This is one of the most operationally revealing episodes we’ve recorded. This episode is not about short drama. Holywater isn’t competing with games or streaming platforms. They’re absorbing both.
What happens when games, short drama, AI, ads, and IP collide?
In this episode, we sit down with Bigdan Nesvit from Holywater to unpack how the next generation of mobile entertainment is being built.
Topics covered:
How interactive stories evolved into AI-generated shows
Why most revenue sits outside the App Store
How studios use short drama to test IP
Why ads don’t kill retention
How Holy Water ships 15,000 creatives per month
Why shows are built as marketing assets
How games and short drama will merge
This is one of the most operationally revealing episodes we’ve recorded. JAWS DROPPED!
Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop
---------------------------------------
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
Special guest: Bogdan Nesvit
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bogdannesvit/
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
00:00 — epic intro
03:00 — From interactive stories to short drama
07:30 — Where the money really comes from
12:10 — Content quantity vs production economics
18:30 — AI-generated shows explained
24:10 — Ads, retention & monetization reality
31:00 — Creatives at insane scale (15k/month)
38:30 — Games × short drama convergence
46:10 — 2026 vision & what breaks next
54:30 — Final takeaways
---------------------------------------
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
Love & Deep Space celebrates its 2nd anniversary with a massive royal-themed update, CD Projekt sells GOG back to its co-founder, Meta acquires AI startup Manus, Com2uS urges studios to take bigger creative risks, and Gamebyte raises $1M for AI game creation tools.
This week connects live-ops spectacle, founder-led platform resets, and Big Tech’s AI consolidation into one clear story about where gaming is headed in 2026.
What we cover
• Love & Deep Space Version 5.0 anniversary
• Why live-ops are becoming cultural events
• CD Projekt selling GOG back to its founder
• Meta acquiring Manus AI
• Com2uS pushing cross-media IP
• Gamebyte’s AI game creation funding
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: 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 — Love & Deep Space anniversary madness
01:45 — Live-ops as global IP events
03:10 — CD Projekt sells GOG back to founder
04:40 — Why this GOG deal actually matters
05:45 — Meta acquires Manus AI
07:05 — Com2uS calls for creative risk
07:10 — Gamebyte raises $1M for AI game tools
---------------------------------------
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 Game Radar episode, we revisit dozens of games reviewed in 2025 and check what actually happened to them. Most didn’t fail; they decayed. A few refused to die. And one game completely broke the curve. This is a brutal, data-backed look at what survives in mobile gaming.
What you’ll learn
• Why most games decay instead of dying
• The difference between zombies and cockroaches
• Why ad-only games hit revenue ceilings
• How hybrid monetization keeps games alive
• Why UA quality beats game design
• How Tasty Travels took over the merge category
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
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
00:00 — What Game Radar actually measures
02:10 — The podcast curse explained
05:00 — Zombies vs cockroaches
08:40 — Why ad-only games cap out
11:30 — Hybrid monetization survivors
14:10 — UA quality beats game design
17:20 — Tasty Travels breaks the radar
21:00 — Merge category reality check
25:00 — Elixirs of youth in mobile
29:10 — What studios should copy
32:10 — Final radar takeaways
---------------------------------------
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 covers one of the least sexy but most dangerous blind spots in mobile ad monetization:
If you don’t actively control what ads appear in your game,
your retention is being taxed without you noticing.
Felix breaks down how creative & category blocking really works across networks and why most publishers misunderstand it.
Key truths from the episode:
Blocking is mostly reactive, not proactive
Mediation is not a global kill switch — you must block ads on every network
Category blocking alone is never enough
Some networks give full control, others give almost none
Aggressive end cards silently kill retention
Revenue loss from cleaner ads is much smaller than people fear (~12%)
Having a centralized block list is a massive operational advantage
“Parity” is the only language networks respect when negotiating ad formats
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: 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
00:00 — Why ad quality quietly kills retention
01:45 — Why blocking is mostly reactive
03:30 — Category blocking: what it actually solves
05:40 — Why category blocking is never enough
07:20 — Mediation myth: why ads aren’t blocked globally
09:40 — Why you need a centralized block list
12:00 — Network-by-network control differences
14:40 — Aggressive end cards & hidden retention damage
17:30 — Revenue trade-offs (the real numbers)
18:45 — Final takeaway
---------------------------------------
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 lay out our 2026 predictions for mobile gaming - from ad monetization ceilings and creative stealing to web-to-app onboarding, roguelite growth, and AI’s real impact on UA. No hype. Just incentives.
