2025 Unity Gaming Report: Key Findings

The State of Game Development in 2025 The gaming industry remains a global powerhouse, with over 3 billion active players and revenue surpassing $184 billion in 2024. Yet, studios are navigating a turbulent landscape marked by layoffs, closures, and financial uncertainty. Developers are balancing bold creativity with risk mitigation, leveraging technology and strategic decision-making to survive and thrive. 1. Managing Risk by Reducing Costs Studios are prioritizing efficiency. 60% of devs focus on maximizing the value of existing games rather than launching new ones. Strategies include lean teams, debt avoidance, live ops investments, and increased use of efficiency tools. Latin America is an emerging hotspot for game success and market expansion. Studios carefully weigh live update models to keep players engaged without overextending resources. 2. Experimenting with Multiplayer Experiences Multiplayer remains dominant, but approaches are evolving. 64% of studios are […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 18

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Lucky Defense Analysis: 111%’s Risky Bet That Won Big

An All-in-One Deep Dive That's Actually Fun to Read! Alright, let’s talk about Lucky Defense—the game that took the classic tower defense genre, rolled the dice (literally), and ended up creating one of the most chaotic, fun, and weirdly addictive experiences out there. This isn’t your average game analysis. Nope. We’re going full throttle into the depths of Lucky Defense—from its epic rise, gameplay mechanics, wild community moments, and even the monetization that’ll make you ask, "Am I gambling or gaming?" So, buckle up. It’s about to get lucky (or unlucky) 🎉 The Origin Story: When Luck First Struck Lucky Defense was officially launched by 111% (a South Korean dev studio) on May 23, 2024. And it didn’t just drop quietly—it absolutely exploded in South Korea. We're talking about skyrocketing to the #1 download spot and pulling in over $11 million in revenue within its first two months. Not too shabby for […]

Aylin YAZICI March 17

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The Importance of Personalization in Gaming

Segmentation has long been a cornerstone of success in the gaming industry, particularly for top-grossing titles across various genres. The ability to analyze player data, categorize users based on specific behaviors, and tailor their experiences accordingly is a well-established best practice. With AI and machine learning continuing to evolve, this practice has become even more sophisticated, offering dynamic personalization at an unprecedented scale. However, personalization does not have to be solely reliant on automated algorithms. There is another, often overlooked, yet equally powerful approach: empowering players with choices. Allowing players to actively shape their experiences through in-game options provides a layer of customization that is perceived as more engaging and rewarding. While still requiring extensive data analysis to design these options effectively, the act of letting players choose creates a deeper sense of agency and investment in the game. Why […]

Ahmetcan Demirel March 16

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Jobs in Mobile Gaming: 15 March

» 1161 Jobs in Mobile Gaming this week 🤟🏻 👉🏻 Data from Gamigion.com/jobs 🕺🏻 Dev 💻 Art 🎨 Product 📱 Marketing 🎯 Business 💰 Data 📈 QA ⚒️ 💻 Dev Senior Director of Engineering Scopely 🇺🇸 Technical Team Lead (Client) Scopely 🇨🇳 Technical Director Unannounced Title Scopely 🇪🇸 Sr. Director, Engineering - Head of Game Tools Scopely 🇺🇸 Staff Engineer - Monopoly GO! Scopely 🇪🇸 Lead Software Engineer Scopely 🇲🇽 Platform Account Engineer Scopely 🇪🇸 Technical Lead of Analytics Engineering Scopely 🇪🇸 Senior Director, Engineering - Yathzee With Buddies Scopely 🇪🇸 Senior Engineer - Monopoly GO! Scopely 🇪🇸 Senior Software Engineer, Supercell ID Supercell 🇬🇧 Senior Game Programmer, Brawl Stars Supercell 🇫🇮 Senior Game Tech Programmer Supercell 🇫🇮 Software Engineer 2- Full Stack Zynga 🇮🇳 Engineering Manager 2 Zynga 🇮🇳 Software Engineer - Ad Monetization Zynga 🇨🇦 Mobile Game Engineer […]

Gamigion March 15

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Google Expands Mobile Gaming to PC

Google Play is making all mobile games playable on PC by default! Ahead of the GDC, Google announced new updates for Mobile & PC Gaming, including expanded support for Mobile Games on PC, New Dev tools & Upcoming Game Releases. Mobile Games on PC by Default Google Play will now make all mobile games available on PC automatically. Developers can opt out if they choose. Optimized games will have a special badge, while others will be marked as playable. Google Play Games for PC is also adding support for AMD-based laptops and desktops and integrating into PC start menus. New Developer Tools Google introduced several updates to help developers bring mobile games to PC: A new SDK for native PC games on Google Play Games with in-app purchase support. Updates to Play Console for easier build distribution across mobile and […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 14

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Low CPI Cheat Code: Any IPs, Any Ads

IP infringement taken to a new level ⚠️ Why bother with licensing if you just gender swap all of the top anime IP characters into oversexualized women? The mobile game Enigma of Sépia released last month did just that and already made $3M, still doing $80K a day 😅 I have seen a lot of blatant Pokémon and Anime rip-offs lately, probably because of the renewed success of Pokémon IP that TCG Pocket brought, but this one really is on top of it all. Even though the art is low cost they took great effort into putting all of this IP into "this state," and there is a lot of it. I found even Blizzard Entertainment's Genji from Overwatch there, who I couldn't even show here on LinkedIn for obvious reasons. 😅 How long can this thing exist on the […]

