two & a half gamers State of the Brutally Honest UA Q2 by Matej Lancaric
In this solo episode, Matej breaks down the new rules of user acquisition for mobile games in 2025, backed by real survey data from 20,000+ newsletter subs and hundreds of UA managers.
Full report: https://lancaric.substack.com/p/q1-2025-brutally-honest-ua-report
From channel splits and rewarded UA to the creative volume arms race, fraud, AI hacks, and why your next UA hire needs to be a creative prompt engineer, nothing is off the table. This is the data-driven, brutally honest update the industry needs.
What’s inside:
UA Channel Reality: Most studios still pump 80 percent of spend into Facebook and Google, even when running across nine channels and doing seven million a year. Some are forced to pause Facebook or shift heavy budgets to Applovin—yet diversification is still rare and risky.
Rewarded UA Surge: Rewarded UA channels are exploding, with more vendors than ever. The scale is better, but fraud and LTV prediction remain massive headaches. Retention falls off after D7, so you need tougher targets, multi-step offers, and real post-install engagement to make the math work.
Creative Arms Race: The volume of creatives needed has never been higher. The best ad-monetized games now pump out 2,000+ creatives a quarter—more shots on goal, more winners, and more chance to beat your “stuck” top creative. Iteration and refresh speed is everything.
AI Eats Creative: AI-generated creatives, AI UGC, and meta-style hooks are not a trend—they’re the new default. The best teams use AI to pump out, localize, and iterate hooks, voiceovers, and even UGC cameos faster than ever.
Creative Testing & Skills: Most teams test new creatives by launching them straight into BAU (business as usual) campaigns, rather than in separate tests. TikTok and Apple, not just Facebook, are where new winners show up. If your UA manager can’t write a killer AI prompt, you’re already behind.
Key Takeaway:
2025 is not about more channels or smarter spend—it’s about creative firepower, AI leverage, and hiring UA pros who are part prompt engineer, part analyst, part storyteller. Copy the benchmarks, scale the winners, and never stop refreshing.
Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop
---------------------------------------
Vibe. Vibe is the leading Streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses looking for actionable advertising campaign performance.
https://www.vibe.co/
---------------------------------------
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: Matej Lancaric
Youtube: https://youtu.be/8tC8hnnDbiw
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 the State of User Acquisition
04:19 Key Findings from the UA Survey
07:12 Current Trends in User Acquisition Channels
10:09 Challenges in Rewarded User Acquisition
13:19 Creative Strategies for Effective User Acquisition
16:12 The Role of AI in Creative Production
19:22 Testing and Iterating Creatives
22:22 Future Skills for User Acquisition Managers
25:05 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
---------------------------------------
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
---------------------------------------
Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!
Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!
Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me