two & half gamers

In this live session, the hosts discuss various aspects of game design, gameplay mechanics, monetization strategies, and the future of game development. They provide insights into the gameplay of a specific game, analyze its mechanics, and compare it with other games in the market. The conversation also touches on audience engagement and upcoming events in the gaming industry. takeaways The live session format allows for real-time audience interaction. Gameplay mechanics can often be misleading in marketing. Deterministic level design enhances player experience and engagement. Monetization strategies are crucial for game sustainability. Comparative analysis helps understand market positioning. Future trends in gaming focus on user engagement and innovative mechanics. Audience interaction can provide valuable feedback for developers. Events like Gamescom and ChinaJoy are important for networking. Game performance metrics are essential for assessing success. The gaming industry is evolving with new monetization models. titles Exploring Game Design in a Live Session Gameplay Mechanics Unveiled Sound Bites "We are live!" "This is a game changer!" "We need to have a soundboard!" Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Live Session 03:07 Gameplay Overview and Mechanics 07:15 Game Design and Difficulty Progression 10:01 Monetization Strategies and User Engagement 12:52 Comparative Analysis of Game Performance 18:37 Future of Puzzle Games and Market Trends 28:10 The Scale of Game Revenue 30:16 The Evolution of User Acquisition Strategies 32:56 Insights on Game Development and Monetization 39:21 Analyzing Game Performance and Revenue Projections 45:41 The Future of Game Development Strategies ---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultant⁠https://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultant⁠https://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultant⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me---------------------------------------If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricLatest article - https://open.substack.com/pub/lancaric/p/stay-ahead-in-ua-for-2024-my-top?r=7qqaf&utm_campaign=podcast&utm_medium=web&showWelcome=trueDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

Jakub Remiar dives into Uma Musume Pretty Derby’s “Spark” and legacy mechanics—one of the most advanced progression and inheritance systems in any mobile RPG. See why this game’s depth is pulling 100,000 downloads a day and racking up 450,000 dollars daily revenue even outside Japan. From Genshin-style stat RNG to community-driven parent borrowing, you’ll learn why this system is built for both theorycrafters and casuals, and why it’s suddenly trending in the West. You’ll learn: How legacy and spark inheritance work, and why this is deeper than anything in Western gacha Why are there sixty-page guides and two hundred-page translations just to optimize your team The power of borrowing “whale” parents and building the perfect run How no-level, stat-based progression makes Uma Musume endlessly replayable What makes this system so viral on YouTube, Shorts, and Steam right now Why every risk-reward decision and endless RNG roll keeps the meta alive Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/jk7CmPs4JRY Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Umo Musume Pretty Derby 04:54 The Roguelite System Explained 08:12 The Legacy System and Its Importance 11:05 Understanding the Spark System 13:59 Social Mechanics and Community Impact 16:53 Replayability and Randomness in Gameplay 20:13 Future Potential and Game Design Insights --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me --------------------------------------- If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

This episode is a tour through the wildest creative trends dominating mobile games in June 2025. We break down why two- and three-minute video ads are everywhere, how AI hooks and long-form ASMR are pre-qualifying high-value users, and why the best-performing creatives this month are often stitched together from hits of the past. What’s inside: Long-Form Video Surge Copy-Paste Mania ASMR and Satisfying Loops AI-Driven Innovation Clone Wars and IP Theft Real Life and UGC Key Takeaway: If you are not testing long-form videos, iterating ASMR or AI hooks, and watching what your competitors are copying, you are missing out. Quality and innovation are moving at warp speed, and copy-paste is the new default. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Creative Trends in Mobile Gaming 04:24 Analyzing Recent Creative Campaigns 07:32 The Impact of Video Length on User Engagement 10:27 Innovations in Game Advertising 13:23 Exploring AI in Game Marketing 16:25 Case Studies: Successful Game Creatives 19:16 Conclusion and Future Trends 20:26 Understanding Player Perception 22:34 Innovative Ad Strategies 26:15 Analyzing Game Trends 30:08 Marketing Strategies for Game Growth 35:22 Emerging Trends in ASMR and Casual Gaming 37:32 Innovations in Game Development and User Engagement 39:22 The Role of User-Generated Content in Gaming 41:07 The Impact of AI on Game Creatives 44:46 AI Developments and Their Influence on Game Marketing 53:08 Conclusion and Future Insights in Gaming --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me --------------------------------------- If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric

