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Don’t Miss These New Mobile Games – August 8 to 14, 2025

Hei, Hallo& SELAM! Here are the notable mobile games released between August 8-14, 2025 and why they might be worth your attention. Curated weekly by Gamigion. Enjoy! 🔗 Also check August 1–7 releases, some great games you don’t want to overlook! ✅ TLDR – Quick Summary Match City：Find hidden objects Gear Drop Heroes Sort Letters Push Rocks: Idle Clicker Richie Rick: Smart Choices Merge & Matrimony: Love Merge Carve N Shred Dreamy Harvest: Farm Island Match Dreams: Tile Puzzle Ninja Shadow Strike Tile Jam Tank Fortress Worm Color Blast Mini Blast! Match Kitty Tile: Find the Cat Trip Puzzle Mahjong Garden Twisted Jam Merge Princess Saga Race Arena - Guess the Winner Save the Cube! Nuts Factory: Sort Puzzle Chef Defense Card Lands Arrows – Puzzle Escape Hero Craft! Dice Dungeon Room Seek 3D Hoosegow: Prison Boss Pull and Smash […]

Gamigion August 18

Journal

I backed 34 startups as an angel investor and almost 30 as a VC.

Here's what the winners do in Week 1. Not what you'd expect.The ones that fail? They're in stealth mode, perfecting their pitch deck, scheduling advisor meetings, and building features nobody asked for.The winners? They're already talking to customers.Here's the pattern I've seen:Day 1-2: Ship something embarrassingOne founder launched with a Google Form and WhatsApp. Another used Typeform + Zapier. Ugly? Yes. But they had paying customers by Friday.Day 3-4: Get told why their idea sucksWinners call 20 potential customers and hear "no" 19 times. They take notes on every rejection. The 20th conversation changes everything.Day 5: Kill their first productThe best founder I backed killed his original idea on Day 5. Why? Because customers told him what they'd actually pay for. He listened.Day 6-7: Ship version 2Based on real feedback. Not assumptions.The founders who succeed don't wait for permission. They […]

Joakim Achren August 18

Journal

EMEA’s Gaming Ecosystem, A Mosaic of Opportunity

Following our global overview, let's zoom in on our home turf. The EMEA games industry isn't one monolithic market; it's a vibrant, complex mosaic of established powerhouses and explosive new hubs, valued at over $42.22 billion in 2024.For leaders, navigating this landscape requires a deep understanding of its unique pressures and potentials.The Big Picture: Headwinds & Tailwinds Investment is flowing, but it's specific: AI and mobile development are clear winners, with Central & Eastern Europe seeing a 67% investment rise in Q1.💰 The Money Trail is Specific: Investment isn't random; it's targeted. AI and Mobile are getting the cash. If you're a Turkish mobile studio, VCs are listening.😬 The Regulatory Squeeze is Real: In iGaming, the rules are tightening. Marketing costs are soaring (€160 CPA!). The smart move? Diversification. Leaders are looking to new territories like LATAM to balance risk. […]

Tony Clark August 15

Journal

Bidding is now 96% of the market. Waterfall?

𝗕𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝟵𝟲% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁.𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲. AppLovin was about to ban waterfall placements for all bidding networks.Now? They don't need to.But let’s be honest: this shift already happened.𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀?That’s 4% of the market. And shrinking.It’s not a trend. It’s the system.And for ad-monetized apps, that changes everything.You don’t define pricing logic anymore.The mediator does.And they’re charging 5% for it.For other networks, being as good as AppLovin is no longer the bar.You have to be 5% better just to edge them out in an auction.Mediation didn’t just become infrastructure. It became leverage.You used to manage monetization.𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲’𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺.Bidding replaced the waterfall for a reason.It gave mediators permission to control the game.

Josh Chandley August 15

Journal

Lessons from the Only Major Bull Run in Gaming VC History

In early 2025, Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins talked on the podcast, the Gamecraft podcast, about the "The Venture Deadpool", which refers to the amount of venture capital dollars that have been spent on gaming companies. Backing resumes with tens of millions, basically trying to prop up big game studios where ex-Riot, ex-Blizzard, ex-you name it studio people have left to start their own thing. Usually it's 40 people and a monthly burn of 3 million. If you haven't listened to the podcast, you should really have a listen. The guys highlight why gaming and VC isn't working at all. But one aspect it doesn't mention, which is that a big part of the VC investments have gone into mobile gaming, and in the past 20 years, most of the venture dollars returned have come from backing mobile gaming. This […]

Joakim Achren August 15

Analysis

Working with Whales in Puzzle Games!

