In mobile, where budgets are tight and timelines even tighter, catching friction early in development can save you millions — and keep your game out of the app store graveyard. But what does effective playtesting actually look like? And how do you turn player feedback into real, actionable improvements?

That’s exactly what PlaytestCloud set out to answer in their first-of-its-kind report, Steal This Strategy.

Joining Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow this week is Jack Dunne, VP of Research Operations at PlaytestCloud, along with John Wright, gaming consultant and former VP of Mobile at Kwalee. They break down three core tactics top-performing studios use to turn testing into a serious competitive advantage and the #1 action step studios can take today to get started.

Jack Dunne - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacka-dunne/

PlaytestCloud - https://www.playtestcloud.com/

John Wright - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwright1987/

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

02:49 - 300-mile treks & strength training

05:07 - Key findings & methodology

10:30 - Saving money & ugly baby syndrome

14:35 - Successful studios' testing habits

17:35 - #1 Testing often

25:09 - #2 Testing differently 

28:54 - #3 Testing competitors' games

37:36 - What else can you test?

41:27 - Testing cross-platform and webstores

43:06 - Next direction for playtesting

45:39 - #1 action item

47:51 - Favourite games Q&A

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

** Let's Connect **

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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

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest games industry news on the Week in Mobile Games Podcast.

On this special episode, we dive into the launch details of the Nintendo Switch 2, discussing the games, features and that $450 price point.

We also cover Ubisoft and Tencent's $1.25 billion deal to prop up the publisher's leadership, France's ATT fine for Apple, and yet another short-seller report ruining AppLovin's day.

** Let's Connect **

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

👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/

👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz

👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz

👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com

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

👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/

👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3tbjUxVkG17CuHHljMblfmUC3DZ6gNAzV8qiz8bAALUXSvQ/viewform

👉🏻 Join the AI Gamechangers newsletter - https://aigamechangers.substack.com

What if creative production in games worked more like a film set — flexible, efficient, and built around doing your best work when it’s needed most? That’s the pitch behind creative as a service, and this week’s guest, Casey Dickinson, CEO of SuperFaction, is making a strong case for it.In this episode, Casey lays out how the just-in-time model helps studios bring in external talent at exactly the right moment — freeing up internal teams, reducing idle time, and allowing creatives to actually stay creative. It’s a shift that makes high-quality output more sustainable, especially for indie studios that often lack the bandwidth for LiveOps, seasonal campaigns, or ongoing content production.He also dives into the overlooked opportunity of working with niche IP — showing that you don’t need a Marvel-sized license to build reach and monetization. If you’re rethinking how your studio builds, scales, or survives in 2025, this conversation is full of ideas worth stealing.Casey Dickinson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseydickinson/SuperFaction - https://superfaction.com/CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro02:53 - Surfing through the games industry04:50 Helping indies ride the waves10:16 - Light-touch publishing16:26 - "Just in time" models22:33 - IP collabs done right25:38 - Campaign launch checklist27:25 - Stop being so precious with data29:22 - Effective long-term partnerships33:34 - Efficiency steps for small studios37:06 - 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

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple, Steel Media CEO Chris James and COO Dave Bradley round up their final thoughts on GDC 2025.

On this episode, they discuss:

• A quieter year and what that means for the conference and games industry at large.
• AI’s big presence without the big announcements.
• Who was and wasn’t on the show floor.
• Cancelled flights and turbulence for British travellers.

** Let's Connect **

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

👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/

👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz

👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz

👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com

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

👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/

👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3tbjUxVkG17CuHHljMblfmUC3DZ6gNAzV8qiz8bAALUXSvQ/viewform👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco (March 17th to 18th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/

👉🏻 Five takeaways from GDC 2025 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/five-takeaways-from-gdc-2025-a-quieter-year-ai-was-the-big-trend-and-the-engine-wars-go-silent-on-the-show-floor/

👉🏻 Join the AI Gamechangers newsletter - https://aigamechangers.substack.com

When MobilityWare reorganized its teams and reimagined its creative strategy, the result wasn’t just a fresh perspective—it delivered a 21% boost in CTR, powered by the tools and insights of key partners InMobi and AppsFlyer. That transformation didn’t happen in isolation; it was the product of smart collaboration, bold experimentation, and a laser focus on performance. 

We turned this episode of the PocketGamer Podcast into a masterclass in all three. Joining our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, are Chris Kim, the UA mastermind behind MobilityWare's transformation, Adam Smart, AppsFlyer's Global Director of Product - Gaming and master of measurement, and Dharak Desai, the VP of Performance for North America & EMEA at InMobi Advertising, where he's written the playbook on a privacy-first growth strategy. Listen and learn from this group of unmatched UA experts as they dive into MobilityWare's success story, noting the tactics and tools that revealed a 13.5% drop in eCPI and a 38% increase in US-based iOS user growth for the studio—while offering smaller studios advice on standing out and mastering discoverability on a shoestring budget.

Chris Kim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjkim213/

MobilityWare - https://www.mobilityware.com/

Adam Smart - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-smart/

AppsFlyer - https://www.appsflyer.com/

Dharak Desai - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dharak-desai-a3034231/

InMobi Advertising - https://advertising.inmobi.com/

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

03:53 - MobilityWare challenges post-ATT

06:06 - A dramatic restructuring

08:00 - InMobi & AppsFlyer partnerships

10:00 - Balancing UA and retention

11:47 - InMobi's role

18:26 - AppsFlyer's SSOT

24:45 - Lessons in getting back on track

27:20 - MobilityWare's three incrementality tests

30:56 - Standing out on a shoestring budget

34:43 - Rapid fire cheatsheet

38:32 - Favourite games Q&A

Hugo Obi, Founder of the Lagos-based Pan-African studio Maliyo Games, joins hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow on this episode of the Pocketgamer.biz Podcast to share how he is driving the growth of Africa’s indie game development sector. While much of the region’s gaming revenue still comes from Western-made titles, Hugo is actively changing that by building a thriving ecosystem of African studios creating games rooted in local culture and folklore. He dives into Maliyo’s major initiatives, including insights from the 2025 Africa Games Industry Report, the GameUp Africa talent accelerator in partnership with Google, and Maliyo’s recent collaboration with Disney on Iwájú: Rising Chef.

