
PocketGamer.biz Podcast
Welcome to your regular glimpse into the business of mobile games. Featuring interviews with games industry experts! Your hosts are the insiders at PocketGamer.biz, the top B2B site for the mobile games industry. It covers the people, technology and deals that drive this multi-billion dollar sector. In our ongoing podcast, you’ll hear the editorial team and their guests dive into the topics and themes at the forefront of the industry. You’ll get unique insight and exclusive Q and As, taking you behind the scenes on the international mobile games scene.
Latest episodes

Mar 7, 2024 • 44min
S04 E10 Innogames’ Strategy To Extending The Lifespan Of Legacy Games
Discover Innogames' unique strategy for extending the lifespan of their legendary games, Tribal Wars and Forge of Empires. From successful community engagement to cross-platform integration, they share valuable insights on UA, company culture, and embracing power creep. Learn how they continuously attract new audiences and hit milestones like one billion lifetime value. Useful information for both indies and triple-As in this loaded episode.

Mar 1, 2024 • 59min
Week in Views - Layoffs, Unity's troubles and EGDF anger
Discussions on layoffs in gaming industry, challenges faced by Apple Arcade, Unity's financial performance, Apple's AI plans, upcoming mobile game releases excitement, Monster Hunter's successful journey, and critical analysis by eGDF President

Feb 29, 2024 • 27min
S04 E09 Guy Gadney & Harry Holmwood On Baking Omelettes And AI Into Your Game Worlds
AI experts Guy Gadney and Harry Holmwood discuss the use of AI in game development, from optimizing creativity to revolutionizing storytelling. They explore ethical considerations, world-building with digital dice, and navigating the machine learning minefield. Learn how AI can co-create engaging experiences with players and fundamentally change the art of storytelling.

Feb 22, 2024 • 33min
S04 E08 Webshops, IP In AI, And Avoiding Apple’s Commission Fees: The Full PGC London Wrap-Up
How did Yahtzee break revenue records? What’s up with webshops, and are subscription models shaping up to match past hype? We answer all these questions and more in this episode of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast live from the floor of PGC London. Host Peggy Anne Salz leads a captivating conversation with Steel Media Ltd. executives Chris James (CEO), Craig Chapple (Head of B2B Content), and Aaron Astle (News Editor). The group gets into the weeds about redefining customer relationships, advancing IP through AI, and how studios are saying sayonara to Apple’s near 30% commission fees. Tune in for our team’s hot takes and exclusive insights on gaming in 2024, and register today for PGC San Francisco!
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
01:08 - Show highlights
05:47 - Small changes make a big difference
08:23 - Advancing IP through AI
14:34 - Webshops and Apple's 27% commision
21:00 - Subscription models
23:02 - Favourite talks and tracks
29:02 - Favourite games Q&A
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** Let's Connect **
👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.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

Feb 16, 2024 • 34min
S04 E07 Karl Knights and Lirui Ding On The Data And Trends Defining Mobile Gaming In 2024
Karl Knights from data.ai delves into mobile gaming data and trends for 2024, revealing monetisation methods and predictive models. Lirui Ding discusses Esports' impact on engagement and community building, along with VR's potential in mobile gaming revolution.

Feb 8, 2024 • 18min
S04 E06 Mistplay’s Gabriel Lewis On Leveraging Loyalty To Keep Paying Players Coming Back
Gabriel Lewis, Senior Director and Global Head of Accounts at Mistplay, joins the podcast to discuss how Mistplay is using rewarded play to drive lasting loyalty and engagement in mobile gaming. They explore the value of personalized rewards, collaborations between developers and gaming platforms, and the future of gaming with seamless integrations and cross-game promotions. Listen for insider tips on leveraging rewards and boosting player loyalty.

Feb 1, 2024 • 35min
S04 E05 NAK3D’s Kelly Vero On Merging Fashion And Gaming To Revolutionise Game Commerce
Kelly Vero, CEO and CTO of NAK3D, discusses the future of game commerce and bridging the gap between digital and physical retail. The podcast touches on topics such as web3, digital death, and the evolution of the metaverse. It also explores the rise of eSports in South Korea and the growing influence of the metaverse and web three technology in gaming.

