D2C Trends 2026: Steering is still allowed in the US. No fees (for now). But that window is closing. In this episode, we sit down with Chip Thurston from FastSpring to break down:

The current state of D2C in the US

Japan’s 15–20% platform fees

Brazil joining the party

Apple’s 7-day attribution window

Google’s 24-hour window

Why this might actually increase D2C adoption

How to treat web shops like e-commerce brands

Why hybrid monetization is the real play

This isn’t theory.

This is how publishers are thinking about 2026.

🧠 Key Takeaways

The no-fee US window won’t last forever

Japan and Brazil are the blueprint

Platform fees don’t kill D2C — they mature it

Treat web shop CAC like paid UA

Mid-core and social casino win differently

Email + community = long-term margin

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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.

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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: 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

Chapters

00:00 – The D2C Jet Fuel Moment

02:30 – The US No-Fee Steering Window

05:00 – Japan’s 15–20% Platform Fees

08:00 – The 24h vs 7-Day Attribution Problem

11:00 – Web Shop as Customer Acquisition Cost

14:00 – Segmenting Payers Smartly

18:00 – Why Hybrid Monetization Wins

22:00 – Mid-Core vs Social Casino D2C

26:00 – When Should You Launch a Web Shop?

30:00 – Brazil & Global Regulation Trends

34:00 – The Future of Direct-to-Consumer

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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

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