What we cover
• $3M/day ad-monetized games
• Why creative stealing will go mainstream
• Which genres are about to be hijacked
• Block Blast vs Free Fire DAU fight
• Web → App onboarding for games
• Playables as scaling templates
• The next roguelite wave
• Why AI hits marketing first
Key takeaway
2026 won’t reward originality - it will reward efficiency at scale.
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
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
00:00 — Why predictions usually suck
03:10 — $3M ad-revenue day prediction
07:40 — Black Friday eCPMs explained
10:30 — Creative stealing goes mainstream
14:00 — Hijacking organic genres (Solitaire → Runners)
18:40 — Block Blast vs Free Fire DAU war
22:40 — Web → App onboarding for games
28:30 — Playables as scaling templates
33:30 — Roguelites as next growth genre
38:10 — AI impact: marketing vs game design
45:00 — Open-source AI & creative quality leap
51:30 — Final reflections & 2026 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
OpenAI launches an app store inside ChatGPT, AI demand explodes RAM prices by 200%, Valve kills the cheapest Steam Deck, and Netflix keeps pushing deeper into gaming. This week’s news shows how AI is now directly reshaping gaming platforms, hardware economics, and distribution.
What we cover:
• OpenAI’s new GPT App Directory
• Monetization and games inside ChatGPT
• Why AI demand broke the RAM market
• Why consoles and Steam Deck prices are rising
• Micron exiting consumer memory
• Netflix acquires Ready Player Me
• Warner Bros deal still unresolved
• Tencent vs Sony settlement
• Game Awards viewership growth
• Cozy PC hits inspiring mobile
• League of Legends roadmap
• EA acquisition moves forward
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: 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
0:00 — OpenAI turns ChatGPT into a platform
01:15 — Apps, monetization & why this matters for games
02:40 — AI demand breaks the RAM market
03:55 — Why gaming hardware pays the price
05:05 — Steam Deck price jump explained
06:10 — Netflix doubles down on gaming & avatars
07:15 — Industry quick hits (Tencent, Game Awards, cozy games)
08:30 — What this means for gaming in 2026
09:10 — Final takeaway
---------------------------------------
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 Christmas Special episode, we review 136 AI-generated mobile game creatives and break down the real state of AI in UA. Fake people are now nearly indistinguishable from real UGC, art styles can be swapped instantly, and “good enough” quality is all that matters. This is not future talk — this is what’s scaling right now.
What you’ll learn
• Why fake UGC finally crossed the uncanny line
• How to spot AI (and why players don’t)
• Why “good enough” beats perfect
• How consistent AI characters are built
• Why waifus are everywhere
• How one prompt becomes 10+ creatives
• Why creative laziness is increasing
• Why King Shot remains the benchmark
• Why AI creatives will dominate 2026
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
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
00:00 — Christmas AI Creative Trends intro
03:00 — “Good enough” AI and upscaling basics
06:30 — Fake UGC: why players can’t tell anymore
10:00 — Spotting AI: physics, lighting, overlap
14:00 — Consistent characters & real AI pipelines
18:00 — King Shot’s AI leap & “no ads” messaging
23:00 — Waifu domination & style iteration
29:30 — Volume, laziness & stitched creatives
34:00 — 136 creatives later: what actually matters
38:00 — Final takeaway & 2026 prediction
---------------------------------------
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 Steam Scanner episode, Jakub breaks down the most wishlisted games on Steam right now and explains why wishlist data is one of the strongest early indicators of future hits. From co-op horror and cozy games to chore sims and Survivor-style IP plays, this episode is about spotting demand before charts do.
What you’ll learn
• Why Steam wishlists predict success
• How Donut County inspired Hole.io
• Why co-op horror keeps exploding
• Which games are perfect for mobile translation
• Why chore sims scale so well
• Why cozy games never die
• How art style impacts CPI
• Which Steam hits should not go mobile
Key takeaway
Steam isn’t just a PC platform; it’s the best early warning system for future mobile hits.
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
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 — Why Steam wishlists matter
02:10 — Donut County → Hole.io: why wishlists predict hits
05:00 — Co-op horror wishlist explosion
08:10 — Chore sims as perfect mobile candidates
11:20 — Cozy games & long-tail demand
14:10 — Art style, CPI & visual signals
16:40 — Warhammer Survivors & IP leverage
18:40 — What should (and shouldn’t) go mobile
20:20 — Final takeaways & predictions
---------------------------------------
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 episode, we break down why modern mobile UA is no longer won by great ideas, but by systems that can ship hundreds or thousands of creatives every month. With real data, real examples, and hard truths, this is a deep dive into the creative arms race dominating mobile games.
