Mobile Games Talent Trends 2025: Who’s Growing, Who’s Hiring — and How to Win Top Talent

The 2025 mobile games talent report reveals how EMEA studios are competing for top talent in a fast-changing market. Based on research from Neon River, this data-rich report covers hiring trends, studio growth, attrition rates, and cross-border talent movement across around 30 top studios — from Supercell to Scopely. Find out who’s growing, who’s hiring, and how to secure the best talent in mobile games.

Mobile Games Talent Trends: What the Data Tells Us

From studios like Supercell, Playtika, Scopely, Dream Games, Rovio, Moon Active, King, and more, this data gives a real-time view into who’s winning, who’s struggling — and what it means for your hiring strategy.

Studios featured in this report include:
Supercell, Dream Games, Papaya, Metacore, Homa, Playrix, Scopely, King, Playtika, Rovio, Miniclip, Moon Active, Gameloft, Voodoo, Wooga, Product Madness, Tripledot, Huuuge Games, Zynga, Tactile Games, Outfit7, Nordeus, Easybrain, Azur Games, Ten Square Games, and SciPlay.

2025 Mobile Games Talent Snapshot

Average YoY Headcount Growth: 6.6%
Average Attrition Rate: 14.3%
Fastest Growing: Supercell, Dream Games, Papaya
Highest Attrition: Tripledot, Huuuge Games
Top Hiring Cities: Helsinki, Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Warsaw

Supercell: The Gold Standard in Mobile Gaming Talent

With 32% growth and only 6% attrition, Supercell is setting the bar.
They’re aggressively hiring engineers and artists — primarily in Helsinki and London.

Talent Wars: Inside the Rivalries Driving Poaching

The report reveals intense tug-of-wars:

Voodoo vs Homa: 10+ staff exchanged in both directions
King & Scopely: Regular talent movement in both directions
Moon Active vs Papaya: Papaya hired 4 from Moon Active

Warning Signs: Studios Losing Ground

Huuuge Games shrank by 22%, with a painful 25% attrition
Tripledot still has 25% attrition, despite improvements

Cross-border hiring is accelerating

Talent hiring is especially strong from established hubs like Helsinki, Tel Aviv, and Barcelona, which continue to attract top mobile game professionals.

Meanwhile, emerging markets in Eastern Europe — including Warsaw, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Cyprus, and Belarus — are gaining momentum as promising new talent hubs. These regions offer studios access to skilled professionals often at more competitive salary levels, reflecting local living cost differences.

High Growth Doesn’t Always Equal Low Attrition

Papaya and Dream Games both had strong growth (24% and 30%), but moderate attrition (10–11%). Homa grew by 13%, but had a high attrition rate of 21%.

Want the Full Report?

This blog shares highlights, but if you’d like full access to the May 2025 Mobile Games Talent Intelligence Report, get in touch.

Need to Hire Top Talent in Mobile Games?

At Neon River, we specialise in executive search and headhunting for the mobile games industry — helping studios across EMEA hire top-tier talent. For inquiries, contact us at hello@neonriver.com