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

Dec 4, 2024 • 49min

Investor Trends Set to Dominate Gaming M&A in 2025 ft. Drake Star’s Michael Metzger

What made gaming acquisitions attractive in 2024, and what do investors have on their wishlist for 2025? Michael Metzger, Managing Partner at global tech investment bank Drake Star, takes the mic in this episode of the Pocketgamer.biz Podcast to shine a light on the new era of M&A and share advice with studios shaping their growth strategies for the upcoming year. Alongside our host, Peggy Anne Salz, and special co-host Craig Chapple, Michael reveals insights from Drake Star's Global Gaming Report Q3 2024, explaining why 2024 saw a surge in M&A activity—with a 70% year-over-year increase in gaming sales—and how factors like private equity interest, strategic acquisitions, and profitability-focused deals are shaking up the industry status quo. Tune in to determine what's driving the shift, what it means for developers, and why diversification into non-gaming sectors should be on your growth radar for 2025. Drake Star’s Global Gaming Report Q3 2024 - https://www.drakestar.com/news/global-gaming-report-q3-2024 Michael Metzger - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmmetzger/ Drake Star - https://www.drakestar.com/ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:41 - Getting to close 05:42 - Length of acquisition 08:56 - What's driving gaming M&A? 13:00 - Is it sustainable? 17:11 - What are acquiers looking for? 19:49 - Rollups in 2025 23:37 - The financing climate 30:15 - Bullish on blockchain 33:43 - Diversification 35:44 - Investments in 2025 42:09 - Advice for studios * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** 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

Nov 30, 2024 • 44min

Week in Mobile Games E38 - Xbox and Adjust mishandle their PR and Supercell's culture revolution

Nov 26, 2024 • 53min

Sticky, Loveable, and Loyal: How Developers Create Winning Games with Psychological Segmentation

Accurate segmentation makes the difference between a good game and a great one, but with the declining availability of third-party data, developers face mounting challenges in finding strategies that drive installs and reduce churn. The opportunity? Psychological segmentation, which taps into player motivations and traits rather than relying on surface-level demographics or behaviors. This week, Joe Schaeppi, CEO and Co-Founder of Solsten, joins our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow to reveal how this approach gives developers a winning edge. From understanding the "why" behind player behavior to uncovering untapped personas and creating experiences that truly resonate, Joe breaks down how psychology-driven segmentation empowers developers to connect with players on a deeper level. The result? Games that are not only sticky but also lovable and loyalty-worthy. Tune in to learn about the science of resonance, why it beats relevance, and how to design games that foster enduring player relationships and scalable success. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:45 - Risk & fun 04:30 - What kind of player are you? 07:39 - Resonance vs relevance 11:46 - How to use resonance to stand out 19:24 - Solsten is an insurance policy 25:34 - How does Solsten work? 32:37 - It starts during development 36:30 - Values show up during play 40:01 - Integrating brands 46:33 - If 50% of VCs like your idea 50:16 - 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

Nov 26, 2024 • 1h 2min

Week in Mobile Games E37 - Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket's blockbuster launch and Royal Kingdom hype

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple, deputy editor Paige Cook and News Editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week. On this week's episode we discuss the success of Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, Dream Games' big Royal Kingdom launch, and ask: are developers burned out on mobile? ** 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.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-pocket-gamer-awards-2024-tickets-1042651016257

Nov 19, 2024 • 39min

The 84% Problem: What Bad Ads Are Costing Game Publishers

84% of players uninstall games due to disruptive or poorly placed ads, proving that bad ads don't just hurt a game's reputation but its bottom line, too. Our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, dive into AppHarbr's recent report, “Player Sentiments On In-Game Ads” — a one-of-a-kind survey of over 600 players — before Peggy hits the floor at Gamesforum London to ask games professionals how they combat problematic creatives. Ad monetisation and growth experts from Kwalee, Product Madness, Moloco, GameBiz Consulting and Playtika share the steps to taking back control of your game's ad quality and where they see the most growth for games in 2025. Božo Janković - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bozoj/ John Wright - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwright1987/ Bruno Balistrieri - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruno-balistrieri-5b10a8194/ Piyush Mishra - https://www.linkedin.com/in/piyush-mishra-4333a340/ Or Zilberman - https://www.linkedin.com/in/or-zilberman-469834131/ Michael Fortune - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mifortune/ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:35 - AppHarbr Survey 03:41 - Relevance, timing, and quality 07:09 - Božo Janković - GameBiz Consulting 13:57 - John Wright - Kwalee 22:19 - Bruno Balistrieri - Kwalee 24:56 - Piyush Mishra - Product Madness 31:38 - Or Zilberman - Playtika 34:38 - Michael Fortune - Moloco * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** 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

Nov 18, 2024 • 1h 8min

Week in Mobile Games E36 - Games industry M&A hits overdrive with Plarium and Easybrain deals

