two & a half gamers

This is the ultimate AI creative breakdown: 112 creatives in 36 minutes. Jakub, Matej, and Felix review the best (and worst) AI-generated ads across rise of castles clones, tasty travels madness, fluffy animals, Pixar-style mutations, fake physics, and high-production AI cinematics that now rival outsourcing studios. AI is no longer “experimental.” It is the creative pipeline. What you’ll learn •...

In this week’s News Navigator, Jakub breaks down the biggest global gaming stories from November 17th. Apple tries its own WeChat-style mini-app ecosystem. Unity and Epic shock the industry with a collaboration nobody saw coming. Roblox revamps age restrictions. Google Play crowns Pokémon TCG Pocket as Game of the Year after $1B+ in revenue. And Ubisoft’s trading halt hints at a looming plot twist...

Level Devil (solo dev) proves that level design is a UA channel. The game’s “troll but fair” traps create clips that people have to share, fueling TikTok/YouTube reach with essentially zero paid spend. Monetization is light: interstitials triggered by deaths on a cooldown, occasional rewarded skip, one ad network (Unity), no mediation. We est.: $5–7K/day; with mediation + a couple of safe placemen...

In this solo episode, Matej walks through the exact step-by-step method he uses to launch successful Meta (Facebook) UA campaigns in 2025. From SDK setup to event engineering, targeting, budgets, creative strategy, and daily management - this is the “MVP strategy” every UA manager needs. Direct links to step-by-step guides: https://lancaric.substack.com/p/mvp-ua-template-i-want-to-launch https://l...

This month’s creative trends episode exposes the real state of mobile UA: We’ve officially entered the Era of Creative Theft 2.0 - not “heavily inspired,” but direct 1:1 stolen ads, chopped end cards, mirrored clips, watermarks still visible… and nobody cares because they convert 4-5× better. Three mega-trends emerge: 1) The “Stolen but Performing” Era • Social casino, idle, 4X… everyone is liftin...

We break down Supercell’s new twin-stick “boat game” (second alpha): a PvE → PvPvE loop where we farm island quests, haul up to three chests on a fast boat, and can flip a “go bad” switch to steal other players’ chests - triggering bounties and protections for non-PK players (revenge respawns). What works Fast, readable boating and clear risk/reward moments when we carry 2–3 chests. A theft moment...

Today, Jakub Remiar breaks down the Scopely-style “sticker album” collectible mechanic—popularized at scale by Monopoly Go (global April 2023)—and why it’s sweeping casual and now encroaching on mid-core. Hallmarks: time-limited albums, gacha booster packs, duplicate sinks → premium packs, and peer trading that drives massive social engagement (e.g., official trading groups). It adds perceived dep...

Legend of Elements is a 3D idle RPG from the LoM lineage. Core fantasy is “numbers go up,” delivered via auto-progress + layered upgrades, then monetized through stacked gachas and step offers. Ads exist but are effectively a decoy; there isn’t even a “remove ads” pack. UA is ~98% Google (YouTube + AdWords) with AI/UGC and “fake gameplay” motifs. Systems & sinks (what actually drives playtime/...

Chaos Zero Nightmare is the spiciest deck-builder gacha of 2025! Lovecraft vibes, anime polish, Slay-the-Spire runs, Honkai-style meta, and launch numbers that slap: ~$500K/day, peak ~$800K/day, ~$8M in 2 weeks. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN Core loop: deck thinning, evolving cards, run sequencing Meta design: pity/duplicates, banner cadence, progression layers Why community is more than broad UA (Discord ≈50...

In this Two & a Half Gamers special, Felix Braberg breaks down how to maximize ad monetization during Black Friday weekend - the new “Q5” for mobile games. 🔥 What you’ll learn: Why Q5 is gone (and how Black Friday replaced it) How to tweak cooldowns, refresh rates, and ad logic The perfect bid floor strategy for banners, interstitials, and rewarded ads Why CMP setup and app-ads.txt files matt...

Monopoly Bingo: How Hasbro turned nostalgia Into Revenue Today, we dig into Monopoly Bingo - the latest Hasbro IP game climbing the charts. 🔥 We cover: How Tripledot scaled Bingo to $70K/day Why 60% of revenue comes from U.S. players Facebook UA strategies for older demos Collectible album systems and retention loops Why Bingo still drives $400M/year globally Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop...

In this episode, we play Sudoku Master - the latest “numbers” hit from the makers of Block Blast. They uncover how Hungry Studio uses 6,000 creatives, constant A/B testing, and ruthless ad optimization to dominate one of the oldest mobile genres. 🔥 What you’ll learn: How Sudoku Master scales with 600K DAU & 50K/day ad revenue The hidden “Sudoku War” between Miniclip and Hungry Studio How A/B...