We unpack KnitOut by Rollic, a surprising hit blending simple, relaxing puzzle mechanics with clever monetization and UA execution. Underneath the soothing yarn is a sophisticated, scalable system that echoes the Turkish studio’s proven blueprint. KnitOut is already generating $ 60,000 daily revenue and 20,000 downloads a day, with the US accounting for sixty percent of revenue and CPIs exceeding $10. What’s inside: Core Gameplay: Addictive bench mechanic, yarn “block jam” puzzle core, and highly satisfying ASMR touches. Monetization: Interstitials start after level sixteen or eighteen. First rewarded ad comes with an upsell to “remove ads” IAP. No banners. Creative Strategy Blueprint for Hits: Rollic’s process is all about finding a sticky core, tuning every curve, scaling hard, and only adding events or meta once retention and monetization benchmarks are proven. Hundreds of prototypes feed the pipeline, but only a handful get to scale. Key Takeaway: KnitOut looks simple, but it is a masterclass in “build core first, polish to perfection, then scale with data.” The Turkish blueprint continues to win, even as clones flood the market. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor, FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/o22Ky7sGWqs Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Game Overview 04:27 Gameplay Mechanics and Strategy 07:25 Game Difficulty and Progression 10:27 Monetization Strategies and User Engagement 13:23 Comparative Analysis with Other Games 16:33 Development Insights and Future Prospects 21:45 Understanding Game Monetization Strategies 25:30 Analyzing Game Performance Metrics 29:25 The Shift in Ad Revenue Dynamics 33:46 Creative Strategies in Game Marketing 38:06 The Importance of Creative Length in Ads --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

In this solo episode, Felix Braberg walks through the six most effective ad placements he’s tested and rolled out across top ad-monetized mobile games and client portfolios in 2024 and 2025. Drawing from live examples in games like Woodoku, Happy Color, Screwmaster 3D, Subway Surfers, and more, Felix details exactly how to engineer ad placements that boost ARPDAU, drive first purchases, and turn non-payers into rewarded ad whales. What’s inside: Step Offer Chains: Build offers as a chain of steps—first offering free items, then a rewarded ad, then paid, and finally more free, creating a mental ladder that nudges first-time purchases and ad engagement. Use notification buttons to highlight available rewarded ads. Recency Effect Monetization: Use mediation hacks to always serve the highest eCPM ad unit. Supersonic’s tactic: on app open, cache both rewarded and interstitial ads, then dynamically check which one pays more at every impression. Serve interstitials in rewarded slots if they outpay, but never the reverse. Convert-or-Die Placements: At every natural gameplay break, offer a rewarded ad first—if skipped, immediately serve an interstitial. Users quickly learn there is always an ad coming and will shift to rewarded for better value. Store Exit Rewarded Ads: Instead of putting rewarded ads inside the store, show them as a standalone pop-up only if a user leaves the store without buying. This boosts conversion among non-payers and is now rolling out across portfolios at scale. Unlockable Skins and Paint Jobs: Rewarded ads are used to unlock new skins, paint jobs, or game modes—sometimes requiring up to five ads for a single unlock. Use first cached ad eCPM to decide if a rewarded placement should show, especially for likely non-payers. Meta Rewards for Ad Whales: Give users bonus rewards for hitting high ad-watch thresholds (ten ads a day unlocks a speed buff, for example). This turns high-volume ad viewers into meta progression junkies, boosting both ad ARPDAU and retention. Key Takeaway: Test these placements, track them against the best ad-monetized games in the market, and always iterate. Small changes in placement, sequence, and creative lead to big jumps in revenue—especially for non-payers and ad whales. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg Youtube: https://youtu.be/blw0JNMcfh8 Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Ad Placements 04:09 Exploring Effective Ad Strategies 10:20 Innovative Ad Placement Techniques 15:06 Meta Rewards and Long-Term Engagement Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me --------------------------------------- If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

