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Korean Indie Games: Pioneering Global Success

Korean indie games are making waves in the global gaming industry. In recent years, several Korean indie titles have gained recognition and acclaim across the world. Let’s explore some of the standout ones. The Devil Within: Satgat Developed by Newcore Games, The Devil Within: Satgat blends traditional Korean culture with a post-apocalyptic narrative, creating a unique and immersive gaming experience. Set in a fictional Joseon era, the game tells the story of ‘Kim Rip’, a loyal bodyguard betrayed by his comrades and driven by a desire to restore justice in a world overrun by demons. The game draws heavily on Korean historical themes while incorporating dark fantasy elements. The title Satgat refers to a traditional Korean hat worn to protect against rain, snow, or sunlight, adding a cultural layer to the game’s aesthetic. The Devil Within: Satgat has received numerous […]

Myoungwon Kim September 12

Journal

New Korean Game Releases in Late 2024

As we enter the second half of 2024, the Korean gaming industry is gearing up for significant changes, with several highly anticipated titles set for release. This period is crucial for developers as they aim to build on the successes of the first half of the year while strengthening their business strategies through new game launches. These new titles will span multiple platforms, including mobile, PC, and consoles, as companies push to expand their global presence. Many of these games leverage popular IPs or bring fresh innovations to the market, offering players diverse experiences. Nexon: Mobile Adaptations of Popular IPs and New Genre Challenges Nexon is preparing to launch several highly anticipated games in late 2024. Among these is Mabinogi Mobile, a mobile adaptation of the beloved Mabinogi IP, which originally debuted as a PC MMORPG in 2004. Known for […]

Myoungwon Kim September 5

Journal

The Buzz Around Pearl Abyss’s Upcoming Game ‘DokeV’

Pearl Abyss's DokeV, an open-world action-adventure game, gained widespread attention after its 2021 Gamescom trailer. As Crimson Desert nears completion, Pearl Abyss plans to focus on DokeV development, with more updates expected soon.

Myoungwon Kim August 14

Highlights

Jobs in Mobile Gaming: Welcome June

⚡️ 999 Jobs in Mobile Gaming 👉🏻 Data from Gamigion.com/jobs 🕺🏻 Dev 💻 Art 🎨 Product 📱 Marketing 🎯 Business 💰 Data 📈 QA ⚒️ 💻 Dev Analytics Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Executive Producer - External Development Scopely 🇨🇳 🇺🇸 Senior Producer, External Development Scopely 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Senior Technical Producer - Monopoly GO Scopely 🇪🇸 Client Engineer - Monopoly GO Scopely 🇪🇸 Lead Platform Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Lead Tools Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Lead Client Engineer - Scrabble Scopely 🇪🇸 UI Programmer, Project R.I.S.E Supercell 🇨🇳 Tools Programmer, mo.co Supercell 🇫🇮 Asset Pipeline Engineer, TNT Supercell 🇫🇮 Senior Mobile Application Developer, Supercell ID Supercell 🇫🇮 Senior Software Engineer 1 (C++) Zynga 🇮🇳 Software Engineer Zynga 🇹🇷 Senior Manager, Engineering Zynga 🇮🇳 Senior Software Engineer I Zynga 🇮🇳 Senior Software Engineer Zynga 🇮🇳 Software Engineer (Live-ops) - Gram Games Zynga 🇬🇧 Engineering Manager […]

Gamigion May 31

Highlights

Scopely Completes the Acquisition of Niantic’s Game Business

Scopely has officially completed its acquisition of Niantic’s gaming division as of May 29, 2025. Earlier, we wrote about this here. Also, check out Jakub's take. With this deal, several major titles and services have joined the Scopely portfolio, including: Pokémon GO Pikmin Bloom Monster Hunter Now Campfire Wayfarer Alongside these games and community-focused platforms, over 400 Niantic employees will be transitioning to Scopely. So far, operations appear to be continuing without disruption. Niantic has also reached out to members of the Community Creator Program with following: “We are happy to share with you that Niantic’s game business is officially part of Scopely now that the deal has been finalized. It’s business as usual for the Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now teams. We have a lot of exciting content lined up for the rest of the year […]

Gamigion May 31

Highlights

Ad Creatives is a hot topic.