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple, deputy editor Paige Cook and News Editor Aaron Astle discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week. On this week's episode we discuss Miniclip's $1.2 billion acquisition of Easybrain, MTG's big deal for Plarium and ask why is Microsoft talking about mobile acquisitions? ** 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/

Nov 12, 2024 • 34min

Scrambly.io’s Golden Rules To Fighting Fraud Before It Starts

Offerwall campaigns are rapidly climbing the ranks of top-performing game-mon strategies, delivering 86.1% higher D7 retention rates compared to rewarded video and interstitials, according to Unity's Mobile Growth and Monetisation Report 2024. The good news: high-value players (and whales) are snapping at the bait. The not-so-good news: a growing appetite for rewards can increase the risk of fraud. This week, Alexander Hrankin, CEO and Co-Founder of Scrambly, joins our host, Peggy Anne Salz, to share how the company’s rewarded-discovery platform connects users with games and apps that match their interests and hunts and blocks bad actors and bots. It will always be an uphill battle, but Alex, once a professional boxer, shares how the right training and a can-do attitude can fight off fraudsters. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:09 - Boxing as games training 03:45 - FinTech verification 05:45 - Aspects of user quality 08:05 - Fraud vs a high-value user 11:27 - How to counteract bad actors 13:02 - Which metrics matter? 16:30 - Low-quality vs bad actors 19:50 - Stopping fraud as it happens 21:51 - Shifts in rewarded 25:47 - Advice for studios starting out 31:25 - 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

Nov 5, 2024 • 37min

Unlock Revenue Streams and Transform Mobile Game Monetization with Aghanim's All-in-One DTC Platform

Discover how Aghanim enables mobile game publishers to boost net revenue by up to 200% through secure & compliant web-based monetization strategies. By integrating Aghanim's suite of tools—covering game-content, liveops automation, community engagement, and payments—publishers can streamline operations and optimize their low-performing web shop approach. Our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, spoke to Conor McLaughlin, VP of Revenue & Partnerships at Aghanim, about how their unique, comprehensive platform is revolutionizing the space and maximizing profits for mobile publishers. This episode is sponsored by Aghanim. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:40 - Pineapple on pizza 03:51 - What is Aghanim? 07:19 - The four friction points 14:28 - Giving publishers power again 17:35 - Connecting with the brand outside the game 20:05 - One-size-fits-all 21:53 - Customized by player 26:56 - Autopopulated content 27:58 - UA or ad mon? 29:29 - Aghanim beyond games 32:51 - Be agile 34:15 - Favourite games Q&A * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** 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

Nov 4, 2024 • 47min

Week in Mobile Games E35 - Facebook Instant Games is back! | Games First 2024 takeaways

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and deputy editor Paige Cook discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week. On this week's episode we discuss Facebook Instant Games finally enabling in-app purchases on iOS, the legal view of Nintendo's Palworld case, and provide key takeaways from Games First Helsinki 2024. ** 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/ 👉🏻 4 takeaways from Supercell’s Games First Helsinki 2024 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/4-takeaways-from-supercells-games-first-helsinki-2024/ 👉🏻 Remember Facebook Instant Games? It’s back - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/remember-facebook-instant-games-its-back/ 👉🏻 Nintendo and The Pokémon Company vs. Pocket Pair: Understanding the details - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/nintendo-and-the-pokemon-company-vs-pocket-pair-understanding-the-details/

Oct 29, 2024 • 47min

How One Studio Stays Succesful When Shift Happens

Resilience, grit, and a gut feeling about good talent separate average studios from great ones and determine which can stand the test of time. Few people hit the mark on all three, like Iron Fox Games Founder and CEO Ryan Filsinger. With a legacy of iconic IPs, including The Simpsons, Star Wars, and Marvel, Ryan’s insights stem from 17 years of industry experience and a mindset geared toward endurance. Ryan tells our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow how studios can push through the unexpected, from the loss of key clients to evolving revenue models, and he unpacks strategies Iron Fox uses to diversify risk, sustain client relationships, and balance in-house projects with work-for-hire. He also dives into how Iron Fox is tapping into web platforms to preserve and modernize classic games for today’s players, providing a home for retro titles that may otherwise stay stuck in the past with changing hardware and software standards. From identifying the right monetization model to embracing new platforms, this conversation equips founders and developers with actionable advice to build studios that can go the distance when shift happens. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:07 - An island journey into games 04:24 - Iron Fox Games 09:43 - Preserving classic games with web 14:40 - The power of the browser 16:40 - Everything old is new 17:50 - What to do when shift happens 24:16 - How to keep clients on your roster 29:58 - Talent non-negotiables 33:05 - Hitting 10M 36:02 - What's next at Iron Fox 39:27 - Where indie studios should focus energy 41:11 - Building something to last 42:40 - Favourite games Q&A * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** 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

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