Shows
PocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E46 - Games industry investment overdrive and behind the scenes at Sonic RumblePocketGamer.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:Analyse Scopely’s $3.5 billion acquisition of Niantic’s games business (check out our Pocket Gamer Reacts video for more insights).Highlight the recent flurry of investment news stories that could signal a more positive future for the games industry.Get insights on Sonic Rumble’s development, delay and IP partnership potential.Talk about whether alternative app stores are really capita...2025-03-1732 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E45 - Tripledot’s surprise acquisition of AppLovin’s games businessPocketGamer.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 C...2025-03-0834 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastThe #1 AI Skill You NEED to Succeed in Marketing (Hint: It’s Not Data Crunching)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...2025-02-1842 minPocketGamer.biz Podcast7 Habits of Incredibly Effective Gaming Jedis: Special EditionIn 2024, our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow interviewed 45 experts across the gaming industry, from straightforward studio heads and energised executives to data-driven developers and monetisation mavens. In this special edition episode, Peggy and Brian look back on the Top 7 shows of this year, recapping the pure-gold lessons and learnings from the marketers you enjoyed hearing from the most in 2024.
As this is the year’s final show, all of us at Steel Media and the Pocketgamer.biz Podcast want to wish you a happy holiday season and a joyful new year. Thanks for listening, and we’...2024-12-1733 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastInvestor Trends Set to Dominate Gaming M&A in 2025 ft. Drake Star’s Michael MetzgerWhat 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...2024-12-0449 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E28 - The Unity Runtime Fee is dead!Craig Chapple, Paige Cook, Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week. We're also joined by special guest, Fundamentally Games CEO Oscar Clark!
We delve into the big breaking news of the week - Unity's decision to cancel the Runtime Fee, one year after it was first announced. Our hot takes were delivered just as the news broke mid-podcast!
Elsewhere we discuss the Microsoft's deep Xbox cuts following its big Activision Blizzard acquisition, Apple's iPhone 16 announcement, the closure of...2024-09-141h 00PocketGamer.biz PodcastTapNation’s Secrets to 1 Billion Downloads in Under 5 YearsTraditionally, studios faced a tough choice: either crank out hypercasual games at speed or concentrate on crafting deeper player engagement with fewer releases. TapNation breaks this mould—and brilliantly—mastering both approaches to top 1 billion downloads just four years after its founding. On this week’s episode of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast, Vincent Février, Chief Marketing Officer at TapNation, returns to share the winning strategies behind the company’s rapid rise and recent acquisition of UA Hero. Vincent unveils how TapNation’s company culture fosters creativity and bold moves, driving the daring shifts in its marketing strategy that spurred a n...2024-09-0445 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E27 - Savvy's big MENA investment push and Finnish dev Lightneer closesCraig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths, and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We delve into Savvy Games Group's big MENA investments and partnerships, the closure of Finnish developer Lightneer, and how Pokémon Masters EX has quietly generated $335m+ in gross revenue. Craig also talks about the Godzilla movies a little bit too much.
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👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz2024-08-3144 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastKelly Kang’s Secret Sauce To Monetise Your Game Like A BossPixel United, known for its portfolio of popular F2P titles and millions of active players, has nailed the art of squeezing revenue from ads without squeezing the fun out of a game. On this week’s episode of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast, Kelly Kang, Senior Director of Ad Monetisation & Partnerships at Pixel United, joins host Peggy Anne Salz to share pages from her playbook and to shed light on what the role of an ad monetisation manager means in today’s games market. Kelly delves into her unexpected experiences in the role, the importance of collaborating with game deve...2024-08-2845 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastTaking Snake.io to the next level and building multimedia brands with Kooapps CEO CK WangKooapps is no stranger to building big brands and successful games. Its portfolio, which includes Snake.io, Piano Tiles, Pictoword and Stacky Bird, has garnered more than 450 million downloads to date.
On this week’s episode of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast, Kooapps CEO CK Wang joins host Peggy Anne Salz to discuss his journey from Microsoft to co-founding his own company, evolving out of the hypercasual space and building strong brands.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
02:43 - Microsoft Research lessons
05:38 - Snake.io anniversary
07:34 - Hypercasual to unified casual
14:05 - Snake.io monetisation strategies
17:49 - Rewarded video ads
19:49 - Building a...2024-08-1346 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E21 - The future of B2B games mediaCraig Chapple, Paige Cook and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the news that Monopoly GO! is now its own board game... plus discuss the future of B2B games media and the closure of Axis Studios - the team behind that famous Dead Island trailer.
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👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz ...2024-07-2151 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E19 - Is Squad Busters a success or failure?Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths, Paige Cook and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover Squad Busters' first month revenue data and ask whether it's a success or failure, review June 2024's top games and publishers, and get industry opinion on those sexist ads.
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👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connec...2024-07-061h 06PocketGamer.biz PodcastTilting Point’s Enric Pedró On Leveraging IP On A Shoestring BudgetMonster IP may require a monster budget, but smaller studios can still tap into cultural trends to perform well in the app stores—provided they know the right questions to ask and licensors to pitch. Enric Pedró, SVP of Marketing at Tilting Point, gives us all the answers about IP ahead of his studio's upcoming release, Godzilla vs. Kong: Titan Chasers. From overlooked sources of IP to the tools you need to start integrating product placement in your games, Enric reveals everything studios need to consider when launching a game with intellectual property. Whether you’re an indie developer looki...2024-07-0248 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E18 - The EU's App Store crackdown and Square Enix's buzzword bingoCraig Chapple, Paige Cook and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the news that Apple faces huge fines in the European Union for its App Store practices, Supercell's latest game Project R.I.S.E, and Square Enix's backtracking on its AI investments.
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👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https...2024-06-2941 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastMetaplay’s Teemu Haila On Scaling And Saving Smaller Studios $1 Million/Year With One SDKIt used to be that big wins demanded deep pockets. Now, achieving success on a shoestring budget isn’t the exception but the rule. It all comes down to one question: how much are you spending on your backend?
This week’s guest estimates that studios spend an average of $21 million and three years developing their own backend. With Metaplay, you can do it in two weeks. Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow sit down with Teemu Haila, Co-Founder and CPO of Metaplay, to share how the brand scales smaller studios and saves them $1 million per year with...2024-06-2545 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E17 - The history and future of the mobile games industryCraig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the news that the EU could be set to fine Apple for infringing Digital Markets Act regulations, and delve into the history of the mobile games industry and where things are are heading.
