Deconstructor of Fun

In this Deconstructor of Fun podcast, Mishka Katkoff sits down with three of the sharpest minds in growth: Josh Chandley (Wildcard Games), Warren Woodward (Uptick), and Paul Bowen (StreamElements) to dissect the state of user acquisition in 2025.

STATE OF CREATIVES Report: https://tinyurl.com/393d9rum

Chapters:

02:00 Is UA Dead or Just Evolved?

07:00 The Real Impact of IDFA Deprecation

13:00 Time Spent vs Installs: The New Market Reality

18:00 AppLovin: Apex Predator of Ad Tech

27:00 Attribution Fraud and Click Link Hijacking

34:00 Why AppLovin Keeps Winning

39:00 Can Unity’s Vector Compete?

48:00 Unity’s Strategy, PR Games & Technical Hurdles

57:00 Building a Modern Growth Org

01:06:00 Creative Production as the Last Lever

01:13:00 Fake Ads, Clickbait, and Mad Men

01:19:00 Closing Advice for Growth Teams in 2025

Miska’s usual jetset life hits a snag when he misses Kress’ Subnotica correction. Adam calls in from his cottage to lay down the law on Merge history, while Phil gushes over $500m in capital deployment. Eric details Ubisoft’s reality TV show attempt at Succession, and Jen delivers the 411 on Apple’s hypercasual attempt. The group pours one out for a very special Candy Crush anniversary.

01:58 Gaming News Highlights
02:42 Personal Updates
05:33 Remembering the Mario Lopez Candy Crush Show
07:52 Subnautica and Crafton Legal Drama
10:37 App Charge Sponsorship and Insights
14:40 Ubisoft Earnings and Family Drama
22:44 Battlefield 6 Trailer and Expectations
24:57 Call of Duty's Tech Debt and Battlefield's Response
26:24 Battlefield 6 Release Date and Editions Leak
28:31 Challenges and Risks for Battlefield 6
38:03 Supervi's Full Launch and Market Challenges
40:05 Splitgate 2's Struggles and Relaunch
43:09 Wild Gate's Launch and Marketing Issues
46:58 Apple's Emoji-Based Puzzle Game
49:39 Conclusion and Sign-Off

From crying alone in Bangalore to panic attacks at Gamescom, this is a brutally real look at what it actually costs to chase a vision.

Mishka Katkoff (Deconstructor of Fun) and Joseph Kim (Lila Games) reunite for the rawest, most honest founder-to-founder conversation you’ll hear this year. They dive deep into the sacrifices, suffering, and stress of building companies from scratch, away from the LinkedIn highlight reels.

5:00 – Suffering vs. Sacrifice: Is Work Just Avoidance?

10:45 – Why Founders Trade Family for Vision

15:30 – Would You Let Your Kids Follow Your Path?

20:00 – Lessons from Building (and Breaking) a Startup

27:30 – The #1 Mistake Founders Make: The Team

31:50 – Fractional Work, Focus, and Saying No

36:30 – Redefining Success Without Losing Yourself

41:00 – What a Billion-Dollar Exit Really Means

47:15 – How We’ll Judge Ourselves on Our Deathbeds

52:00 – Life in Phases: When to Grind, When to Let Go

56:00 – AI, Ambition, and the New Have vs. Have-Nots

1:02:00 – The Hidden Cost: Panic Attacks, Crying, and Total Burnout

1:12:00 – What’s Next for Mishka and Joe

Upcoming events:

Whiskey Tasting: https://event.appsflyer.com/gamescom2025/AF

Heroic Party:

https://lu.ma/tjkk5r8k

The crew kicks things off by breaking down Roblox’s bold new IP licensing platform—will it unlock the next Pokémon or just spin up another corporate side quest?

Then it’s off to Turkey for a pulse check on one of mobile gaming’s fastest-evolving markets, followed by a surprise breakout story from France that’s punching way above its weight class.

We rewind the clock on Kixeye to understand how Kingdom Maker clawed its way back into the spotlight—just in time to shift focus to the real battlefield: user acquisition.

Moon Active and Scopely are locked in an all-out UA war, with budgets big enough to fund a small nation. Add some industry espionage, a sprinkle of aggressive cloning, and you’ve got a market where only the paranoid survive.

Oh, and yes—we’re still trying to decide if Monopoly Go is actual genius or just Coin Master in a tuxedo.

02:56 Podcast News

27:16 Roblox's New IP Licensing Platform

36:08 Turkish Mobile Game Market Insights

44:11 French Mobile Game Developer's Success

49:49 Kingdom Maker and Kixeye's History

58:42 Moon Active vs. Scopely: The UA War

59:21 Industry Espionage and Market Competition

01:01:16 Monopoly Go and Coin Master Strategies

01:05:53 Final Thoughts on Market Strategies

At MAU Vegas, Jen Donahoe sits down with Ben Webley, CMO of Scopely, to unpack the strategies behind Monopoly GO!’s meteoric rise. From player psychology to brand IP, virality loops to UA muscle—this conversation breaks down what really drove the biggest mobile game launch of the decade. If you’re in gaming and not taking notes on this one, you’re already behind.

Game District CEO Saad Hameed joins Michail Katkoff to tell the untold story of Pakistan’s booming gaming industry. From bootstrapped studios to billion-download success, we dive into the rise of Lahore as a serious global player, why Pakistan could be the next Turkey or Vietnam, and what’s holding the ecosystem back from its breakout moment. This is the episode you didn’t know you needed.

