two & a half gamers

Creative trends are getting darker, faster, and more automated.

In this Creative Trends episode, we break down how AI creatives now dominate volume, why Golden Goblins mechanics are everywhere, how celebrities are quietly replacing UGC, and why IP infringement is no longer being enforced.

We analyze Dark War’s AI-first strategy, Supercent’s creative flood, merge drama escalation, and the uncomfortable reality of what actually scales in 2026.

What we cover

• AI-generated creatives at scale

• Golden Goblins copy machine

• Celebrity ads vs AI characters

• Merge drama and moral collapse

• IP infringement in UA

• Creative cost collapse

Key takeaway

If it converts, it ships.

Everything else is optional.

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 — Intro & Creative Trends setup

01:55 — The recurring themes of this cycle

03:30 — Golden Goblins and idle dominance

05:10 — Category consolidation: idle, lumber, miner

06:45 — Early AI hooks and fake characters

08:15 — One-to-one creative copying explained

10:00 — Supercent’s volume strategy

11:45 — AI influencers and talking characters

13:30 — Celebrities quietly returning to ads

15:30 — Royal Kingdom creative pressure

17:20 — Side-view mechanics becoming standard

19:00 — AI bears, yetis, and mascots

21:00 — Dark War’s AI-first creative factory

24:40 — 80–90% AI adoption reality

26:30 — Creative cost collapse

28:00 — FastSpring D2C segment

29:30 — Merge drama escalation

31:00 — IP infringement everywhere

33:30 — Networks not enforcing anything

35:30 — Travel Town and drama maximalism

38:30 — Morals vs performance

40:00 — Outro & final thoughts

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

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 confirms a shift that’s been building quietly:

Volume is down. Monetization is up. And everyone is restructuring around reality.

Across the news:

Big publishers are cutting, consolidating, and centralizing power

IAP revenue keeps growing even as downloads slow

Turkey remains a capital magnet for mobile

Legacy IPs prove longevity beats novelty

AI rules are being normalized, not hyped

This is a monetization-first era, and the industry is finally acting like it.

---------------------------------------

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 — Intro & why this week matters

00:35 — Ubisoft restructures and cancels games

01:55 — Mobile IAP hits $167B while downloads fall

03:05 — Rovio revives Angry Birds again

04:05 — Turkey keeps raising (Anka Ventures)

05:00 — Activision Blizzard under investigation

06:05 — RuneScape passes $3B lifetime revenue

06:55 — Outfit7 goes PC with Talking Tom

07:45 — Steam relaxes AI disclosure rules

08:30 — Dreamhaven layoffs & Pokémon goes physical

09:10 — Final take & what this signals for 2026

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

---------------------------------------

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 Sandloop by Voodoo and explain how a lightweight, physics-driven sorting game can already generate ~$100k+ per day with a heavily ad-driven model.

We cover gameplay design, monetization, difficulty tuning, creative strategy, and where Sandloop realistically sits compared to Pixel Flow and other sorting hits.

What we cover

• Sandloop core mechanics

• Physics-based puzzle design

• Ad-first monetization strategy

• Early revenue and spend estimates

• Sorting category trends

• Voodoo’s portfolio strategy

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 — Intro and first revenue estimates

02:05 — Why Sandloop exists in Voodoo’s portfolio

03:00 — No menu early and why it matters

04:45 — Sandloop vs Pixel Flow pacing

05:50 — Physics-based sorting explained

07:40 — Hidden layers and bucket logic

09:20 — Fail states and difficulty design

11:00 — Why thinking beats speed here

12:50 — Ads, segmentation, and break timing

14:40 — Monetization mix and ad share

16:25 — Early revenue and download estimates

18:10 — Where Sandloop ranks among Voodoo IPs

20:00 — Sorting category explosion

22:10 — Pixel Flow, Arrows, and category leaders

24:30 — Copycats, second-mover advantage

26:15 — Creative strategy and velocity

29:00 — Spend, payback, and early scaling math

32:00 — Sandloop’s realistic ceiling

33:40 — Final take and outro

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

---------------------------------------

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 solo episode, Jakub breaks down how Heartopia scaled to hundreds of thousands of daily downloads and over $200k per day using slow-life gameplay, cosmetic-only gacha, and zero fake ads.

We look at the cozy / avatar-life genre, monetization mechanics, gacha cycles, UA creatives, and why this game works despite having almost no traditional gameplay pressure.

