PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.

On this episode, we discuss:

• NetEase's Marvel Rivals layoffs, it's change in investment strategy and how it echoes the global strategies of Japanese publishers like DeNA and Gree in the past, and why its plans are strictly business, not political.
• The reported sale of Niantic's games business, including Pokémon Go, to Scopely, and why Savvy Games Group may be leading the charge on the deal.
• Jam City's decision to sell Ludia, three and a half years after buying the studio – which it originally aimed to do so it could finally take the publisher public.
• The Epic Game Store's big numbers reveal, how many of its new accounts are actually on mobile, and the challenges of launching a rival digital games store to a monopoly, with third-party revenue down in 2024.
• Big Fish Games' future as it halts new development to focus on live games and Aristocrat Leisure scales down investment in the company. It was only in 2018 that the developer was acquired for $990 million.
• Unity's latest financials, the new ads platform Vector that has investors excited, and why it's been the same talk for the past year.

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👉🏻Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards Winners - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/mga2024/winners/

👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/👉🏻 Everything is a games platform - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/everything-is-a-games-platform/

👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Awards 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/pocket-gamer-awards-2024-winners-revealed/

"If you don't do D2C, you're leaving money on the table." David Stelzer, President of Xsolla, is blunt and bullish about direct-to-consumer strategy in his interview with Peggy Anne Salz at Pocketgamer Connects London. He shares his impressions of the gaming industry, insights from Xsolla's latest State of Play report, and why implementing a D2C in your monetisation mix is an absolute must in 2025.David Stelzer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidstelzer/Xsolla - https://xsolla.com/State of Play 2025 - https://xsolla.com/the-xsolla-report

AI isn’t here to replace marketers—it’s here to empower them. In this week's PocketGamer podcast, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow chat with Bob Hollanders from Appier and Matej Lančarič, a UA expert known for his innovative approach, about how AI is transforming creative strategies in 2025.Matej reveals how he's using AI to generate a high volume of UGC ads on a minimal budget with impressive results while Bob urges marketers to act now. AI is more than a data-crunching tool; it’s a force multiplier for creativity. However, its impact depends on how well you direct it. So get ready to polish your prompt engineering skills because that's a big part of what decides if you lead or follow in 2025!Bob Hollanders - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-hollanders-a3b82627/Appier - https://www.appier.com/en/Matej Lančarič - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matejlancaric/Matej's website - https://lancaric.me/CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro 02:04 - Where AI is disruptive07:54 - How to make AI work for you14:59 - The right amount of data20:28 - Where to start25:55 - Achieving higher ROI31:35 - What studios consistently get wrong33:20 - What excites Bobbie & Matej the most?37:00 - Favourite games Q&A* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Let's Connect **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Peggy Anne Salz pulls Dean Day, CEO of Black Smoke Studios, aside at PGC London to learn from his playbook on extending the lifecycle of games and enhancing cross-channel play. They delve into their experiences with Stumble Guys, the strategic shift to direct-to-consumer models, and the games approaching light monetization in free-to-play games the right way.

Dean Day - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanday/Black Smoke Studios - https://www.bsstudios.co/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Let's Connect **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.

On this episode, we discuss Supercell's financials and the details on why Brawl Stars had a mega revival while Squad Busters had a lacklustre launch.

We also delve into why AppLovin is selling its games division for $900 million, talk about Unity's latest layoffs, and take a look at DeNA's epic financials following Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket's blockbuster release.

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👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz

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👉🏻Pocket Gamer Connects Speaker Submission form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoS5n-vdHu6aU-2d_rR7x1FAgewG51y3nlU1aB8RdetiKaGw/viewform

👉🏻Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards Winners - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/mga2024/winners/

👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/👉🏻 Everything is a games platform - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/everything-is-a-games-platform/

👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Awards 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/pocket-gamer-awards-2024-winners-revealed/

At PGC London, Andrew Seow, Director of Monetisation at Tripledot Studios, dropped some serious ad mon advice. From hacking auctions to boost CPMs to mixing up monetization models like a pro, 2025 is all about getting creative with how to boost the bottom line. Expect smarter segmentation, data-driven insights, and a focus on engagement that actually pays off. The secret to success? Patience, strategy, and maybe even ironing your shirt for good luck.

Andrew Seow - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-seow-54006a163/

Tripledot Studios - https://tripledotstudios.com/

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👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Arr matey! Andrew Mattingley, Founder/Director of indie studio NineZyme OÜ, sank his anchor at PGC London last week to learn more about UA and promote his studio's newest title: Tiles Tales: Pirates. In this interview, he chats with Peggy Anne Salz about embracing nostalgia to bring new energy and new users to indie games. Tune in to collect your treasure!Andrew Mattingley - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-ninezyme/?originalSubdomain=ieNineZyme OÜ - http://ninezyme.com/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Let's Connect **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Level up your next family game night! Peggy Anne Salz chats with Adam Cain, company owner, at PGC London about Pixel Playground, a brand offering immersive VR experiences for the whole family in Southport, UK. They dive into emerging technologies in the VR space, merging with mobile, and how to leverage cross-channel gameplay to get everyone in the family playing. Listen and learn!

Pixel Playground VR - https://pixelplaygroundvr.co.uk/Adam Cain - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/cainadam

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Let's Connect **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

"Gaming publishers are a long oft-overlooked opportunity for brand advertisers." This week on the PocketGamer.biz Podcast, Todd Rose, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development and Addressability at InMobi Advertising, explains how the right approach to Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) can transform compliance into real revenue—for both gaming and non-gaming advertisers. Backed by InMobi’s latest data, Todd reveals that even with minimal CMP customization, publishers can achieve a 70% opt-in rate, driving significant improvements in ad performance and revenue.

Our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, sit down with Todd and Paul Le Bas, Chief Revenue Officer at 52 Entertainment, to explore how CMPs help publishers and advertisers strike a balance between personalization, privacy, and monetization. They dive into why consent signals boost ad rates, how to fine-tune opt-in flows, and what brands need to know before hitting ‘start’ on their CMP strategy.

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

02:33 - Opt-out stats

11:18 - How to get players to opt-in

16:11 - How CMPs helps publishers

22:08 - What Paul wishes he knew

24:09 - Steps to improve opt-in rates

30:30 - First-party data retargeting successes

31:48 - One tip for implementing CMPs

33:35 - Favourite games Q&A

In 2025, gaming is no longer just about creating great games—it’s about creating thriving ecosystems. The rise of live-service models and player-driven economies means that success hinges on more than just initial downloads or launch-day hype. Studios now face a critical question: how do you keep players playing? Justin Sacks, CEO and Co-Founder of Nexus, offers a compelling answer: creator programs. These initiatives empower content creators to transform games into dynamic communities, driving retention, reactivation, and long-term growth in an industry where player loyalty is priority #1. Justin joins Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow in this episode for a candid conversation on what it takes to build and maintain a world-class creator program. The group discusses why working with content creators proves to be a fantastic tool for sustainable growth, the mistakes and challenges studios face when getting started, why traditional influencer marketing falls short and how a revenue-sharing model sets both creators and studios up for success. Listen and learn!

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

01:54 - Lessons from competitive gaming

03:05 - Why creator programs matter

09:10 - Managing creator programs

13:25 - What Nexus does

14:46 - Influencer marketing vs a creator program

19:35 - Streamer to studio designer pipeline

22:08 - Steps to setting up

28:35 - Small creators still perform

31:58 - Common challenges and mistakes

38:16 - Upcoming trends

39:25 - Favourite games Q&A

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Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event