two & a half gamers

Today, we deep-dive into Raid Rush, the Turkish-made tower defense game that is bringing roguelike deck-building, build-your-own-path mechanics, and IP crossovers to the top of the mobile charts. The crew unpacks why this game feels so deep, why Korean and US players are eating it up, and how the game balances heavy progression, smart ad placements, and old-school strategy with real modern LiveOps.

What’s inside:

A Real Tower Defense for 2025: Raid Rush lets you build your own road, place towers with real strategy, and merge and upgrade through a deck and gacha system. Every run is different thanks to randomization, new land placement, and a menu packed with modes, heroes, and skills.

IP Collabs Done Right

Korea and the US Lead the Pack

Creative and UA Trends: The team breaks down a wild mix of real-life, static AI, and hyper-casual video hooks, plus some truly creative (and not-so-creative) uses of IP.

Key Takeaway:

Raid Rush shows you can still win by mixing deep strategy, roguelite randomness, smart ad and IAP segmentation, and just enough IP muscle. In a world of copycats, this one actually innovates.

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

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

Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance.

https://www.vibe.co/

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

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

Youtube: https://youtu.be/9rDyKoe58b0

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Game Overview

04:16 Game Metrics and Performance Analysis

07:15 Gameplay Mechanics and Unique Features

10:13 Strategic Depth and Replayability

13:30 Monetization Strategies and Ad Integration

16:26 Collaboration with Terminator IP and Content Expansion

19:25 Final Thoughts and Future Prospects

27:30 Monetization Strategies in Mobile Games

30:40 Dynamic Monetization and User Engagement

32:15 Creative Advertising and User Acquisition

37:25 Trends in Tower Defense Games

42:58 The Role of AI in Game Development

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]

In this episode, Two and a Half Gamers sit down with Shobeir Shobeiri, Director of Publisher Sales at Moloco, to give the industry’s most practical, no-BS crash course on the history, mechanics, and real money in mobile ad monetization. From the origins of banners to today’s machine-learning DSPs, the crew demystifies ad tech jargon, reveals the margins and secrets behind every middleman, and lays out what every publisher needs to know about maximizing revenue in 2025.

What’s inside:

The Evolution of Ad Monetization: How mobile moved from premium, paid apps to ad-funded juggernauts, and why rewarded video is now the fastest-growing segment.

DSP, SSP, and Mediation 101: How ad stacks work, what makes a DSP different, and where the money really goes between advertisers, publishers, and ad tech middlemen.

Margin Math: Ad networks and exchanges quietly take cuts of 20 to 30 percent or more, but the right direct SDK can boost your ad ARPDAU by 8 to 20 percent instantly.

Real-World History: From early Mad Men deals and waterfall hacks to today’s real-time bidding, learn the origin stories that shaped the $262 billion mobile ad market.

Creative Ad Unit Tips: Where to put banners, how to maximize rewarded ads, why playables are a must for UA, and the new rules for ad placement segmentation.

Moloco’s SDK Advantage: Why plugging in the Moloco SDK gives you priority, boosts ARPDAU, and connects you to two billion dollars in annual spend—backed by real results from the field.

Key Takeaway:

Understanding your ad stack, choosing the right partners, and owning your data is the real moat in 2025. Get your ad monetization right, and you’ll be printing money—get it wrong, and you’ll be just feeding middlemen.

Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop

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

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: Shobeir Shobeiri

Youtube: https://youtu.be/T3OQzk0ldIY

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mobile Advertising and Maloko

04:16 The Evolution of Advertising: From Ancient Times to Mobile

06:45 The Rise of Mobile Apps and Monetization Strategies

09:23 Challenges in the Mobile Advertising Landscape

12:29 Understanding Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) and Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs)

15:27 The Mechanics of Mediation and Ad Stacks

18:06 The Transition from Waterfall Auctions to Bidding Systems

21:29 The Evolution of Ad Serving and Bidding

23:48 Understanding Ad Networks and Revenue Models

25:44 Ad Units: Types and Their Effectiveness

30:25 Pricing Models in Advertising

35:03 The Role of SDKs in Ad Revenue

40:11 Future of Ad Monetization

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

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

Today, we break down Carnival Tycoon: the “idle” game that’s really a Trojan Horse for social casino and slot machine mechanics. We compare every feature, monetization trick, and creative strategy to Coin Master, Monopoly Go, and the social casino giants.

Find out how Carnival Tycoon hit five million dollars a month, why rewarded ads are hidden everywhere, and what makes this copycat succeed where others flop.