We go deep on Uma Musume Pretty Derby, Japan’s gacha horse girl sensation, and a masterclass in roguelite meta complexity. With real horse DNA, multi-layered training runs, six gacha layers, and a live ops cadence that powers up to 72 million dollars per launch month, Uma Musume is a unicorn in the global market—an RPG sim that’s too Japanese for most of the West, but a billion-dollar franchise at home. What’s inside: Japan-First, World-Second: Ninety-five percent of all revenue still comes from Japan. Insane Revenue Per Download True Roguelite Progression: Training runs carry over legacy stats, traits, and inspiration from previous “parents.” Every decision in a run matters. Social features like friend-run inheritance and deep support card gacha fuel endless replay. Authentic Horse Girl DNA Too Complex for the West: The English launch saw a brief spike (three hundred thousand dollars in a day) but quickly dropped. Complexity, visual style, and waifu focus make it a core product for otaku and hardcore sim fans. Key Takeaway: Uma Musume Pretty Derby is proof that deep, highly local games with real social and meta layers can still print billions, if you own your niche and deliver unmatched complexity. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/HmKZaCWlDBI Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Uma Musume Pretty Derby 06:02 Understanding the Game's Popularity and Mechanics 09:11 The Unique Design and Gameplay of Uma Musume 12:02 The Evolution of Horse Racing Games 15:10 Rogue-lite Mechanics in Uma Musume 17:58 Character Selection and Training Strategies 21:06 The Role of Support Cards and Skills 27:03 Final Thoughts on Gameplay and Complexity 37:19 Racing Mechanics and Strategies 42:13 Game Progression and Challenges 55:22 Monetization and Gacha Mechanics 01:01:24 Marketing Strategies and Community Engagement Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

We dissect the phenomenon of FPS Strike, a low-poly, Counter-Strike-inspired mobile shooter racking up more than 4 million DAU, mostly across India, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt, and Southeast Asia. Despite its massive scale, nearly everything about the game is stuck in the “admon nightmare” zone—zero iOS presence, almost no user acquisition, unoptimized ad stack, endless rewarded ads, and zero LiveOps. Yet, even with all those gaps, it is still a money-printing machine, generating $30,000 to $50,000 a day, primarily from video ads and interstitials. What’s inside: Ad Stack Trainwreck Ads Everywhere, Little Monetization Creative and UA Fail Fake Counter-Strike, Real Results: The “nostalgia” is more about experiencing a shooter for the first time on mobile, not actual Counter-Strike memories. Simple graphics, bots for everyone, and a skin shop that barely matters. Key Takeaway: You do not need next-gen graphics or live PVP to win in Tier 3. But if you do not optimize your ad stack, creatives, and UA, you are burning money every day. FPS Strike is a case study in “good enough” that could be so much more. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Podcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Game Landscape 04:42 Analyzing Game Metrics and User Engagement 07:38 Gameplay Mechanics and User Experience 10:38 Monetization Strategies and Ad Integration 13:36 Game Features and User Retention Strategies 18:27 The Importance of Monetization Strategies 21:08 Ad Revenue Insights and Optimization 24:51 Maximizing Ad Stack Efficiency 27:37 User Engagement and Retention Strategies 31:38 Influencer Marketing and Organic Growth 35:34 Game Mechanics and Player Experience 38:42 Future of FPS Games and Industry Trends --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

Paul West, founder of Fumb Games, joins Two and a Half Gamers to share the real growth story behind the studio’s breakout year. From Bitcoin Miner’s $10 million run to the launch of Idle Mine and a creative rebrand that hit $1 million in sixty days, Paul explains how ruthless UA strategy, creative expansion, and a “cut what doesn’t work” mindset allowed a lean team to scale tenfold—right in the middle of the industry’s hardest year. What’s inside: UA: Bigger Risks, Smarter Focus Fumb Games ditched the “three-day payback only” mindset, stretched paybacks, and invested in UA even when it was scary. They ran tons of networks, then cut to the four that moved the needle. Creative Volume and Experimentation AI tools, influencer gigs on Fiverr, and a nonstop creative testing culture delivered more winning ads and allowed for higher spend. The team tested everything—static, video, and even reskinned gameplay for new themes. LiveOps and Community as Retention Fuel Weekend and midweek events, Discord and Reddit codes, and direct player rewards kept ARPDAU and DAU rising together—unusual for a scaling idle studio. Monetization Upgrades Subscriptions became 80 percent of purchase revenue in new titles. Side revenue from play gap (offline ad fill), Zebedee (crypto microtransactions), and Discord monetization all helped lift margins. Market Read and Thematic Focus When Bitcoin Miner started to plateau, they rebranded a casual project into Idle Mine, doubled down on the Bitcoin theme, and saw instant traction and monetization in a proven niche. Key Takeaway: You do not 10x by playing it safe. Cut what doesn’t work, invest big in what does, and let your UA and creative testing do the heavy lifting. If the theme and the community are hot, pour fuel on that fire. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Host: Paul West https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulkwest/ Podcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Fum Games and Growth Strategy 03:35 Challenges in the Gaming Industry 06:41 Core Pillars for Future Growth 09:33 Innovative Monetization Strategies 13:13 User Acquisition and Community Engagement 15:59 Rebranding and New Game Launch 18:11 Key Takeaways and Future Outlook --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me --------------------------------------- If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