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👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connec...2024-06-2355 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastEstela Dos Santos Rocha And Aman Sareen On Savvy Strategies For Leaner TeamsA leaner team paves the way for a smarter UA strategy—a must-have for studios with a broad portfolio like Gazeus Games. Estela Dos Santos Rocha, Marketing Coordinator at Gazeus, tips her hand to share the savvier steps any marketer can take to make the most out of their tight-knit team, from attracting the awareness of attention whales to playing to the preferences of old and new users alike. After that, our host, Peggy Anne Salz, dives deep into growing and re-engaging mobile app consumers with Aman Sareen, CEO of Aarki. Aman breaks down the Aarki rebrand, reveals the me...2024-06-1828 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E16 - Stop sexist UA ads, iPhone gets ChatGPT, and is Netflix's games division falling off the rails?Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the news that Mike Verdu is no longer leading Netflix's games business, a campaign to stop sexist ads in user acquisition, and Apple's big WWDC announcements.
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👉🏻Pocket...2024-06-1359 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastAppLovin’s Daniel Tchernahovsky On The Hot Gaming Trends Worth TrackingHybrid monetisation is in, and relying solely on either in-app purchases or ad-driven revenue to power profitability is out. There’s no question that modern monetisation is merging and morphing, so we called in a professional to help us navigate the trends we need to be watching through the rest of the year. Daniel Tchnernahovsky, VP of Global Business Development at AppLovin, sees the games world from a different perspective and shares it all with Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow. One trend on the top of his radar is maximising your LTV by customising your game to player sp...2024-06-1145 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E15 - Star Wars: Hunters finally launches, the West's MOBA problem, and Xbox handheld rumoursCraig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths, Paige Cook and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the big Star Wars: Hunters launch from Zynga and provide some of the inside scoop on its development, why mobile MOBAs fail in the West, and discuss those Xbox handheld rumours.
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👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connec...2024-06-0955 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E14 - Supercell's Squad Busters goes global and why Steam does discoverability better than Apple and GoogleBrian Baglow, Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Paige Cook from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover Supercell's big Squad Busters launch, compare Steam's user-first approach to discoverability that's at odds with Apple and Google's strategies, and discuss whether YouTube Playables will ever work.
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👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com2024-06-0239 minPocketGamer.biz Podcastustwo games’ María Sayans On The Sustainable Strategy Behind The Monumental Game: Monument ValleyA hit game can harbour hope for an up-and-coming games company. But living up to the game's name and weathering the changing tides of player needs, industry upheavals, and privacy concerns can test the limits of any studio. In this episode, María Sayans, CEO of ustwo games peels back the layers of ustwo’s monumental success, Monument Valley—now celebrating its 10th anniversary and over 160m+ downloads—and offers indie developers concrete advice on cultivating a sustainable studio that can succeed despite any storm. She sheds light on how ustwo games adapts and evolves its keystone game to keep pa...2024-05-2846 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E13 - ByteDance's $4bn Moonton plans, tips for working with the games media, and what devs think of Unity's runtime feeBrian Baglow, Daniel Griffiths and Paige Cook from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover ByteDance's latest plans for its $4 billion acquisition of Mobile Legends developer Moonton, remote work and leadership skills challenges, UGC investment opportunities, and ask if Unity developers really are over the runtime fee.
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👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https...2024-05-2545 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastMultiscription's Teis Anker Mikkelsen On Scaling Subscription Models Across Gaming Platforms2024 is turning out to be the year of alternatives. We have the rise of alternative app stores, alternative ads, and a sharp focus on alternative monetization models to maximise revenue potential for gaming studios. Some are mashing up advertising and in-app purchases, while others are tapping strong IP to monetise players' eyeballs. This week, we’re talking about an alternative model that raises the bar for some studios and arguments amongst others—subscription. Teis Anker Mikkelsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Multisctiption—a company offering a cross-publisher subscription service for F2P games—joins hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow a...2024-05-2145 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Mobile Games E12 - Xbox's mobile games store and Unity vs. AppLovinBrian Baglow, Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Paige Cook from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the Xbox mobile games store and whether it's doomed to fail, the AppLovin and Unity financials nearly two years after the acquisition drama, and analyse a survey that claims Gen Z love bitcoin.
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👉🏻 We...2024-05-1850 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views E11 - Xbox in turmoil, Krafton champions AI development, and Apple's iPad problemBrian Baglow, Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the news that Xbox has closed Bethesda studios including Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games and Tango Gameworks, and discuss Microsoft's troubled games business and Game Pass strategy.
We also dive into Krafton's comments about using generative AI in game development, and Apple's iPad problem.
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👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pock...2024-05-111h 03PocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views E10 - Brawl Stars smashes 2023 revenue, Square Enix’s extraordinary losses, and Erling Haaland signs for Clash of ClansBrian Baglow, Daniel Griffiths, Paige Cook and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the news that Supercell's Brawl Stars has already smashes its 2023 revenue total so far this year, Square Enix's warning to investors of "extraordinary losses", and Erling Haaland's introduction as a character in Clash of Clans.
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👉🏻 Website...2024-05-0455 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastSandsoft's Miikka Lindgren On Massive Opportinities In The MENA Game MarketMENA is a fast-growing gaming territory with high-paying and highly engaged players, but what will it take for the region to gain recognition on the global stage? Our host, Peggy Anne Salz, sits down with a Saudi studio for an insider look into the local opportunities and challenges. Miikka Lindgren, VP of Publishing at Sandsoft—a studio making waves in MENA and displaying impressive growth in a growing industry—shines a light on Sandsoft’s strategic focus on global publishing and its innovative approach to data-driven decision-making that underscores their commitment to sustainable growth. He emphasizes the importance of produc...2024-05-0236 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views E09 - Supercell's Squad Busters goes global, Embracer Group splits, and Apple's Vision Pro flopsCraig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week.
We cover the news that Supercell is launching Squad Busters globally on May 29th, Embracer Group's break-up into three new public companies, the TikTok ban, and why Apple's Vision Pro isn't selling any headsets.
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...2024-04-271h 11PocketGamer.biz PodcastGameFounder’s Kadri Harma On Unlocking The MENA Game MarketMENA is a region ripe with opportunities for game industry professionals. Our host, Peggy Anne Salz, sits down with an expert on the area and headline speaker at the GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects, Kadri Harma. Co-Founder of the investment fund and mentoring program, GameFounders, and Venture Partner at Sisu Game Ventures, Kadri brings her on-the-ground expertise to the show this week, lifting the lid on unlocking the MENA market. She shares the investment opportunities and player behaviour that make the region stand out, the government initiatives that empower the local industry, and the actions indie studios can...2024-04-2524 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views E08 - The UK games industry's skills crisis, Fallout's TV success, and Epic's endless court battlesBrian Baglow, Paige Cook, Craig Chapple and Daniel Griffiths from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the in our new 'Week in Views' series.
We cover a new report that delves into the UK games industry's skills crisis, the Fallout TV show's success, App Store emulators, and Epic's endless court battles with Apple and Google. Craig and Brian also have a moan about Rebel Moon.
