The games industry is evolving -- fast. New technologies, philosophies, and goals are popping up all over the place, and you -- yes, you -- are expected to keep up. From acquisitions and deals to technical strategies and best practices, staying up-to-date and in-the-know can feel like a full-time job. 

The games industry is evolving -- fast. New technologies, philosophies, and goals are popping up all over the place, and you -- yes, you -- are expected to keep up. From acquisitions and deals to technical strategies and best practices, staying up-to-date and in-the-know can feel like a full-time job.

Which is why industry newsletters are the game-changer you need in your corner.

We looked near and far across the world of mobile games to find you the most informative, most original, and most compelling newsletters. Read their breakdowns, sign up (for free), and get that sweet, sweet intel delivered right to your inbox. 

And look: we know your inbox is a sacred place. That’s why we hand-selected every one of these with the intention -- and care -- you deserve. So, without further ado, meet our top 10 industry newsletters… 

1. The Mobile Dev Memo

If you’re into mobile advertising, freemium monetization, or bettering yourself as a games industry professional, the Mobile Dev Memo newsletter was made for you. No, really -- it was.

Crafted by verified Freemium Economics mastermind Eric Seufert, the newsletter is as high-value as it is because its goal is simple: to enrich the minds of professionals. It’s not intended for mass consumption and it’s not intended for commercial appeal; it is intended for the trained eyes of the people who, genuinely and unapologetically, care.

With an origin story of capping its email list at 2,000 -- and removing any inactive addresses without pause -- the newsletter became known for demanding its audience be interested. And with engagement rates over double the industry average (hello, a 53.24% open rate), its strategy clearly worked.

To stay hot on the pulse of what’s new and exciting, sign up for Seufert’s masterpiece, the weekly Mobile Dev Memo Newsletter, and you’ll get…

• Analytics stuffed articles (like ‘The Digital Advertising Fear Complex’)
• Wide-lens news reports (like ‘Digital Privacy is Now an Unstoppable ‘Three Body Problem’’)
• Evidence-backed opinions (like ‘In-Game Downloading vs. Playstore Downloading’)

Get your uniquely up-leveled understanding on here: The Mobile Dev Memo Newsletter

2. GameIndustry.biz Mobile

There’s industry knowledge and then there’s industry news. And the GameIndustry.biz Mobile Newsletter hits a homerun every week with the latter -- so you can move through your day-to-day with the omniscience you deserve.

Your secret weapon for staying up-to-date, in-the-know, and absolutely immersed in every facet of the mobile games world, the Mobile Newsletter is a weekly dose of high-level explainers, breakdowns, and opinions delivered right to your inbox. 

So how does it work? Simple: you get a list of the most relevant-to-games articles laid out in the most simple of fashions. And then it’s your job to click on the most interesting-to-you. (Or all of them. We won’t judge.) Take in the headlines, digest the easy-breezy summaries, and mold the next steps that get you excited. Whether you read every article on the list or you harbor a one-and-done approach, this newsletter is there for you to take what you need. 

To take your mobile game acumen to its highest peak, sign up for the Mobile Newsletter (by GameIndustry.biz) and get ready to receive news on…

• The biggest deals & most niche discoveries
• The latest in research & the big-picture historical analyses
• The success stories & most talked about failures

Open the door to your most enlightened self here: GameIndustry.biz’s The Mobile Newsletter

3. Dream Team Newsletter

If you haven’t heard of Sophie Vo, it’s about time you got acquainted -- and her newsletter is the perfect place. An industry voice that’s as sharp as it is boundary-pushing, Vo’s drive to infuse the mobile games environment with stronger leadership, more human-centric consciousness, and higher doses of resilience is turning heads. 

And rightfully so.

With two different MasterClasses available -- for free -- on her knowledge-sharing platform Rise and Play and an interview-based podcast under the same name, Vo is most certainly one to watch. And one to listen from. Her newsletter, The Dream Team, makes that possible -- in the simplest of ways.

The best part? Vo’s teachings aren’t just revolutionary -- they’re verifiably practical. Which makes digesting and implementing them seamless. And as we move forward as an industry, the one thing that’s certain is this: with things changing as quickly as they are, the pro’s who are ready and willing to evolve with them will be the ones to come out on top. 