Jan 25, 2024 • 36min
S04 E04 Mega Studio’s Adam Jaffe On The Impressive Benefits Of Incentivised Traffic
To acquire valuable players and boost rank in the app stores, studios have to shift focus and budget to offer each user a customised experience that aligns with their unique player motivations. But the path to pinpointing player intent isn’t straightforward--especially in a privacy-first landscape that makes prediction more challenging than ever. It’s a perfect storm of conditions for revisiting and rethinking approaches that reward players for staying in the game. Adam Jaffe, Founder and CEO of Mega Studio—an end-to-end gaming agency offering services in everything from product creation to marketing to monetisation—joins hosts Peggy Anne Samz and Brian Baglow to discuss how incentivised is powering UA and much more. Adam observes that rewarded approaches pay dividends, producing retention rates that are “40% higher” than those of non-incentivised users. This is because rewarded gives marketers bonus insights into player behavior. As Adam puts it, marketers know “exactly why” a user downloaded, allowing them to create a “railed environment” or direct path that users are nearly guaranteed to follow. He shares smart strategies to optimise this approach, from how to finetune features to create long-term users to where to place ads to maximise monetisation. Lastly, he offers advice on marrying product and marketing and explains why incentivised traffic can potentially become a critical data signal studios can harness to optimize everything.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
03:15 - Why gamification?
05:44 - Biggest misconception about rewarded traffic
09:30 - The nuts and bolts of incentivised traffic
13:05 - Maximising monetisation
18:16 - Finding the incentivised sweet spot
24:18 - Optimising for player motivation
27:08 - The future of incentivised traffic
32:45 - Favourite games Q&A with Adam
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** Let's Connect **
👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.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

Jan 18, 2024 • 29min
S04 E03 Gamelight’s Günay Aliyeva On The AI Algorithm That Revolutionises UA
Profitable UA is about connecting with the right players at the right time in the right context. Using traditional targeting tools, UA managers can manually parse through data to predict who is the best fit. But ultimately, this approach eats up marketers' time—and ad spend. Gamelight’s AI-powered algorithm cuts out the guesswork, locating only the players sure to produce high LTV and delivering 4x ARPU uplift in just a few days. Günay Aliyeva, Co-founder of Gamelight, a company that removes the heavy lifting from UA, joins host Peggy Anne Salz on the show this week. She says it's time to toss the timeworn targeting tools and embrace automation to revolutionise UA. She talks about trusting AI to optimise monetisation and how Gamelight’s self-learning algorithm builds upon itself to extract the most value from new and existing players. Finally, she shares how to level up your game and what it takes to establish a successful startup. She would know—she’s built three!
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
03:23 - AI optimising in-app purchases
06:48 - Perfecting player targeting and UA optimisation
14:05 - Learning to trust the algorithm
17:10 - What it takes to build a successful startup
21:46 - Build your app during launch, not before
24:34 - Favourite games Q&A with Gunay
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** Let's Connect **
👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.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

Jan 11, 2024 • 32min
S04 E02 Games Factory Talents’ Oleg Paliy On How To Score The Job Of Your Dreams In 2024
The games industry faced a brutal year in 2023, with unofficial layoff estimates reaching an alarming 10,000. The stakes remain high in 2024, and job seekers need to double down to secure a position amidst reduced hiring and increased competition. We learn how to “pimp our LinkedIn” and get the most out of networking opportunities in this episode with Oleg Paliy, CEO of Games Factory Talents, a recruiting agency that connects global talent with leading Finnish games studios. Joining our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, Oleg gives PG.biz Podcast listeners some tough love and expert advice on nailing your dream job in 2024. If you like what you hear in this show, don't miss out on your chance to connect with him in real life at PGC London, where Games Factory Talents will be hosting the career zone and giving attendees advice on their LinkedIn, resume and next career move.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
02:38 - The layoff landscape for 2024
04:20 - How to "pimp" your LinkedIn
07:13 - How to capture a recruiter's eye
10:28 - The most in-demand positions of 2024
14:51 - Hiring for soft skills
20:39 - Are you a diver or a surfer?
24:05 - Connect with Games Talent Factory
28:33 - Favourite games Q&A with Oleg
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
** Let's Connect **
👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.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