Extra links:
RaptorVerse Presents... The DMA Breakdown Webinar: https://news.raptorpr.com/raptorverse-presentsthe-dma-breakdown
2024-04-201h 15PocketGamer.biz PodcastDoubleDown Interactive’s Faith Price On Lifecycle Marketing Tips To Extend Your App’s Lifespan
Acquiring valuable users is only half the battle. To truly power profitable growth, studios must focus on the smart strategies that retain their users for years rather than days. Faith Price, pioneers this approach in gaming as the Director of Growth Marketing at DoubleDown Interactive, a leading social casino and mobile games studio. She joins host Peggy Anne Salz in this episode to share how she uses lifecycle marketing to extend the lifespan of DoubleDown’s 13-year-old app—and the tips you can implement to do the same for your game. She opens up about her testing tact...2024-04-1817 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views E07 - State of the Finnish games industry, Squad Busters, and App Store emulatorsBrian Baglow, Paige Cook, Craig Chapple and Daniel Griffiths from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the in our new 'Week in Views' series.
We cover Squad Busters heading into soft launch, the state of the Finnish games industry, and retro game emulators on the App Store
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The Dubai...2024-04-1357 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastProduct Madness’ Piyush Mishra On Smart Questions For Smaller StudiosIn today's noisy, data-constrained market, studios can't afford to splash the cash on multiple soft launches. Instead, they must identify innovative ways to test and validate concepts while keeping their costs low. It's a path stacked with strategic decisions that can seem daunting for smaller studios or leaner teams. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz links up again with Piyush Mishra, Director of Growth at Product Madness, to learn about his playbook for producing stellar games on a shoestring budget, from concept testing to global launch. He reveals the metrics that matter most when evaluating creative and the questions...2024-04-1130 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views E06 - Breaking down the Sensor Tower interview, 10 years of Monument Valley, and MENA MonthCraig Chapple and Daniel Griffiths from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the in our new 'Week in Views' series.
We cover Sensor Tower's acquisition of data.ai and our interview with COO Tom Cui, we discuss 10 years of Monument Valley, and PocketGamer.biz's upcoming MENA Month!
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The Dubai...2024-04-0657 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views E05 - GDC Roundup, EU calls out Apple, and lots of MENA newsBrian Baglow, Craig Chapple, Paige Cook and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the in our new 'Week in Views' series.
We cover the European Commission's investigations into Apple and Google over possible DMA violations, offer takeaways from a big week at GDC, and delve into the big news coming out of the MENA market.
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👉...2024-03-2957 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views E04 - Sensor Tower acquires data.ai, Epic Games Store is coming to mobile, and Apple's antitrust woesBrian Baglow, Daniel Griffiths and Paige Cook from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest news from the mobile games industry in our new 'Week in Views' series.
We cover Sensor Tower's acquisition of rival mobile market intelligence firm data.ai, the reveal of the Epic Games Store coming to mobile by the end of 2024, and discuss Apple's latest antitrust woes - this time with the US Department of Justice.
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👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebo...2024-03-261h 03PocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E11 Innogames’ Deniz Kekeç On Building Long-Lasting Relationships With Narrative MarketingPlayers who relate to your game are easier to retain. But how do you pinpoint the story that enhances your game’s USP, resonates with your player base and sparks the desire to stay in the game? Deniz Kekeç, Performance Marketing Manager for casual simulation game Sunrise Village at Innogames, has cracked the code with a pioneering approach to UA that she calls “narrative marketing.” It’s a content-driven approach that involves writing a game’s story or enhancing an existing one “in a way that the user can bond with the product themselves.” And it works because the engaging narrat...2024-03-1433 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E10 Innogames’ Strategy To Extending The Lifespan Of Legacy GamesExtending a game’s lifespan is every studio’s grand objective, but the path to effective execution is packed with difficult decisions. Studios can lean into Live-Ops to keep content fresh and cultivate profitable partnerships to enhance their marketing mix, or they can centre community management and leverage audience listening. Or, like Innogames, they can do all of the above. Our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow welcome three guests from Innogames for insider insights into how the studio successfully lengthens the lifespan of their legendary games, Tribal Wars and Forge of Empires, which just reached 20 years of play...2024-03-0744 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastWeek in Views - Layoffs, Unity's troubles and EGDF angerBrian Baglow, Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest news from the mobile games industry in the first episode of our new ‘Week in Views’ series. We cover layoffs, Apple Arcade, Unity’s troubles, why the head of the European Games Developer Federation is unhappy, and much more!
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Check out mo...2024-03-0159 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E09 Guy Gadney & Harry Holmwood On Baking Omelettes And AI Into Your Game WorldsIn Guy Gadney’s eyes, implementing AI into your game development is like “cooking with eggs.” You can use it as an ancillary tool to optimise your current creative endeavours, or you can “make an omelette”, baking AI into your game from the beginning and establishing it as a fundamental component of character or world creation. The application options are endless—if guided by the right questions. Peggy Anne Salz welcomes Guy Gadney, Co-Founder and CEO of Charisma—a plug-and-play platform creating interactive stories with virtual characters—onto the show again to reveal what to ask to effectively apply AI to your creat...2024-02-2926 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E08 Webshops, IP In AI, And Avoiding Apple’s Commission Fees: The Full PGC London Wrap-UpHow 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...2024-02-2232 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E07 Karl Knights and Lirui Ding On The Data And Trends Defining Mobile Gaming In 2024Past predictions into mobile gaming foresaw an industry slowdown in 2024, but recent data reveals a different reality. Peggy Anne Salz welcomes two mobile mavens onto the show this week to lift the lid on the actual state of the market, and the trends studios should pay the closest attention to in the coming year. First, Karl Knights, Global VP of Customer Success at mobile data and analytics platform data.ai, digs into the latest data in the State of Mobile 2024 report. He shares surprising findings, reveals the monetisation methods dominating the app stores and walks us through the models...2024-02-1633 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E06 Mistplay’s Gabriel Lewis On Leveraging Loyalty To Keep Paying Players Coming BackWhile some studios are cashing in their chips on hypercasual and casual games, a few future-focused brands are doubling down and winning big by placing their bets on rewarded play. Indeed, though once a taboo UA tactic, rewarded play now opens doors for lasting loyalty and long-term engagement. That’s why Mistplay, a leading loyalty platform for mobile apps, provides rewards that fit the bill for every player. Gabriel Lewis, Senior Director and Global Head of Accounts at Mistplay, joins Peggy Anne Salz in this episode of the PG.biz Podcast, where he explains how Mistplay goes beyond cashback of...2024-02-0818 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E05 NAK3D’s Kelly Vero On Merging Fashion And Gaming To Revolutionise Game CommerceIn an industry where data-driven decision-making pays dividends and a deep content pool is the difference between customer churn and a long-term connection, game studios need a tool capable of gathering granular user data and satiating consumers' content cravings. NAK3D—a startup recently awarded for its innovation by the World Economic Forum—delivers on both ends. Kelly Vero, CEO and CTO of NAK3D joins Peggy Anne Salz for an on-the-ground interview into how the interoperable fashion marketplace leverages AI-developed data to provide developers a constant stream of new in-game content while