Deconstructor of Fun

TWIG #401: Blizzard Goes All In, Roblox Breaks Out of Its Own App and Aniimo Nails Launch Day Sep 17, 2026 00:53:06 Gaming is back, and this week had a lot to talk about.BlizzCon delivered the biggest slate of announcements Blizzard has had in years, but the timelines and team sizes raise real questions about what Microsoft pressure is doing to the studio. Roblox used RDC to push standalone apps, browser play and a developer wallet, and we debate whether any of it actually improves discoverability. Plus Kojima&

348. Why None of Us Saw Cyberpunk Coming Apart I Michal Nowakowski. joint CEO, CD PROJEKT RED Sep 14, 2026 01:02:35 Cyberpunk 2077 sold 13 million copies in ten days, then Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store. CD Projekt Red joint CEO Michal Nowakowski was the one taking the calls.He walks through what actually broke, why the investors weren't the reason, and how the studio went from a Polish box distributor to owning The Witcher outright. Plus the transmedia strategy, the move to Unreal Engine 5, and

TWIG #400: Is the Game Industry Actually Crashing, OpenAI's Astra and 8 Years of Hot Takes Sep 10, 2026 01:16:20 400 episodes in, and yes, we swear more than anyone will admit.This is the big one. Before the retrospective, we tear apart the latest "video game industry is crashing" clickbait using actual employment data, then get into what OpenAI's new Astra model means for teams already shipping with AI. Then we open the vault: eight years of TWIG, the origin stories nobody remembers the same w

347. Questions Istanbul Founders Stopped Asking I Akin Babayigit, Arcadia Gaming Partners Sep 7, 2026 01:13:56 McKinsey, the United Nations, Skype, Rocket Internet, Facebook, King. Then Akin Babayigit co-founded Tripledot, spun out Luna Labs, and now runs Arcadia Gaming Partners, a $100M fund he deploys alone.He left Türkiye at sixteen and never moved back, which makes him one of the few people who can talk about Istanbul as both an insider and an outsider. We get into how the ecosystem was built, why Sida

TWIG #399: GTA VI Breaks Netflix, EU Targets Roblox and Zero Company's Studio Implodes Sep 3, 2026 00:57:17 GTA VI just proved it can break Netflix, the EU just put Roblox under its strictest rulebook, and one of the best reviewed games of the year is already falling apart behind the scenes.The crew breaks down the numbers behind GTA VI's Netflix trailer drop and what it means for pre-orders, why PlayStation is quietly winning the entire hype cycle, and how rising RAM prices could delay the PS6. The

Shooter Monthly #9: Battlefield's Hot Streak, Gears Goes Helldiving, and the Battle Pass Plateau Sep 2, 2026 01:00:32 Shooters are having one of their best summers in years, and every major franchise still can't agree on what to do about it.The crew runs through the battle pass shakeup hitting Call of Duty, Battlefield and Overwatch, breaks down why Battlefield is quietly beating Call of Duty on Steam, and picks apart Apex Legends' run as the most consistent live service in the genre. They also dig into G

346. Why Mattel Wants Studios to Pitch the Uncomfortable Aug 31, 2026 00:40:18 Mattel owns Barbie, Hot Wheels, UNO, Masters of the Universe and Street Sharks. Marcus Liassides runs its digital business, which now Roblox, Fortnite, and a licensing program that puts Mattel IP in creators' hands without approving what they build with it. This episode is about how a studio actually gets an IP deal with Mattel, and what you get beyond the logo.00:00 - Why Mattel is at a games

TWIG #398: Gaming's 2026 Reality Check, The GTA 6 Leak Nightmare and Why Jobs Are Still Vanishing Aug 27, 2026 01:02:49 Rockstar is fighting a leak it cannot plug, and the leaker has turned the whole thing into a token economy.Episode 398 covers a week where the data says growth and the job market says something else. Newzoo puts 2026 at 214 billion, Makers Fund closes another 250 million that looks nothing like venture capital, Google Play turns RAM into a store requirement, and Gamescom hands us Nodusfall, Palwor

345. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of UA Financing Aug 26, 2026 01:13:42 Everyone's telling you cohort financing is free money to scale. It's not, and the contract fine print is where that story falls apart.Josh Chandley (President & COO, Wildcard Games) sits down with Phil Mohr (CEO & Co-founder, Metica) and Martin Macmillan (Founder, Pollen Capital) to break down what cohort financing actually costs, who really takes the risk, and how founders keep getting bu