You will learn:

Why Carnival Tycoon is more social casino than idle, and how it fakes the early game

How copy-paste UI, offers, and creative trends shape modern casino games

The secrets behind rewarded ad segmentation and thirty to forty-five percent ad watchers

What separates the titans (Coin Master, Monopoly Go) from the fast followers

Why LiveOps and ruthless economy balance are the real keys to scale

How AI, asset flipping, and creative theft drive UA in the social casino wild west

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

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

Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance.

https://www.vibe.co/

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

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

Youtube:

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Game Overview

04:15 Gameplay Mechanics and Revenue Insights

07:14 Comparative Analysis with Social Casino Games

09:42 Visual Progression and User Engagement

13:15 Monetization Strategies and User Retention

16:18 Advertising Dynamics and User Segmentation

19:13 Session Length and User Experience

22:10 Final Thoughts and Future of Carnival Tycoon

28:52 The State of LiveOps in Gaming

29:39 Engagement Mechanics in Mobile Games

30:21 Analyzing Game Release Timelines

31:46 The Role of Marketing Partners in Game Scaling

32:35 Creative Strategies in Game Advertising

33:54 The Impact of AI on Game Creatives

35:35 IP Infringement and Creative Theft in Gaming

37:25 The Wild West of Mobile Game Marketing

40:46 Trends in Game Development and Marketing

44:02 Future of Onboarding in Mobile Games

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

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]

We tackle the legacy and latest iteration of Puzzle & Dragons, the game that defined Japanese mobile gaming and reached a mind-blowing five billion dollars in lifetime revenue. From wild metagame depth and monster collection to why Western players just never clicked with the formula, the crew unpacks the hits, misses, and museum-piece vibes of a true industry legend.

What’s inside:

No Gacha in the Gacha Game?

Cultural Roots Run Deep

Museum Piece, Not Modern Hit

Game Design DNA

Ads, UA, and Profit

Key Takeaway:

Sometimes, the most influential games are the least exportable. Puzzle & Dragons is a legend in Japan, a footnote in the West, and a masterclass in knowing and owning your audience.

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

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

Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance.

https://www.vibe.co/

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

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

Youtube: https://youtu.be/nPidjalbujg

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Puzzle and Dragons

02:53 The Evolution of Mobile Gaming

05:53 Gameplay Mechanics and Features

08:48 Cultural Differences in Gaming

11:41 Monetization Strategies and Ads

14:42 Comparative Analysis with Other Games

19:21 The State of Gaming in Japan

22:46 Cultural Differences in Gaming Preferences

25:35 Revenue Insights and Market Dynamics

28:00 User Acquisition Challenges

31:05 Reflections on Mobile Gaming History

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

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 brutally honest episode, Matej interviews Zino Rost Van Tonningen, CEO of Tyr Ads, live from MAU (with zero construction noise this time). The focus is on running rewarded UA without getting burned by fraud, bad partners, or weak setups. Zino shares knowledge from his journey through agency work, the wild world of offer walls, and leading Tyr Ads from rewards app to global SDK powerhouse.

What’s inside:

The Fraud Playbook: How faked events, cheat engines, and emulator hackers can drain $20,000 from your budget in minutes if your setup is not rock solid.

How to Bulletproof Your Attribution: Why server-to-server (S2S) events, signature V5 for Adjust, and secure MMP integrations are non-negotiable. If you are not set up right, your numbers are toast.

Reward Structures 101: Single reward, multi-reward, playtime offers, and daily re-engagement, the real impact on UA and long-term player progression.

Choosing the Right Platform: How to interrogate your reward partner, avoid lazy multi-reward copycats, and demand daily re-engagement, data-driven nudges, and flexible KPIs.

Scaling and Surviving: Why will most offerwall partners disappear in the next year unless they build better engagement and retention features? If your partner cannot adapt, you are the next victim.

iOS is Heating Up: Why Apple’s rules are loosening, the offerwall boom is just starting, and iOS users behave differently from Android.

Key Takeaway:

Rewarded UA is at a turning point: trust your numbers, interrogate your partners, demand retention and scale, or get left behind in the coming wave of consolidation.

Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop

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

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: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej Lancaric⁠

Special guest: Zino Rost Van Tonningen

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

https://tyrads.com/

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

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

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

We break down BitLife, a simulation game that proves you do not need flashy graphics or complex meta to print money. With an aggressive monetization model, evergreen retention, and a loyal fanbase, BitLife has been going strong for over seven years, now pulling in more than $110,000 a day, with ad revenue making up half of its total income.