In this solo episode, Matej Lančarič dives into the new era of creative optimization — where AI tagging, unified dashboards, and ROAS-based insights replace manual testing and spreadsheet chaos. Everyone can create ads with AI, but the REAL BOTTLENECK is knowing which ones actually work. AppsFlyer’s Creative Optimization tool analyzes millions of real-world insights to reveal what drives performan...

What happens when a Chinese studio perfects fake funnels? You get X-Clash - a 4X strategy game disguised as 5 different mini games. 🎯 We break down: How Save the Dog became a billion-dollar hook The evolution from X Hero → Hero Clash → X-Clash Why 9,000 fake creatives outperform any real gameplay ad How 4X onboarding became an interactive meme Why the U.S. audience still buys into fake ads 💬 Quo...

Today, we dissect Huntopia, a bizarrely successful idle RPG that’s part World of Warcraft, part casino. Meh, just WoW from Wish. 🔥 We cover: Why it makes $100K/day despite its chaotic UI How upsells trigger during every interaction The “Collectible Album” midcore crossover Day-to-day growth tracker for player engagement Why it’s a masterclass in monetization design 💬 Quote of the episode: “This...

In this Two & a Half Gamers solo episode, Jakub Remiar breaks down how UA product funnels and templatization dominate every major studio playbook - from River Game’s $7M/day 4X empire to Habby’s action roguelite evolution. 🔥 What you’ll learn: The fake ad → fake game → real game funnel explained Why River Game & Century Games are unstoppable How Habby and Microfun perfected “Template 2.5”...

We break down The Tower - an idle-defense hybrid that turned a solo dev into a millionaire. We spoke directly with Anthony (Tech Tree Games) about design, monetization, and UA strategy. 🔥 Topics covered: 4-person team, 25 contractors $80K/day revenue, 10% ads, FastSpring web store Best-performing creative = the dev himself How “The Perfect Tower” inspired this hit 💬 Quote: “The Tower proves you...

We talk to David Pan, Director of Business Development at Habby, for the first-ever Western podcast appearance from the famously low-profile publisher behind Archero, Survivor.io, Capybara Go, and Whittle Defender. This isn’t a press interview - it’s a brutally honest deep dive into Habby’s evolution, UA philosophy, shift from hybrid-casual to IAP-focused midcore, and its global ambitions beyond A...

We sit down with Chen Yang (Iwae) from Cocos again to unpack how AI is transforming the Chinese mini-game ecosystem across development, UA, and operations. The conversation reveals how AI-generated 3D, playable automation, LoRA fine-tuning, and instant meme cloning are redefining speed, scale, and creativity in the world’s most dynamic mobile market. 💡 Key Takeaways 1. 80 % of Chinese mini-game d...

Today, we talk with Colm Hayden, Head of Growth at Triumph - the app redefining real money gaming for a new generation of players. 🔥 Topics covered: How Triumph scaled to $100M+ payouts with 13 mini-games Why their audience is 21–35, not 60+ How they build 10 new creatives a day Why their ads with Soulja Boy crushed every benchmark Why “trust-based UA” matters more than CPI How they cracked TikTo...

Today, we, and special guest John Wright, unpack the chaos surrounding the EU’s proposed Digital Fairness Act (DFA) - a legislation that could redefine how free-to-play games operate in Europe. Key insights: Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_831?utm_source=chatgpt.com The DFA was proposed by the EU Consumer Protection Cooperation Network in March 2025. It’s still...

In this Two and a Half Gamers special, Matej, Felix & Jakub talk with Chen Yang (Iwae) from Cocos about how mini-games on WeChat, Douyin, Alipay, and Huawei stores are reshaping the mobile industry. 🔥 Topics: Cocos Creator powers 54 % of China’s mini-games How WeChat’s ecosystem drives 80 % of revenue Why IAP overtook ads (61 % → 31 % IAA) How Douyin and Alipay monetize via e-commerce loops O...

We go two and a half steps ahead into the new era of AI-generated creatives - dissecting what’s trending, which studios are using them, and what it means for the future of game marketing. Key insights: Adoption is rising In 2024 only a handful of studios used AI for hooks. By late 2025, top performers such as Lands of Jail, King Shot, and Rise of Castles will be fully embracing AI-assisted pipelin...

We dive into Megabonk, a surprise Steam indie hit that’s taken Twitch and the charts by storm. With 82K+ CCU, $2M in its first two weeks, and streamer hype driving growth, the trio explores what makes Megabonk work and whether it could scale to mobile. Key insights: Roguelite 3D blend of Vampire Survivors and Risk of Rain 2. Deeper systems: map objectives, shrines, infinite inventory, banish/skip...

Felix dives into ad monetization trends, focusing on the surprising rise of prison-themed games dominating the simulation and idle arcade charts. Key insights: Prison Life (Supercent) ~$107K/day ad revenue, ~$38M annual run rate. DAU ~2M, nearly 100% ad-driven. Rewarded impressions: ~4 per DAU (50% base) = $42K/day. Interstitials: ~6 per DAU (70% base) = $60K/day. Clever onboarding: first speed-up...