344. The Truth About Taking Over A Company Aug 24, 2026 00:43:46 In March 2025, Jon Bellamy became CEO of Jagex and Alexis Bonte became CEO of Stillfront. Both inherited companies with legacy, scale, and a long list of things that needed to go. This episode is about what actually happens in a games industry CEO's first 100 days.Timestamps00:00 - The first 100 days05:24 - Knowing the company09:15 - Cultural shift15:16 - Choosing focus19:33 - Public versus pr

TWIG #397: Roblox Under Fire, Apple’s EU App Store Shake-Up and Netflix Games’ Studio Retreat Aug 20, 2026 01:07:29 Crew breaks down another packed week in games. Roblox faces mounting pressure over child safety as Congress launches an investigation, Apple rewrites its EU App Store economics while Germany forces changes to ATT, and Netflix Games keeps shrinking with two more studio closures. Meanwhile, Webtoon makes a $100 million bet on gaming, Devolver Digital heads for the exits after a brutal public-market

343. WEBTOON Is Bigger Than Monopoly Go: Inside a New Game Marketing Channel Aug 20, 2026 00:44:18 Jen sits down with WEBTOON and Square Enix to break down a channel that reaches mobile, PC, and console at once.UA is saturated and everyone is hunting for new reach. WEBTOON has 160 million MAU, about 90% under 34, and roughly 69% of its readers play games across all three platforms. Christine Yu (WEBTOON) and Melanie Gordon (Square Enix) walk through how the Visions of Mana and Dragon Quest VII

342. The Man Behind Most Gaming Deals | Affan Butt, Aream & Co. Aug 17, 2026 01:40:53 Affan Butt has advised on 110+ gaming M&A deals worth $40 billion. He breaks down how game studios actually get sold, what acquirers pay for, and why earnouts wreck founders. We go through a studio acquisition from the founder's side of the table. How M&A processes really start, what due diligence looks like, why inbound corp dev interest is not validation, how bidding wars backfire, a

TWIG #396: AppLovin's Q2, Unity's Supersonic Fire Sale and GTA VI's Netflix Trailer Drama Aug 13, 2026 01:10:12 Crew breaks down a packed week in mobile and games. AppLovin's stock craters despite the SEC closing its inquiry with no action, Unity sells Supersonic to Tripledot for a shockingly low $40 million, and Take-Two's GTA VI presales are on fire even as its mobile business slows. Topics Covered:• AppLovin's Q2 earnings and stock drop despite growth• Unity's Vector model closing the gap

341. Why the Best Founders Are Neither American nor European Aug 10, 2026 01:08:46 Emmanuel De Maistre didn’t build Scenario by choosing between Silicon Valley ambition and European pragmatism. He learned to use both.In this conversation, the Scenario founder breaks down what years of building in the US taught him about ambition, failure, and venture-scale thinking, and why European founders often bring the grounding that Silicon Valley lacks. We also get into what AI adoption a

TWIG #395: Xbox Prices Explode, Roblox's Worst Day Ever, and Merge Eats Puzzle Aug 6, 2026 01:07:15 Xbox prices in Europe jumped as much as 50%, and the console math now writes itself.The crew digs into a rough week for hardware and a strange one for puzzle. PS5 is suddenly the obvious pick while a global RAM crunch threatens the entire next console cycle. Capcom is printing money off seven-year-old games. Roblox got its stock cut 30% after guiding bookings down, and the fight over its algorithm

340. The $12B+ Mobile Ad Market: Sensor Tower's First-Ever Deep Dive Aug 3, 2026 00:32:21 After years of saying not yet, Sensor Tower finally estimated mobile ad revenue, and the number is $12 billion for 2025.Josh Chandley and Sensor Tower's lead gaming insights analyst Sam walk through how the estimates were built and why $12 billion is a conservative floor. We get into why puzzle pulls more than half of all gaming ad revenue, how AppLovin keeps eating share while smaller network

TWIG #394: Playtika's Solitaire Meltdown, the AppLovin-AdMob Duopoly and Why Nobody Wants New Games Jul 31, 2026 00:53:33 The crew breaks down Sensor Tower's big H1 2026 report, digs into why downloads keep falling while nobody seems to want new games, and asks whether ad revenue was ever going to save anyone. Plus a Warframe live service masterclass and the arrow craze that Kress would very much like everyone to stop talking about.Topics Covered:• Disney Solitaire cannibalizing Solitaire Grand Harvest • Where th