We break down Wittle Defender, Habby’s latest departure from the mass market, blending deep meta, squad RPG mechanics, and a relentless gacha system. This is not another Survivor IO. It is a meta monster built for hardcore RPG fans, multi-layered progression, gear grind, rune systems, and dozens of monetization hooks. But is it too deep for global scale? What’s inside: Meta Gone Wild Gacha and Progression More Modes, More Monetization Deep automation and idle mechanics Ad Revenue Shrinks UA and Creative: Focused on Asia, with heavy use of fake gameplay, static images, and Rush Royale or Top Heroes clones for Facebook and TikTok ads. Playable ads exist but are rare. Key Takeaway: Wittle Defender marks Habby’s pivot away from broad hybrid monetization. The focus now is on deep spend, multi-layered progression, and gacha depth for a smaller, more hardcore player base. Ad revenue is down, IAP is up, and the US is no longer the top target. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/lg023xHkCUk Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Host Dynamics 02:49 Sailing Adventures and Job Interviews 04:06 Whittle Defender Game Overview 07:19 Game Mechanics and Progression Systems 11:22 Monetization Strategies and User Experience 14:22 Gameplay Modes and Challenges 18:17 Character Skills and Randomization Mechanics 25:18 Final Thoughts and Game Depth 25:42 Character Dynamics and Game Mechanics 28:36 Game Depth and Player Engagement 29:52 Market Positioning and Audience Targeting 34:15 Revenue Insights and Market Performance 40:15 Monetization Strategies and Future Directions 44:06 Game Mechanics and Trends 46:13 Marketing Strategies in Gaming 51:18 Investment and Development in the Gaming Industry 56:14 Future Directions for Game Studios --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

Today, we deep-dive into Raid Rush, the Turkish-made tower defense game that is bringing roguelike deck-building, build-your-own-path mechanics, and IP crossovers to the top of the mobile charts. The crew unpacks why this game feels so deep, why Korean and US players are eating it up, and how the game balances heavy progression, smart ad placements, and old-school strategy with real modern LiveOps. What’s inside: A Real Tower Defense for 2025: Raid Rush lets you build your own road, place towers with real strategy, and merge and upgrade through a deck and gacha system. Every run is different thanks to randomization, new land placement, and a menu packed with modes, heroes, and skills. IP Collabs Done Right Korea and the US Lead the Pack Creative and UA Trends: The team breaks down a wild mix of real-life, static AI, and hyper-casual video hooks, plus some truly creative (and not-so-creative) uses of IP. Key Takeaway: Raid Rush shows you can still win by mixing deep strategy, roguelite randomness, smart ad and IAP segmentation, and just enough IP muscle. In a world of copycats, this one actually innovates. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/9rDyKoe58b0 Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Game Overview 04:16 Game Metrics and Performance Analysis 07:15 Gameplay Mechanics and Unique Features 10:13 Strategic Depth and Replayability 13:30 Monetization Strategies and Ad Integration 16:26 Collaboration with Terminator IP and Content Expansion 19:25 Final Thoughts and Future Prospects 27:30 Monetization Strategies in Mobile Games 30:40 Dynamic Monetization and User Engagement 32:15 Creative Advertising and User Acquisition 37:25 Trends in Tower Defense Games 42:58 The Role of AI in Game Development Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

