two & a half gamers 🇨🇳 AI trends n Mini-Games: MVP in 2 weeks. 80% of Chinese mini-game developers already use AI
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 developers already use AI.
AI is embedded across art, code, operations, and UA pipelines.
The most common use cases are:
2. AI improves development speed by up to 80 %.
A single small team (1 artist + 1 programmer + 3 AI agents) can now build an MVP in 2 weeks.
Before 2023, the same project required 5–6 people and 1–2 months.
3. Custom LoRA models are the new secret weapon.
4. AI video ads and playable creation are exploding.
Average cost per playable: $1000–$2000.
you can also get playables with playablemaker.com
25–30 % of UA revenue in September 2025 came from AI-generated playables.
5. AI video workflow = human + AI hybrid.
Studios shoot a few clips with real actors ($500/day), then auto-generate hundreds of new scenes using Runway, VEO3, or Kling 2.5.
The average cost is less than $40 000 per game.
6. “Chinese Speed” defined.
A meme seen on Douyin today becomes a mini-game level the next day.
7. AI agents now analyze markets.
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This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric
Special guest: Chenyang Sun
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenyangsun/
Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Mini Games in China
03:08 Cocos and the Mini Game Market
04:09 Future of Mini Games and AI Integration
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Matej Lancaric
User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
https://lancaric.me
Felix Braberg
Ad monetization consultant
https://www.felixbraberg.com
Jakub Remiar
Game design consultant
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar
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Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me
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