Puzzle Monthly #5: The Secret Behind Toon Blast's Success Jul 27, 2026 00:36:52 Why is Toon Blast still growing while every other Blast game is fading away?In this episode of Puzzle Monthly, we break down Toon Blast's remarkable resurgence, from its early days challenging Toy Blast to its recent revenue explosion fueled by Super Light Ball, LiveOps innovation, and relentless experimentation. We explore why Peak Games continues to outperform the entire Blast genre, and wha

TWIG #393: GTA 6's Impossible Attach Rate, Playtika's Earn-Out Disaster, and Unity 7's Big Swing Jul 23, 2026 00:58:25 Convoy says 85 million copies in 60 days. That means 63% of every console owner alive buys GTA 6, and the closest anyone has come without a bundle is half that.The crew digs into the Newzoo and Convoy numbers behind GTA 6 and finds projections that would require almost every active console owner on earth to buy it. Then Playtika, where a badly negotiated earn-out turned Superplay's success int

Shooter Monthly #8: The Bungie Eulogy, Why Destiny Fell Off, and Can Marathon Save the Studio Jul 21, 2026 00:54:35 Bungie built the defining live shooter of the decade, then spent ten years surviving its own crises. This one plays like the eulogy.The crew runs the full ups and downs of Bungie from Myth to Marathon, with an ex-Bungie insider walking through every near-death moment, why Destiny endured far longer than anyone predicted, why it finally fell off, and whether Sony and Marathon can pull the studio ba

339. The Most Honest AI Adoption Story in Gaming Jul 20, 2026 01:08:08 InnoGames didn't reach for AI to chase a trend. They reached for it because the alternative was shutting down a game people love.Thomas Lehr walks through how InnoGames kept Sunrise Village alive after the business case stopped working, taking the team from 25 people down to 3 and stabilizing a title that was slipping. This is the rare AI adoption story told with actual numbers, actual workflows,

TWIG #392: Pokémon’s Gamble, World Cup WHAT & the Monetization Debate Jul 16, 2026 00:59:10 Jen, Eric, and Phil break down a week where EA torched a premium launch, Sony declared the disc dead, and Riot reminded everyone that nostalgia is still the most reliable growth lever in games. Monetization is the throughline all the way down: who actually has a lever left to pull, and how badly you can blow it up when you pull it wrong.Topics Covered:• League of Legends Classic and the nostalgia

338. The Mobile vs Web User Acquisition: What Nobody's Talking About Jul 13, 2026 00:30:56 AppsFlyer just took attribution off mobile and put it on the open web, and it might be the biggest unlock D2C web shops have seen yet.Josh Chandley talks with Adam Smart, Global Director of Product for Gaming at AppsFlyer, about the company's new web attribution product and its bigger bet on becoming a "Modern Marketing Cloud" spanning web, PlayStation, Xbox, and Oculus.Topics Covered:• AppsFlyer'

TWIG #391: Xbox's 4,800 Cuts, Apex Predator Playbook, and the 6% Problem Killing New Games Jul 9, 2026 00:56:50 Xbox just got torched, and the math says new games can't win.Jen and Eric (two for TWIG this week) break down the biggest restructuring in Xbox history: 4,800 jobs cut, Asha Sharma unwinding Phil Spencer's entire studio buying spree, and King and Minecraft pulled in to report directly to her. Is this the setup for an Activision Blizzard 2.0 spin-out? Then they dig into fresh Newzoo data on

337. Inside New York Times Games: Why Killing 96% of New Ideas Is the Win Jul 6, 2026 00:50:00 Zoe Bell is the Executive Producer of Games at The New York Times. If you've played Wordle, Connections, Spelling Bee, Strands, Letter Boxed, the Mini, or the Crossword, you've played something she helped build or bring to life. NYT has nearly 13 million subscribers, which includes the game business that features some ads but no in-app purchases and no battle pass.The players run from your group c