🔥 'Ad Creatives' is a hot topic. Seen AppsFlyer's State of Creative Optimization 2025 Report?+ Big shot by Meta & dentsu💰 Data out of 1.1M creatives, $2.4B in ad spend.One massive insight: Performance is personal.🦄 Mobile Gaming?Top 2% of Ad Creatives DOMINATE, pulling 53% of TOTAL SPEND!• Failure > Success on Social (Casual)• Challenge > Excitement for Retention (Hypercasual)• Community & Competition = Retention Gems in Midcore• Social Casino = Pure Fantasy Wins 😶‍🌫️ Strategic Shifts• Scale alone ≠ Success — Emotion + Measurement matter• Retention & IPM don’t always align — Balance is everything• UGC formats like Gameplay Reviews & Arcs like Failure-to-Success are undervalued gold.⚡️ More?AI. Transforming creative optimization out there.Full Report here

Ömer Yakabagi May 30

Journal

Apple launches a dedicated Games App

Apple is reportedly launching a dedicated Games app across iPhone, iPad, Mac & Apple TV. It will replace Game Center and will centralize game launch, achievements, and Arcade. Why it matters (imo):🟣 More inventory for Apple Ads🟣 Clearer separation between games & apps = less competition in placements like Search tab & Today tab🟣 Multi-platform setup (iOS, macOS, tvOS) = cross-device user journeys🟣 New ad formats possible (like playables?)Bonus: Apple just acquired its first-ever game studio, RAC7 (Sneaky Sasquatch).My take?Apple is getting ready for a world of alternative app stores.And it wants to keep a slice of the pie + grow its ad business/inventory.This move protects traffic, revenue, and monetization.

Julie Tonna May 30

Highlights

The Monetization Engine Behind Magic Sort’s Rise

What stood out to me this week while digging into the sorting genre was just how much of a competitive advantage Magic Sort by Grand Games has. Over the last 30 days, the top 10 sorting games collectively garnered 29 million downloads and 15 million daily active users (DAU). These games generated a total of $7.7 million in in-app purchases (IAPs). Magic Sort, by Grand Games, pulled in $3.3 million in IAPs or 43% of the top 10’s total IAP revenue, from just 478k DAU (only 3.4% of the top 10's total DAU). That level of monetization efficiency is rare in the sorting genre and impressive, to put it mildly. I calculated the total revenue of other category leaders, such as Bus Out (iKame) and Hexa Sort (Lion Studios), to showcase their total revenue. Although the games monetize in a […]

Felix Braberg May 30

Journal

Difference between deterministic and random level based puzzlers?

Warning ☢️ Heavy Game Design post ahead. Do you know the difference between deterministic and random level based puzzlers? 🤔 In the current market we see more and more successful puzzle games following a completely different level design paradigm than your usual Candy Crush or Royal Match 👑. Puzzlers with their dominating sub-genres such as Match3 or Blast were always the masters of randomness, where difficulty was created using random or semi-random algorithms. You still need to do the level objectives, which are fixed, such as clearing certain items or collecting something from a generator, but the "candies" or tokens that you get to match varies with each playthrough. This randomness introduces a layer of chance, where even a well-planned strategy can be "sabotaged" by an unlucky arrangement or boosted by a fortunate 🍀 cascade of matches. Deterministic level-based puzzlers […]

Jakub Remiar May 29

Journal

Game Deconstruction: Magic Sort by Grand Games

🎮 Game Deconstruction: Magic Sort by Grand Games 🚀 From Flow to Fatigue — A Player’s Journey I recently discovered Magic Sort, and on the first day, I completed 60 levels. I was in flow — fully immersed, effortlessly progressing. But over time, I started to observe when and why that flow started to break. What engaged me? What pulled me out? And what was missing? 🔍 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 The game offers early access to flow — intuitive mechanics, fast onboarding, clear rewards.Events are introduced quite early: Broom Streak, Jetpack Race, Sky Jump — an attempt to diversify engagement and appeal to different player types. ⚖️ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 Flow is easily broken by spikes in level difficulty and a lack of balance between easy and hard levels. With an increasing number of “hard” and “super hard” levels, […]

Oxana Fomina May 29

Journal

We test 24+ puzzle games weekly.

