Deconstructor of Fun

We get a comprehensive and in-depth discussion talking about industry consolidation/consolidators and more specifically about the Embracer Group.  In a unique discussion, we get a very holistic perspective on Embracer speaking to:       - Kenshi Arasak i, CEO, A Thinking Ape, One of the best in the industry at long-tail and forever franchise games with titles fro...

Welcome to TWIG #120! Today we cover: #1. Zynga Is Building Its Own Ad Network, Mulling M&A #2. Bad Robot looking to be the rare Hollywood-and-games success story #3. Microsoft's Head of Cloud Gaming James Gwertzman Talks Past, Present, and Future of Gaming Tech #4. MY TAKE ON SUPERCELL IN 2020 AS WE BEGIN OUR SECOND DECADE Hosts: - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Eric Kress (...

How do you build a dream team from scratch? In this episode Sophie Vo , Studio Lead at Voodoo, details her journey of building a game team. We discuss how to craft a team culture, hire according to set values and lead through lockdowns. Sophie has a true passion towards leadership. Her approach is very methodical and constantly improving as she analyses, plans, executes and recalibrates based on l...

Today we will be speaking about the future of PC Gaming.    Here with us to talk about this are 3 incredible speakers     - David Brevik , Famous of course for founding Blizzard North and for Diablo but then also founding other game studios including Gazillion and now as President of Skystone Games      - Sean Haran who’s held senior executive...

Welcome to TWIG #119! Today we cover: #1. Why Did AL Buy Adjust #2. EA buys GLU #3. Embracer Group acquires Borderlands maker Gearbox Entertainment for $1.3B Predictions: Shooters and Marketing Hosts: - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Eric Kress (@ekress) - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) As always, pls feel free to send us feedback! Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel !

Originally Seriosly's first game was launched in mid-2014. Since then the game has grown quarter after quarter with the latest growth spurs coming after the acquisition by Playtika.  In this episode I'm joined by Phil Hickey , EVP of Brand & Marketing at Seriosly, to discuss:  How has Best Fiends been able to continue to grow ever since the game was launched? Why did they take t...

Hear from real game developers on Roblox who have created hit games! What does it take to be successful? How is dev on Roblox different from other platforms? What is a day in the life like? What is their view on Roblox monetization? What is the future outlook for the platform? Roblox developer speakers:     - Andrew Bereza aka "Berezaa", Toybox Development - Vesteria, 2PGFT, Mi...

Welcome to TWIG #118! Today we cover: #1. Gambling apps are coming to Google’s Play Store in the US and 14 other countries , The Verge #2. Reviewing Epic Games Store’s 2020 , MasterTheMeta #3. Google Stadia Shuts Down Internal Studios, Changing Business Focus , Kotaku Hosts: - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Eric Kress (@ekress) - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) Guest Host: - Ninel (Gryuner) Anderson , Check out D...

In this episode, I'm joined by Anton Gauffin, CEO of soon to be public Huuuge Games.  We discuss why Anton has decided to take his company public, dive deeper into their Build & Buy strategy, talk about their M&A approach, and what sets Huuuge different from the other consolidators in the market. We also discuss the effects of IDFA depreciation on the company's M&A strategy. your...

Today we are going to be discussing Playtika’s IPO and future prospects. Playtika develops and publishes some of the world’s most popular social casino games such as Slotomania, Slots - House of Fun, Bingo Blitz, and card games like World Series of Poker In our discussion today we’ll be talking about #1. IPO and current valuation #2. Current business and sources of revenue #3. Growth prospects #4....

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.