TWIG #390: Destiny Ends, Xbox's Biggest Layoff Ever, and Google Play's New Fee Chaos Jul 3, 2026 01:05:25 Destiny is dead, Xbox is about to make the largest layoff in gaming history, and Google Play just completely changed how it charges developers.In this episode, we break down:• Why Sony's $3.6B Bungie acquisition was doomed from the start• What Destiny's gradual player decline actually looked like on the data• Where hundreds of laid-off Bungie developers go from here• Which five Xbox studio

Puzzle Monthly #4: $60M Marketing, $65M Revenue, What Happened to Good Job Games? Jun 29, 2026 00:51:00 In this episode of Puzzle Monthly, we trace Good Job Games' path from two clean exits to a struggling Match 3 launch, and break down why the studio that built Zen Match and sold its hypercasual portfolio for billions in downloads can't get Match Villains to monetize like Royal Match.Topics Covered:• Good Job Games' history, from hypercasual hits to Zenmatch's $100-150M exit• Wonder

TWIG #389: GTA 6 Pricing, Tencent Pulls Back from Japan, and Steam Machine Flops at Launch Jun 25, 2026 01:01:10 GTA 6 finally has a price tag, Steam Machine lands with a $1,000+, and Tencent is quietly pulling out of Japan.In this episode, we break down:● Why GTA 6's $80/$100 pricing is good news for the industry● What the deluxe edition actually includes (and what it's missing)● The attach rate debate for GTA 6 on PS5 and Xbox● Why Tencent is exiting its Japanese gaming investments● Who's actua

336. Why Most Game Engines Die, and How AI Builds "Living Worlds" Jun 22, 2026 00:56:17 Andrew Bowell, CEO of Iconic, who spent 15 years at Havok and a decade at Unity, discusses the future of game development, AI integration, and the challenges of building new game engines. He shares insights on technological shifts, AI's role in creating immersive worlds, and why his company is building an engine to “craft intelligent, living worlds”.https://iconicgames.io/02:10— The shift toward d

335. My Wife Uninstalled Roblox. Then I Talked to Their Safety Team. Jun 19, 2026 00:54:20 Roblox's Chief Safety Officer and VP of Safety Products join the podcast to answer the question every parent is asking: Is it actually safe?What's covered:● Why Roblox's safety chief uninstalled the app for his own daughter● The new Roblox Kids and Select accounts launching in June● How facial age verification works at scale, and how parents keep breaking it● AI moderating 150 million daily users

TWIG #388: Xbox's Spinout Plan, Metacore's Mass Layoffs and Netflix's FIFA Flop Jun 18, 2026 01:04:21 Microsoft is laying the groundwork to spin Xbox off, Supercell just cut 70% of Metacore's staff after burning through $180M. Meanwhile, EA just launched a real ad platform for sports games.In this episode, we break down:● Why Xbox keeps losing its top studio leadership● Whether Microsoft is actually preparing to spin off Xbox● What Sharma's first 100 days reveal about her real strategy● Wh

Puzzle Monthly #3: Merge vs Match-3, Gossip Harbor's Rise, and the Future of Merge Jun 15, 2026 00:46:09 Gossip Harbor is beating Candy Crush, Merge Mansion is going to Supercell, and the Merge genre is at an inflection point.In this episode of Puzzle Monthly, we break down the real state of Merge games in 2026, from the history of the genre to why Gossip Harbor succeeded where others failed, and what the next Merge hit might look like.Topics Covered:● The history of Merge — from Tripletown to Merge

TWIG #387: LiftOff IPO, Xbox pulls out the bangers, and The Simpsons take over Monopoly GO! Jun 12, 2026 00:51:36 Nintendo's stock is getting hammered without a new Mario, Monopoly GO is going all-in on The Simpsons, and Liftoff is back on the public markets. Meanwhile, Xbox finally seems to be doing what it should have done years ago.In this episode, we break down:● Liftoff's IPO and the AppLovin challenge● Monopoly GO's Simpsons mega-event● How Scopely uses IP for reactivation● Apple's crack

334. $500M in 2 Years: Here's How Grand Games Did It! Jun 8, 2026 00:58:41 Two mobile games with a $500M annual run rate in just two years, with a fivefold revenue increase in the last 12 months alone. If you're building in mobile gaming or just want to understand what a genuine rocket ship looks like from the inside, this one's worth your time.Grand Games' founder Batuhan Çelebi built one of the fastest-growing mobile game studios in history. In this episode, Batuhan br