empowering fashion and retail brands to esta...2024-02-0134 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E04 Mega Studio’s Adam Jaffe On The Impressive Benefits Of Incentivised TrafficTo 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...2024-01-2535 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E03 Gamelight’s Günay Aliyeva On The AI Algorithm That Revolutionises UAProfitable 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...2024-01-1828 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E02 Games Factory Talents’ Oleg Paliy On How To Score The Job Of Your Dreams In 2024The 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 drea...2024-01-1131 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS04 E01 Fluent's Matt Conlin On Game-Changing User Acquisition Trends To Watch In 2024An evolving market calls for an evolved approach to user acquisition—one that treats players as individuals and weighs each user’s needs against all available acquisition tactics. When preparing to adopt this approach, though, game studios must consider one key question: Should they stick with the mainstream channels (META, Google, Apple, etc.) that provide reliability but unpredictable ROAS or focus their attention on alternative channels that bypass saturation and offer users that are 50% more likely to make in-app purchases? Studios face some tough choices in 2024, and this week’s guest encourages marketers to embrace the shift from “growth at all c...2024-01-0435 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E23 Zynga’s Yaron Leyvand On The Secret To Making A “Forever Franchise”The path to profitable growth is fraught with tough choices. Studios can net new audiences by pumping out new titles and features at the pace of change, or they can push the envelope (and extend the lifecycle of their legacy title) with content, Live Ops and real-life events. Or, in the case of Zynga, they can do all of the above. Yaron Leyvand, Executive VP at Mobile Studios at Zynga, joins hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow to share pages from the playbook that keeps the games giant growing amidst industry downturns and transformations. Yaron recalls the milestones...2023-12-2136 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E22 Aampe’s Jim Laurain On Smart Steps To Inspire Players With Messaging That MattersSuccess starts with a great game, but profitable growth is fueled by ongoing engagement that treats players as individuals. And, although it’s not rocket science, the SuperScale report, Good Games Don’t Die, reveals this is where most studios miss the mark. Nearly 40% fail to deliver relevant and engaging content to their users. It’s also one reason 83% of games fail within three years of launch. How can gaming companies step up engagement to ensure their game (and audience) is thriving years down the road? Jim Laurain, Head of Growth at Aampe, a company that leverages AI to level...2023-12-1442 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E21 Kwalee’s John Wright On Attracting Valuable Users With A Loyalty-Driven ApproachDuring the hypercasual reign, short-term metrics, like the seven-day LTV curve, were the golden standard for an app’s scalable potential. Now, looking further down the road and building an environment that encourages players to set down roots for 30, 60, or even 365+ days is how studios can come out on top and predict profitability. So, how can studios get to the bottom of what causes churn and retain players for years instead of days? John Wright, Vice President of Mobile Publishing at Kwalee — the UK publisher with 70+ published games and 1 billion+ mobile game downloads — has the answers in this week's episod...2023-12-0838 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E20 NSPCC’s Kevin Antao And Andy Sallnow On How To Prevent Child Abuse In GamesThere’s no shortage of benefits that games bring to players, from increased creativity to developing interpersonal skills to greater self-confidence. Yet, gaming popularity grows, so do the silent risks posed to children online. Fortunately, there is an organisation leading the fight against child abuse and developing safe game design guidelines. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is the UK’s leading children’s charity, protecting and advocating for youth in the UK and Channel Islands for 139 years. Joining host Peggy Anne Salz on the show this week is NSPCC’s Head of New Product...2023-12-0137 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E19 MY.GAMES’ Elena Grigorian On Smart Strategies To Stay Afloat During This Industry DownturnIn a time when investors are calling for prudence and playing it safe, one company has managed to not only persevere but prevail. Elena Grigorian, CEO of MY.GAMES, joins hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow to explain the key strategies and developments that delivered a 14-fold increase in MY.GAMES’ effective marketing investments, a 4-fold increase in the company’s business, and an opportunity to crack the Chinese market. What’s more, Elena discusses her journey and challenges to becoming one of the few female CEOs in gaming and MY.GAMES’ impressive efforts to empower women and embrace...2023-11-2430 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E18 Embrace’s Eric Futoran On Understanding Every Player Experience For Record-Breaking Issue ResolutionGood games offer great experiences, and accurate and timely issue resolution is imperative to keeping LTV high and your game in good graces with its users. And it’s not just a must to please your players. App store algorithms have begun to rank games based on performance metrics and can punish games that go on the fritz. But, as all devs know, pinpointing the source is complicated, especially since most resolution tools either lack the data to determine the real cause or the holistic view of the player journey to check if other factors, like low bandwidth during th...2023-11-1644 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E17 ConsultMyApp’s Mike Rhodes On 4 Smart Strategies To End Q4 With A BangIf your ASO strategy isn’t motivated by real-time data insights that dive deeper than traditional tools to provide hourly insights into hot keywords and trends, you’re missing a massive opportunity. This is top-of-the-list advice from Mike Rhodes, CEO and Founder of ConsultMyApp, an app marketing agency with awards from Top CRM Consulting Company UK to Most Effective Use of Data 2022. ConsultMyApp believes in democratising ASO knowledge and that quality data “shouldn’t only be available to people [able] to spend thousands of dollars a year.” That’s one of the reasons Mike developed tools like APPlyzer that studios of a...2023-11-0942 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E16 Skillprint’s Chethan Ramachandran On Combining Neuroscience And AI For An Adaptive Play SolutionThe PG.biz Podcast team has known that games can be used for more than just entertainment. We’ve discussed charity and climate action use cases, but what about self-care, mental development, and skills improvement? Trail-blazing gaming company Skillprint enhances all three. Skillprint combines neuroscience and AI to create adaptive and personalised games that equip devs and players with actionable insights into player personality and behaviour. Skillprint’s CEO and Co-Founder, Chethan Ramachandran, joins Peggy Anne Salz to discuss how Skillprint transforms the way game developers “find, keep, and monetise their audience” and “gives the power of a massive LiveOps te...2023-11-0238 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E15 Playing For The Planet’s Lisa Pak On Gaming For Good And Wielding The Power Of PlayIt’s already known that games can positively impact mental health, but did you know they can positively impact the planet, too? Lisa Pak, Sustainability Consultant and Project Manager at Playing for the Planet, joins host Peggy Anne Salz to describe how, with its superpower reach, the games industry can wield the power of play in the fight against the climate crisis. Lisa brings her passion for sustainability to Playing For The Planet, a global alliance supported by the United Nations Environment Programme that unites and supports game studios and trade bodies in reducing carbon emissions and implementing green ac...2023-10-2629 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E14 Jam City’s Rose Agozzino On Powerful Partnerships To Promote Cross-Generational, Ground-Shaking PlayFew franchises can stand toe to toe with the IP power of Jurrasic Park. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the renowned first film and the 5th anniversary of Jurrasic World Live, a game with seismic numbers behind it. The geolocation game has racked up 33 million downloads and 2.3 billion play minutes, prevailing through the pandemic and fast-moving game market, proving studios can stand the test of time if they play their cards right. Here with the PG.biz team is Rose Agozzino, marketing wizard and Senior Product Marketing Manager at Jam City, to talk about the partnerships that...2023-10-1927 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E13 Xsolla’s Chris Hewish On Creative Commerce Solutions To Take Control Of Your GameRemoving friction, taking control of user data, and enhancing customer engagement throughout the funnel are necessary steps to increase game margins and retain valuable players. However, the app store duopoly can put a block in the road, restricting access to players in growing markets, charging high transaction fees, and limiting commerce capabilities. This week’s guest, Xsolla, clears those obstacles. Xsolla is a game commerce platform that helps devs distribute their games directly to players, bypassing the oversaturated app stores and putting the power back in the hands of creators. Chris Hewish, President and Interim CEO of Xsolla, takes ce...2023-10-1237 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E12 Chris James and Dave Bradley On Lucrative Gaming Markets And Branding Power At PGC HelsinkiThe best and brightest gaming professionals gathered in Helsinki this September to share their thoughts, tips, and predictions about the latest gaming trends and what teams need to know to make their mark in the marketplace. Listen in as Steel Media CEO Chris James and COO Dave Bradley recap the candid conversations that took place in Finland’s capital city last month. From IP as a brand and revenue tool to the abundant opportunities for expansion in the Middle East to alternative monetisation methods that give smaller studios a spot in the market, our PG.biz team provides the in...2023-10-0528 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E11 Angus Lovitt And Hong Nguyen On SpaceApe Games’ Smash Success With Automated ForecastingAutomated forecasting isn’t just about saving time and money. It’s about finding a gap in the market and going after it. With all the facts on the table, teams can decide early whether to keep, kill, or crank up the effort on a game. Ramp’s automated forecasting tool provided SpaceApe Games with the data to do just that. Angus Lovitt, Ramp CEO and Hong Nguyen, SpaceApe Games CFO, are back for part two of our series on the value-adds of Ramp’s revamped forecasting. This week, the two tell host Peggy Anne Salz how Ramp’s approach h...2023-09-2821 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E10 Angus Lovitt And Hong Nguyen On The Fundamentals Of An Effective Forecasting FrameworkGood forecasting is necessary to predict performance or make tough decisions about your game. But it's not just about the numbers. Winning demands a single source of truth, insights into real-time data and a departure from the timework tools and approaches that have allowed team members to pass the blame, not the benchmarks. Fortunately, this week's guests are uprooting traditional forecasting practices for a more democratized, innovative and granular cohorts-based approach. "Fundamentally, [forecasting] is a process of alignment," says Angus Lovitt, Co-Founder of Ramp, a startup that integrates data across departments to provide studios with unified and accurate forecasts...2023-09-2134 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E09 data.ai’s Lexi Sydow On Top-Grossing Genres And What It Takes To Make A Successful GameThough there’s no algebraic algorithm that churns out games with guaranteed success, there are consistencies between top-ranking mobile games. The Gaming Spotlight Review 2023 from data.ai spotlights these similarities and delves into the data behind the success stories. Lexi Sydow, Director of Corporate Marketing & Insights at data.ai, joins our hosts again this week to highlight the heavy hitters in mobile gaming and simplify the strategies that shot them to the top. Alongside Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, she breaks down data.ai’s composite metric, the mobile performance score (MPS), and describes the “new gamer” that defies d...2023-09-0730 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E08 data.ai’s Lexi Sydow Hot Gaming Trends And Ad Formats That Are Losing SteamMobile remains the primary growth driver for digital games consumption despite a “softening in direct consumer gaming consumer spend.” But diversification rules as the strategy that will allow devs to generate revenues by ensuring their games are on all platforms and their monetization uses all formats and approaches -- especially rewarded video. This advice, and the stats to back it up, comes through loud and clear in the latest Gaming Spotlight Review 2023 from data.ai. In this special 2-part series, our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, dive deep into the key findings with Lexi Sydow, Director of Corp...2023-08-3128 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E07 Kwalee’s Ryan Davies On Shifting Marketing Tactics To Match The Shift In Hypercasual GamesDiving into different game genres is no simple feat, especially as innovations in games call for new approaches to net valuable players from the get-go. The trick to coming out on top? Diversify your UA efforts as you diversify your portfolio, says this week’s guest. Ryan Davies, Head of Digital Marketing at Kwalee and recent 30 Under 30 performance marketer, joins us on this episode’s podcast. An expert in creating campaigns that crush it on all platforms, he chats with our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow about pathways to profitable growth in hypercasual, hybrid, and casual games. He a...2023-08-1731 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E06 Steel Media’s Dave Bradley On The Highlights Of PGC TorontoPG Connects Toronto is done and dusted, and the PG.biz team is here for the recap. Dave Bradley, Steel Media COO, joins the show again this week to break down the high points of the event. Alongside Peggy and Brian, Dave details topics like getting more mileage out of your game and player retention. What’s more, he gives a view into upcoming PGC events and teases new locations.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
01:16 - PG.biz Save The Dates
06:50 - Some PGC Toronto attendees
10:21 - Ga...2023-08-1032 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E05 MY.GAMES’ Anton Gorodetsky On Brokering Mutually Beneficial Business RelationshipsTo build a great gaming ecosystem, “Think global, act local,” says Anton Gorodetsky. Anton is the Head of Industry Relations at the leading European publisher and developer, MY.GAMES. He joins the podcast this week to explain how to build a comprehensive ecosystem dedicated to loyalty, branding, and retaining players that generates revenue years into a game’s lifecycle. He brings us behind the scenes of cultivating relationships that matter and one influencer partnership that raked in a 20% DAU increase and 6 million MAUs.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro & MY.GAMES’ expansion
05:17 - Commun...2023-08-0430 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E04 Tactile Games’ Plamen Stefanov On Bringing Breakout Success To Your Casual GameTactile Games’ User Acquisition Manager, Plamen Stefanov, joins our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, to showcase how small teams can make big waves in the gaming community. You might recognize Tactile from its hit game, Lily's Garden, which has generated 517 million worldwide in lifetime player spending since it appeared on the market in 2019. Plamen cites cross-team collaboration and a testing ecosystem that feeds itself as two contributors to this success. Listen to Peggy, Brian, and Plamen’s conversation for a peek behind the curtain of Tactile Games’ scaling skills and for Plamen’s top three tips for someone p...2023-07-2729 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E03 Mystic Moose’s Mike Levine On Cross-Platform Games And Custom CollectiblesMike Levine, founder and CEO of Mystic Moose, an indie game studio and publisher, joins us on the PG.biz Podcast to discuss Mystic Moose’s newest game, Mojo Melee — a cross-platform, multiplayer PVP auto chess game — that weaves together a strong narrative and player choice. In the episode, Mike describes how Mystic Moose paves the way for players to personalize and own digital collectibles -- on their terms. This smart approach bypasses the Web 3 backlash and, more importantly, employs a “choose your own adventure” approach to user education. “We believe in the power of Web3 to empower players,” says Mike. “Bu...2023-07-2132 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E02 DoubleDown Interactive’s Faith Price On The Sweet Spot For A Successful Soft LaunchA longtime board game lover and superstar marketing strategist, Faith Price understands what drives user retention and how to coordinate a killer soft launch. She shares her launch expertise with the PG.Biz audience this week. In this episode, Faith, Director of Growth Marketing at DoubleDown Interactive, and our cohost, Peggy Anne Salz, discuss what shifts in soft launch strategy tell us about what lies ahead for the gaming industry. Faith also divulges the DoubleDown team's big change to their soft launch process that paid off down the development road.