To hold your ground in our industry through the long-term, sign up for the Dream Team Newsletter and arm yourself with forward-thinking gems like…

• Crystal-clear explainers of Vo’s hiring ethos, team-building strategies, & team-managing philosophies
• Tips pulled straight from her MasterClass (on topics like ‘How to Create Your Studio Culture’)
• Evidence-based theories on what we can expect from our industry next -- and actionable tactics for responding to the new normal effectively

Your limitless insight is waiting -- get it here: The Dream Team Newsletter

4. Daily Update Newsletter, GameIndustry.Biz 

Life moves fast. Lucky for you, so does GameIndustry.biz. Set yourself up for success by making yourself a recipient of their cult-favorite Daily Update newsletter, which brings the latest in news, controversy, and ideas to your inbox every afternoon.

A leading online industry publication, GameIndustry.biz is widely held as the ultimate source for reliable, fluff-free content. From breakdowns of industry deals and shifts to interviews with some of the top people in games, it’s as comprehensive a learning tool as it is compelling a conversation starter. Filled with all the goings on you need to know, the Daily Update Newsletter is your ticket to staying aware -- and impressing the people around you.

The best part? While stuffed full with a far-reaching range of articles, the newsletters themselves keep things light. You get a list of article titles and quick one-line summaries, but the choice of whether to click to read more is entirely yours. That means no overwhelming, densely-packed screen space for you -- just the insight you want, and nothing else. 

Sign up now for your ticket to the knowledge train, which includes, on any given day… 

• Time-relevant news stories (like ‘Bobby Kotick Reportedly Considering Resignation if Workplace Issues Aren’t Fixed “With Speed”’)
• Data-driven advice pieces (like ‘Five Things You Need to Consider When Starting a Games Studio’)
• Ones to watch -- game, publisher, or professional -- (like ‘Streamlabs Accused of Plagiarism’)

All it takes to be yours is an email address: The Daily Update Newsletter (by GameIndstry.biz)

5. Deconstructor of Fun

If we’re talking industry big leagues here, then Deconstructor of Fun is an absolute must. 

Famous for its esteemed contributors, its distilling of news, and its hot-take breakdowns of what’s new and exciting on the market, the Deconstructor of Fun brand is as widely referenced as it is well-regarded. But that doesn’t mean it’s only comfortable pumping out the status quo. 

Constantly pushing boundaries and unraveling game-making philosophies and ideas, the minds behind Deconstructor of Fun are thoroughly dialed into what makes their content so engaging: the originality. So they’re taking their distinctive touch and applying it -- generously -- to their weekly newsletter. (Or should we say… weekly masterpiece.)

With one of the largest followings in the industry, the Deconstructor of Fun newsletter is part key industry news and part thought-leader deep-dive, examining the intricacies of what makes the games world so extraordinary. An example newsletter can move from the wide-lens rationale of the Women in Games movement (hello, attracting top talent) to actionable tips for responding to the impact of ATT (like investing in retention tactics), and then throw in a game analysis to top things off. 

With the Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter, you’ll be witnessing a deconstrcutor for the ages -- including goods like:

• Breakdowns of the hottest innovations (and corresponding doubts)
• The most surprising failures, rationalized
• ‘The Game to Play’ -- which includes a new mobile game recommendation every edition, backed up with sturdy reasoning

Ready for the opinions, analyses, and gold dust? Get ‘em here: The Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter

6. PocketGamer.biz Newsletter

For those of you interested in the global perspective, PocketGamer.biz has got you covered. With headquarters in the UK and entire newsfeeds dedicated to Asia and the Middle East -- as well as a more generalized ‘international’ feed -- the mobile games newssource has proven it’s worth its salt from an online content standpoint. But what about its newsletter?

We’re glad you asked. The PocketGamer.biz Newsletter isn’t just like every other industry news amalgamation newsletter -- truth be told, it’s something special. Sure, you get the latest news rundowns and the press pieces that everyone’s talking about, but you also get original interviews with some of the biggest names -- globally.

Plus, since PocketGamer.biz knows every games professional has different needs, interests, and schedules, they’re big on giving you options: choose to get daily or weekly newsletters delivered to your inbox, so you get the intel you want. Right when you want it.

