Deconstructor of Fun

We discuss Turkey’s new government subsidies for game developers and why the country may become one of the most attractive places to build a studio, the uncertain future of WB Games following major media consolidation, and Discord delaying its global age-verification rollout after backlash and regulatory pressure. We also discuss the Misfits seed round from an ex-Supercell/King team, a correction...

Guy Meiboom, Meta’s US EMEA Gaming Director, breaks down what actually happened to gaming performance after ATT and why Meta had to rebuild its gaming org from the ground up. From creative velocity and algorithmic reach to geo lift testing and UA funding, this episode focuses on execution. Not theory. Not slides. The uncomfortable middle between marketing, product, and capital allocation. If you’r...

Xbox is at a strategic inflection point. The question now is why, how, and what comes next. We break down the massive Xbox leadership shakeup, what it reveals about Microsoft’s real strategy, sharp critiques of the new CEO, and exactly what the brand must do to survive. Fresh off a hockey loss and curling cheating allegations, Adam returns to the podcast with a lot to answer for. We unpack PlaySta...

Dead as Disco went from 50,000 Steam wishlists to over 400,000 in less than a month, with over a million unique demo players and a 98% Overwhelmingly Positive rating. They are currently at 750k+ Wishlists today. Host Jen Donahoe sits down with Eden Chen, founder of Pragma and the FirstLook player relationship platform, and Adam Gershowitz, COO of Brain Jar Games, to break down exactly how they did...

Meta’s apparent comeback runs headfirst into shifting UA economics, rising creative costs, and new pressure from platforms like Reddit, forcing marketers to rethink what “working” actually means. We unpack whether Meta is truly back or just delivering short-term dopamine, why in-app ads could reshape ad-monetized LTV, and how CPMs, payback windows, and creative volume are redefining the hyper-casu...

We recap the Clash Royale creator controversy and CEO apology, dig into what’s broken with evolutions, heroes, and pay-to-win, and debate whether streamers can actually drive a comeback. We also cover Savvy’s rumored MoonTon deal, Blizzard’s updates across Overwatch, Diablo, and WoW, the slowdown in mobile games, the frozen state of M&A, and a reality check on AI in games - from hype to hard l...

User-generated content (UGC) isn’t “make anything.” It’s “make something that someone cares about.” In this Deconstructor of Fun conversation, Julia Polatovska, founder of Dorian, a creator platform for mostly women + Gen Z, goes past the pitch and into the operator questions. Who creates, who wins, what monetizes, and what breaks at scale when you're building a UGC platform. Connect with Julia: w...

Supercell’s annual CEO blog post reads equal parts culture memo and a recruiting pitch. We break down what is behind the PR spin before zooming into Clash Royale’s Lil Wayne halftime show as a case study in where “brand” ends and product-led fandom begins. From there, we triangulate the broader market: Newzoo’s year-end PC/console recap as a reminder that attention is consolidating, not expanding;...

The evolution of art direction, the integration of AI in creative processes, and the balance between creativity and business acumen. That's on the menu as SciPlay's Sr. Art Director, Peter Franco, joins Michail Katkoff on the podcast. Read more about Peter's work on modernizing a top-grossing game: https://tinyurl.com/mn2bdweb Timestamps: 2:12 - Peter's journey into Social Casino 4:42 - Evolution...

Mobile publishing isn’t dead, it’s mutating! In this TWIG episode, we break down how Ares Interactive is trying to resurrect Glu with a $70M Series A and what that says about the current “publisher vs. studio” power balance. We also tackle Google’s new immersive world model, Genie 3, and the industry’s first defensive reflex: how do you keep the genie in the bottle when the bottle is an API? Phil...

The question nobody in the West wants to answer honestly: the biggest shooters in the world are not the ones you argue about on Twitter. This episode rips into Highguard’s shadow drop, the “beta that isn’t labeled beta” problem, and the stubborn reality that the shooter market has converged into two and only two genres: Battle Royale and tactical. We talk Highguard and Spectre Divide as case studi...

Sensor Tower Report 2026 breakdown with Jonathan Briskman. We unpack the biggest mobile app trends 2026 and mobile gaming trends 2026. We discuss monetization shifts (IAP vs ads), market localization strategies that actually move the needle, and the rise of AI-powered apps changing consumer behavior and competition. State of Mobile 2026: https://bit.ly/4bvjI2b Chapters: 02:13 - Downloads plateau,...

Ubisoft layoffs point to deeper problems in AAA, a16z fund performance shows VC money tightening up, and TikTok’s future as a growth channel for games looks far less certain — from ownership issues to slowing ads and algorithm risk. We talk about what this means for user acquisition, why AI video apps are starting to matter, concerns around GDC attendance and safety, The New York Times stepping in...