In this episode, Two and a Half Gamers sit down with Shobeir Shobeiri, Director of Publisher Sales at Moloco, to give the industry’s most practical, no-BS crash course on the history, mechanics, and real money in mobile ad monetization. From the origins of banners to today’s machine-learning DSPs, the crew demystifies ad tech jargon, reveals the margins and secrets behind every middleman, and lays out what every publisher needs to know about maximizing revenue in 2025. What’s inside: The Evolution of Ad Monetization: How mobile moved from premium, paid apps to ad-funded juggernauts, and why rewarded video is now the fastest-growing segment. DSP, SSP, and Mediation 101: How ad stacks work, what makes a DSP different, and where the money really goes between advertisers, publishers, and ad tech middlemen. Margin Math: Ad networks and exchanges quietly take cuts of 20 to 30 percent or more, but the right direct SDK can boost your ad ARPDAU by 8 to 20 percent instantly. Real-World History: From early Mad Men deals and waterfall hacks to today’s real-time bidding, learn the origin stories that shaped the $262 billion mobile ad market. Creative Ad Unit Tips: Where to put banners, how to maximize rewarded ads, why playables are a must for UA, and the new rules for ad placement segmentation. Moloco’s SDK Advantage: Why plugging in the Moloco SDK gives you priority, boosts ARPDAU, and connects you to two billion dollars in annual spend—backed by real results from the field. Key Takeaway: Understanding your ad stack, choosing the right partners, and owning your data is the real moat in 2025. Get your ad monetization right, and you’ll be printing money—get it wrong, and you’ll be just feeding middlemen. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Special Guest: Shobeir Shobeiri Youtube: https://youtu.be/T3OQzk0ldIY Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Mobile Advertising and Maloko 04:16 The Evolution of Advertising: From Ancient Times to Mobile 06:45 The Rise of Mobile Apps and Monetization Strategies 09:23 Challenges in the Mobile Advertising Landscape 12:29 Understanding Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) and Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) 15:27 The Mechanics of Mediation and Ad Stacks 18:06 The Transition from Waterfall Auctions to Bidding Systems 21:29 The Evolution of Ad Serving and Bidding 23:48 Understanding Ad Networks and Revenue Models 25:44 Ad Units: Types and Their Effectiveness 30:25 Pricing Models in Advertising 35:03 The Role of SDKs in Ad Revenue 40:11 Future of Ad Monetization --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me --------------------------------------- If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric

Today, we break down Carnival Tycoon: the “idle” game that’s really a Trojan Horse for social casino and slot machine mechanics. We compare every feature, monetization trick, and creative strategy to Coin Master, Monopoly Go, and the social casino giants. Find out how Carnival Tycoon hit five million dollars a month, why rewarded ads are hidden everywhere, and what makes this copycat succeed where others flop. You will learn: Why Carnival Tycoon is more social casino than idle, and how it fakes the early game How copy-paste UI, offers, and creative trends shape modern casino games The secrets behind rewarded ad segmentation and thirty to forty-five percent ad watchers What separates the titans (Coin Master, Monopoly Go) from the fast followers Why LiveOps and ruthless economy balance are the real keys to scale How AI, asset flipping, and creative theft drive UA in the social casino wild west Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Game Overview 04:15 Gameplay Mechanics and Revenue Insights 07:14 Comparative Analysis with Social Casino Games 09:42 Visual Progression and User Engagement 13:15 Monetization Strategies and User Retention 16:18 Advertising Dynamics and User Segmentation 19:13 Session Length and User Experience 22:10 Final Thoughts and Future of Carnival Tycoon 28:52 The State of LiveOps in Gaming 29:39 Engagement Mechanics in Mobile Games 30:21 Analyzing Game Release Timelines 31:46 The Role of Marketing Partners in Game Scaling 32:35 Creative Strategies in Game Advertising 33:54 The Impact of AI on Game Creatives 35:35 IP Infringement and Creative Theft in Gaming 37:25 The Wild West of Mobile Game Marketing 40:46 Trends in Game Development and Marketing 44:02 Future of Onboarding in Mobile Games --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

We tackle the legacy and latest iteration of Puzzle & Dragons, the game that defined Japanese mobile gaming and reached a mind-blowing five billion dollars in lifetime revenue. From wild metagame depth and monster collection to why Western players just never clicked with the formula, the crew unpacks the hits, misses, and museum-piece vibes of a true industry legend. What’s inside: No Gacha in the Gacha Game? Cultural Roots Run Deep Museum Piece, Not Modern Hit Game Design DNA Ads, UA, and Profit Key Takeaway: Sometimes, the most influential games are the least exportable. Puzzle & Dragons is a legend in Japan, a footnote in the West, and a masterclass in knowing and owning your audience. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/nPidjalbujg Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Puzzle and Dragons 02:53 The Evolution of Mobile Gaming 05:53 Gameplay Mechanics and Features 08:48 Cultural Differences in Gaming 11:41 Monetization Strategies and Ads 14:42 Comparative Analysis with Other Games 19:21 The State of Gaming in Japan 22:46 Cultural Differences in Gaming Preferences 25:35 Revenue Insights and Market Dynamics 28:00 User Acquisition Challenges 31:05 Reflections on Mobile Gaming History --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me --------------------------------------- If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