In even bigger news, we’re up fo...2023-07-1430 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS03 E01 WHOW Games’ Tobias Edl On Growth Hacks And Top Tips For Standing Out In The F2P WorldOur guest rockets results and achieves sustainable success thanks to what co-host Brian Baglow calls the 4Ps: people, platform, partnerships, and personalisation. Tobias Edl, Director of Marketing & New Business at WHOW Games GmbH, joins Brian and Peggy Anne Salz in this episode to explain how WHOW's immersive tactics and attractive dual monetisation method create a loyal player base and have led to millions of game downloads across app stores. Tobias expands on the effect of real-time gameplay on player interest and reveals an aspect of successful strategy that he thinks marketers are missing.
CHAPTER...2023-07-0627 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E34 Hashbang Games’ Robert Burnett On Equipping Indies With AAA Strength With A Cross-Platform ApproachNicknamed by our cohost Peggy Anne Salz as the Medici Man for his numerous talents and cross-industry experience, our guest this week has worked on both the publishing and the development sides of gaming. He predicted that social connectivity and games would go hand in hand and anticipated the pay-off. He also helped create early prototypes for mobile gaming. Little wonder that Robert Burnett, COO of Hashbang Games, knows what's next in the game industry and strongly advises devs to take a cross-platform approach. Hashbang specialises in backend development and integration, helping indie teams optimise their growth by providing...2023-06-2929 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E33 SKIDOS’ Aditya Prakash On Mastering Organic Growth And Multiple Demographic TargetingSKIDOS, referred to by its CEO as “the Netflix of learning apps,” sits at the intersection of gaming, learning, and kid-friendly technology by converting popular casual mobile app games into learning apps for children aged two to seven. With over two million kids playing SKIDOS games, plus a Family Choice Award and Best of Mobile Apps Silver Award under its belt, it’s clear that SKIDOS is an expert in UA and UX. We welcome the company’s Founder and CEO, Aditya (Adi) Prakash, onto the podcast this week. Throughout the episode, Adi explains to the PG.Biz podcast audience...2023-06-2330 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E32 Solid Bash's Matthew Zoern On An Approach That Amplifies A Game's "Fun Factor"Matthew Zoern, Head of Studio at Solid Bash, outlines what developers can gain from identifying "the fun factor" — the core component of Solid Bash's "features-based iterative process." Matthew reveals how his team meld aspects of old-school game development with new transformative techniques to ensure games are entertaining for the long term. Alongside our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, he dives into his background with virtual collectibles to divulge how this approach helps his team craftily combine the digital and physical. Tune into this episode as our trio talk shop about implementing analytics innovatively and discuss what developers sho...2023-06-0939 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E31 Steel Media’s Dave Bradley On Hot Topics, Hot Takes, And Surprising Statistics At PGC SeattleGamers, developers, and gaming experts alike united at PG Connects Seattle last month. We’re here with Dave Bradley, COO of Steel Media Ltd., to recap the exciting event. Dave tells our hosts, Brain Baglow and Peggy Anne Salz, that AI, indies, and blockchain games were on everyone's minds at this PGC gathering. Attendees were also lucky to experience the first-ever PG Connects recruitment affair. This episode isn’t one to miss, with some shocking facts about iOS app releases, a taboo topic that sparked intense conversation, and a free app idea for anyone brave enough to build it.
2023-06-0132 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E30 Dutch Games Association's Martine Spaans On The Meaning Of Games And Their Evolution In BlockchainBlockchain gaming: a flash in the frying pan or an auspicious opportunity for the gaming industry? Gaming expert Martine Spaans leans toward the latter. In this episode, our cohosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, sit down with Martine to discuss this controversial corner of the gaming world. As General Manager of the Dutch Games Association and Founder of Tamalaki Games, Martine sees blockchain gaming as a new chance for many developers — new technology, new audiences, and new rewards. Throughout the episode, the trio discusses the blockchain economy's unique benefits and how Web3 offers a special space for community-building an...2023-05-2532 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E29 Gameloft's Claudia Trujillo On Tuning-Up The Truth About ASO And UALast week, we discussed the post-privacy world with a data carnivore. This week, we met with an ASO maestro. Claudia Trujillo, ASO expert at Gameloft, sits down with Peggy Anne Salz in this episode to bust myths and explain how she blends art and science to create a symphony of successful paid campaigns. From ASO's effect on UA visibility and performance to its AB test's impact on UA ads, Claudia dispels common misconceptions about the relationship between these acquisition aids.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Marketers: It's time to play!