333. The ESA's Essential Facts: Free Player Data Most Companies Pay For Jun 5, 2026 00:55:33 Two thirds of Americans now play video games every week. That is more than 212 million people, the average player is 37, and among Boomers, more women play than men. These numbers come from the ESA's 2026 Essential Facts report, the kind of audience and demographic data most companies pay a lot of money for, free to anyone.Jen Donahoe sits down with Stanley Pierre-Louis, President and CEO of the E

TWIG #386: CoD MW4 Revealed, Sony's State of Play, Bungie's End and 007 First Light Jun 4, 2026 01:00:13 Call of Duty is getting back to basics, Sony is pulling the plug on PC ports, and Bungie is laying off staff after Destiny 2's final update. Meanwhile, Summer Game Fest is here, and everyone has something to announce.In this episode, we break down:● Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4, kill blocks, DMZ is back, no last-gen SKUs● Why dropping PS4 and Xbox One could hurt units but help revenue● GTA

332. Match Masters' Influencer Marketing Playbook: 8 Years of Always-On Growth Jun 1, 2026 00:46:49 Most studios still treat influencer marketing as an experiment. Match Masters, a top 150 grossing game globally, has run it as a permanent growth pillar for 8 years. Jen Donahoe sits down with Candivore's Aviv Vidro and consultant Marion Balinoff to break down the playbook behind one of mobile gaming's most disciplined influencer programs.Studios that treat influencer as a permanent pillar see com

TWIG #385: $100M for Indies, Lilith Goes Casino, Google Play Changes and Toon Blast Breaks Bad May 28, 2026 01:01:12 Griffin just handed $100M to indie developers, Lilith is back with a pachinko creature collector that's turning heads, and Toon Blast hired Gus Fring for reasons that actually make sense.In this episode, we break down:● Griffin Gaming Partners' $100M indie fund and why project financing beats VC math for games● Why the tourists are gon,e and the OG gaming VCs are back● Embracer's endl

331. The Brutal Truth About Gaming Consulting Nobody Talks About May 25, 2026 01:04:27 The gaming industry has seen 24,000+ layoffs in 2024–2025 alone, and a wave of new consultants has followed. But how many of them actually chose this path?Michail Katkoff sits down with John Wright to unpack the raw, honest reality of gaming consulting: the anxiety, the income rollercoaster, the identity crisis, and the strategies that actually work.In this episode, we break down: ● Why 70% of gam

TWIG #384: Turkey Raises Capital & the West Cuts Jobs, Xbox's Leadership Moves, and Roblox's Pivot May 21, 2026 00:55:59 Turkey's game industry is overheating, Xbox just hired a chief strategy officer that has the panel in meltdown mode, and Roblox is betting big on a HD pivot that could blow up in their face.In this episode, we break down:● Why Turkey is dominating the gaming landscape and what's fueling its growth● The talent shortage threatening Turkey's gaming boom● Why West Coast game development co

Shooter Monthly #7: Marathon’s Collapse, Apex’s Comeback, & Disney’s Extraction Shooter May 20, 2026 00:53:15 Marathon’s player numbers are collapsing, Apex Legends is surging again, and rumors suggest Disney may be entering the extraction shooter genre.In this episode, we break down:● Why Marathon’s retention and onboarding may be fundamentally broken● Whether Bungie can still save Marathon● How Arc Raiders became the first mainstream extraction shooter hit● Why extraction shooters still struggle with ac

UA Monthly #4: Freecash Android Comeback, Mistplay Goes All In & Can Anyone Stop AppLovin? May 18, 2026 00:58:06 John Wright and Vincent join Josh Chandley for the monthly deep-dive into what's actually moving the needle in mobile user acquisition.Questions we answer in this episode:● Is Sensor Tower now a monopoly, and should you be worried about pricing?● Why did Google reinstate Freecash but Apple still won't?● Is there one person at Apple secretly controlling which apps live and die?● Is Misplay

TWIG #383: Turkey Dominates Puzzle Games, Royal Kingdom’s Struggles, and Playtika’s Big Shift May 14, 2026 01:00:30 Supercell enters the toy business, Playtika fully embraces casual games, and Turkey’s puzzle game machine keeps printing hits and billion-dollar studios.In this episode of TWIG, Jen is joined by Adam, Phill, and LT to break down the biggest stories in mobile games, from Grand Games’ massive $70M raise to the deeper economics behind hybrid casual, DTC monetization, and why puzzle games are evolving

