PocketGamer.biz Podcast

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news on the Week in Mobile Games podcast.On this episode, we discuss:Tripledot’s surprise impending acquisition of AppLovin’s games business.Ludia’s plans for M&A and hiring spree after its exit from Jam City.The management shake up at RuneScape developer Jagex as CEO Phil Mansell steps down and CVC’s Jon Bellamy steps in.Goddess of Victory: Nikke’s induction into the billion-dollar club on mobile.Pokémon Day’s big announcements and why Pokémon Champions could be the next big thing.Supercell acts like a normal company as Lasse Seppänen is named Supercell London GM.** Let's Connect **👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz 👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com👉🏻Pocket Gamer Connects Speaker Submission form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoS5n-vdHu6aU-2d_rR7x1FAgewG51y3nlU1aB8RdetiKaGw/viewform👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3tbjUxVkG17CuHHljMblfmUC3DZ6gNAzV8qiz8bAALUXSvQ/viewform👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco (March 17th to 18th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/👉🏻 The Pocket Gamer Party San Francisco 2025 (March 17th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/pocket-gamer-party/

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and Steel Media CEO Chris James discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.On this episode, we discuss: AppLovin vs. short-sellers: We discuss the claims, AppLovin's response and what it all means for the company and the wider advertising market. Is the industry seeing more investment? We look at where the money is flowing as new startups emerge. Developer Trends Survey takeaways: We analyse our survey report and discuss the big trends right now. As the Amazon App Store closes on Android and Epic Games Store third-party revenue is down (through Epic Payments), we discuss the future of alternative app stores and whether they can break through. Supercell has revealed its latest title: Boat Game. So naturally, we had to talk about it and Supercell's new games strategy.** Let's Connect **👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz 👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com👉🏻Pocket Gamer Connects Speaker Submission form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoS5n-vdHu6aU-2d_rR7x1FAgewG51y3nlU1aB8RdetiKaGw/viewform👉🏻Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards Winners - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/mga2024/winners/👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Awards 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/pocket-gamer-awards-2024-winners-revealed/👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3tbjUxVkG17CuHHljMblfmUC3DZ6gNAzV8qiz8bAALUXSvQ/viewform👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco (March 17th to 18th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/👉🏻 The Pocket Gamer Party San Francisco 2025 (March 17th) - https://www.pgconnects.com/sanfrancisco/pocket-gamer-party/

Nailing mobile ad strategy isn’t just about making eye-catching creatives—it’s about understanding what works, iterating quickly, and scaling effectively, even on a tight budget. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow sit down with Z, Founder and CEO of BLKBOX.ai, to discuss how AI-driven creative optimization is transforming the way gaming studios approach ads. By following BLKBOX’s Five Pillars of Creative Success, teams can break free from the copycat cycle, create unique ad variations, and boost performance without overloading their art teams. Z also explains how the latest AI tools can streamline go-to-market timelines, ensure brand-compliant creatives, and help studios make smarter scaling decisions.Z - https://www.linkedin.com/in/athar-zia-97555462/BLKBOX. - https://blkbox.ai/CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Intro02:58 - 1500% return05:26 - Demystifying the blackbox08:44 - The Five Pillars of Great Creatives10:55 - Pillar One: Analyse13:00 - Unlocking surprising insights16:03 - Pillar Two: Ideate19:55 - Pillar Three: Create22:30 - Pillar Three: Test26:46 - Pillar Three: Scale30:26 - "Don't go live yet."35:54 - Demo of Blkbox's dashboard44:30 - Treat art as science46:05 - Favourite games Q&A

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.On this episode, we discuss:NetEase's Marvel Rivals layoffs, it's change in investment strategy and how it echoes the global strategies of Japanese publishers like DeNA and Gree in the past, and why its plans are strictly business, not political.The reported sale of Niantic's games business, including Pokémon Go, to Scopely, and why Savvy Games Group may be leading the charge on the deal.Jam City's decision to sell Ludia, three and a half years after buying the studio – which it originally aimed to do so it could finally take the publisher public.The Epic Game Store's big numbers reveal, how many of its new accounts are actually on mobile, and the challenges of launching a rival digital games store to a monopoly, with third-party revenue down in 2024.Big Fish Games' future as it halts new development to focus on live games and Aristocrat Leisure scales down investment in the company. It was only in 2018 that the developer was acquired for $990 million.Unity's latest financials, the new ads platform Vector that has investors excited, and why it's been the same talk for the past year.** Let's Connect **👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz 👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com👉🏻Pocket Gamer Connects Speaker Submission form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoS5n-vdHu6aU-2d_rR7x1FAgewG51y3nlU1aB8RdetiKaGw/viewform👉🏻Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards Winners - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/mga2024/winners/👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/👉🏻 Everything is a games platform - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/everything-is-a-games-platform/👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Awards 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/pocket-gamer-awards-2024-winners-revealed/