02:20 - Busting...2023-05-1830 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E28 Product Madness’ Piyush Mishra On Smart Approaches And Seismic Shifts In A Privacy-First Market“Targeting is becoming more and more of a problem,” says Piyush Mishra, Head of Growth Marketing At Product Madness, a top-grossing leader in social casino mobile games. The host of his podcast, In The Sandbox with Adam Smart, explains how consumer preference for privacy-centric practices pressures marketers to rethink targeting and embrace contextual clues. Alongside our hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, Piyush reveals the techniques UA managers can rely on to understand their attribution data and build user data amidst these ongoing changes. Piyush also shares where marketers are failing when it comes to creatives and speculates on t...2023-05-1134 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E27 Kooapps’ CK Wang And Mintegral’s Shobeir Shobeiri On Increasing ARPDAU By 40-80% With In-App BiddingAccording to Kooapps Co-Founder and CEO Chun-Kai (CK) Wang, ad monetisation needs to shift toward a more unified approach. Games need to monetise off ads and in-app purchases. Luckily, maximising the ad side of game revenue is easier than ever with in-app bidding. In this episode of The Groove at 5 O’Clock, Peggy Anne Salz discusses this advanced advertising method with CK and Shobeir Shobeiri, Senior Director of Business Development at Mintegral, an AI-driven global mobile advertising platform. Shobeir reveals how switching from waterfall to in-app bidding lifted ARPDAU by 80% in some regions, while CK breaks down the key co...2023-05-0437 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E26 Outfit7’s Nina Oblak And Kayzen’s Ryan Goeden On Harnessing Split Testing To Develop Winning CampaignsGlobal game developer Outfit7 is reaching new audiences and taking control of its data with its unique approach to A/B testing. In this episode, Peggy Anne Salz meets with Nina Oblak, Outfit7 ASO Team Lead, to discuss how the company uses split testing beyond creatives and content to inform choices at every stage of the game cycle. Owning its data is a big part of Outfit7’s success. With the help of Kayzen, the world’s first mobile in-house bidder™, Outfit7 has total control of its programmatic campaigns. Ryan Goeden, Business Development Lead at Kayzen, joins Peggy and Nina a...2023-04-2733 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E25 AppQuantum’s Victoria Beliaeva and Alexey Gavrilov On How To Identify And Build A Hit GameA hit game doesn’t wait for user feedback until after publishing; a hit game integrates it during development. AppQuantum, a mobile free-to-play game publisher, collects that feedback. Whether through creatives testing, monetisation strategy, or by measuring session time, AppQuantum delivers user input at every stage of a game’s life cycle. In this episode, our cohosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, sit down with AppQuantum’s Victoria Beliaeva (Head of Bus. Dev. and PR) and Alexey Gavrilov (Marketing Producer) to discuss how the international publisher uses a structural approach to boost games from every genre—from hyper-casual runner g...2023-04-2025 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E24 Steel Media's Chris James and Dave Bradley On A New Era Of Mobile, Blockchain, and AI At GDC 2023The PGC team is back from GDC 2023! In this episode, our cohosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, regroup with Steel Media CEO Chris James and COO Dave Bradley to recap the latest and greatest in the world of gaming. The four discuss a new blockchain ecosystem, how AI is empowering storytellers and reshaping NPC interactions, and if the F2P era is coming to an end. Chris and Dave also share what to expect from PGC Seattle 2023 and reveal a new, unexpected PGC event location.
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00:00 - GDC is back!2023-04-1322 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E23 Construct's Tom & Ashley Gullen On The New Era Of Games Creation And Making Tech AccessibleConstruct 3 is revolutionizing games creation and helping grow a new generation of content creators. Our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, talk about the 2-D, block-based game engine with Construct co-founders Ashley and Tom Gullen. With Construct 3, anyone can build a game. The beginner-friendly design showcases game-making as an art form and an educational tool. The tool has an impressive roster of customers and fans. NASA and Microsoft use it for prototyping, universities to teach programming, and even the Royal Navy relies on it to simulate submarine driving. Ashley and Tom explain the benefits of using a fully...2023-04-0637 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E22 Charisma's Guy Gadney On How AI Can Evolve Your Narrative GameplayThere's a hidden universe inside every narrative game just waiting to be discovered. The technology at Charisma has the power to unlock it. Charisma, a plug-ʼnʼ-play platform for creating interactive stories with believable virtual characters, redefines how we play games. In this episode, our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, talk with Charisma Co-founder and CEO Guy Gadney about how Charisma harnesses the power of AI to increase game complexity and allow players to interact with every character. Characters enhanced by Charisma aren't limited to a prewritten dialogue. They can remember your name and your answers to...2023-03-3038 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E21 Multiscription’s Teis Anker Mikkelsen On Unleashing Your Game’s Exposure With A Subscription ServiceHow can publishers boost retention and user acquisition efforts and bring stability to their game all in one step? Teis Anker Mikkelsen says you can have it all by joining Multiscription and offering Unleashd, a cross-publisher subscription service for free-to-play games, to your players. In this on-location chat with our co-host Peggy Anne Salz, Teis explains how his company leverages the “strength in numbers” approach. The Multiscription co-founder and CEO works with publishers across genres, bundling their games into one package under one fee. In addition, Teis says that unifying under one service allows players to explore games they typi...2023-03-2806 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E20 One Ton’s Ray Gregory & Noah Rosenfield On Addictive Gameplay, Community, and FunAccording to Ray Gregory (Founder/CEO) and Noah Rosenfield (CMO) of One Ton, the more solutions in a game, the better. Peggy Anne Salz journeyed to the cowboy-hat-clad pair at PGC London 2023 to learn how they are lassoing in a new era of puzzle games. In One Ton's beta game, Addagrams, players are encouraged to make different anagrams than their fellow users—a 180 from traditional word puzzles with only one solution. Ray explains, "[You can play] different words yet [have] the same score. So it's all what you see and how that reflects on your personality." There is no wr...2023-03-2405 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E19 Assetario’s Matej Novak On Using Machine Learning To Predict Player Needs And Make A ProfitWhat if you could predict what players need, personalize pricing and generate more revenue in the process? This is the sweet spot where Assetario is staking its turf, and enabling publishers to predict LTV with high certainty. Peggy Anne Salz meets with Assetario’s CEO, Matej Novak, to learn more about the B2B machine learning engineer that partners with gaming leaders like Century Games to raise their LTV by 30%. Matej reveals how Assetario utilizes first-party, cost, and anonymized metadata to deliver never-seen-before, customizable campaign and revenue predictions.
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00:00 - Assetario: th...2023-03-2314 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E18 Odeeo's Amit Monheit On Growing Your Game's Daily Revenue And LTV With Audio AdsWant to improve your user experience, develop relationships with major brands, and significantly increase your ARPDAU? Odeeo has got you covered. Peggy Anne Salz chatted with Odeeo Co-Founder and CEO Amit Monheit at PGC London 2023 about how the company's audio ads delivered 5-15% incremental ARPDAU uplifts to studios Superfine (previously Gamejam Co) and TapNation. Amit says in-game audio advertising is ideal for mobile gaming, allowing players more control over their ad experience while increasing brand awareness. He thinks this ad category will be "huge within the next three or four years," so get on board now!