330. From Mobile Games to Apps: Play Ventures $500M Fund May 11, 2026 00:53:37 Why are gaming VCs shifting capital to consumer apps? In this episode, Henric Suuronen and Harri Manninen, founding partners of Play Ventures, one of gaming's top venture funds with $500 million under management and over 100 portfolio companies, break down how they evaluate founders, why they require a two-year vesting cliff, and what co-founder conflict really looks like from the investor side. W

TWIG #382: Merge Mansion Falls, Xbox Fires the Wrong People, and the Math That Killed Gaming VC May 7, 2026 01:03:06 Supercell absorbs Merge Mansion, Xbox fires its veterans and hires from Instacart, and the math behind gaming's VC collapse finally gets laid out in full.In this episode of TWIG, Mishka is joined by Josh Chandley, John Wright, and Ethan Levy to break down the biggest moves in games this week, from Finland's most beloved merge studio quietly running out of road to why gaming VC funding has

TWIG #381: Xbox Loses the Plot, Ubisoft on Life Support & Western Gaming's Darkest Take Apr 30, 2026 01:01:47 Xbox doubles down on a DAU strategy with no real plan to get there. Ubisoft keeps cleaning house while its franchises collect dust. And the most doom-and-gloom post ever written about the games industry lands on LinkedIn, and it's hard to argue with.Topics Covered:● Xbox's public memo: Rebranding back to Xbox, shifting to DAU as a north star● UK games subsidies: £28.5 million, three fundin

Puzzle Monthly #2: Match-3 Is Broken, Pixel Flow Clones, and Royal Kingdom’s Rise Apr 28, 2026 00:44:26 Match-3 is harder than ever to win, clones are getting taken down, and Royal Kingdom is scaling toward the top of the puzzle market.In this episode of Puzzle Monthly, we break down the real state of puzzle games in 2026, from Turkish startup funding to Supercell’s latest attempt, Pixel Flow clone drama, and whether Royal Kingdom can actually challenge Candy Crush.Topics Covered:● Turkish puzzle st

TWIG #380: Game Pass Gets Cheaper, China's Mobile Dominance & Division Resurgence Reviewed Apr 23, 2026 01:07:02 Game Pass just got cheaper, China is rewriting the mobile market, and Ubisoft ships one of the most polished mobile games in years.Topics Covered:● Xbox drops Game Pass Ultimate by 23% and pulls Call of Duty from day one, but none of it actually fixes what's broken● Chinese, Hong Kong, and Singapore publishers now own 30% of Western mobile revenue, up from 16% in 2019● Pokémon Go surged 52% in dow

TWIG JR: Gen Alpha's Honest Take on Roblox, Brain Rot & Growing Up as a Gamer Apr 22, 2026 00:50:49 Two kids. Zero filter. All the takes. Rocky and Mickey are back for Twig Jr., and they didn't hold back. From aging out of Roblox to explaining brain rot to calling out in-game money grabs, this is how Gen Alpha actually thinks about games.Topics Covered:● Roblox's highs and lows and what's actually gone downhill● Friend Slop and how it's replacing traditional multiplayer● Brain-ro

UA Monthly #3: Freecash Ban, Unity Kills ironSource & Vector’s Rise Apr 22, 2026 01:19:35 The mobile gaming ecosystem is shifting fast this month. We break down the shocking deplatforming of Freecash, a $500M+ rewarded ad network, and what it signals for the future of user acquisition. Then we dive into Unity’s major strategic pivot: shutting down ironSource and going all-in on Vector. Is Vector actually working, or just great marketing?Topics Covered:● Freecash ban: what happened and

329. Left VC to Become a Founder Again. Here's What They Don't Tell You About Running a Fund Apr 20, 2026 01:05:04 We sit down with Joakim Achren, serial entrepreneur, former GP at F4 Fund, and now AI-first founder, to talk about why he walked away from venture capital and what he's building next.Topics Covered:● The founder-turned-VC trap: why it sounds like a natural progression but has a flaw nobody warns you about● Micro-fund economics: a $10M fund pays you less than a startup salary, and you spend half yo