What’s inside:

Ad Monetization on Steroids: Interstitial ads hit you right from the tutorial, with a cooldown of 70 seconds, banners refresh every five seconds, and rewarded ads are expertly placed on emotional player moments.

BitLife monetizes player choices through a web of IAPs, subscriptions, and one-time offers.

Smart UA and Creative Strategy: Originally fueled by organics, Stillfront’s acquisition kicked off heavy user acquisition with strong creative hooks, unique AI and UGC blends, and consistent iteration across every channel.

Key Takeaway:

You do not need the best graphics to win in mobile. If your product is unique, your ad monetization is ruthless, and your UA is dialed in, you can scale forever.

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

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

Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance.

https://www.vibe.co/

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

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

Youtube: https://youtu.be/--JFbHlo3E8

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Bit Life and Hosts

04:27 The Growth and Acquisition of Bit Life

07:36 Gameplay Mechanics and Life Choices

10:18 Monetization Strategies and Ad Integration

13:22 Life Events and Their Impact on Gameplay

16:26 The Role of Ads in Player Experience

19:27 Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Bit Life

23:09 Game Mechanics and Monetization Strategies

26:24 Ad Revenue Insights and User Engagement

31:26 User Acquisition and Marketing Strategies

38:18 Game Performance and Future Growth

44:21 Final Thoughts and Ratings

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

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]

We just dropped our latest episode, and it is a must-watch for anyone building or buying mobile game ads. We break down the biggest trends ripping through the creative market:

AI hooks and seamless transitions: five art styles in five minutes, and the line between real and fake is now a blur.

Celebrities everywhere: Monica, Phoebe, LeBron, Christina Aguilera, even C-tier cameos nobody asked for

Satisfying gold bars, drowning waifus, and cruelty hooks: Virality still rules the creative graveyard.

Copy-paste chaos: King Shot mechanics, snakes, resource overload, and every trend recycled at warp speed

IP infringement? Nobody cares. Elsa and Moana show up in more ads than their own movies.

Here is the brutal truth: The mobile creative game is faster, weirder, and less original than ever. AI is now your intern, celebrity ads are squeezing out innovation, and anyone who is not remixing, testing, and scaling daily is already behind.

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

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

Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance.

https://www.vibe.co/

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

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

Youtube: https://youtu.be/xbOwszmQ6tg

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Event Highlights

02:58 Creative Trends Overview

05:50 Golden Goblin Creatives

08:42 Celebrity Influences in Gaming Ads

11:44 Contractual Dynamics in Celebrity Endorsements

14:42 Trends in Game Creatives

17:37 AI and Animation in Game Marketing

20:04 Exploring Game Mechanics and Design Flaws

22:42 The Evolution of Game Concepts and AI Integration

25:41 Analyzing Coin Master’s Consistent Revenue Stream

28:43 The Impact of AI on Game Development

31:43 Trends in Mobile Gaming Revenue and Performance

37:10 Introduction to SuperScent and Game Comparisons

37:47 Exploring Game Mechanics and Creative Concepts

39:27 Discussion on Whiteout Survival and Game Trends

40:29 Advertising Strategies for CTV Campaigns

41:36 Analyzing Pokemon Go's New Developments

44:18 AI in Game Creatives and Advertising

48:42 Trends in AI-Generated Content and IP Infringement

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

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]

Legend alert. In this episode, we sit down with Jane Whittaker, a developer, executive, and innovator whose career spans from coding 8-bit chart toppers and Atari’s biggest hits to shaping the DNA of open-world, survival, and RPGs.

Jane shares candid stories from the 1980s video game crash, building Alien vs. Predator with just two programmers, working with Sid Meier and Mike Singleton, and steering giants like EA and MGM.

What’s inside:

Real Video Game History

Indie Roots and All-In Dev: From writing sound drivers without knowing music to doing design, code, and art in a single project, Jane did it all before “indie” was a thing.

Survival Games Before They Were Cool

Open World Royalty: From Mike Singleton’s Midwinter to World of Warcraft landscape architecture and Microsoft Flight Simulator expansions, Jane’s fingerprints are all over gaming’s biggest virtual worlds.

Modding and Crafting Philosophy

No AI Shortcuts, Pure Craft

Why Fun Beats Tech

Key Takeaway:

Game design that stands the test of time is about creative risk, pure craft, and relentless focus on fun, not just graphics or tech. Jane’s story is a masterclass for anyone building or dreaming of building games.