What you’ll learn
• Why creative velocity beats creative talent
• Why “new creatives in last 30 days” predicts scale
• How games produce 23,000 creatives per month
• How Meta allocates traffic to new uploads
• Why testing frameworks break at scale
• Why CEOs underinvest in creative production
• How one hit creative can change everything
• Why UA financing matters more than ever
Key takeaway
If you can’t ship fast, you can’t win, no matter how good your ideas are.
Improve your creatives: https://payhip.com/b/tu4nk
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
Special guest: Ridzki Syahputera/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ridzkisyahputera/
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
00:00 — Why creative talent no longer wins
04:10 — The real bottleneck: creative velocity
08:10 — Meta’s algorithm & why new creatives get boosted
12:40 — How games ship 23,000 creatives per month
18:30 — Why testing frameworks fail at scale
23:55 — Data proof: revenue vs creative volume
29:45 — Why CEOs don’t understand creative costs
34:20 — The myth of Pareto creatives
38:10 — Financing the creative arms race
41:20 — Final takeaway
---------------------------------------
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 week in mobile gaming and entertainment:
Unity risks another developer revolt with a new Enterprise fee, Warner Bros rejects a $108B Paramount bid in favor of Netflix, and Sensor Tower data shows casino, 4X and Solitaire hybrids dominating both revenue and downloads.
What we cover:
• Unity’s new Enterprise Minimum Commitment Program
• Why developers are calling it “blackmail”
• How much Unity may charge top studios ($250k–$2M/year)
• Netflix vs Paramount: who controls Warner Bros
• Why streaming platforms now dictate entertainment power
• US vs Global IAP revenue differences
• Why 4X dominates globally
• Why Solitaire & hybrid mashups are exploding in downloads
• DAU charts that reveal ad-monetization giants
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
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 — Unity Enterprise fee backlash
03:30 — Unity’s broken incentives
05:20 — Netflix vs Paramount for Warner Bros
07:30 — US revenue weather
09:00 — Global trends & DAU 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
---------------------------------------
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 pure creative trend reality check for November 2025.
The big truth that runs through the entire discussion:
Players don’t care. Platforms don’t care. Only performance matters.
Across dozens of examples, the episode shows how AI, trend theft, playable abuse, fake ads, and extreme creative volume have become the default winning strategy.
Key themes:
King Shot is no longer a game - it’s a creative genre
AI-generated creatives are now indistinguishable from real UGC
Creative success = copying what’s scaling right now
Playables no longer need to match gameplay - they need to match trends
Century Games-level volume is becoming the new minimum bar
Ethics, originality, and “gameplay match” arguments are effectively dead
This episode is less about what’s trending and more about why the rules changed.
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
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
00:00 — Intro, Christmas chaos & why nobody cares
04:00 — Golden Goblins & King Shot becoming a genre
09:00 — AI creatives reach “can’t tell anymore” level
14:30 — JigSolitaire & Solitaire playables hijacking UA
19:30 — Fake ads, gross hooks & emotional manipulation
25:30 — Century Games creative volume insanity
31:30 — The real meta: steal fast, iterate faster, ship more
---------------------------------------
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 episode of Two & a Half Gamers, Felix, Jakub, Jim Payne and Dan Sack go deep on the future of mobile ad monetization. From MoPub to MAX to CloudX, this conversation explains why mediation is outdated, why publishers are trapped in black boxes, and how AI-driven supply-side tools can finally put control back in publishers’ hands.
What you’ll learn
• Why classic mobile mediation is a legacy workaround
• How mobile ads differ fundamentally from desktop advertising
• Why publishers can’t see or trust most auctions today
• What “monetization as code” actually means
• How AI agents can automate pricing & floor optimization
• Why fair, inspectable auctions matter
• Why retention-focused publishers are underserved
• Who CloudX is built for (and who it’s not)
https://www.cloudx.io/
Special guests:
Jim Payne https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpayne/
Dan Sack https://www.linkedin.com/in/dansack/
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
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 — Why mobile mediation is broken
08:20 — Publisher-first philosophy
16:55 — AI agents & monetization as code
24:10 — Auction transparency & trust
33:30 — Who wins in the next era
---------------------------------------
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
JigSolitaire might be the most deceptive (and brilliant) ad-monetized puzzle game of 2025.
Zero solitaire.
Full jigsaw.
11M downloads.
2.3M DAU.
$0 IAP.
$130k–$150k/day in ads.
We break down how Gaming Cat pulled it off.
