Deconstructor of Fun

Today we will be talking about how to most effectively utilize consumer insights in gaming. A lot of research studies can go wrong due to various problems and errors that can lead to false conclusions. What should studios watch out for? And how can we do this right? So today we will be discussing consumer insights with arguably the best CI practitioners in the entire industry: Mark Allenbach , Fou...

Welcome to TWIG #117! Today we cover: #1. A new PUBG Mobile game is on the way #2. Report: Tencent raising billions to buy EA, Take-Two, or others #3. Vicarious Visions merged into Blizzard #4. Deconstructor of Fun Strategy and Sports Predictions Hosts: - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Eric Kress (@ekress) - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!

Today we will be talking about mobile ad revenue and monetization. More specifically we will discuss What will happen in 2021 including the potential impact of IDFA deprecation To talk to us about these issues we have with us a good mix of ecosystem players in the industry. Josh Chandley , COO, WildCard Games an indie mobile games studio building classic card games Sofia Gilyazova , Head of Ad Mon...

Welcome to TWIG #116! Today we cover: #1. Mobile game maker Playtika goes public at $11 billion valuation #2. 2020 year in review | Bayjinger #3. Star Wars Games to Be Branded Under Lucasfilm Games Banner #4. Hypercasual Prediction  #5. RPG Prediction  Hosts: - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Eric Kress (@ekress) - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) As always, pls feel free to s...

Is it possible for a mid-size studio with no prior hits to enter the most competitive genre on mobile and challenge publishers that outweigh it on all aspects from game development to marketing? On paper, never! In real-life, yes! This episode explores the growth of Lily's Garden from an idea to a multi-hundred-million top-grossing title. And who better to talk about this than Gonzalo Fasanella ,...

Welcome to TWIG #115! Today we cover: #1. Roblox: $520 Million Funding And $29.5 Billion Valuation #2. What the hell is going on with Cyberpunk ? #3. Diablo Immortals: More than a Meme #4. Puzzle Games Becomes the Top Grossing Genre on Mobile Hosts: - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Eric Kress (@ekress) - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) As always, pls feel free to send us feedback! LIN...

Triggered growth is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. This podcast is insightful, entertaining, and highly opinionated. We call it how we see it. In this episode, we discuss the most common misinformation regarding IDFA deprecation, the battle for the ownership of conversion events, how product and marketing teams will work together as one.  In addition, we'll discuss trends in cre...

Welcome to TWIG #114! Today we cover the best and worst of 2020 in the Games Industry! Hosts: - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Eric Kress (@ekress) - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) As always, pls feel free to send us feedback! LINKS: Future of UA Mobile Marketing Conference (Free Signup): https://futureofua.splashthat.com/ Event will be held on 1/14/2021 (Thursday) at 10AM.  Eve...

The topics covered in the episode are: What are the biggest differences in how the big companies and the indie ones build their games? How to decide what the project is going to be balancing between data and intuition  How to choose the right monetization model for your game How to drive sustainability through updates, new player acquisition, and reactivating lapsed ones What are the main shi...

Which genres gained the most and which trailed behind? What were the effects of the lockdowns? What are the trends for user acquisition, in-app purchases, and in-app adds going into 20201? Which countries were overlooked? guests: Randy Nelson - head of mobile insights Brian Murphy - head of gaming Tim O'Neil - strategic account executive

Growth Triggers is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. In this episode, we focus on; How much info will I have about where the players are coming from post IDFA what happens to a/b testing and offers? What happens to soft-launching Ad monetization? LTV curve vs. LTV curves Are fake ads done?  how can product teams help the marketing team? Your hosts Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert

Chris Petrovic joined Zynga as SVP and Head of Corporate Strategy, M&A, and Business Development all the way back in March of 2016 when Zynga stock was $1.88.    Since Chris joined, basically ALL of Zynga's growth has come through mergers & acquisitions and helped drive increased share value to today's price of ~$8.70.   During his time at Zynga, Chris oversaw the acquisitio...

Welcome to TWIG #113! Today we cover: #1. MTG acquires Hutch – a leading developer and publisher of mobile racing games #2. League of Legends: Wild Rift expanded to Europe and other territories #3. Zynga-owned Rollic acquires  Onnect  from dev Chef Game Studio for $6 million Hosts: - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) Guest Host: - Eric Seufert (@...

