Deconstructor of Fun Masters of Publishing 5: Scaling is a Grind
Nov 3, 2025
Samantha Benjamin, Senior Director of Growth, dives into the complexities of scaling hybrid-casual mobile games. She explains how scaling is like a shifting puzzle, influenced by ever-changing KPIs. Profit-sharing doesn’t always lead to profits, and the era of spray-and-pray marketing is over. Samantha discusses the challenges of scaling efficiently when downloads plateau and the importance of continuous optimization. Plus, she highlights the balance between quantity and quality in cohorts and why CPI improvements are generally easier than boosting LTV.
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Scaling Is A Constantly Changing Puzzle
- Scaling a game is a dynamic puzzle of IPM, eCPI, eCPM and creatives that constantly change.
- You must continually optimize cohorts, creatives, channels and financial KPIs to sustain scale.
Evaluate Creatives By IPM Not CPI
- Use IPM to judge creative-market fit and view CPI as an outcome driven by network optimizations.
- Optimize creatives and ROI targets rather than trying to directly set CPI in today's market.
Hybrid Games Return Over Months Not Weeks
- Hybrid games have much longer LTV horizons than hypercasual, often reaching break-even at day 90–120.
- That longer curve raises risk and demands deeper product and marketing sophistication to sustain ROI.