With the PocketGamer.biz Newsletter, your perspective expands to the global with…

• International industry updates, ‘hidden gem’ events, and big-picture news stories
• Reports on innovative features, products, & services
• Thought pieces by staff writers & big-name contributors (that you won’t find anywhere else)

So buckle up -- and get your worldwide all-access-pass here: The PocketGamer.biz Newsletter 

7. Game Refinery Newsletter

If you’re a games professional, odds are you know Game Refinery: the company that assists studios in gleaning the most accurate, most relevant intelligence -- so that their games can make informed decisions. And prosper. 

From a business standpoint, their know-how is invaluable; from a newsletter standpoint, it’s absolutely unmissable. Here’s why: once a month, the Game Refinery team pools their analyses -- on new designs and features, market research, and the international industry debates of East vs. West development -- and assembles them into a list. 

That list, filled with summaries and clickable links, is then sent out to their subscribed audience. The result? A community of games professionals who are up to speed with the most cutting edge data, insights, and trends -- without having to put in the legwork themselves. 

When you get yourself on-board with the Game Refinery Newsletter, what you’re really doing is giving yourself the gift of…

• Thought-provoking investigations (distilled down into bite-sized pieces)
• Data-driven market research (that’s actually actionable)
• Ultra-detailed analyses of game designs and features

Ready to unwrap your high-value present? We thought so -- get it here: The Game Refinery Newsletter 

8. GAMESbrief Newsletter

Coined as the blog for the business of games, GAMESbrief has long made a name for itself in the field of reputable, evidence-based, and strategy-oriented news. That’s to say: it doesn’t just tell you what’s happening in the industry of professional games -- it tells you why, and how, those moves affect you.

From following the industry’s most impactful game makers to unleashing the truth about how platforms like Facebook and Unity are transforming the marketplace, GAMESbrief is as informative as it is engaging. And its newsletter -- which can be customized to hit your inbox daily or weekly -- is no different.

Created by industry veteran Nicholas Lovell -- whose career has centered on helping video games launch into the realm of major profitability -- the site’s (and newsletter’s) content makes sure to point a spotlight at two of his specialties: Free-to-Play Games and Games As A Service. 

So, if you’re fascinated by the business side of games, you won’t get a better bang for your buck (read: free email subscription) than the comprehensive, always-relevant lowdown from GAMESbrief. Trust us -- it’s the easiest decision you’ll make all day.

Sign up for the GAMESbrief Newsletter and prepare to feast your eyes on fascinating -- and relevant -- technical breakdowns, including:

• Explainers on topics like ‘Identifying the Right KPI’s’
• Star-studded, high-value articles, like ‘Dan Cook on Designing Friendships in Video Games’
• Zoomed-in analyses of games achieving success -- or not

For the full gamut of technical prowess, step into the GAMESbrief ring here: The GAMESbrief Newsletter

9. Udonis Newsletter

If you’re immersed in the games industry, odds are you’re familiar with the powerhouse that is Udonis. A mobile app marketing company unlike any other, Udonis is known for its innovative, boundary-pushing approach to target points like user acquisition, monetization, and growth consulting -- but it’s not just the games that work with the company professionally that glean its know-how.

And that’s because Udonis has a door-wide-open approach. From its wildly useful blog to its never failing weekly newsletter, it offers the full range of what it knows to its captivated audience -- for free. 

That means you get complete breakdowns on high-value topics, and you get them sent directly to your inbox. So all you need to do effort-wise is sign up… and open the edition every Thursday.

Look -- we know it can feel like there’s a steady stream of metrics, trends, and reports to make sense of. We know it can feel chaotic. But that’s why we’re such steadfast fans of Udonis content -- because they make it simple to get on-board. They make it simple to digest the right intel, and they make it simple to turn that intel into action. Your way. 

Step 1 on your route to more informed action? Signing up for the Udonis Newsletter -- and receiving unparalleled doses of intel, such as… 

• How-To Articles -- like ‘How to Advertise a Casual Game in 2021’
• Thorough Analyses -- like ‘Switchcraft Advertising Analysis: The Evolution of Match 3’
• Original Tactics & Strategies on monetization, marketing, and beyond

Interested? Of course you are. Here’s your tunnel to professional impact: The Udonis Newsletter

10. N3TWORK Newsletter

Whether you’ve heard of the N3TWORK Technology platform for game-makers already or not, their newsletter is one for the books. And that’s because their day-to-day requires them to possess a steady grasp on whitepapers, case studies, and industry news -- which they’re then able to distill down and send right over to you.