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

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

Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance.

https://www.vibe.co/

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

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,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Matej Lancaric⁠

Youtube: https://youtu.be/RyDJ88zRVwo

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to a Gaming Legend

02:42 The Evolution of Gaming: A Personal Journey

05:45 The Impact of the 1983 Video Game Crash

08:32 The Making of Alien vs. Predator

11:12 Transitioning to MGM and GoldenEye

14:22 The Legacy of Survival Games

17:24 Behind the Scenes of Dungeon Keeper and Marvel Games

20:00 Contributions to World of Warcraft

22:10 Crafting Immersive Game Worlds

25:50 Innovations in Game Mechanics

29:10 Creating Tension and Fear in Gameplay

32:55 The Role of AI in Game Development

38:12 Crafting Immersive Game Worlds

41:13 The Importance of Effort in Game Development

43:53 Balancing Budget and Creativity

46:02 The Role of Modding in Gaming

50:13 Lessons from Past Projects

54:35 Building a Passionate Gaming Community

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

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]

Today, we sit down with Supersonic’s Samantha Benjamin and Guy Agiv to discuss the hit game Screw Master 3D. From adapting trends out of China to hybrid monetization tricks and creative secrets, this episode is packed with actionable insights for anyone in mobile gaming.

What you’ll learn:

How Screwmaster 3D’s physics-puzzle and meta layers drive insane engagement

The models and tactics behind maximizing eCPMs and LTV in ad-heavy games

The secret to rapid adaptation, culturalization, and scaling trends globally

A-B testing, skip-its, and boosters—hybrid casual best practices for monetization without killing UX

Creative production at Supersonic: data-driven, AI-boosted, always iterating

The new era of hybrid casual is ruthless: if you want to compete, you need to move fast, master ad monetization, and out-iterate everyone on creative and product. Screwmaster 3D is proof that the real money is in the details.

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

Youtube: https://youtu.be/OmGzUDUiPsQ

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Screw Master 3D

02:37 Game Mechanics and Design Insights

05:39 Adapting for Global Markets

08:38 User Engagement and Retention Strategies

11:50 Monetization Strategies and Challenges

14:33 Future Developments and Game Evolution

26:56 Balancing Game Difficulty and User Engagement

27:50 Analyzing User Metrics and Revenue Streams

29:09 Retention Rates and User Engagement Strategies

31:09 Ad Monetization Strategies and User Experience

35:34 Optimizing Ad Experience and User Segmentation

40:14 ECPM Management and Ad Impression Strategies

45:26 Implementing Skip It Feature in Game Design

49:19 User Acquisition Strategies and Channel Mix

52:44 Channel Mix and Budget Allocation

55:43 The Power of Playable Ads

01:00:21 Creative Testing and Iteration Strategies

01:01:53 Balancing Playable Lengths for User Engagement

01:05:00 Testing New Channels and Creative Strategies

01:12:19 Exploring New Channels for Growth

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

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]

We just dropped a new Review Radar episode in which we examined every major mobile game from the last three months. Some are breaking the ‘podcast curse’ and scaling up, others are stuck in stable dinosaur mode, and a few are just… lost.

Highlights:

Triple Match City and Color Block Jam are stacking revenue with surprising ARPU and ad mixes

Royal Kingdom and Pokémon Sleep show that audience and IP still trump any new feature

Cloning is the new normal, but most ‘copy-paste’ games never hit the KPIs of their genre leaders

Monetization is where dreams die, great engines, weak revenue

UA and creative discipline are still the biggest differentiators

Our verdict? Build fast, adapt faster, and don’t be afraid to kill what isn’t scaling. In mobile gaming, the only thing worse than a failed experiment is a boring one.

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

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

Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance.

https://www.vibe.co/

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

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

Youtube: https://youtu.be/vaa1d1Evif0

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Review Radar

04:39 Game Performance Insights: Triple Match City

07:16 Core Survival and Its Revenue Growth

10:32 Acero 2: Launch and Revenue Analysis

13:37 Top Girl: User Engagement and Revenue Trends

16:37 Royal Kingdom: Celebrity Campaign Impact

19:36 Path of Exile 2: Community Reactions and Revenue

22:40 Dark and Darker: Soft Launch Insights

25:34 Magic Sword: Future Potential and Market Position

27:06 Revenue Insights: Comparing Game Performance

28:48 Block Blast: The Unexpected Contender

29:42 Project Rise: Anticipation and Delays

33:27 ColorBlockJam: A Rising Star in Mobile Gaming

36:35 Hi-Sees Hero: Challenges in Game Development

39:48 Candy Crush Solitaire: Stagnation in a Competitive Market

41:50 Goods Puzzle: A New Player in the Market

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

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]