What we cover

• Heartopia launch performance

• Cozy and avatar-life genre explained

• Cosmetic-only gacha monetization

• Why collections work without stats

• UA strategy and creative volume

• Sustainability and revenue outlook

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

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

---------------------------------------

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 how AI ads evolved from fake gameplay into full world simulations. Dark War and Top Heroes are now running up to 90% AI-driven creatives, generating environments, hooks, and pseudo-games that look better than many shipped titles.

We cover sand loops, world models, long-form creatives, IP gray zones, and why teams that fully commit to AI are pulling away fast.

What we cover

• AI world simulation creatives

• Sand loops and seamless rooms

• Dark War & Top Heroes strategies

• Long creatives that actually work

• Fake games that outperform real ones

• The real AI tipping point

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 & why this episode matters

01:40 — AI creatives are no longer a novelty

03:30 — Guess the game & spotting non-AI creatives

04:30 — Golden Goblins, King Shot & early AI signals

06:40 — Hooks that still work in an AI world

08:10 — Drama, grandmas & narrative escalation

10:00 — Fake people, ASMR & viral slop economics

12:20 — IP style borrowing and legal gray zones

14:30 — Dark War enters the big league

16:10 — Seamless rooms and sand-loop environments

18:30 — Why these creatives hold attention

21:50 — World simulation vs classic generation

24:20 — Genie-style models and consistency problems

26:30 — 80–90% AI adoption explained

29:10 — Fake games that look real

32:00 — Why long creatives are winning again

34:10 — Revenue reality: Dark War & Top Heroes

36:30 — The real AI tipping point

38:40 — Final predictions & what teams should do next

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

---------------------------------------

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

Creative output hits record highs, Turkey and India attract massive funding, Meta shuts down VR studios, Rockstar launches a paid mod marketplace, and Arc Raiders sells 12M copies in just 2.5 months.

The State of Gaming Marketing 2026 Report:

https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/reports/gaming-app-marketing/?utm_source=influencer&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=CO%3A+State+of+Gaming+01-2026&utm_term=matej&utm_content=Newsletter

This week shows how fast the industry is consolidating around execution, scale, and monetization efficiency.

What I cover

• Creative volume explosion

• $25B global UA spend

• Tale Monster & Liquid Nitro funding

• Meta VR studio shutdowns

• Rockstar’s paid mod marketplace

• Valve’s Steam Machine update

• Ubisoft layoffs

• Arc Raiders breakout success

2026 is not slowing down.

---------------------------------------

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 this week matters

00:32 — Creative volume explodes (2,600 creatives per quarter)

01:40 — AI shifts from creation to reporting

02:45 — Tale Monster raises $30M (Turkey momentum)

03:40 — Liquid Nitro and AI live-service model

04:45 — Global UA spend hits $25B

05:35 — GDC becomes a premium festival

06:20 — Meta shuts down VR studios

07:10 — Rockstar launches paid mods

08:05 — Valve updates Steam Machine strategy

08:45 — Ubisoft layoffs & ARC Raiders breakout

09:25 — Final take for 2026

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

---------------------------------------

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

Pixel Flow! works because it combines familiarity with novelty. The core loop feels intuitive if you’ve played sorting or bench-based puzzle games, but the slinging and conveyor mechanics add speed, mastery, and tension. Difficulty is created through execution pressure, not confusion. Players feel smart when they win and responsible when they lose, which massively boosts engagement.

Monetization is deceptively simple and very effective. Interstitials trigger on failed and completed levels, rewarded videos are optional and placed where they don’t break flow, and there are no unnecessary ad placements on app open. Ads already contribute roughly 15–20% of revenue and perhaps even more, with room to grow, but the team clearly prioritizes uninterrupted gameplay to protect conversion and retention.

The biggest growth driver is UA. Pixel Flow! skipped a traditional soft launch, went hard on AppLovin and Mintegral, then expanded rapidly to TikTok, Unity, Google, and Meta. Creative velocity is extreme, with thousands of new creatives pushed in weeks, including playables, AI visuals, and gray-zone recognizable characters.

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 and why Pixel Flow matters

02:10 — First impressions and core loop

04:10 — Sorting shooter mechanics explained

06:40 — Bench, tray, and slinging mastery

09:30 — Difficulty design and fail states

12:10 — Comparison vs Voodoo-style sorting games

14:00 — Growth timeline and revenue explosion

16:00 — DAU, geo mix, and scale reality

18:30 — Copycats and category pressure

21:00 — Deterministic vs casino-style puzzles

23:20 — Ceiling discussion: 15–30M per month?