TWIG #379: Roblox's Age Problem, Xbox Game Pass & Pokemon's 30th Takeover Apr 16, 2026 01:01:32 A lot happened this week in games. Kids are outsmarting Roblox's age verification, Xbox is cracking under its own pricing, and Pokémon is running laps around everyone else's marketing. Topics Covered:● Roblox age tiers: Three new segments, parental controls, and why lawsuits from 8 states still aren't the biggest threat● AAA dominance debate: Is the top 20 really losing ground, or is Newzoo mislea

328. What Newzoo's 2026 PC & Console Report Actually Says Apr 13, 2026 01:15:59 We sit down with Ben Porter, Director of Consulting at Newzoo, to go through their 80-page 2026 PC & Console report page by page.Topics Covered:● Newzoo calls it an Inflection Point but we call it winner-takes-more on a flat engagement base● Roblox is the #1 most played franchise on PC & Console with 50%+ playtime growth YoY but is it even a game?● The Roblox generation actively avoids AAA

TWIG #378: Mario Smashes the Box Office, Take-Two Cuts AI, and Monopoly Go Goes Social Apr 9, 2026 01:11:07 This week, we go two-on-two for a lighter, looser TWIG, but there’s nothing light about the topics.We break down the biggest shifts across film, platforms, AI, and where attention is really going. Topics Covered:● Don’t ever put Mario in the corner; he crushed it at the Box Office● Aream and Investgame report ● Take Two takes an Axe to its AI team and lets them go in advance of GTA6● Monopoly Go l

Shooter Monthly #6: RADICAL Marathon Solutions, Deadlock’s Secret Design, & Fortnite Extraction Mode!? Apr 7, 2026 01:04:00 What to do, what to do about Marathon? The crew considers radical shock therapy with surprising answers and solutions. Deadlock pushes systems design to its logical extreme in a few shooters that are just starting to play with, but does it actually have an audience? Take bets now.We discuss:● Deadlock’s systems-first design philosophy◦ Layered stat architecture across weapon, vitality, and spirit◦

327. Can You Build a Real Business on Roblox? Apr 6, 2026 00:59:36 Roblox has over 150 million daily active users, a million concurrent hits, and some of the fastest game iteration cycles in the industry. So why do so many Roblox games still fail to become real businesses? We sit down with Nick Tornow, SVP of Engine and Creator Engineering at Roblox, and Zach Letter, CEO of WonderWorks, to unpack how discovery really works on the platform, why small teams are out

TWIG #377: Epic for Sale, Unity Cuts Deep, and Merge Keeps Printing Apr 2, 2026 01:11:25 The industry isn’t slowing down. This week, we break down the biggest shifts across games.Topics Covered:● Disney and Epic: Why the speculation is picking up and what a bigger Disney move into games could look like● Unity’s latest shift: A strong earnings beat, the shutdown of Ironsource, and the sale of Supersonic● Studio closures and shutdowns: What the latest cuts across VR, live service, and E

TWIG #376: Epic Layoffs, Roblox Tax & Google’s New Strategy Mar 27, 2026 01:04:44 The games industry is hitting another inflection point, and the "old rules" of growth are being rewritten. This week, we’re unpacking:● Google’s "Level Up" Program: Is it actually a win for devs, or just more platform gatekeeping? We look at Sidekick and the new UA economics.● The Epic Pivot: Layoffs, the UEFN "platform" gamble, and what the future of Fortnite actuall

UA Monthly #2: AppLovin's Social Network, Google Fee Cuts & Unity D28 Mar 25, 2026 01:00:54 The mobile ecosystem is experiencing some massive shifts this month. We dive into the real implications of Unity Vector's new D28 campaign, break down what Google’s recent fee cut actually means for your studio's growth trajectory, and unpack the wild news of AppLovin stepping out of the ad-network shadows to build its very own social network. Topics Covered:● Unity Vector's D28 campai

326. The Epic Settlement: Google's "Level Up" Program & The Future of DTC Mar 23, 2026 00:31:22 It's been 2030 days since Google pulled Fortnite, and the Epic vs. Google settlement is finally here. We sit down with AppCharge CMO Gil Tovly to read the fine print of Google’s new 15% fee, unpack the mandatory AI sidekicks in the "Level Up" program, and figure out if this is actually a win for developers going direct-to-consumer.Questions we answer in this episode:● What is the real cost of Goog