In this brutally honest episode, Matej interviews Zino Rost Van Tonningen, CEO of Tyr Ads, live from MAU (with zero construction noise this time). The focus is on running rewarded UA without getting burned by fraud, bad partners, or weak setups. Zino shares knowledge from his journey through agency work, the wild world of offer walls, and leading Tyr Ads from rewards app to global SDK powerhouse. What’s inside: The Fraud Playbook: How faked events, cheat engines, and emulator hackers can drain $20,000 from your budget in minutes if your setup is not rock solid. How to Bulletproof Your Attribution: Why server-to-server (S2S) events, signature V5 for Adjust, and secure MMP integrations are non-negotiable. If you are not set up right, your numbers are toast. Reward Structures 101: Single reward, multi-reward, playtime offers, and daily re-engagement, the real impact on UA and long-term player progression. Choosing the Right Platform: How to interrogate your reward partner, avoid lazy multi-reward copycats, and demand daily re-engagement, data-driven nudges, and flexible KPIs. Scaling and Surviving: Why will most offerwall partners disappear in the next year unless they build better engagement and retention features? If your partner cannot adapt, you are the next victim. iOS is Heating Up: Why Apple’s rules are loosening, the offerwall boom is just starting, and iOS users behave differently from Android. Key Takeaway: Rewarded UA is at a turning point: trust your numbers, interrogate your partners, demand retention and scale, or get left behind in the coming wave of consolidation. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej Lancaric⁠ Special guest: Zino Rost Van Tonningen https://www.linkedin.com/in/rovato/ https://tyrads.com/ Podcast: Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me --------------------------------------- If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

We break down BitLife, a simulation game that proves you do not need flashy graphics or complex meta to print money. With an aggressive monetization model, evergreen retention, and a loyal fanbase, BitLife has been going strong for over seven years, now pulling in more than $110,000 a day, with ad revenue making up half of its total income. What’s inside: Ad Monetization on Steroids: Interstitial ads hit you right from the tutorial, with a cooldown of 70 seconds, banners refresh every five seconds, and rewarded ads are expertly placed on emotional player moments. BitLife monetizes player choices through a web of IAPs, subscriptions, and one-time offers. Smart UA and Creative Strategy: Originally fueled by organics, Stillfront’s acquisition kicked off heavy user acquisition with strong creative hooks, unique AI and UGC blends, and consistent iteration across every channel. Key Takeaway: You do not need the best graphics to win in mobile. If your product is unique, your ad monetization is ruthless, and your UA is dialed in, you can scale forever. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/--JFbHlo3E8 Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Bit Life and Hosts 04:27 The Growth and Acquisition of Bit Life 07:36 Gameplay Mechanics and Life Choices 10:18 Monetization Strategies and Ad Integration 13:22 Life Events and Their Impact on Gameplay 16:26 The Role of Ads in Player Experience 19:27 Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Bit Life 23:09 Game Mechanics and Monetization Strategies 26:24 Ad Revenue Insights and User Engagement 31:26 User Acquisition and Marketing Strategies 38:18 Game Performance and Future Growth 44:21 Final Thoughts and Ratings --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