Hugo Obi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugoobi/?originalSubdomain=ng

Maliyo Games - https://www.maliyo.com/

GameUp Africa - https://gameupafrica.com/

2025 Africa Games Industry - https://africagamesreport.com/

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

02:20 - An abnormal start 

04:48 - Telling African stories

10:11 - Popular games in Africa

11:20 - 2025 Africa Games Industry Report

19:22 - Building an industry ecosystem

22:18 - Making Disney Iwaju: Rising Chef

27:08 - Safari City

31:56 - A popular game is a global game

35:10 - Comparing studios to car manufacturers 

37:04 - GameUp Africa

42:24 - Favourite games Q&A

In an era where discovery is harder than ever, community isn’t just important—it’s the deciding factor of your game's success. The usual approach? Build the game first, then work to attract the right audience. But Fateless Games followed a different path. They started as HH Gaming—a gaming content creation and community focused on mobile hero collector RPGs, particularly Raid: Shadow Legends—Simon Lockerby, which grew to 11M+ page views and 400K+ members before deciding to create their own game, Godforge.Raising $6M in just 10 weeks, the team partnered with ex-Riot, Microsoft, and EA talent to bring their vision to life—and the beta waitlist is already open.In this episode of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast, Peggy Anne Salz sits down with Co-Founder Simon Lockerby, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Dan Francis, and Co-Founder & Game Director Hisham Saleh to discuss how they leveraged their community, turned engagement into momentum, and built a studio where players are part of the journey from day one.Simon Lockerby - https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-lockerby/Dan Francis - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-francis/Hisham Saleh - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishamsaleh/Fateless Games - https://www.fateless.gg/HH Gaming - https://hellhades.com/CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro 00:40 - How Fateless started10:41 - The year of the true fan15:00 - Gearing up for the launch 17:37 - Supporting content creators22:42 - Cashing in on the k factor26:45 - Cultivating culture and talent33:55 - Creating the next HH Gaming group

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news on the Week in Mobile Games podcast.

On this episode, we:

• Analyse Scopely’s $3.5 billion acquisition of Niantic’s games business (check out our Pocket Gamer Reacts video for more insights).

• Highlight the recent flurry of investment news stories that could signal a more positive future for the games industry.

• Get insights on Sonic Rumble’s development, delay and IP partnership potential.

• Talk about whether alternative app stores are really capitalising on the opportunity to disrupt the App Store and Google Play.

• Discuss the news that France’s regulator wants to reverse ATT(!).

** Let's Connect **

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

👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/

👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz

👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz

👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com

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

👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/

👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3tbjUxVkG17CuHHljMblfmUC3DZ6gNAzV8qiz8bAALUXSvQ/viewform👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco (March 17th to 18th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/

👉🏻 The Pocket Gamer Party San Francisco 2025 (March 17th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/pocket-gamer-party/

👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Reacts: Breaking down Scopely's blockbuster $3.5bn deal for Niantic's games business - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPNzfeGlJ5E

👉🏻Behind the scenes of Sonic Rumble's delay, development and the Rovio x Sega partnership - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/rovios-veli-kiviaho-talks-features-worth-delaying-for-sonic-rumbles-ip-collabs-and-global-launch-goals/

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news on the Week in Mobile Games podcast.

On this episode, we discuss:

• Tripledot’s surprise impending acquisition of AppLovin’s games business.
• Ludia’s plans for M&A and hiring spree after its exit from Jam City.
• The management shake up at RuneScape developer Jagex as CEO Phil Mansell steps down and CVC’s Jon Bellamy steps in.
• Goddess of Victory: Nikke’s induction into the billion-dollar club on mobile.
• Pokémon Day’s big announcements and why Pokémon Champions could be the next big thing.
• Supercell acts like a normal company as Lasse Seppänen is named Supercell London GM.

** Let's Connect **

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

👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/

👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz

👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz

👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com

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

👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/

👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3tbjUxVkG17CuHHljMblfmUC3DZ6gNAzV8qiz8bAALUXSvQ/viewform👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco (March 17th to 18th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/

👉🏻 The Pocket Gamer Party San Francisco 2025 (March 17th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/pocket-gamer-party/

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and Steel Media CEO Chris James discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.

On this episode, we discuss:

• AppLovin vs. short-sellers: We discuss the claims, AppLovin's response and what it all means for the company and the wider advertising market.
• Is the industry seeing more investment? We look at where the money is flowing as new startups emerge.
• Developer Trends Survey takeaways: We analyse our survey report and discuss the big trends right now.
• As the Amazon App Store closes on Android and Epic Games Store third-party revenue is down (through Epic Payments), we discuss the future of alternative app stores and whether they can break through.
• Supercell has revealed its latest title: Boat Game. So naturally, we had to talk about it and Supercell's new games strategy.

** Let's Connect **

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

👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/

👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz

👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz

👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com

👉🏻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/

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

👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3tbjUxVkG17CuHHljMblfmUC3DZ6gNAzV8qiz8bAALUXSvQ/viewform👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco (March 17th to 18th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/

👉🏻 The Pocket Gamer Party San Francisco 2025 (March 17th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/pocket-gamer-party/