Recap #245: What's new this week in mobile gaming?

In this recap #245, we take a look at the week's must-have mobile games releases, mobile news and pre-registrations/test phases not to be missed.

Sit back and relax as we round up all the week's mobile games news! On the programme: we geek out over the release of Sea of Stars, Borderlands takes us by surprise on iOS, Pikuniku arrives in the Game Vault and we've got a whole heap 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:

• Borderlands mobile has arrived on the Appstore : so get your VPNs ready, because there's neither an Android version nor an official release announcement for Borderlands mobile, and it's still generating a lot of buzz.
• Sea of Stars has hit the stores: this turn-based RPG offers an isometric formula inspired by the great classics.
• Pikuniku is available on the Crunchyroll Game Vault: in this puzzle game, help your characters get through minimalist levels, solving little riddles and overcoming obstacles.
• HYKE: Northern Lights is out on Apple Arcade: The witches of the world mourned the death of their leader Aurora. Ten years on, young Hyke sets out to find her missing mother in this pixel-art RPG.

You won't want to miss Jetpack Joyride Racing, which has arrived on Android and iOS. Then there's Chill with You: Lo-Fi Story, a game designed to boost your creativity, out this week. Meanwhile, the dungeon crawler Dragon Ruins has arrived on mobile for $7. The RPG Animal Busters has also been released free-to-play on Android and iOS.

Then there's the physics game Perchang World , which has arrived on the Apple Arcade. Netflix Playground, the children's game, has also arrived on the streaming service. Annulus, the dark fantasy strategy RPG, arrived this week on Android and iOS.

We end this section with the free Epic Games Store game of the week, Dumb Ways to Draw.

Pre-registrations, announcements, updates and testing phases

Here's a selection of the pre-registrations and beta releases that made their mark this week on Android and iOS.

• My Hero Academia UNITED SURVIVAL is coming to mobile: Midoriya and his team should be arriving on our phones very soon, if we are to believe the announcements that put the game in the year 2026.
• Mori Tale is coming to stores on 13 May: make a note of this date if you like chibis views from above with a collection of characters and a browser-style RPG feel.
• FUGA Melodies of Steel is coming to Android and iOS: the port of this tower defence game, with all its DLC, is scheduled for release this year.
• Game of Thrones: Dragonfire is up for pre-registration on mobile: after a soft launch in South-East Asia, the dragon-breeding game is preparing for its worldwide release.

We end this section with Plants vs Zombies 3, which is back with a soft launch in Ireland and the Philippines.

Other news and events from the mobile games industry

There's more from the mobile JV industry this week:

• What the Clash? adds split-screen multiplayer: Apple Arcade players are also entitled to multiplayer, thanks to the arrival of multiplayer on the same screen!
• Disney Heroes Battle Mode to close on 31 May: With over 200 Pixar and Disney characters on its roster, the title will leave the stores at the end of the month, with an offline version of the game running until that fateful date.

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