We just dropped our latest episode, and it is a must-watch for anyone building or buying mobile game ads. We break down the biggest trends ripping through the creative market: AI hooks and seamless transitions: five art styles in five minutes, and the line between real and fake is now a blur. Celebrities everywhere: Monica, Phoebe, LeBron, Christina Aguilera, even C-tier cameos nobody asked for Satisfying gold bars, drowning waifus, and cruelty hooks: Virality still rules the creative graveyard. Copy-paste chaos: King Shot mechanics, snakes, resource overload, and every trend recycled at warp speed IP infringement? Nobody cares. Elsa and Moana show up in more ads than their own movies. Here is the brutal truth: The mobile creative game is faster, weirder, and less original than ever. AI is now your intern, celebrity ads are squeezing out innovation, and anyone who is not remixing, testing, and scaling daily is already behind. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/xbOwszmQ6tg Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Event Highlights 02:58 Creative Trends Overview 05:50 Golden Goblin Creatives 08:42 Celebrity Influences in Gaming Ads 11:44 Contractual Dynamics in Celebrity Endorsements 14:42 Trends in Game Creatives 17:37 AI and Animation in Game Marketing 20:04 Exploring Game Mechanics and Design Flaws 22:42 The Evolution of Game Concepts and AI Integration 25:41 Analyzing Coin Master’s Consistent Revenue Stream 28:43 The Impact of AI on Game Development 31:43 Trends in Mobile Gaming Revenue and Performance 37:10 Introduction to SuperScent and Game Comparisons 37:47 Exploring Game Mechanics and Creative Concepts 39:27 Discussion on Whiteout Survival and Game Trends 40:29 Advertising Strategies for CTV Campaigns 41:36 Analyzing Pokemon Go's New Developments 44:18 AI in Game Creatives and Advertising 48:42 Trends in AI-Generated Content and IP Infringement --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

Legend alert. In this episode, we sit down with Jane Whittaker, a developer, executive, and innovator whose career spans from coding 8-bit chart toppers and Atari’s biggest hits to shaping the DNA of open-world, survival, and RPGs. Jane shares candid stories from the 1980s video game crash, building Alien vs. Predator with just two programmers, working with Sid Meier and Mike Singleton, and steering giants like EA and MGM. What’s inside: Real Video Game History Indie Roots and All-In Dev: From writing sound drivers without knowing music to doing design, code, and art in a single project, Jane did it all before “indie” was a thing. Survival Games Before They Were Cool Open World Royalty: From Mike Singleton’s Midwinter to World of Warcraft landscape architecture and Microsoft Flight Simulator expansions, Jane’s fingerprints are all over gaming’s biggest virtual worlds. Modding and Crafting Philosophy No AI Shortcuts, Pure Craft Why Fun Beats Tech Key Takeaway: Game design that stands the test of time is about creative risk, pure craft, and relentless focus on fun, not just graphics or tech. Jane’s story is a masterclass for anyone building or dreaming of building games. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/RyDJ88zRVwo Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to a Gaming Legend 02:42 The Evolution of Gaming: A Personal Journey 05:45 The Impact of the 1983 Video Game Crash 08:32 The Making of Alien vs. Predator 11:12 Transitioning to MGM and GoldenEye 14:22 The Legacy of Survival Games 17:24 Behind the Scenes of Dungeon Keeper and Marvel Games 20:00 Contributions to World of Warcraft 22:10 Crafting Immersive Game Worlds 25:50 Innovations in Game Mechanics 29:10 Creating Tension and Fear in Gameplay 32:55 The Role of AI in Game Development 38:12 Crafting Immersive Game Worlds 41:13 The Importance of Effort in Game Development 43:53 Balancing Budget and Creativity 46:02 The Role of Modding in Gaming 50:13 Lessons from Past Projects 54:35 Building a Passionate Gaming Community --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

Today, we sit down with Supersonic’s Samantha Benjamin and Guy Agiv to discuss the hit game Screw Master 3D. From adapting trends out of China to hybrid monetization tricks and creative secrets, this episode is packed with actionable insights for anyone in mobile gaming. What you’ll learn: How Screwmaster 3D’s physics-puzzle and meta layers drive insane engagement The models and tactics behind maximizing eCPMs and LTV in ad-heavy games The secret to rapid adaptation, culturalization, and scaling trends globally A-B testing, skip-its, and boosters—hybrid casual best practices for monetization without killing UX Creative production at Supersonic: data-driven, AI-boosted, always iterating The new era of hybrid casual is ruthless: if you want to compete, you need to move fast, master ad monetization, and out-iterate everyone on creative and product. Screwmaster 3D is proof that the real money is in the details. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/OmGzUDUiPsQ Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Screw Master 3D 02:37 Game Mechanics and Design Insights 05:39 Adapting for Global Markets 08:38 User Engagement and Retention Strategies 11:50 Monetization Strategies and Challenges 14:33 Future Developments and Game Evolution 26:56 Balancing Game Difficulty and User Engagement 27:50 Analyzing User Metrics and Revenue Streams 29:09 Retention Rates and User Engagement Strategies 31:09 Ad Monetization Strategies and User Experience 35:34 Optimizing Ad Experience and User Segmentation 40:14 ECPM Management and Ad Impression Strategies 45:26 Implementing Skip It Feature in Game Design 49:19 User Acquisition Strategies and Channel Mix 52:44 Channel Mix and Budget Allocation 55:43 The Power of Playable Ads 01:00:21 Creative Testing and Iteration Strategies 01:01:53 Balancing Playable Lengths for User Engagement 01:05:00 Testing New Channels and Creative Strategies 01:12:19 Exploring New Channels for Growth --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