Jakub Remiar March 14

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More Revenue, Less Fees: Samsung’s 80/20 on Galaxy Store

Samsung Revolutionizes Mobile Gaming with 80/20 Revenue Share & Cloud Gaming Innovations Samsung is shaking up the mobile gaming industry with a game-changing 80/20 revenue share model for games on the Galaxy Store. Announced just ahead of the Game Developers Conference, this move significantly undercuts Apple and Google’s standard 30% cut, aligning more closely with Epic Games' developer-friendly 12% model. Empowering Developers with Cloud Gaming Samsung’s mobile cloud gaming platform is redefining how developers scale their businesses. By eliminating the need for downloads, the platform allows players to jump straight into gameplay, enhancing user acquisition, boosting revenue potential, and simplifying game development with an extensive suite of software development kits (SDKs) and tools. Since launching commercially in North America in November 2024, Samsung’s cloud gaming service has already driven significant success. Take Vizor, the developer behind Klondike Adventures—since joining Samsung’s […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 14

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Angel Portfolio Playbook: What Failures and One Exit Taught Me

I had been a founder for over 15 years and in 2019, I felt like I wanted to take the leap into the startup investing side. Inspired by Jason Calacanis's book "Angel," I wrote my first check to a game studio founded by former Next Games colleagues of mine. After starting with small $5K investments, I eventually created an angel syndicate with 200+ gaming professionals before launching F4 Fund in 2024. Between 2019-2023, I made 34 angel investments. Note that I’ve stopped doing new angel investments after we started F4 Fund. Currently, in March 2025, the portfolio looks something like this. 1 exit (returned more than 1x of total invested capital) 4 companies doing extremely well, 4 that struggled but are now growing 16 with markups of 30-300% 7 gone to $0 (plus 4 more likely in 2024) 2 survived […]

Joakim Achren March 14

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The Secret Behind Royal Match’s $4M a Day

Warning ☢️ Heavy Game Design post ahead 😁 Royal Match's 👑 event metagame system has become not only the golden standard for level based games, but its a must have driver for monetization 💸. All the top casual games use it such as Monopoly GO, Match Factory, All in Hole, HexaSort, etc. Why it is so exceptional? The beauty of this system is that it is not dependent on core gameplay. Usually, it needs just a level-based setup, but even Monopoly GO, which isn't level-based, uses it in an iterated form 🛠️. The main purpose of the system is to put incentives and time pressure towards playing the main core gameplay. This increases engagement time as surely you won't go away now if there are just 10 minutes ⏳ left in the event. It also reinforces playing the core and […]

Jakub Remiar March 14

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Tripledot’s Big Gamble on nearly $1B Acquisition

𝗗𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗜𝗘: 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗼𝘁’𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 Tripledot’s nearly $1B acquisition of Applovin's studios is a massive gamble but reflects the shrinking pool in the hyper-to-hybrid publisher game. With this move, Tripledot radically shifts from 1% IAP to majority reliance. Meanwhile, peers like Voodoo and Homa slug through slow hyper-to-hybrid transitions. Rather than incremental growth, Tripledot opted for transformative growth overnight, betting they will learn, grow, and wield a zoo of studios and genres. Tripledot's filings reveal an astounding 98% ad revenue share, which brought in over $300M last year. Yet margins languished at a frustrating 15%, explaining the strategic necessity of shifting toward IAP and hybridcasual for better cost leverage and valuations. This is another reminder that gaming's unique economics differ significantly from traditional subscription models like Netflix or even software more broadly.Eric Seufert’s recent "Economics of Mobile Gaming" highlights […]

Phillip Black March 14

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€200K Investment by Project Europe Investors

Welcome, Project Europe. The group includes Supercell boss Ilkka Paananen, Spyke Games’ Rina Onur Sirinoglu, Tripledot’s Akin Babayigit, Ex-King leaders Riccardo Zacconi, Sebastian Knutson, and Stephane Kurgan, Unity’s David Helgason, and more. Full list of the Investors here. Manifesto Project Europe aims to drive European innovation. It does not follow any existing political movements and will remain independent of political parties and ideologies. A core pillar of Project Europe is to encourage the next generation to take greater risks and make entrepreneurship a worthwhile endeavour in Europe. Project Europe Founders can move their businesses outside of Europe or build a remote organisation across continents; our aim is to nurture the creation of tech companies with European roots. The vision for Project Europe is that it becomes an independent organisation promoting entrepreneurship at the grassroots level with more founders and partners […]

Gamigion March 13

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Netflix Games loses its VP Gen AI

Netflix Games & AI: A Fumbled Play? As reported by VentureBeat, five months after Netflix Games went all-in on Gen AI, its biggest champion, Mike Verdu, has exited the stage. His sudden departure raises serious doubts about the company’s long-term commitment to the tech. Verdu was all in on the AI revolution. His LinkedIn post announcing his role dripped with excitement, likening this moment to the 90s gaming boom when each new release shattered expectations. “We’re back to those days of seemingly unlimited potential and the rapid pace of innovation,” he wrote. But enthusiasm aside, he never quite nailed down exactly how AI would transform Netflix’s gaming efforts, especially as the industry wrestled with layoffs and skepticism. Without Verdu at the helm, Netflix’s AI-powered gaming vision feels adrift. There’s no announced successor, no clear roadmap, just uncertainty. Meanwhile, the company’s […]

Gamigion March 13

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