Zynga's EVP of Studio, Yaron Leyvan, shares his 13-year Zynga journey, from the early days to Zynga to today, where the company operates under Take-Two, and the acquisition strategy behind successful post-acquisition integration in mobile gaming. Yaron breaks down how Zynga builds forever franchises: sustainable games powered by live ops, repeatable game development, and disciplined iteration,...

Did someone say Liftoff? Ok, well, Jen and Eric don’t think so. Heartopia is here, with a dramatic cross-platform launch in 2026, but what does it need to do to monetize? Does Design Home hold the key? Bobby Kotick gets sued by Sweden, with Phil and Eric cosplaying Phoenix Wright and Manfred von Karma. But who is who? Jen explains what the top Roblox charts mean, Phil reflects on the near-silent s...

This week in games, we go all-in on the hottest industry shake-ups: Fortnite turns the monetization dial up, Meta slashes Reality Labs in a major XR reality check, and Pixel Flow emerges as a potential puzzle hit — if it can crack the retention challenge. We break down why strong core mechanics aren’t enough, spotlight the rapid rise of Turkish game studios, pull the most important takeaways from...

The sharpest operators in predictive modeling, signal engineering, and post-ATT user acquisition unpack what actually breaks when campaigns scale. This is a dive deep into ROAS curves, attribution loss, modeling vs reality, SKAN-era signal decay, and why UA performance often collapses right when it looks like you’ve cracked growth. A must-read or listen for founders, growth leaders, and UA teams....

From brilliant plays to questionable moves, embarrassing predictions to market reality checks, we’re handing out the most honest (and occasionally brutal) awards of the year in games — including a very special Limping Donkey Award for moments that… didn’t quite stick the landing. We cover the biggest wins, the hardest falls, and the trends shaping what comes next, with a deep dive into Roblox adve...

The crew discusses their off-air relationships, personal reflections, and New Year's resolutions. 00:00 New Year's Resolutions and Sarcasm 00:27 Introduction and Episode Overview 00:49 Listener Questions and Emotional Moments 01:46 Promoting CREs and Gen Alpha Insights 02:33 Supercell and Industry Dynamics 05:01 Predictions and Industry Trends 13:14 Off-Air Relationships and Dynamics 21:41 Running...

Hiring is one of the most underestimated competitive advantages in startups, and one of the fastest ways to break a company. In this episode, Michail Katkoff (Deconstructor of Fun), Joe Burridge (Head of Talent at Play Ventures), and Miki Blasko (Head of Talent at Deconstructor of Fun) break down what founders consistently get wrong about hiring, and how those mistakes quietly turn into culture, e...

Rocky (12) and Mickey (10) are back with Eric Kress and Jen Donahoe for the annual TWIG Jr segment, bringing unfiltered Gen Alpha opinions on everything from Roblox to the Switch 2. The kids don't hold back: hypercasual games are "mindless slop," Steal a Brain Rot is "ruining America," and Fortnite is running out of collabs. They break down what's actually hot at school...

Is Die Hard a Christmas Shooter Movie? Only this podcast would know! We discuss:- Call of Duty’s rare public admission of failure and what the end of back-to-back sub-franchise releases actually signals.- Marathon’s delay, $40 price point, and why fiscal calendars still distort launch strategy.- Why Valorant Mobile exploded in China, and why Western mobile shooters keep failing to break through.-...

Steam PC flops, Xbox layoffs return, Sony’s handheld dominates, investors flee games for apps, Roblox sees a $100M exit, China beats Turkey, PC indie rises, mobile teams pivot to apps. 01:01 Tribute to Vince Zampella 08:03 Biggest Game of the Year Predictions 08:09 GTA 6 and Its Impact 11:42 Other Major Game Predictions 14:13 Industry Macro Trends 18:50 VC Investments and Gaming 26:11 FIFA and Net...

In this Deep Dive, Jen drops into the pit with Sean “Clown” Crahan — co-founder of Slipknot , lifelong gamer, and unapologetic creative chaos agent. We go from masks to Minecraft , breaking down the origin story of VERNEARTH , why creator-led studios are having their moment, and how the things metal has always understood, culture, empathy, friction, and community, are now becoming core pillars of...

Brace yourself. Golden TWIG voting is open! https://forms.gle/b4HFZkaeczN41BsBA This isn’t a participation-trophy awards show. Nor some thinly veiled promotion of paid sponsors. Golden TWIG is the industry mirror we all pretend not to look into. Vote now and help us separate the gold from the garbage. 00:00 Welcome 00:24 Golden Twig Award Nominations00:58 Mishka of Arabia02:43 Upcoming Events and...