Connect with Saad: www.linkedin.com/in/saadhameedkh

00:00 Introduction to Game District and Saad Hameed

02:47 The Structure and Philosophy of Game District

05:41 The Rise of Gaming Studios in Pakistan

08:46 Challenges and Opportunities in the Pakistani Gaming Ecosystem

11:30 The Role of Education and Talent Development

14:19 Venture Capital and Funding Challenges

17:22 Monetization Strategies and Market Focus

20:11 Live Operations and Competitive Landscape

30:36 Competitive Advantages of Pakistan's Gaming Ecosystem

32:58 Bottlenecks and Growth Drivers in Pakistan's Gaming Industry

40:56 Work Culture and Entrepreneurial Mindset in Pakistan

45:45 Pakistan's Unique Strengths in the Gaming Market

52:57 Pathways to Breakout Success for Pakistan's Gaming Industry

We kick things off with a no-holds-barred Supercell rant before diving into the hottest industry stories—from Xbox Game Pass profitability to Apple’s latest regulatory headache in the EU. We break down Supercell’s shifting strategy, IPO rumors, and what it all signals for the wider market.

The crew also explores Gen Z’s changing spending habits, mobile monetization trends, and why Merge games might be due for a second wind. Plus: Mecha Break’s breakout moment, studio culture shifts, and where smart money is going in games right now.

Heroic Gamescom Party > https://lu.ma/tjkk5r8k

Chapters:

01:57 Supercell Rant

06:03 Xbox Game Pass Profitability Debate

10:21 Apple EU Regulations and Tier System

13:31 Supercell's Strategy and IPO Speculations

21:11 Gen Z's Changing Spending Habits

24:40 Disposable Income and App Spending Trends

26:40 Gen Z Gaming Preferences

28:51 Investment and Industry News

28:59 Company Culture38:19 Merge Genre Insights

42:57 The Rise of Mecha Break

43:58 Monetization Strategies in Gaming

53:07 Conclusion and Next Week's Topics

Mishka Katkoff interviews Seth Sivak as they discuss startup culture, leadership, company values, product market fit, cultural onboarding, adaptive culture, game industry, entrepreneurship, team dynamics, and management.

They discuss the importance of company culture, how it can be shaped and influenced, and the challenges of maintaining a healthy culture as a startup scales.

Seth shares insights on cultural onboarding, the adaptability of culture, and the lessons learned from his experiences in the gaming industry. The conversation emphasizes the need for leaders to be intentional about culture and to regularly assess its impact on team dynamics and overall success.

Seth's newsletter: https://sethsivak.substack.com/

02:44Navigating Layoffs and Founding Proletariat

05:10The Importance of Culture in Startups

07:39Defining and Measuring Culture

11:38The Role of Leadership in Shaping Culture

14:21Cultural Tools and Their Impact

18:47Iterating on Culture as a Product

21:16Conclusion and Key Takeaways

26:52Navigating Work-Life Balance in Startups

29:43Cultural Recognition and Team Dynamics

34:03Defining Good vs. Bad Company Culture

38:10The Challenges of Setting Cultural Boundaries

42:25Navigating Social Issues and Company Culture

46:51Onboarding and Cultural Integration in Growing Teams

49:40Cultural Onboarding and Integration

51:30The Art of Copying Culture

53:48Learning from Successful Cultures

58:01Adaptive Culture vs. Rigid Culture

01:07:03Evolving Beliefs About Culture

01:08:03The Meaning Behind Proletariat's Name

The boys-only episode talks about layoffs sweeping through top Swedish studios before diving into yet another round of Xbox layoffs. In this episode, we also cover Apple’s ongoing cat-and-mouse game with the EU’s DMA rules and unpack the critical difference between private equity and venture capital in gaming. The crew analyzes the early flop of Marvel Mystic Mayhem before talking about how Splitgate 2 is already struggling to justify its existence.

02:36 Sweden's Gaming Industry Layoffs

05:22 Gamescom Events Preview

06:13 Microsoft Layoffs and Xbox Strategy

13:29 Apple's Response to the DMA

21:59 Private Equity vs. Venture Capital in Gaming

32:41 Eve Online: Myth vs. Reality

34:02 Uma Musume Pretty Derby's US Launch

36:42 Marvel Mystic Mayhem's Struggles

42:55 Rainbow Six Siege: A Decade of Success

47:47 Splitgate 2: The Rise and Fall

56:25 The Harsh Realities of the Gaming Market

01:00:58 Up Next

In this episode, I sit down with Sophie Vo, studio founder, podcast host, and now the creator of Orin Retreats, to unpack why she walked away from the startup rat race to build something intentionally small, sustainable, and soul-aligned.

We talk about the version of success that nearly broke her, why the VC model fails most founders, and how depth, not scale, became her new metric for impact. If you’ve ever questioned the path you’re on, this conversation might just reframe what “winning” really looks like.

00:00 Redefining Success

05:47 The VC Dilemma

12:48 Navigating Co-Founder Dynamics

18:32 Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital: A Founder's Perspective

24:16 The AI Coaching Experience

29:52 Creating Human Connection in a Digital World

39:25 The Roots of Distrust Among Women

42:00 Navigating Female Networks and Support

46:45 The Importance of Self-Awareness in Leadership

52:11 The Role of Coaching in Personal Growth

56:37 Advice and Insights from the Journey