AppsFlyer’s State of Creative Optimization 2025

If you think cranking out thousands of creatives is enough to win in 2025, you are right. The latest State of Creative Optimization 2025 by AppsFlyer report makes one thing clear – churning out more ads won't save you if they all feel the same. The mobile marketing winners are those who mix it up, test new angles, and truly understand what makes users tick, as I wrote in my creative bible. So volume: yes. Creative depth: also yes. Now kiss! This comprehensive deep dive will explore the report’s key findings – from creative trends and KPIs to emotional hooks, platform strategies, AI’s impact, and the rise of celebrity and UGC (user-generated content) in ads – all through an engaging, slightly casual lens. (Spoiler: I was surprised by a few of these myself!) Get the Full report The mobile advertising arena […]

Matej Lancaric April 29

Highlights

The Ultimate Guide to Game Concept Testing for F2P Success

According to data from AppMagic, the typical success rate of a globally launched F2P mobile game falls somewhere between 0.2% and 4.2%. This already paints a challenging picture, but it only covers the games that actually make it to global launch. In reality, many games are soft-launched and quietly killed before reaching the global market due to poor KPIs.If you factor those in, the true success rate is even lower, making early validation through game concept testing absolutely essential for teams serious about winning in a hit-driven industry. Game concept testing allows developers and publishers to identify which ideas resonate with audiences before committing major production resources.Success isn’t just about great ideas; it’s about de-risking decisions before they become expensive mistakes. But what does a perfect game concept test actually look like?How do you design it, what should you test, what tools are needed, and what timeline […]

Jukka Hilvonen April 29

Highlights

Vietnam Rises As A Global Force In Mobile App Publishing

Vietnam isn’t just participating in the digital race, it’s leading it. With more than 5.6 billion global App Downloads, Vietnam has charged into the world’s top 3 mobile publishing powerhouses, fueling over 100,000 jobs and a vibrant digital economy projected to hit $45 billion by 2025. While global companies cling to the US for almost half their revenue, Vietnamese publishers are charting a different course. A staggering 75% of their user acquisition budgets are targeted outside the US, far above the global average of 60%. This fearless, borderless strategy is insulating them from global market swings and setting new benchmarks for resilience and innovation. Mr. Truong Duc - Vice President of the Capital Advertising Association shared at the event. “Vietnamese users increasingly expect more relevant and personalized online experiences. Traditional advertising methods will find it difficult to meet that demand. […]

Gamigion April 28

Highlights

Subway Surfers and Crossy Road Crossover: A First for Mobile Classics

SYBO (Subway Surfers) and Hipster Whale (Crossy Road) launched a special crossover event where: Crossy Road added a Subway Surfers-themed world featuring characters like Jake and Tricky. Subway Surfers hosted a Crossy Road-themed event, offering rewards like fowl costumes. The event lasted three weeks and was free for players. Why the Crossover? Both games are over a decade old (13 & 11 years) and share massive, nostalgic fanbases. SYBO CMO Phil Hickey emphasized it as part of their content strategy for boosting acquisition, retention, and engagement. SYBO CEO Mathias Gredal Nørvig called it a celebration of mobile gaming culture, while Hipster Whale CEO Clara Reeves noted it was long-requested by fans. Key Takeaways: Crossovers between iconic mobile games can drive community excitement, user acquisition, and re-engagement. Nostalgia and collaboration are powerful tools in today’s highly competitive mobile entertainment landscape.

Gamigion April 28

Analysis

AI In Gaming Has Flopped

Two troubling signs for Gaming. First, Danielle Tran from Konvoy reports that AI accounts for only 10% of gaming investments, compared with 71% across all venture activity. Do VCs believe AI will transform every industry except gaming? AI is a growth mechanic, and the idea that gaming won’t benefit as much is a tough pill to swallow. But it’s not necessarily wrong, as our relationship to entertainment rather than tech may limit AI’s relative effectiveness in optimizing the supply chain. Second, the game from famed AI match‑3 studio Cosmic Lounge is in soft launch, getting another update this week, after its late December launch and first appearance. Pets & Puzzles looks like a standard match‑3, albeit with a super‑cute Nintendogs‑style meta. This is the first public AI gaming bet stepping up to the plate, and it looks like they’ll have […]

Phillip Black April 28

Analysis

How LiveOps Events Can Help Games Reach Wider Audiences

The gaming industry has long embraced the idea that games don't just compete with each other, but they compete with all forms of entertainment. But we may be crossing into an even more complex era. Entertainment is no longer just competition; it’s becoming collaboration. The success of the Minecraft movie, with its impressive box office debut and a viral TikTok trend of its own, is the latest proof that entertainment formats are increasingly blending. Just like how that single standout moment in the movie became more iconic than the movie itself, what we remember most about our favorite shows or films often isn’t the overarching plot. It’s the specific elements that resonated with us. For some, it’s a particular character. And not even always the lead one. Fandoms are often built around supporting roles that strike a chord with audiences; […]

