China’s App Store ecosystem, while in-app advertising accounted for an additional RMB 212 billion (approximately $32 billion). Niko Partners estimates that approximately $13 billion of the digital goods and services revenue was via player spending on iOS games, representing approximately 59% of total spending on digital goods.
Why this matters: China remains a major domestic market for Apple’s ecosystem with games accounting for a majority of digital goods and services revenue. Apple has also introduced changes intended to improve developer economics. Earlier in 2026, the company reduced its commission on digital goods and services sold through China’s App Store to 25%. Its App Store Mini Apps Partner Program offers a further reduced commission rate of 12% for qualifying in-app purchases, supporting developers distributing lightweight experiences within larger applications.
Lumi Master finds success as an app and mini game
Bilibili’s creature collection RPG Lumi Master (Shine! Lumi) has achieved a strong initial launch across China’s native mobile app and WeChat mini game markets, demonstrating the potential of a cross-platform distribution strategy for casual games. Released on September 17, 2026, the title entered China’s iOS game grossing top 20 shortly after launch before climbing into the upper ranks of WeChat’s mini game charts. Unlike the larger open world creature collection games being developed by Tencent, HoYoverse, Manjuu and FunPlus, Lumi Master adopts a lightweight, portrait-oriented format designed around short play sessions and accessible mechanics.
Why this matters: This design makes the game suitable for both traditional mobile players and the more casual audiences typically reached through mini game platforms. Lumi Master‘s launch illustrates how China’s mobile publishers are increasingly integrating native apps and mini games into a unified distribution strategy. Its early success also suggests that lightweight, accessible creature collection experiences can compete alongside more ambitious open world titles. However, sustaining engagement beyond the initial marketing push will be important in determining whether this cross-platform approach translates into long-term commercial success.
Link to original article (Chinese) →
Haima Cloud releases cloud gaming handheld console
Chinese cloud gaming and GPU computing provider Haima Cloud has launched the Haimacloud GEAR, a handheld gaming device that combines local Android functionality with cloud based PC gaming. The device is priced at RMB 3,149 (approximately $470), while a bundle including a one year cloud gaming subscription costs RMB 4,349 (approximately $650). According to the company, its servers use Intel Core i7-12700KF processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPUs, supporting game streaming at 1080p resolution and up to 144 frames per second.
Why this matters: Unlike handheld gaming PCs such as the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, which prioritize local processing power, Haimacloud’s approach shifts demanding graphical workloads to remote servers. The launch comes as rising semiconductor and memory costs are increasing the price of gaming hardware, creating opportunities for alternative approaches to delivering premium gaming experiences. However, the GEAR’s relatively high upfront price and additional subscription costs may limit its appeal compared with conventional handhelds. Especially given a Nintendo Switch 2 can be purchased for a similar cost.
Events
LEVEL UP KL
October 14-16, 2026
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Speaker: Darang Candra
Attendee: Edward Tien
GamingCon Bharat
October 17-18, 2026
Mumbai, India
Speaker: Narinder Kapur
gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show
October 29 - November 1, 2026
Bangkok, Thailand
Attendees: Niko Partners Senior Leadership Team
Montréal International Game Summit (MIGS)
November 10-11, 2026
Montreal, Canada
Speaker: Alexander Champlin