25:00 — Ad monetization breakdown

27:30 — Why not to overpush rewarded ads

29:30 — CPI, retention, and UA efficiency

32:00 — Creative velocity as the real moat

35:00 — IP lookalikes and gray-zone creatives

38:30 — What Pixel Flow must do next

41:30 — Final take and closing thoughts

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

What if paying players actually made games more profitable?

In this episode, we sit down with Ben Cousens (Chief Strategy Officer at ZBD) to unpack how embedded payouts, loyalty rewards, and regulated payments infrastructure can radically change retention, LTV, and monetization in mobile games.

This is payments, psychology, and monetization design.

Topics covered

• Why gaming has a payments problem

• Embedded rewards vs cash-for-tasks

• How ZBD increases retention by 180%

• Sharing ad revenue with players

• Anti-fraud & compliance realities

• UA creatives that attract better cohorts

• Bank payouts & real-world spend in 2026

More on ZBD SDK: https://zbd.gg/z/rewards-sdk

Case studies mentioned: https://zbdpay.com/en/case-studies

ZBD: https://zbdpay.com

Ben Cousens : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencousens/

RSVP to Game of Tones II: https://luma.com/07c3ffq0?utm_source=twoandahalfgamers

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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: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠

Special guest: Ben Cousens

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencousens/

Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

Chapters

00:00 — Why 180% retention sounds like BS?

01:35 — Ben’s background: games, banking, VC, ZBD

04:25 — What ZBD actually is (and isn’t)

06:20 — The real payments problem in gaming

09:10 — Money lifecycle in games: pay-in, move, pay-out

11:15 — Why pay-outs are allowed when pay-ins aren’t

13:00 — Embedded rewards vs “cash for tasks”

14:30 — Bitcoin Miner & easter-egg rewards explained

17:20 — Why sharing ad revenue increases LTV

19:40 — From Bitcoin wallets to direct bank payouts

22:00 — How rewards change player behavior long-term

24:00 — Fraud, bots & anti-abuse systems

26:50 — Why this works better than classic rewards apps

29:35 — Tech integration & SDK reality

31:40 — UA creatives and signaling “this game pays you”

33:45 — Regulation costs & why others can’t copy this

35:10 — What’s coming in 2026 (bank, real-world spend)

37:10 — Blurring virtual and real economies

39:20 — Who should actually use ZBD

41:10 — Final take: owning the player relationship

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

---------------------------------------

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 Lessmore’s second major hit after Arrows and explain why Forgemaster is a pure IAP-driven idle RPG with no visible ads. From Legend of Mushroom mechanics and gacha systems to LTV, UA limits, and creative strategy, this is a deep dive into why Lessmore knows exactly when ads help and when they don’t.

What we cover

• Why Forgemaster feels instantly familiar

• Legend of Mushroom DNA explained

• Why are ads missing on purpose

• LTV vs scale tradeoffs

• UA and creative bottlenecks

• How this game could scale further

Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop

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They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.

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+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors

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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.

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 & context after Arrows

01:40 — Why Forgemaster matters

03:10 — Visual DNA and reused assets

04:30 — Legend of Mushroom comparison

06:20 — Gacha, skills, pets & progression

09:00 — Idle loops and infinite treadmill

11:30 — PvP, clans and social layers

13:30 — The missing ads question

16:00 — Why Lessmore likely turned ads off

18:10 — Revenue, ARPU and LTV signals

20:30 — UA performance and CPI reality

23:00 — Creative strategy limits

25:10 — How to scale Forgemaster further

27:30 — Category outlook for idle RPGs

29:30 — 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 - [email protected]

---------------------------------------

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

Block Blast hits 70M DAU after running 10,000 A/B tests in a single year, Apple is fined €98M in Italy over unfair ATT rules, and Brazil forces major App Store changes including third-party payments and app stores.

This week shows how execution, regulation, and platform power are colliding in mobile gaming.

What we cover

• How Block Blast scaled to 70M DAU

• Why experimentation beats features

• Apple fined €98M over ATT

• Why double consent hurts developers

• Brazil forces App Store rule changes

• What this means for UA & monetization

Key takeaway

Platforms are under pressure. Teams that test faster will win.

---------------------------------------

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 this week matters

00:45 — Block Blast hits 70M DAU

02:20 — 10,000 A/B tests explained

04:20 — Why simplicity scaled globally

05:40 — Italy fines Apple €98M

07:10 — Why ATT is under fire

08:20 — Brazil forces App Store changes

09:20 — What this means for developers

---------------------------------------

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 - [email protected]

---------------------------------------

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