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Fortress Merge: Speed Up Offers!

Fortress Merge – Speed Up Offers ⚡ I spotted an interesting monetization approach in Fortress Merge by TapNation: selling time-based speed-ups that double combat speed (24h, 72h, or infinite).In a wave-based enemies game, this is a huge advantage — it shortens grind time, keeps sessions more dynamic, and makes progression feel smoother.What’s smart here:🎯 Players who want faster waves get a strong incentive to pay.🎯 The tiered options (daily, 3 days, or infinite) give flexibility — great for testing spending intent.🎯 It’s essentially a time-saver offer, but framed as an exciting power-up.Curious — would you treat this more as a core monetization feature or keep it as a side convenience perk for players who value speed?

Michael Kopelovich September 11

Journal

Professional Insights About Game Economy

I brought 5 game industry professional insights about game economy: here is project R.E.A.L.: Real Experts Actual Learnings.With my incredible (!) graphic design skills,Keep it Real series will bring you:Real People.Real Games.Real Insights. No AI, no fluff, its real opinions.Whether you are seasoned professional,or a new starting junior,If you want to get mobile game insights,--> This series is made for you.To kick off, I asked game economy advices. 💸 First episode, we haveAhmetcan with Project Makeover,Katerina with Royal Match,Sergei with World of Warships,Olha with Coin Master andFinally, Guy with AFK Arena.Wonderful guests, wonderful games.Coming up next week, Level Design!Follow me to see whats coming on time!And feel free to jump in to conversation.Cheers! Here is my advice on game economy: Always check for the early inflation signs before you define your power users.PS: Special thanks to all my guests, I […]

Gökhan Üzmez September 10

Journal

Global games market at $188 billion this year, Mobile still leads

Newzoo’s 2025 outlook puts the global games market at $188.8 Bil. this year, +3.4% YoY. Mobile still leads 📱, but the fastest growth is shifting to console as new hardware cycles, stronger release calendars, and pricing dynamics kick in. (I wonder if they factored in all the Web shop mobile revenue? 😅) ▪️ 📱 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 $103.0B 55% share, +2.9%▪️ 🎮 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞 $45.9B 24% share +5.5% ▪️ 🖥️ 𝐏𝐂 $39.9B 21% share +2.5% ▪️ The narrative is moving from volume to value: fewer, bigger titles anchoring spend on console/PC, while mobile increasingly leans on direct-to-consumer models beyond (E.g. the web shops 🤑) ▪️ APAC remains the engine at $87.6 Bil. (46% share), with LATAM and Middle East & Africa growing the fastest (because of the lowest base of course 😅) The two big markets: China ($49.8B) and the U.S. ($49.6B) account […]

Jakub Remiar September 10

Analysis

Global Games Market Report 2025

Here's a cool report by Newzoo! A $189 billion market in 2025 The global games market will generate $188.8 billion in 2025, a +3.4% increase year-on-year. While growth has slowed since the pandemic surge, the industry is showing resilience and adaptability. Mobile: $103.0 billion (+2.9%). Still the biggest slice of the pie (55%), but growth is limited due to a saturated Eastern Asian market. However, the willingness to spend on mobile gaming is growing in Western regions. Console: $45.9 billion (+5.5%). This year's fastest-growing platform was boosted by the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, higher software prices, and a stronger release calendar. PC: $39.9 billion (+2.5%). Stable growth driven by momentum in China and Japan, despite declining revenues from older live-service hits in the West. Together, PC and console will account for $85.8 billion (45% of the total market), underlining the […]

Gamigion September 10

Journal

Top 10 Hybrid Casual: #1 Week September

TOP 10 HYBRID CASUAL# 1 WEEK, SEP, 2025 Hi, Hybrid Maniacs! 😜I'm back with another edition of the 🔝 10 Hybrid Casuals from last week.From today, I'm adding two games to my list, “Magic Sort” and “Car Match,” both from Grand Games.I decided to include them because they bring two popular mechanics in hypercasual games (water sort puzzle and jam sort puzzle), with depth of gameplay.In my opinion, they have Hybrid DNA. 🧬Don't want to miss out on the latest mobile game market trends? 👀So, follow my profile and share this post with your colleagues. 🫂Let's list the top 10 hybrid casual games by revenue from the 1st to the 7th of September.🥇- “Color Block Jam” by Rollic & Gybe Games.🥈- “Screwdom” by Zego Studio (iKame Global).🥉- “All In Hole” by Homa.4º - “Magic Sort!” by Grand Games.5º - “Hexa […]

Carlos Pereira September 10

Journal

How do you grow player LTV?