2023-03-2208 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E17 PlayBatch’s Ezra Regev & Isaac Goldenberg On Game Mechanics For An Attribution-Optimized GameSomeone get Ezra Regev and Isacc Goldenberg a crystal ball because they are on fire predicting the marketing future. The co-founders of PlayBatch chat with Peggy Anne Salz in this episode to explain how their hybrid-casual games studio foresaw Apple’s privacy changes and built their game and company structure accordingly. PlayBatch’s latest game, University of Magic, combines a larger merge game with several smaller hyper-casual games—each with a custom product page. The pair share how this setup optimises attribution and merges F2P and P2E for an improved player experience. Ezra and Isacc encourage developers to bui...2023-03-2108 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E16 Smadex’s Philip Gontier On Scaling With SKAN 4.0 And The Benefits Of Privacy-Centric PlatformsWith probabilistic matching coming to a close soon, marketers must start testing ad campaigns focusing on contextual signals and first-party data. Our co-host, Peggy Anne Salz, reunites with Philip Gontier, Chief Revenue Officer at Smadex and the “Godfather” of mobile advertising, in this episode to learn how the DSP is leading the charge in privacy-centric advertising and landing 500 million daily impressions for their clients. Peggy and Philip also discuss the metric benefits of CTV and how Smadex is already planning optimization campaigns for SKAdNetwork 4.0.
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00:00 - Smadex testing in SKAN 4.0
03...2023-03-2006 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E15 Playstack’s Harriet Hughes On Finding The Right Publisher For Your GameOur host Peggy Anne Salz brings us another on-the-ground interview this episode as she chats with Playstack’s CMO, Harriet Hughes. The two get honest about the decision to work with a publisher and how developers can find the right one. Harriet says that a publisher’s job is not to take over the game but to make the community as excited for release day as the developers are. She shares how Playstack helped a two-brother studio and a single developer grow their creations into critically acclaimed games with hundreds of players and why free casual games might fade away...2023-03-1609 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E14 Creadit's Luis Leon On Generating Impressive Creatives Without Breaking The BankCreative is king, and Luis Leon is here to tell you how to deliver killer content on a budget. Peggy Anne Salz is on the ground in this episode with Luis, Head of Creative Business Development at Creadits, a production platform for performance marketers. Luis says Creadits is a "creative partner, not a creative agency." The company strategizes with studios, advising them on what is working now in gaming ads. Luis also shares a hack on how to do more with less while A/B testing.
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00:00 - A creative partner...2023-03-1504 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E13 Leanplum’s Yeshas Nakshathri On Reinventing Live Ops And Deciphering Your Data2023 is the year to perfect your live ops, and Leanplum is here to help. This mobile marketing platform simplifies multichannel campaigns to increase customer engagement and surpass revenue goals. Peggy Anne Salz linked up with Yeshas Nakshathri, Head of Partnerships at Leanplum, to discover how the platform helps renowned companies like Big Fish Games and MobilityWare exceed their expected revenue by 300% for a single live op event. Yeshas also shares how to integrate hyper-personalization and data feedback to reduce churn and bring back past users.
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00:00- Leanplum reinventing live-ops
2023-03-1406 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E12 Gold Town Games’ Thomas Jonasson On The Nitty-Gritty Of Truly Good GamemakingWe're going back to basics in this episode. This week we chatted with Thomas Jonasson, Head of Publishing at Gold Town Games, about how his small Sweedish studio perfects quality game design and development. Throughout the episode, Jonasson shares a psychology trick that helped boost the company’s live ops, resulting in a 20-70% game revenue lift; what developers can learn from e-commerce; and how to look deeper into trends to truly understand your customers' desires and what your studio can add to the conversation.
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** Let's Connect **
👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter...2023-03-0926 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E11 Tiltify’s Tom Downie On Simplifying Charity Gaming And Changing Public PerceptionDespite a market valuation of nearly two billion dollars worldwide, many people still view gaming as a pastime with little social or cultural value. Tiltify is here to change that belief. In this episode, we meet Tom Downie, UK Charity Manager of Tiltify, a livestream and digital fundraising platform, who says the games industry is actually a community-centric space bursting with people who do good. Tom explains that studios who have fundraised in the past are discouraged from hosting events often because of obstacles like navigating taxation and physically delivering the money to charities. With Tiltify, fundraising becomes a...2023-03-0236 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E10 Looking to TikTok For Trends and Product Madness' Alex Haley On Live Ops Made SimpleOur host Peggy Anne Salz is on the ground at PGC London 2023 again this episode, where she chats with two experts in live ops and trend analysis. First, we meet Alex Haley, Principal Games Operations Manager at Product Madness, one of the largest mobile game studios in the world. Alex shares a live ops crash course and the strategy that helped Product Madness host over 600 in-app events last year. Afterward, we ask Patty Toledo, the genius behind every Pocket Gamer event, for her advice on how to get in touch with trends and curate epic events. According to Patty...2023-02-2331 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E08 Helpshift, Keyword Studios, KatanaAI and Backtrace on what it takes to ensure a successful game launch in 2023In a fast-paced and wide-ranging discussion, co-hosts Brian Baglow and Peggy Anne Salz speak to the companies which are helping developers offer a flawless user experience from start to finish, with a focus on keeping players happy (and playing the game).
Brian is joined by Eric Vermillion, the CEO of Helpshift, Peter Gerson, a Senior Manager with Keyword Studios, KatanaAI’s Technology and Sales Director Dominick Kelly and Oz Syed, a Game Development Evangelist from Backtrace.
This crack team explores how to do more with less, exploring the ways in which technology and automation can br...2023-02-0941 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E07 Trailmix’s Philippa Layburn on Identifying Winning CreativesWant a winning formula to pick your winning ad creative and streamline your A/B testing? In this episode of the PocketGamer Podcast, our hosts Brian Baglow and Peggy Anne Salz chat with Trailmix’s Senior UA Manager Philippa Layburn on how she is changing the ads playbook with constant creatives analysis. Part of her secret: think outside the box and measure success using a metric blend that makes sense for their game. This episode isn’t one you want to miss as Philippa details hook rates (her new metric, by the way) and how she hacked Google Ads usin...2023-01-2632 minPocketGamer.biz PodcastS02 E06 MobilityWare's Larry Hsieh on LiveOps on a Shoestring BudgetBuilding and maintaining a great game doesn't require a big budget. Take it from Larry Hsieh, Principal Product Manager at MobilityWare. In this episode, Larry joins our partners in crime, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, to share his tips and tricks on engaging and retaining users through customized events and live ops. By capitalizing on Santa, building scalable tools, and designing a flexible system with multiple variables, anyone can create a game on par with those from the top 50 developers.
00:00 - A new pair on the PG Biz Podcast
04:39 - Introducing...2023-01-1732 min