two & a half gamers

In this episode, we break down what’s really happening in mobile game creatives right now. Creative trends for January 2026 are here.. From Kingshot clones everywhere to Pixel Flow conveyor belts invading other genres… from 2022 impulse puzzles coming back to life… to the brutal truth about creative fatigue lasting DAYS instead of weeks. We look at Golden Goblins, Royal Kingdom, Match Factory, Tas...

If you think eCPM is the most important metric in ad monetization, this episode is for you. Felix breaks down: • eCPM vs Fill Rate • Why Ad ARPDAU is king • Recency model & impression decay • Why more ads can hurt revenue • SDK crash risks & ANR thresholds • Aggressive end cards & churn • How mediation doubles revenue • Networks vs exchanges explained This is a practical introduction t...

We sat down with Stan (CEO of Oh BiBi, creator of Asphalt) and Luis (VP Global Marketing at Rovio) to break down Angry Birds Rush. We discuss how the game was born, why they built 6 prototypes, how they benchmarked against slot machines, how they secretly tested fans on Discord, and why they’re aiming for a billion-dollar game. A bold attempt to merge: • Luck Battle meta (Monopoly Go / Coin Master...

Supercell’s annual letter was supposed to be routine. Instead, it triggered backlash around Clash Royale’s “resurgence” narrative. Influencers were credited for growth, including major names amplifying the story, which upset parts of the community. The reaction escalated to organized boycotts, forcing Ilkka Paananen to issue an apology and update the letter publicly. Meanwhile, revenue tells a sim...

Dragon Traveler is not subtle. It’s a waifu-driven idle RPG, built for scale, speed, and monetization efficiency, and it’s working. Especially in the US. Despite being a fresh launch (mid-January), the game is already doing $300k–500k per day, with a heavy US + Asian revenue split, thousands of creatives in rotation, and extremely aggressive UA. This isn’t a passion project. It’s a manufactured hi...

Arknights: Endfield is not a normal anime gacha. Yes, it looks like Genshin. Yes, it uses Honkai-style progression and banners. But the real core is something much riskier: factory automation inspired by Factorio and Satisfactory, deeply embedded into progression, crafting, power, and economy. This is a high-budget, niche bet. And it’s already showing both explosive upside and structural risk. Get...

This is not a meditation app. This is one of the smartest subscription businesses on mobile. In this episode, we break down Finch, a self-care app with ~10M DAU, extreme retention, and a web-first monetization system that turns subscriptions into a social, altruistic act. We cover product design, streak mechanics, collectibles, subscription psychology, web revenue via Stripe, community monetizatio...

The sell-off was triggered by fear, not facts. Google’s Project Genie demo sparked a narrative that “AI games are here,” even though the tech currently produces short, silent video scenes with no logic, no scoring, no input handling, and no gameplay systems. Investors reacted as if game development had been solved overnight. The result was a disproportionate crash: Unity down nearly 40%, AppLovin...

This Softlaunch Sonar episode is a reality check. Studios are shipping faster than ever, cloning proven mechanics within weeks, and still failing to create real differentiation. PixelFlow, Arrow Flow, Sand Loop and their endless variations show how quickly the market reacts, and how rarely it innovates. The discussion cuts through cozy games, monster IP arms races, match-3 fatigue, and why “being...

Before you soft launch, check this. Or your data will lie. In this episode, Matej walks through a complete soft launch checklist covering tracking, attribution, monetization hygiene, pricing, live ops readiness, UA setup, and creatives. This is not a full guide. The full guide is here: https://payhip.com/b/fJi9E It’s everything that must work before you judge CPI, retention, or ROAS. What Matej co...

Meta is not back on iOS. We just got fooled. In this emergency episode, we break down what actually happened during the two-day Meta revenue spike that made everyone think Facebook had solved iOS tracking. Spoiler: they didn’t. We explain ATT, IDFA, why Meta collapsed in 2021, how AppLovin took over iOS, and how aggressive end cards temporarily boosted Meta revenue before retention crashed and per...

Mobile gaming revenue stagnates on paper, Monopoly GO becomes the fastest game ever to hit $6B, and Liftoff officially files for a US IPO. This episode breaks down what the data says, what it misses, and why web stores, hybrid casual, and AdTech exits define the next phase of mobile gaming. What we cover • Mobile revenue vs reality • Hybrid casual growth • Monopoly GO’s $6B milestone • Web stores...

Hunting Sniper should not be winning. But it is. The game looks like it was built in 2016–2018, runs a Golf Clash–style betting economy, and has almost zero innovation in core mechanics. And yet, it’s doing ~$200k per day, outperforming genre veterans like Hunting Clash by nearly 10×. This episode matters because it exposes an uncomfortable truth: You don’t need a great game. You need relentless U...

This episode is a crash course in launching ads the right way. Not theory. Not “best practices”. But what actually matters when you go from zero ads to meaningful ad LTV. Felix walks through: How to think about ads during soft launch Which metrics actually matter early When Unity-only is good enough (and when it’s not) How to choose mediation without overthinking it Which ad networks are worth int...

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 uncomfort...

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...

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 puz...

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...

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...

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+01-202...

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 i...

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 proble...

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...

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 • Ap...

Why is Lessmore’s Arrow Puzzle Escape scaling to millions of DAU and making $250k/day in Ad Revenue? In this episode, we break down how Lessmore built Arrow Puzzle Escape into one of the fastest-scaling ad-monetized puzzle games on the market. From brutal simplicity and ultra-low CPI to aggressive ad design and relentless testing, this is a masterclass in distribution-first mobile game design. Top...