A company that’s known for its publishing, insights, and performance marketing capabilities, N3TWORK is leading the charge in helping games of all sizes reach their highest impact potential. Which is the same mission it applies to every member of its audience: how can their data, trend analyses, and masterful case studies illuminate something of high-relevance and high-value?

They answer that question over and over again in their specially-crafted doses of newsletter content, bringing you the actionable goods you need most. With a ‘Weekly Reads’ rundown integrating articles they’ve developed internally with external reports, every newsletter takes you through the most recent industry takes. And offers you the most thought-provoking fodder for next steps.

Get the N3TWORK Newsletter in your inbox if you want to behold original insights like…

• Articles that contextualize today’s biggest game wins -- within the historical framework of the industry (like ‘IGN 25: The Game, a Love Letter to Gaming & Entertainment History’)
• Articles that analyze game design successes -- and then theorize how to compound that success in the future (like ‘Leveraging the Holiday Spirit to Boost Mobile Game Revenue’)
• Articles crafted by external sources that their own team uses to sharpen their expertise (like ‘App Annie: Consumers Downloaded 14.3B Games in Q3’)

Trust us on this one: you don’t want to miss out. So put the masterful mix of content in your back pocket (ahem… inbox) here: The N3TWORK Newsletter

Bonus: Lit A.F. Game Design 

We’ll be upfront with you: this newsletter, while extraordinarily executed, has been on hiatus since 2019. But while mobile games designer Olin Olmstead -- the founder of Lit A.F. Games -- has taken a pause on newsletter development, the editions he has published (over the course of two years) live on.

And those newsletters are something to behold.

Hitting the trifecta of immaculate structure, relevant news, and compelling, forward-thinking analyses, the Lit A.F. newsletter is a masterclass in content execution. So whether you’re in the market for inspiration on how to craft your own newsletter -- or you’re simply interested in what the existing editions brought to the table -- we wanted to give you the opportunity to feast your eyes on the goods. And believe us: they are the goods. 

Here’s why: every newsletter edition comes packed with five sections, each bringing something different -- and valuable -- to the surface. Let’s take a look:

• Good Reads: Breaks down an article Olmstead found interesting in the industry or technical space
• Watch & Learn: Contextualizes an original video or webinar, and then showcases it
• Odds and Ends: Offers a list of articles and videos for further learning, across a wide -- yet always relevant -- range of topics

But our favorite section in Olmstead’s newsletter? ‘Game Juice of the Week.’ Every week, this section breaks down a different game’s ‘juice’ -- or feedback to a specific player action -- to determine whether or not it’s effective. In one newsletter, we look at the juice for flying and shooting in Steambirds Alliance -- and hear straight from Olmstead about why it works as well as it does.

We’re blown away by the comprehensiveness, critical thought, and care brought to each and every one of these newsletter editions, which is why we just couldn’t leave Lit A.F. Games off the list. If you want to learn from the best, here’s your chance.

Check out past editions of the stellar newsletter here: Lit. A.F. Games Newsletter

So there you have it…

The daily and the weekly. The news and the analyses. The local and the global. 

In our 2021 Newsletter Wrap Up, we covered all our bases. We showed you what’s out there, we zoomed in on the nuances, and we got you excited about the options. We made it clear that newsletters can serve as your secret weapon to upleveled insight, and we sang the praises for wielding them however makes the most sense to you.

You don’t need to check them religiously. You don’t need to feel overwhelmed.

Instead, you can pop in and out of the breakdowns you want -- and leave the rest untouched. Unread. Un-worried about. 

Newsletters are a game-changer. They’ve helped us stay on top of things, glean new knowledge, and form new opinions, and we’re confident they’ll have the same effect on you. But only if you let them. So work your way through the list, source the publishers and editions that speak to you, and give them the chance to work their magic. 

You won’t regret it -- and your professional prowess, in 2021 and beyond, will thank you.