Recap 191: What's new this week in mobile gaming?

In week's recap #191, we take a look at the week's must-have mobile games releases, mobile news and pre-registrations/test phases that you won't want to miss.

Sit back and relax as we round up all the week's mobile games news! On the programme: we discover the successor to E3, the MMORPG Crystal of Atlan goes into beta, crime scenes get a spring clean with Serial Cleaner and we've got a whole host of other news to share with you.

Mobile games releases of the week

This week has been rich in release announcements, with many games now available on the stores:

• Tiny Robots: Portal Escape, the puzzle game in which you play as Telly, a robot who has to solve escape room levels to save his grandfather, has been released on Play Store and App Store.
• Golf Super Crew turns golf into a spectacular sport with incredible trickshots. Available on Play Store and App Store, it features PvP battles and tournaments to unlock equipment.
• Serial Cleaner, an infiltration game set in the world of the 70s, lets you clean up crime scenes while avoiding the police. Already available on PC, it's out now on Play Store and App Store.
• Realm of Pixel is available on Play Store and App Store, and features pixelated graphics and an idle mode so you can progress even when offline. It includes PvE and PvP modes, as well as a guild system.

Then there's Fly Punch Boom, a dynamic fighting game available on Play Store and App Store for $5. This Chicken Got Hands is a humorous game in which a chicken takes revenge on the farmer who stole its eggs, available on Play Store and App Store.

Enigma of Sepia, waifu's collectible gacha RPG, is out for Valentine's Day on Play Store and App Store. Liar's Bar, a card and bluff game, is also available on Play Store. And finally, Methods 5: The Last Stage, an investigative visual novel that concludes the Methods series with 20 interactive chapters, is also out on Play Store and App Store.

Pre-registration, announcements, updates and test phases

• Pandoland, a maritime adventure game featuring a collection of creatures, will be available on Play Store and App Store on 21 April. This Game Freak title features a colourful isometric 3D world, dungeons and over 500 companions to recruit.
• EvoCreo 2, a creature-collecting game, is now open for pre-registration on Play Store and App Store. Scour pixelated 2D landscapes to capture and evolve over 300 creatures to become the best trainer.
• Dragon Nest World, a remake of the 2010 PC MMORPG, will go into public beta in China on 20 February.
• Black Beacon goes into pre-registration on the App Store after an Android beta in January.

The game adaptation of the Tribe Nine anime will be released on Play Store and App Store on 20 February. Then there's Crystal of Atlan, the steampunk MMORPG, which goes into closed beta from 18 February to 5 March in Canada, Germany, Brazil and the UK. Netflix, meanwhile, is adding Steel Paws to its Play Store and App Store catalogue, an action game featuring robot battles and animal mechas in an infinite tower.

Horror Tale 3: The Witch, a horror and survival game, is now open for pre-registration. It will be released on Play Store and App Store on 1 April. Expelled, a narrative game from Inkle, plunges you into an investigation at a boarding school in 1920. It is scheduled for release on 12 March 2025 on Play Store and App Store.

Magic Chess Go Go, based on the MLBB universe, is an auto-battler currently in soft launch in Asia on Play Store and App Store. And last but not least, Songs of Conquest arrives on Play Store and App Store on 13 March.

Other news and events from the mobile games industry

The mobile JV industry has more news in store for you this week:

• E3 is officially dead, but the Entertainment Software Association is planning a rebirth with the Interactive Innovation Conference (IICON) in 2026. This event will feature some of the biggest names in video games, as well as innovations in other fields such as finance and health.
• Nintendo says it is continuing to develop mobile games for its major licences, despite its changing statements on the subject.
• Apple Arcade welcomes PGA World Tour, Doodle Jump 2+, My Dear Farm+ and other titles including Crazy Eights: Card Games+ on 6 March.

See you next week for a recap of mobile games news!