"If you don't do D2C, you're leaving money on the table." David Stelzer, President of Xsolla, is blunt and bullish about direct-to-consumer strategy in his interview with Peggy Anne Salz at Pocketgamer Connects London. He shares his impressions of the gaming industry, insights from Xsolla's latest State of Play report, and why implementing a D2C in your monetisation mix is an absolute must in 2025.David Stelzer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidstelzer/Xsolla - https://xsolla.com/State of Play 2025 - https://xsolla.com/the-xsolla-report

AI isn’t here to replace marketers—it’s here to empower them. In this week's PocketGamer podcast, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow chat with Bob Hollanders from Appier and Matej Lančarič, a UA expert known for his innovative approach, about how AI is transforming creative strategies in 2025.Matej reveals how he's using AI to generate a high volume of UGC ads on a minimal budget with impressive results while Bob urges marketers to act now. AI is more than a data-crunching tool; it’s a force multiplier for creativity. However, its impact depends on how well you direct it. So get ready to polish your prompt engineering skills because that's a big part of what decides if you lead or follow in 2025!Bob Hollanders - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-hollanders-a3b82627/Appier - https://www.appier.com/en/Matej Lančarič - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matejlancaric/Matej's website - https://lancaric.me/CHAPTERS00:00 - Intro 02:04 - Where AI is disruptive07:54 - How to make AI work for you14:59 - The right amount of data20:28 - Where to start25:55 - Achieving higher ROI31:35 - What studios consistently get wrong33:20 - What excites Bobbie & Matej the most?37:00 - Favourite games Q&A* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Let's Connect **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Peggy Anne Salz pulls Dean Day, CEO of Black Smoke Studios, aside at PGC London to learn from his playbook on extending the lifecycle of games and enhancing cross-channel play. They delve into their experiences with Stumble Guys, the strategic shift to direct-to-consumer models, and the games approaching light monetization in free-to-play games the right way.Dean Day - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanday/Black Smoke Studios - https://www.bsstudios.co/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Let's Connect **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and news editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.On this episode, we discuss Supercell's financials and the details on why Brawl Stars had a mega revival while Squad Busters had a lacklustre launch.We also delve into why AppLovin is selling its games division for $900 million, talk about Unity's latest layoffs, and take a look at DeNA's epic financials following Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket's blockbuster release.** Let's Connect **👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz 👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com👉🏻Pocket Gamer Connects Speaker Submission form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoS5n-vdHu6aU-2d_rR7x1FAgewG51y3nlU1aB8RdetiKaGw/viewform👉🏻Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards Winners - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/mga2024/winners/👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2024/👉🏻 Everything is a games platform - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/everything-is-a-games-platform/👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Awards 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/pocket-gamer-awards-2024-winners-revealed/

At PGC London, Andrew Seow, Director of Monetisation at Tripledot Studios, dropped some serious ad mon advice. From hacking auctions to boost CPMs to mixing up monetization models like a pro, 2025 is all about getting creative with how to boost the bottom line. Expect smarter segmentation, data-driven insights, and a focus on engagement that actually pays off. The secret to success? Patience, strategy, and maybe even ironing your shirt for good luck.Andrew Seow - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-seow-54006a163/Tripledot Studios - https://tripledotstudios.com/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Arr matey! Andrew Mattingley, Founder/Director of indie studio NineZyme OÜ, sank his anchor at PGC London last week to learn more about UA and promote his studio's newest title: Tiles Tales: Pirates. In this interview, he chats with Peggy Anne Salz about embracing nostalgia to bring new energy and new users to indie games. Tune in to collect your treasure!Andrew Mattingley - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-ninezyme/?originalSubdomain=ieNineZyme OÜ - http://ninezyme.com/* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Let's Connect **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event