We just dropped a new Review Radar episode in which we examined every major mobile game from the last three months. Some are breaking the ‘podcast curse’ and scaling up, others are stuck in stable dinosaur mode, and a few are just… lost. Highlights: Triple Match City and Color Block Jam are stacking revenue with surprising ARPU and ad mixes Royal Kingdom and Pokémon Sleep show that audience and IP still trump any new feature Cloning is the new normal, but most ‘copy-paste’ games never hit the KPIs of their genre leaders Monetization is where dreams die, great engines, weak revenue UA and creative discipline are still the biggest differentiators Our verdict? Build fast, adapt faster, and don’t be afraid to kill what isn’t scaling. In mobile gaming, the only thing worse than a failed experiment is a boring one. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/vaa1d1Evif0 Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Review Radar 04:39 Game Performance Insights: Triple Match City 07:16 Core Survival and Its Revenue Growth 10:32 Acero 2: Launch and Revenue Analysis 13:37 Top Girl: User Engagement and Revenue Trends 16:37 Royal Kingdom: Celebrity Campaign Impact 19:36 Path of Exile 2: Community Reactions and Revenue 22:40 Dark and Darker: Soft Launch Insights 25:34 Magic Sword: Future Potential and Market Position 27:06 Revenue Insights: Comparing Game Performance 28:48 Block Blast: The Unexpected Contender 29:42 Project Rise: Anticipation and Delays 33:27 ColorBlockJam: A Rising Star in Mobile Gaming 36:35 Hi-Sees Hero: Challenges in Game Development 39:48 Candy Crush Solitaire: Stagnation in a Competitive Market 41:50 Goods Puzzle: A New Player in the Market --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

In this special episode recorded LIVE at MAU, Matej Lančarič sits down with Noah Gutterman (VP UA, Misplay) and Brett (Senior UA Manager, Misplay) for a no-BS deep dive into the business and creative secrets powering Misplay’s explosive growth, and their high-stakes launch on iOS. Brutally honest breakdown: How Misplay overcame App Store hurdles to launch on iOS Incrementality testing, the “always-on” strategy that’s blowing up the myth of last-touch attribution Building a predictive PLTV signal stack for maximum partner value Why culturalization, not just localization, is driving insane ROI in APAC markets Creative strategies that actually convert: negative hooks, modular iteration, and next-gen UGC Real talk on AI in UA, where it works, where it fails, and what’s next Misplay’s playbook is a wake-up call for UA and product teams: “Question every channel. Obsess over incrementality. Creative is king, but speed and structure are the emperor. And don’t just localize, culturalize, or leave millions on the table. Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop -------------------------------------- PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers. Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/ They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it. - Scale fast - Keep your shares - Drawdown only as needed - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors --------------------------------------- Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance. https://www.vibe.co/ --------------------------------------- For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale. Our sponsor FastSpring: Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years They power top mobile publishers around the world Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg. --------------------------------------- This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously. Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠ Youtube: https://youtu.be/-nKoLUpQVc4 Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Misplay and the Team 03:24 Challenges and Opportunities in iOS Gaming 06:51 User Acquisition Strategies for iOS 09:31 Incrementality Testing in User Acquisition 12:38 Measurement and Data Strategies 15:40 Signals and Optimization in Campaigns 18:48 User Segmentation and Geo Strategies 23:31 Culturalized Marketing Strategies in Korea 25:43 Creative Strategies and User-Generated Content 29:47 Innovative Brainstorming and Team Collaboration 32:43 Creative Testing and Iteration 36:38 The Role of AI in Creative Development 42:19 Future Directions for Misplay --------------------------------------- Matej Lancaric User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant ⁠https://lancaric.me Felix Braberg Ad monetization consultant ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com Jakub Remiar Game design consultant ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar --------------------------------------- Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it! Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple! Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me