TWiG #375: GDC 2026 Post-Mortem, Epic’s Surrender & Google Play’s Legal Rebirth Mar 20, 2026 01:03:20 The Deconstructor of Fun crew is back from San Francisco, recovering from a whirlwind GDC week to break down the massive shifts hitting the industry. No prep, no scripts. Just the real conversation on whether the "lowest attendance since 2011" is a sign of a dying conference or just a more efficient executive retreat.Questions we answer in this episode:● What is the "one word"

TWIG #374 GDC 2025: The Honest Debrief Mar 19, 2026 00:59:22 The full Deconstructor of Fun crew, all six of us, recorded live and on-site in San Francisco at the end of GDC week. No prep, no scripts. Just the real conversations from a week of side events, back channels, and late nights.Questions we answer in this episode:What's the one word that captures the mood of GDC 2025?Is GDC still relevant?What's the wildest rumor that we heard?Why is everyon

Shooter Monthly #5: The Marathon Revelation, Overwatch Reborn & The Death of Highguard Mar 18, 2026 00:54:14 Extraction shooters are finally confronting their identity crisis. Is Marathon the answer, or just another branch of the same lineage?Phil, Sides, and Anjos break down a pivotal moment for shooters: Highguard’s collapse, Marathon’s high-stakes launch, and Overwatch’s unexpected resurgence. The debate rage on: are we watching the evolution of battle royale into something more persistent, or just an

325. State of Gaming 2026: What’s Really Winning Now Mar 17, 2026 00:53:44 Sam Aune from Sensor Tower breaks down the State of Gaming 2026 - from Battlefield 6 proving premium is far from dead, to why free-to-play is getting harder to break into, and how social indie games are driving viral success. In this episode, we go deep on mobile’s slowdown, strategy games dominating revenue, and how Chinese publishers are out-executing the West across both midcore and casual.CHAP

Puzzle Monthly #1: Pixel Flow, UA, and the Future of Sort Puzzles Mar 10, 2026 00:45:00 We talk about how Pixel Flow scaled so quickly, why its core design works for monetization, and how games like Hexa Sort and Magic Sort helped push the sort puzzle genre forward.The discussion also covers UA, the wave of Pixel Flow-style clones appearing in the market, and whether hybrid-casual puzzle design is starting to influence traditional puzzle studios. We also touch on what kinds of mechan

TWiG #373: Turkey Funds Game Dev, WB Games Uncertainty & Discord Drama Mar 5, 2026 01:04:55 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

324. Meta Is Back in the Game. Here's What That Actually Means. Mar 2, 2026 00:51:00 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’re

TWiG #372: Death at an Xbox Funeral & Balling Out Ball’s State of Gaming Feb 27, 2026 01:19:32 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 PlayStat

323. 400,000 Wishlists in a Month: Dead as Disco's Steam(ing) Playbook Feb 23, 2026 01:12:07 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

UA Monthly #1: Meta’s New Playbook, Reddit Ads, & the State of UA Feb 20, 2026 00:49:45 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

TWIG #371: Clash Royale's Death Spiral, Blizzard's Comeback, and Why AI Hype is Killing Games Feb 19, 2026 01:05:11 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

322. Female-First as a Moat: Dorian's Business of Fandom UGC with founder Julia Palatovska Feb 16, 2026 00:47:19 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: ww

321. Art Directing in the AI Era with SciPlay's Peter Franco Feb 9, 2026 01:02:12 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/mn2bdwebTimestamps:2:12 - Peter's journey into Social Casino4:42 - Evolution of a

TWiG #369: Genie 3 Explodes, Game Stores Die, & High Guard Stumbles Feb 5, 2026 01:04:40 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

Shooter Monthly #4: The World's Biggest Shooter May Surprise & The Thing Highguard Needs to Learn Feb 4, 2026 01:01:58 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 studies

320. State of Mobile 2026: The 9 Trends That Matter Feb 2, 2026 01:28:30 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/4bvjI2bChapters: 02:13 - Downloads plateau, i

TWiG #368: Ubisoft Cuts, TikTok Slips, and Gaming’s Next Distribution Crisis Jan 29, 2026 00:58:58 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

319. Building Games That Don't Die: The Zynga Model Jan 27, 2026 01:10:36 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,

TWiG #367: A Certain IPO, 2026's 1st Cozy Launch & When CEOs Get Sued Jan 22, 2026 00:58:12 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

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