Here's a breakdown of 4 core pillars: Retention, Engagement, IAP ARPU & IAA ARPU.🔁 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻• Make onboarding clear and engaging• Nail the First Time User Experience (FTUE)• Use daily goals or streaks to build habits• Add progression systems and unlockables mid-term• Release meaningful updates for long-term retention• Track churn points and adjust difficulty/rewards🎮 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁• Run events and updates to re-engage users• Incentivize session length with systems or missions• Use timed rewards for frequent returns• Build social loops like leaderboards or guilds• Add progressive mechanics for steady level gains• Improve feature adoption with better prompts/UX💰 𝗜𝗔𝗣 𝗔𝗥𝗣𝗨• Offer starter packs for first spend• Target high spenders with segmented offers• Run timed promotions to boost spending frequency• Bundle premium items to increase value per check• Add limited-time or recurring content to drive repeat purchases📺 𝗜𝗔𝗔 𝗔𝗥𝗣𝗨• Balance ad placements to avoid disrupting […]

Anton Slashcev September 10

Analysis

Japan Gaming: How IPs & Live Ops Power an $11B Mobile Market

SensorTower's Deep dive here into Japan’s gaming scene for 2025, spanning Mobile (App Store + Google Play) & digital ads. Inside: revenue and download trends, genre shifts, the global reach of Japanese titles, and ad insights that matter. Top games like SD Gundam G Generation ETERNAL, The Battle Cats, and Whiteout Survival highlight how live ops, smart monetization, and bold ad campaigns keep Japan at the front of global gaming. In 2025, Japan reaffirmed its position as a global mobile gaming powerhouse, generating $11 billion in IAP revenue—ranking second only to China’s iOS market in Asia. While downloads held at a more modest 628 million, this performance underscores the resilience of Japan’s mature gaming ecosystem, shaped by decades of console heritage, iconic IPs, and a culture where gaming is deeply embedded in daily life. Japan’s defining advantage remains its exceptionally […]

Gamigion September 10

Journal

WeChat Mini Game party’s about to get bigger.

The WeChat Mini Game party’s about to get bigger. Now’s a good time to start getting ready. I saw a report saying that 70 games on the platform have over 1 million daily users. That’s a lot for something still seen as niche.Some well-known studios are joining in. Supercell said at the recent Mini Game Conference that they’re getting ready to enter.Smart move. The app has massive reach and a strong user base. The games are lightweight and easy to access.Still early, but probably not for long.

Gil Tov-Ly September 10

Highlights

Banners: The Walking Dead of Mobile Ads

After years of working in mobile ad monetization, one trend stands out above the rest: banners are on a death march into oblivion as a monetization source. Banners’ overall contribution margin in the ad monetization pie is decreasing. Looking at the former hypercasual titan Voodoo, once known for monetizing heavily with banners, it’s clear the format is starting to fall behind. Their latest surprise hypercasual hit, Epic Plane Evolution, completely ditches the format, favouring IAPs, Interstitials, and Rewarded Videos. So what’s happening with Banners on mobile? Ad networks have aggressively doubled down on full-screen video formats since 2020. Rewarded videos and interstitials are becoming increasingly longer and more challenging to skip; rewarded ads now often run past 60 seconds and include end cards that require 10 seconds and four clicks to exit. That friction drives higher conversion rates, which fuels […]

Felix Braberg September 10

Journal

How we could reduce self-competition on DSPs.

💡This is how we could reduce self-competition on DSPs with one of my clients. I don’t talk too often about DSPs, but this was definitely an interesting case! Unlike classic channels, DSPs aren’t that simple—you spread ads across multiple inventories, which can lead to complications (different user segments, audience overlaps, varying performance, etc.).And when your budget is large, you usually run several DSPs in parallel. That often means you end up competing against yourself for the same inventory. This is exactly what we tried to optimize for one of my clients running multiple DSPs (AppLovin, Moloco, Mintegral, and others).👉 First, we asked them to share a report with the app placements where our ads were shown, including impressions and installs per placements. 👉 Then we cross-checked the data between all active DSPs and discovered that only 18% of the placements […]

David Vargas September 10

Journal

Roblox & Now the Alarming Trojen Horse

Roblox's continued growth and retention of aging players will start to represent a serious threat to the game industry. It's something we need to start coming to grips with.Roblox’s per-user monetization is lower than traditional F2P and older demo titles. The platform's massive scale (over 40M users online at the same time) cannot be overstated. At the RDC conference, you'd have to admire the platform's expansionary gall, and also recognize its larger meaning.Gaming’s timeshare dominance threat has been short-form video, which incorporates bi-directional effects that games are infamous for. Viewers have agency on these platforms, which reflects an experience to them, even if it’s implicit. Yet, Western short-form video growth has slowed and settled into its long-run equilibrium. Now, it's in the trenches for timeshare.Roblox Moments (TikTok-style short form) captures discovery, but engages in and of itself. In fact, that […]

Phillip Black September 10

Journal

Top 10 Casual Releases in Summer 2025

One way to spot market trends is by tracking new releases. Let’s try it out and check the top Casual releases by Tier-1 West iAP revenue 😉A new Idle PRG Lootborn Warriors leads with $1M lifetime Tier-1 West iAP revenue and $11K daily revenue at the start of September.Close behind is Farm Manager, a farming simulator that already outpaces Lootborn Warriors in daily revenue, hitting $12K in September.Looking at the top 10 new casual releases, we can see that two games are based on international IPs—Pokémon and LEGO—highlighting the strong impact of IP usage in today’s market 🤌

Andrei Zubov September 9

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