However you want to slice it or dice it, Helsinki is the best city in the World for mobile games companies. What makes it unique is the ecosystem that has developed organically over the years. Founders help each other. There’s a strong drive for collaboration and there's not much rivalry or competition. Founders inherently understand that success breeds more success.  I'm joined by two of the...

Triggered growth is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. This podcast is insightful, entertaining, and highly opinionated. We call it how we see it.  Your hosts: Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert Hit us up for topics you'd like us to cover and how to improve.

Welcome to TWIG #112! Today we cover: #1. Sensor Tower: Genshin Impact brings in nearly $400 million in 2 months on mobile #2. EG7 acquires Daybreak #3. The promise and challenge of Roblox Future in China LINKS: Check out Joakim's Elite Game Developers website and podcast: https://elitegamedevelopers.com/ Check out Randy Nelson's Interview with Joseph Kim:    - Gaming Trends | A Loo...

Israel has always been a hub for tech startups. It's where companies such as Monday, Wix, Fiverr and Waze - just to mention a few - were born. Today the country is also known for a massive gaming sector worth tens of billions with companies such as Playtika, Moonactive, Plarium, Crazy Labs, ironSource, AppsFlyer and Fyber driving the growth. Who better to deconstruct the evolotion of the Israel's...

Growth Triggers is a new segment on Deconstructor of Fun podcast focusing on all matters growth. This podcast is definitely insightful, for sure entertaining and as always, highly opinionated. We call it how we see it. Your hosts Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert

Welcome to TWIG #111! Today we cover: #1. Farlight 84 is an impressive and whacky looking battle royale that's heading for iOS, Android and PC next year #2. Will Fortnite's Subscription Work? #3. Supercell shut ting down Hay Day Pop after less than a year Check out JK and his co-founders from LILA Games break down the Farlight 84 trailer: Farlight 84 Reaction & Analysis Hosts: - Joe Kim (@joki...

Welcome to TWIG 110! Today we cover: #1. Embracer Group acquires 13 studios: Here's everything you need to know #2. Apple will reduce App Store cut to 15 percent for most developers starting January  #3. Roblox IPO & some financials ($1.2b bookings in 9M 2020) Further, we are joined by guest host:    - Jon Jordan , founder of Steel Media whom you probably recognize from man...

Three facts: 1. Marketability (CPIs) is the single most important metric of your business case 2. You can optimize marketability early on extremely cost-effectively  3. Most of the gaming studios fail to understand the first point until it is too late and thus refuse to concentrate on the second point. Marketability is perhaps the single biggest element of your game that you have direct contr...

Welcome to TWIG 109. Today we cover: #1. Apple is astonishingly confident in its new M1 Mac processors #2. Virtual Influencers Make Real Money While Covid Locks Down Human Stars #3. The argument for simpler games, in an industry obsessed with complexity Further, we are joined by guest host Ernest Wong to discuss Bringing more franchises to mobile is Activision Blizzard's biggest opportunity, says...

The Chinese mobile market is expected to reach 21 billion Dollars in 2020 growing a staggering 17% year-over-year. In addition to having this massive - and from the Western perspective nearly impenetrable - home market, Chinese publishers have been having ever more success in the West.  Deconstructor of Fun podcast is joined by Daniel Ahmad , Yang Liu , and Eric Kress to discuss the character...

Valorant's Game Director, Joseph Ziegler , and Lead Producer, Paul Belezza join the Deconstructor of Fun podcast to spill the beans on Valorant's origin story - from an idea to a game played and streamed by millions of fans around the World. We dive deep into Riot's creative process from the developer's perspective, talk team sizes, launch strategies, live services, community, and working with and...

Ok people, this episode is just me (JK) and Miska. We lost some of our co-hosts when we very last minute audibled a change in news coverage. Anyway, as always, we sometimes may say things for dramatic effect. Hopefully none of you take things too personally as we are, in the end, fans of all game companies. Here are the specific news items we covered: Zynga’s acquisitions push it to record booking...