What you’ll learn
• Why this “Solitaire” game contains no solitaire
• How the jigsaw core is polished enough to scale
• Why auto-fuse, auto-switch & level pacing matter
• How banners + interstitials = $100k/day
• Why the game’s UA is pure bait-and-switch genius
• Why the lack of creatives is shocking
• Why AppLovin upload-only is printing money
• How this scales in 2025’s ad econ
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
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-3bckldvr8-8PXvzciMWdheOzED9hq0SA
Chapters
00:00 — JigSolitaire intro
03:00 — Gameplay & fusing
05:40 — Monetization
09:40 — Daily challenge & albums
15:00 — UA, creatives & scaling
---------------------------------------
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 week’s episode breaks down the biggest global entertainment + gaming business stories: Netflix vs Paramount fighting over Warner Bros, Disney investing $1B into OpenAI, Duolingo partnering with Genshin, Pokémon TCG’s $1B year, Activision slowing CoD, Merge Mayor’s real AI use cases, Rockstar layoffs, Meta abandoning the Metaverse, and Google bringing Gemini to ads.
What you’ll learn
• Why Warner Bros could reshape streaming power
• Why Paramount’s hostile $108B bid might win
• Why Netflix still has no gaming strategy
• Why Disney opening 200 IPs to OpenAI is historic
• Duolingo’s shift from learning → gamified reward engine
• Pokémon TCG’s billion-dollar year
• Why CoD is slowing down releases
• How Merge Mayor actually uses AI the right way
• Rockstar’s union conflict
• Meta’s $70B metaverse collapse
• Google Gemini for ads (2026)
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: 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 — WB bidding war
04:20 — Disney × OpenAI
08:10 — Duolingo + Pokémon TCG
12:45 — Activision + AI
17:30 — Rockstar layoffs, Meta cuts, Google 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
---------------------------------------
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
Sunday City looks like GTA… but it’s actually one of the most brilliant social casino reveals of 2025.
In this episode, we break down how Kefir built a perfect illusion onboarding, why the casino core is so polished, why the LiveOps/meta is shockingly advanced, and what the studio must fix (creatives!) to scale into the next Top Tycoon-level monster.
What you’ll learn
• Why the GTA illusion onboarding is top-3 of the year
• How Sunday City hides → reveals → embraces its casino core
• Why this is Social Casino 3.0, not a clone
• LiveOps structure: yoga, cruise ship, treasure digging, Wheel of Wonders
• Why albums, star upgrades, and idle chips matter
• What Kefir got right — and wrong — about creatives
• Why they need 2× the creative output to compete with Chinese giants
💡 KEY TAKEAWAY
Sunday City isn’t just clever — it’s a genre evolution.
The next wave of Social Casino is illusion → reveal → retention.
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
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 — Kefir intro & Sunday City overview
04:30 — GTA illusion → casino reveal
10:20 — Core loop breakdown
17:40 — Social Casino 3.0 meta
27:30 — Creative analysis & UA
---------------------------------------
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
Marketability tests don’t work the way most studios think. CTR ≠ CPI. Clickers ≠ players.
In this episode, Matej tears down the biggest misconceptions about testing ideas, shows why personas don’t matter in 2025, and walks step-by-step through the exact CPI test setup he uses for real market validation.
What you’ll learn
• Why CTR tests are misleading and often pointless
• How CPI tests simulate the real user funnel
• Why personas are outdated and concepts rule everything
• When to use APK vs landing page
• How to set up Meta campaigns correctly
• Why estimated CPI is usually 1.5–2× off the real CPI
• What to do when there’s no clear winner
• How to interpret CPI results properly
Key takeaway
If you're not running CPI tests, you're not testing. Everything else is noise.
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
Podcast:
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 — Why marketability tests are dead
03:40 — Personas vs concepts
06:10 — CTR tests are misleading
08:20 — CPI tests: real install flow
15:50 — Live Meta setup
---------------------------------------
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 ultra-special episode, Chip Thurston (FastSpring) returns to break down the current reality of D2C - what’s allowed today, what’s changing, and why publishers need to act immediately.
We unpack the Epic–Google settlement, the new fee structure, what’s enforceable (and what probably isn’t), and why Japan's new regulation on December 18 will reshape global payments.
What you’ll learn
• Why iOS and Android steering IS legal right now
• Why publishers shouldn’t wait for “final clarity”
• How to use D2C purchase data to optimize UA
• How attribution to webshops actually works
• The truth about Google’s 20% vs 9% fee categories
• Why the judge is skeptical of the Google–Epic settlement
• How social steering, landing pages, and Discord avoid fees
• Why Japan’s new law will supercharge D2C
• The strategic window publishers must seize NOW
Key takeaway
The publishers who act NOW - not when rules are “final” will own the highest-value customers for years.
Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop
---------------------------------------
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
Chip Thurston: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thurstonchip/
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
00:00 — The real state of D2C: iOS + Android steering is live now
06:30 — Why publishers hesitate, and why that’s a huge mistake
09:40 — The business value of D2C: data, UA optimization, retention
13:20 — Epic–Google settlement explained: timelines, confusion, loopholes
26:00 — The future: fees, global laws, Japan, and why the window won’t last
---------------------------------------
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
Felix covers this week’s biggest gaming business headlines: Saudi Arabia’s PIF slowing investments, King Shot surpassing $542M in revenue, AppLovin gaining ground on iOS, remarketing spikes, and Sensor Tower’s November revenue & DAU charts.
What you’ll learn
• Why PIF’s cash slowdown could freeze gaming M&A
• King Shot hits $542M in 9 months + $4.1M best day
• Apple Ads losing share to AppLovin
• Android still ruled by Google Ads
• Remarketing up 20% YoY as CPIs climb
• Top revenue games (Last War, Monopoly GO, Royal Match…)
• Top DAU apps (Roblox, Free Fire, Block Blast…)
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: 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 — PIF slows investments → gaming M&A winter
03:00 — King Shot hits $542M → 4X meta dominance
06:10 — AppsFlyer Index: AppLovin rises, remarketing up 20%
08:50 — Monthly revenue rankings (Last War, Monopoly GO, King Shot…)
10:20 — DAU rankings + final takeaways
---------------------------------------
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 special episode, we sit down with Supersonic to break down Unravel Master - the puzzle/hybrid hit using streak mechanics, x-ray boosts, early difficulty personalization, and an innovative hybrid casual game.
We cover design, monetization, UA, creatives, AI usage, and how Supersonic built a category-leading title with 1000+ creatives.
What you’ll learn
• How the X-ray streak mechanic works (and why it converts so well)
• Why Chinese puzzle design uses early difficulty spikes
• How Supersonic balanced hybrid monetization toward IAP
• Why revive screens were intentionally not ad-driven
• How 1000 creatives → pig characters → ASMR → AI weaving boosted UA
• Why interstitials are avoided early and tested later
• How hybrid-casual studios build teams + workflows
• The pressure of clones and how to stay ahead with theme timing
Key takeaway
Unravel Master succeeds because it blends the best of hypercasual CPI instincts with deep puzzle design, early monetization pressure points, and industrial-grade creative iteration.
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: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric
Special guests:
Paz Shabtai
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paz-shabtai-59588b76/
David Wang
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-wang-38579a88/
Contact Supersonic:
https://supersonic.com/submit-your-game/
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 — Unravel Master overview & Supersonic intro
04:20 — X-Ray Streak mechanic & difficulty personalization
10:10 — Monetization strategy: IAP-first hybrid + boosters
18:00 — UA & Creatives: pig magic, AI, ASMR & 1000 creatives
26:10 — Global scaling, clones, meta debates & final 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
Roguelites have dominated mobile and Steam for three years — Survivor IO, Vampire Survivors, Habi’s new games, and a wave of Steam hits. But the genre is hitting a wall: every run resets too much, and long-term progression is stuck in 2018.
In this solo episode, Jakub breaks down the next evolution of the roguelite genre: the imprint system — a mechanic where each run becomes a permanent resource.
What you’ll learn
• Why traditional roguelites suffer from harsh resets
• How Uma Musume solved the progression problem with “run → character” imprints
• How Chaos Zero Nightmare created a more accessible imprint system
• Why deckbuilders (Slay the Spire-style) handle imprints perfectly
• Why MegaBong, Bonk roguelites, and Ball X-Pit are missing the key feature
• How imprint systems increase retention, investment, and buildcraft
• Why the next Western roguelite hit will use this mechanic
• Why Habi, Supercell, and 4X devs will adopt it in 2026
Key takeaway
The future of roguelites is simple: your best run should never die — it should become your next strongest asset.
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: 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 — The core problem with roguelites (resets ruin progression)
03:10 — Uma Musume: the first full-feature imprint system
08:20 — Chaos Zero Nightmare: the streamlined imprint evolution
13:10 — Steam roguelites (MegaBong, Ball X-Pit): deep innovation but missing imprint save
18:00 — The future: imprint systems will redefine mobile roguelites
---------------------------------------
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