We test 24+ puzzle games weekly. Only a few of those games are worth your time. Follow me to 🎢! Who are we? Ex-publishers,Game Designers,Product Managers,Game Studio Founders,We are Mobile game players! We deconstruct games that can benefit you.We follow your competitors for you!We bring you news every week,To boost your production...As of today, we are scanning around 150+ Mobile game studios in their daily production,And analyze immediately...Cheers!

Gökhan Üzmez May 29

Journal

Prioritizing what to improve next in the game is tough.

Prioritizing what to improve next in the game is tough. A clear framework to prioritize your game metrics: from first session to monetization.Follow the order. Start at the top.𝟭. 𝗢𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Ensure a smooth and rewarding first-time experience𝟮. 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Set clear goals • Deliver quick wins in the first few sessions𝟯. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 • Design compelling mechanics that keep players engaged longer𝟰. 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 • Identify and fix drop-off points • Keep difficulty progression smooth𝟱. 𝗠𝗶𝗱-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Use daily missions and goals to drive progression𝟲. 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆 • Encourage consistent routine play with short, daily challenges𝟳. 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 (𝗗𝗔𝗨/𝗠𝗔𝗨) • Increase return rate with events, updates, and surprises𝟴. 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Build deep meta-systems • Create meaningful social features𝟵. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 • Offer strong first-time bundles • Use smart starter packs𝟭𝟬. 𝗔𝗥𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗨 […]

Anton Slashcev May 29

Journal

Consolidated view of the current UA pain points

🦩Tip of the week A deep dive across recent 1:1 interviews with marketers reveals consistent pressure points in User Acquisition (UA), Monetization, Platform Strategy, and Creative Execution. Despite different game genres and team sizes, recurring themes emerged: Rising CPIs (no shiiiiiiiiiiit) Creative fatigue Monetization model fragility Channel dependence Here’s a consolidated view of the current pain points and, more importantly, what you can do about them. User Acquisition: CPI Crisis & Channel Saturation Challenges Identified: CPIs rising across the board Over-reliance on AppLovin, Facebook, or Google Self-publishers with small budgets are struggling to validate games without high CPIs. TikTok conversion tracking is still limited, but the creative opportunity is strong. Opportunities: TikTok Creator Challenges to generate low-cost, authentic content at scale. You can replicate on other channels with AI Diversify spend across 3–5 networks Creative Strategy & speed is key […]

Matej Lancaric May 29

Journal

Are aggressive ad campaigns killing the value of rewarded ads?

Are aggressive ad campaigns killing the value of rewarded ads?Let’s talk about ad fatigue.Someone asked me: “Can players really get tired of rewarded ads? Aren’t they opt-in by design?”In theory - yes. Rewarded ads are player-initiated.You tap the button, you get a reward. Simple. Controlled. Fair.But in practice? There’s a problem no one likes to talk about:🤯 Content fatigue.When a player sees the same ad over and over - especially from the same game running an aggressive campaign - they stop caring.Then they stop watching.Then the value of rewarded ads collapses.Latest example for me is Royal Kingdom from Dream Games.I don’t know how much they’re spending, but their ads are everywhere. Same video. Same art. Same everything.It got to the point where I stopped watching rewarded ads entirely.🎯 So yes - rewarded ads can absolutely cause fatigue.Not because of frequency. […]

Michael Khripin May 28

Journal

UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus to All Residents Through OpenAI Partnership

The United Arab Emirates has become the first country to provide free access to ChatGPT Plus—OpenAI’s $20/month premium AI chatbot—to all its residents. This comes as part of a broader strategic alliance between OpenAI & UAE government. The deal includes building “Stargate UAE,” a massive AI infrastructure project in Abu Dhabi featuring a one-gigawatt supercomputing cluster, with 200 megawatts set to go live next year. The initiative aims to make the UAE a regional AI powerhouse. This effort is aligned with OpenAI’s global “OpenAI for Countries” program, which supports countries in developing AI systems tailored to local languages, cultures, and policies, with a strong emphasis on data privacy and responsible AI use. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised the UAE’s “bold vision,” citing its potential to accelerate progress in healthcare, education, and clean energy. Major tech firms like Microsoft, Oracle, Nvidia, […]

Gamigion May 28

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