Ahmetcan Demirel April 28

Highlights

Jobs in Mobile Gaming: April’26

» 999 Jobs in Mobile Gaming 🤟🏻 👉🏻 Data from Gamigion.com/jobs Dev 💻 Art 🎨 Product 📱 Marketing 🎯 Business 💰 Data 📈 QA ⚒️ 💻 Dev IT Systems & Platform Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 🇲🇽 Senior/Software Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Tech Team Lead Scopely 🇨🇳 Senior Analytics Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Unity Client Engineer - Scopely 🇪🇸 Senior Client Engineer - Star Trek Fleet Command Scopely 🇪🇸 🇮🇪 🇬🇧 🇵🇹 Senior Analytic Engineer Scopely 🇲🇽 Senior Game Programmer, Brawl Stars Supercell 🇫🇮 Senior Game Tech Programmer Supercell 🇫🇮 Software Engineer 2 Zynga 🇮🇳 Engineering Manager - GOTL Zynga 🇨🇦 C# Client Developer Playtika 🇵🇱 Technical Account Manager Playtika 🇵🇱 Technical Support Engineer (Tier 3) Moon Active 🇮🇱 Site Reliability Engineer Moon Active 🇵🇱 Software Engineer Dream Games 🇹🇷 Game Developer Dream Games 🇹🇷 Senior Software Engineer Dream Games 🇹🇷 SecOps Engineer Dream […]

Gamigion April 26

Highlights

Jason Citron’s Discord Exit

𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀 Discord represented gaming's best chance to be recognized among tech's elite. A recognition that increasingly means political influence rather than only the validation the games industry always seeks. Jason Citron, founder and longtime Discord CEO, is stepping down at a pivotal moment, as the company gears up for an IPO. It's a significant blow to what ought to be gaming's broader ambition: claiming a seat at tech's most influential table, dominated by founder-CEO figures like Zuckerberg (Meta), Chesky (Airbnb), the Collisons (Stripe), and Ek (Spotify). Founder CEOs craft mystical founding narratives, something gaming needs but rarely cultivates. Tech founders have dramatizations like The Social Network, The Playlist (Spotify), or Super Pumped (Uber). Gaming had a chance to elevate its mythos with the unironically named 'Mythic Quest', our version of 'Silicon Valley', […]

Phillip Black April 25

Analysis

Word Games are a massive part of the mobile gaming ecosystem.

Word Games are a massive part of the mobile gaming ecosystem. 1.09% of Google’s, 1.42% of Meta’s, and 2.61% of Applovin’s overall USA Impressions are served through Applovin’s Wordscapes. Words of Wonder by Fugo Games boasts a daily active user base of 3.1 million users. These two titles have been dominating the Word category since 2023. Their reign may be coming to an end, challenged by Word Search Explorer, by Playsimple Games. Word games tend to follow one of two monetization playbooks: the hybrid approach pursued by Wordscapes, which blends ads (IAA) and in-app purchases (IAPs). Or the ad-heavy model championed by Words of Wonder. Based on public data and estimated ad revenue, Wordscapes likely generates 55% of its $226,000 daily revenue from ads, while Words of Wonder relies almost entirely on ads, accounting for 90% of its approximately $100,000 […]

Felix Braberg April 25

Highlights

Blocking App Store Competition: EU Hits Apple With $570M Fine

Apple’s $570M Reality Check Here Apple just got a €500 million wake-up call from the EU for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). At the heart of it? Anti-steering practices. The tech titan blocked developers from guiding users to better deals outside the App Store, breaking the DMA’s rulebook on fair play and consumer choice. Despite attempts to dodge the rules with workaround terms, Apple still took a cut, even when developers linked to external stores. Now, the EU demands a full stop: remove all restrictions and don’t even think about repeating the stunt. Apple has 60 days to clean up or face rolling penalties. Epic Weighs In Epic Games cheered the ruling, urging other global regulators—from the UK to Brazil—to follow suit. They say it’s time to break Apple’s grip on digital markets and restore real choice and innovation. […]

Gamigion April 24

Highlights

HOGO Games Secures Investment at $5M Valuation

One of Turkey’s rising stars in the gaming world, HOGO Games, just announced a new investment round led by Red Axe Games and a group of angel investors, all at a $5 million valuation. Founded in December 2022 at the Bilişim Vadisi Gebze Campus, HOGO is a lean team of 11 developers creating both mobile and PC games. Their mobile titles are already live on Google Play and the App Store, and they’ve also released two PC games to date. Their debut title, Rock Star Life Simulator, made headlines as the first AI-driven game approved by Steam. Both PC games performed exceptionally well, ranking in the top 5% globally on Steam in terms of sales and revenue. Currently, HOGO is working on two new PC titles as they continue to scale. Speaking about the investment, Ahmet Çetinli, Founder and CEO […]

Gamigion April 24

Analysis

Solitaire BOOM! Candy Crush and Disney Solitaires

Old Genre, New Momentum Solitaire isn’t a new genre — in fact, it’s one of the oldest and most familiar in mobile gaming. But recently, the genre seems to be gaining new momentum. It’s not often that 2 major studios release Solitaire games almost back-to-back, but that’s exactly what happened with Candy Crush Solitaire and Disney Solitaire. Both come from strong brands. Both use the familiar Tri-Peaks formula. But once you dive in, the experiences feel very different. In this article, I’ll break down the Core Gameplay, standout Features, Live Ops, Monetization, and the subtle tricks that make each game tick. And yes - I’ve played and paid them both ... a lot ;) Let’s deconstruct. Core Game Loop Both Solitaire titles are built around the classic Tri-Peaks Core Mechanic — a proven formula that’s been successful for years. Naturally, […]

Olha Semykina April 23

Highlights

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