

Mobile Games Playbook
Liftoff
Welcome to the ultimate podcast for mobile games - Join our host Jon Jordan and expert guests as they uncover the winning strategies and closely-guarded secrets behind game development, monetization and user acquisition.Brought to you by Liftoff, the leading growth acceleration platform, this podcast offers expert analysis and insights to elevate your mobile games!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 7, 2022 • 29min
Episode 33: How State of Survival: Zombie War became an award-winning game
In this episode of the Mobile GameDev Playbook, Bob Slinn, Head of Business Development at FunPlus, and game analyst Milka Paunonen from GameRefinery, a Liftoff company, joins our host Jon Jordan to discuss State of Survival’s well-deserved wins in the most recent Mobile GameDev Awards!We will discuss the development and inspiration behind State of Survival, the recent trends in the 4x strategy genre, its wins in the categories of ‘Biggest Evolver’ and ‘Best Use of IP in a Collaboration Event’, and what the future holds for the game.You can now find The Mobile GameDev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

Aug 24, 2022 • 36min
Episode 32: The Mobile Gamedev Awards: What makes an award-winning mobile game
In this episode of the Mobile GameDev Playbook, we’re joined by GameRefinery, a Liftoff company analysts Erno Kiiski and Kalle Heikkinen for a special episode looking at the games that won at the Mobile GameDev Awards. The Mobile GameDev Awards are an annual set of awards by GameRefinery to recognize and celebrate innovation and excellence in mobile games. We will cover what made these games and studios win their respective categories, what aspects GameRefinery examines within a game, and what the future may look like for these games. Some examples include Apex Legends Mobile winning The ‘Most Promising Soft Launch Game’. Several games, such as State of Survival won ‘Biggest Evolver’. Beatstar, along with a few other games, was voted as ‘Best Newcomer’.You can now find The Mobile GameDev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

Aug 9, 2022 • 32min
Episode 31: Crafting a charming farming game: The story of Sunrise Village’s development
In this episode of the Mobile Gamedev Playbook, Thi Detert, Senior Lead Game Designer at InnoGames, and Product Owner, Alison Simpson talk about the development journey of Sunrise Village with GameRefinery, a Liftoff company analyst Teemu Palomäki and our host, Jon Jordan.We will cover the challenges (and solutions) encountered along the way from soft launch to global launch; the solutions that allowed the design team to build everything from components developed by the dev team; what inspired the game; and what the future might have in store for InnoGames.You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

Jul 20, 2022 • 39min
Episode 30: Diablo Immortal or Diablo Immoral? Discussing the monetization controversy behind Blizzard’s latest mobile game
In this special episode of the Mobile GameDev Playbook, our host Jon Jordan discusses the popular but controversial game Diablo Immortal with Erno Kiiski and Wilhelm Voutilainen, Chief Game Analysts at GameRefinery, a Liftoff Company.We discuss the franchise's background, what separates Diablo Immortal from its predecessors, the player experience, the monetization controversies surrounding the game, and whether they are justified.You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery's Youtube channel.Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

Jul 5, 2022 • 33min
Episode 29: Fishing for knowledge: designing realistic life simulation games for mobile
In this episode of the Mobile Gamedev Playbook, Kirill Petruk, Lead Producer at Ten Square Games, talks about the development of Fishing Clash: Sports Games and other realistic life simulation games with GameRefinery, a Liftoff company analyst Teemu Palomäki and our host, Jon Jordan.We discuss the inspiration behind Fishing Clash, the realistic gameplay it provides, the social elements, and the collaborations it has had.You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

Mar 28, 2022 • 37min
Episode 28: How to create a winning in-game economy with Machinations
In this episode of the Mobile Gamedev Playbook, we’re looking at the tools available on the market to build a thriving free-to-play game economy. Our host, Jon Jordan, is joined by GameRefinery’s Erno Kiiski, Machinations CEO & Co-Founder, Mihai Gheza and Sales Director of Machinations, Matthew Morris.We’ll learn how the Machinations tool designs and balances game economies, forecasts player progression across gameplay, and how it’s used in classrooms worldwide to teach game economy design.You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel. Please subscribe and leave a review! Thanks for listening, The Mobile Gamedev Playbook

Feb 23, 2022 • 33min
Episode 27: Kingdom Rush: What makes a successful game franchise? With Ironhide Games
In this episode of the Mobile Gamedev Playbook, Ariel Coppes, Lead Game Engineer at Ironhide Games, talks about the success of the Kingdom Rush franchise with GameRefinery by Vungle analyst Erno Kiiski and our host, Jon Jordan.We delve into making games for the premium market, releasing games cross-platform, stepping into F2P games, and the highs and lows that come with developing a franchise of successful mobile games.You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel.Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening,The Mobile GameDev Playbook

Feb 7, 2022 • 42min
Episode 26: Raid: Shadow Legends - Creating a mobile powerhouse with Plarium
In this episode of the Mobile Gamedev Playbook, host Jon Jordan and GameRefinery by Vungle analysts Erno Kiiski and Altti Fromholdt join Vice President of Creative at Plarium, Nick Day. Together they give an inside look into the development process behind Raid: Shadow Legends and how it became one of the best known mobile games in the world and enjoyed by millions of players. Nick spills the tea on influencer marketing tactics, retention strategies, and the art direction behind Raid: Shadow Legends. GameRefinery analysts discuss the market as a whole, meta elements in mobile games, and their own experience with Raid.You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel.Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

Jan 26, 2022 • 37min
Episode 25: How to create a winning shooter game with Nitro Games
In this episode of the Mobile GameDev Playbook, we sit down with Finnish mobile game developer Nitro Games to discuss how to design, monetise and market your mobile shooter for success.Jon Jordan is joined by GameRefinery by Vungle’s Erno Kiiski and Product Marketing Director at Nitro Games, Jukka Hilvonen, to discuss the popularity boom in mobile shooters, how to succeed in a genre dominated by massive studios, as well as getting some juicy insights into Nitro Games upcoming release Nerf: Battle Arena. You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel.Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook

Jan 13, 2022 • 25min
Episode 24: What will 2022 bring to mobile games?
In this episode of the Mobile GameDev Playbook, we look at what 2022 might have in store for the mobile game industry across the US, China and Japan. Host Jon Jordan is joined by GameRefinery by Vungle’s chief game analyst, Kalle Heikkinen, to discuss upcoming trends and changes in mobile games in 2022, as well as anticipated releases throughout the forthcoming year.You can now find The Mobile Game Dev Playbook on GameRefinery’s Youtube channel.Please subscribe and leave a review!Thanks for listening, The Mobile GameDev Playbook