Epic spends $100m fighting Apple and Pokémon TGC Pocket rules Golden week | Week in Views
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The games industry moves quickly and while stories may come and go there are some that we just can’t let go of…
So, to give those particularly thorny topics a further going over we’ve created a weekly digest where the members of the PocketGamer.biz team share their thoughts and go that little bit deeper on some of the more interesting things that have happened in mobile gaming in the past week.
Epic Games spent over $100m in legal fees in battle against Apple
Epic Games has spent over $100 million in legal fees battling it out with Apple over its App Store policies, and CEO Tim Sweeney thinks it’s been worth every penny.
This fight has been going on for years since Epic introduced its Fortnite payment system to bypass the 30% commission imposed by Apple. Then followed years of legal back and forth and what appears to be a huge sum of money.
Now Epic can say they’ve gained a glorious victory, and plenty of developers have backed them along the way.
So, has it been worth it?
There’s no denying that £100 million is a steep price to pay, but looking at the broader picture, Epic is looking at the long-term gains they can get from this and one of those massive gains could be from Fortnite alone.
It’s not all about the money though. This win puts Epic in a position where they’re seen as advocating for fairness, something which they gain from, as well as other developers.
So, in the long run, they may see significant returns on their own games, and they get to look like the hero while doing so.
Golden Week 2025: Pokémon TCG Pocket dominates, Fate/Grand Order falls, and a 2012 title makes a surprising rise
Japan’s Golden Week has come round yet again, and this year’s holiday period saw a significant boost over last year in mobile player spending.
In fact, this year’s top 10 games generated a combined $81 million during the seven-day period in Japan, up from just under $45m over the same holiday last year according to AppMagic estimates.
Fate/Grand Order topped Japan’s revenue charts during Golden Week 2023 and 2024, but in 2025, it was newcomer Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket who took the golden crown.
I’ve talked about this trading card behemoth extensively on our Week in Mobile Games podcast and various Week in Views, so any regulars here are likely well aware of just how impressive Pocket’s first six months have been – well on the way to $1 billion already.
And now thanks to its Golden Week performance, Pocket has yet another feather in its cap.
Of course, there are plenty of other games worth a mention for their success this Golden Week, including Ponos Corporation’s 2012 tower defence game The Battle Cats, which somehow skyrocketed to third place despite its age.
It’s also interesting to note the number of top games among Japanese players that were developed in their home country, accounting for seven of the top 10.