As promised, this time I’m diving into Monetization strategies in the Puzzle GenreLast time, I wrote about Engaging Whales through a Betting mechanic – and why it works so well. I covered several key areas: ↳ Trigger the Willingness to Pay ↳ Give Space for Multiple Payments per Level ↳ Amplify with Events & Features via Loss Aversion ↳ Add FOMO

Olha Semykina August 15

Journal

7 Monetization Layers

Players don’t pay for hooks. They pay for desire. A guide on how to design moments that make players say, “I need this!”Here are 7 monetization layers, and the triggers that turn hesitation into purchase:𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽 🔄 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 💸 • Energy refill packs • Retry tickets after fail • Session-time boosters • Limited durability repairs 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 🎯 • Keep streak alive • Avoid frustration spike • Preserve momentum • “Just one more run”𝟮. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 🚀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 💸 • Battle-pass tiers • XP doublers & skips • Unlock-tree bundles • Instant level jumps 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 🎯 • Fast-track mastery • Visible power leap • Beat friends sooner • Sense of steady growth𝟯. 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 & 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 💰 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 💸 • Hard-currency packages • Resource-crate tiers • Time-skip speed-ups • Daily flash deals 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 🎯 • Shortage pain relief • Loss-aversion nudge • […]

Anton Slashcev August 15

Analysis

Deconstructing Monopoly GO! Through Progression Vectors

Monopoly GO! is a proper example about how tightly integrated progression systems, economy controls, and monetization can create a live service beast, resulting to remarkable amount of revenue. Regarding its success, the main question everyone has probably asked themselves at some point is: How can I approach building a game like this? Would it be complex because of the RNG mechanics involved, or are there other strategies? Monopoly GO!, Coin Master, and Dice Dreams, Revenue (Source: AppMagic). Want to build successful games like this? One way to approach them would be considering strategies I’m discussing in this article. Keep reading! I can give you a small head start on building a game like this, using some very simple fundamental methods. Specifically, systems design methods — because designing games like this requires scalable, configurable, and live-operatable systems, all viewed through a […]

Antti Kananen August 15

Journal

Monopoly GO made over $810M in 2025 with 23.7M+ installs and 6K+ creatives!

Monopoly GO by Scopely has made over $810M in 2025 with 23.7M+ installs and 6K+ creatives! Let's look at their creative strategy? 👇🏼 We analyzed their top-performing creatives from the last 90 days using Segwise (Creative Analytics Agents) and uncovered some fascinating patterns:Creative code (TL;DR):1️⃣ 57.6% ads nail the 16-30 sec duration sweet spot!2️⃣ 78.8% of them rely on purely animated ads3️⃣ 72.7% of them use voiceovers throughout - narrative-driven approachHere's what you can steal!✅ Success-oriented ending - 60% ads ended on a positive note!✅ Collection/Rewards focus - 33% concepts center on money/vault mechanics✅ Audio first storytelling - 73% leverage voiceovers to explain mechanics or drive narrative-based storytelling𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐎 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 + 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 + 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 = 𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐒 🚀👇🏼 Swipe through for the complete breakdown and actionable insights for your game strategy!

Brijesh Bharadwaj August 15

Journal

Apps now generate more revenue than games, according to Sensor Tower.

I recall talking about it during internal meetings at Unity in 2022, and finally, it happened: Apps now generate more revenue than games, according to Sensor Tower. Here are a few "why's"1) Gaming industry is flattening. Insane competition, tiny % of users that make all the revenue and tremendous battle to acquire them, less investments coming from VCs. Very high costs to ship something to production - the quality bar is insane.2) Non-gaming represents a much smaller investment to get to the market and a much more predictable revenue stream, coming mostly from subscriptions that are easy to predict compared to ever increasing complexity of LTV modeling for games3) Non-gaming apps combine not only ads and subscriptions, but IAPs too. We at Lumora introduced subscription + IAP monetization model in one of our apps in 2023 and it was very […]

Nikita Zatsepin August 14

Highlights

$12M IPO: CTW Cayman Targets Global Push for Anime HTML5 Games

Written by our partner, InvestGame. CTW Cayman Raises $12M in IPO, Eyes Global Expansion Japan-based HTML5 browser gaming company CTW Inc raised $12m in gross proceeds through its initial public offering on the NASDAQ under the ticker CTW on August 6, 2025. The offering consisted of 2.4 million Class A ordinary shares at $5.00 each, implying a post-offering market cap of $240m based on 48 million shares outstanding. Roughly $10m of the IPO proceeds will be allocated toward international expansion, with the rest to be used for general corporate needs. This is the first Asian gaming IPO since ShiftUp’s Jul’24 listing and the first Japanese gaming listing since WonderPlanet's public offering in Jun’21, adding another example to the gaming companies’ listings we covered in one of our previous features by $GDEV. Company Background & The HTML5 Platform Play Founded in […]

Gamigion August 14

Journal

Mobile Game Studio Differences

Understanding the 3 main genre differences in mobile game development, helps making better games. High Poly Art vs Low Poly Art,1 soft currency vs 15+ currencies,Long design process vs rapid prototype,Low Production Cost vs High Live Ops Cost,Adding more mechanics vs relying on only one,Creative Video Driven UA vs Community Building.Mobile Game Development is all time high,Know how is built on millions of players And this industry is only growing.Cheers!

Gökhan Üzmez August 14

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