TikTok Busted by EU: $600M Fine for Sending Data to China

TikTok just got hit with a thunderous €530 million ($600 million) penalty by EU. One of the largest ever handed down under data protection laws. Why? The platform secretly stored and exposed Europeans’ personal data in China, despite denying it for years. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), acting as the EU’s privacy watchdog due to TikTok's European HQ in Dublin, uncovered that TikTok allowed remote access to user data from China, without proving it was protected to EU standards. Even worse, the platform didn't clearly inform users where their data was going, or that Chinese law might allow government access. This bombshell follows a €345 million fine in 2023 over child data violations. Now, TikTok faces a strict 6-month deadline: fix your data practices or face a suspension of all data transfers to China. The DPC made it clear—data privacy […]

Gamigion May 2

Journal

Get Ready for a Tsunami of Web Shops

Shall We Get Ready for a Tsunami of Web Shops? The recent court ruling in favor of Epic Games, delivered by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, just changed the game — literally.Apple can no longer block external payment options or take a cut from out-of-app transactions.This opens massive opportunities for game developers to finally own their monetization stack.Web shops are no longer optional — they’re strategic.We’re talking about reducing commissions from 30% to 3–5% (just transaction costs).That leaves the rest in your pocket.What an impressive boost to your LiveOps strategies!Now you have two smart paths:👉 Lower the price for the same goods — boost conversion.👉 Keep the price, but add bonus content — boost value.Both work. And both should be:✅ Personalized✅ A/B tested✅ Synced to in-game behaviorLook at Mattel, Inc.’s UNO! as a great example.Their webshop mirrors the in-game store, adapts […]

Michael Khripin May 2

Journal

GTA Delay…

Ahh Sh*t, here we go again…. Not surprised. But definitely disappointed.Good for other games launching this year, though!

John Wright May 2

Highlights

Epic Game-Changer: 0% Fees & Full Control

Epic just dropped a game-changing update, and it’s seriously worth a look. Starting June 2025, the Epic Games Store is going 0% on store fees for your first $1 million in revenue per game, per year. That’s right—no cut. No weird fine print. Just more of your launch earnings staying exactly where they should: with you and your team. That’s just the start. They’re also rolling out Epic Webshops, so you can set up your own storefront, hosted by Epic. That means you can send players directly to your shop—from anywhere it’s allowed, including iOS in the EU and US—and skip the usual 30% cuts from Apple, Google, and other platforms. You get more control over how you sell things like DLCs, bundles, or in-game currency. Even better? Players get 5% back in Epic Rewards when they buy through your […]

Gamigion May 2

Highlights

Dream Games Powers Up With Strategic Investment From CVC

Dream Games, the mobile gaming powerhouse behind global hits Royal Match and Royal Kingdom, is leveling up. The company has announced a strategic equity partnership with CVC, a leading global investment firm, marking the next bold chapter in its journey to dominate the mobile gaming universe. ‘Royal Match’ maker Dream Games is valued at nearly $5 billion in CVC deals. Last week, we were chatting about "Dream Games is opening the UA floodgates for Royal Kingdom". Just a month before? Dream Games $2.5B Deal Dream Games has generated $3.6 billion in revenue and 367 million downloads so far. Data: AppMagic Private equity group CVC is taking a minority stake in Istanbul-based Dream Games in a deal that values the maker of hit mobile app Royal Match at close to $5bn. The deal, which was announced on Thursday without disclosing financial […]

Gamigion May 2

Journal

Bad Apple

High drama in Big Tech compliance theater. In a sweeping and sharply worded order, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers held Apple in willful violation of the court’s 2021 injunction in the Epic Games antitrust case. The injunction, originally issued in 2021 and upheld on appeal, prohibited Apple from restricting developers from directing users to alternative payment mechanisms. Rather than comply, Apple introduced new roadblocks, including a 27% commission on off-app purchases and friction-inducing scare screens designed to dissuade users from leaving its ecosystem. Apple’s effort to preserve a 27% cut on off-app payments wasn’t trivial—it represents billions annually in potential revenue retention. This is the first time a U.S. court has called Apple’s platform fee what it is: rent-seeking. It doesn’t mean the end of the 30% cut, but it does mean that fee structures will face greater scrutiny, especially when they’re engineered […]

Joost van Dreunen May 1

Highlights

Epic Games Achieves Mobile Webstore Liberation!

𝗘𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗜𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗬: 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗖 𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Developers: you should ship updates to your in-app webstore UX TODAY: side-by-side pricing, knocking down scare screens, and an all-out webstore offensive the likes of which Stash and Xsolla have never seen. Tim Sweeney’s vendetta and suit against Apple’s alleged antitrust violations have dragged on for four years. After the 2021 ruling and failed appeals, the issue was largely closed: Epic lost on most accounts but won in reducing anti-steering provisions, specifically Apple’s refusal to allow developers to link to any URL containing a non-IAP payment method. These bystentine regulations forced experiences like Formula 1 to split into a standard app, which occasionally links to web content, and a TV app where users may IAP to buy a season subscription, and no web links. The issue, of course, is that the F1 website […]

Phillip Black May 1

Highlights

In Search of the Casual Habby & Meta SDK

𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗬 & 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗔 𝗦𝗗𝗞 Habby (Happy + Hobby) rewrote mobile's growth playbook when Archero exploded in 2019, and the studio has remained a case study in scaling hybridcasual hits ever since. The game coined "hybridcasual," surpassed $500M in revenue, and, more importantly, created a meta sturdy enough to be recycled in every project that followed. Despite a surge in hypercasual puzzle games over the last two years, casual developers have yet to adopt the Habby Meta. The "Hobby Core" layers roguelike ability drafting, evo‑fusion gear, elemental Roshambo, and a try‑fail‑progress saga over whatever moment‑to‑moment gameplay is compelling. Capybara Go and Archero 2 are now scaling the same meta to nearly $200m+ a year games, when Android China and ad revenue kick in. Habby is poised to break into the global top‑twenty publishers on the strength of a single, […]

Phillip Black May 1

Journal

State of Creative Optimization: 2025 Edition

Since the last post in this format was well received, I thought it would be interesting to also share my key takeaways from the new State of Creative Optimization report by AppsFlyer. I’ve had the opportunity to work with many different app categories over the last years, and the behavior of creatives varies significantly across them. Here are my key insights, along with real experiences:1️⃣🏆 Constant creative testing is key: I’m not reinventing the wheel here—creative testing has become increasingly important due to changes in algorithm behavior and the faster burnout rate of creatives.Regardless of your app vertical, if you don’t build a creative production system that allows for constant refreshes with a good volume of new concepts, your campaigns will quickly experience ad fatigue, leading to a drop in performance. This point is well supported by the report: both gaming […]

David Vargas April 29

Journal

Gaming’s billion-dollar gamble

What happens when AAA ambitions outgrow economic reality? The ceremonial quiet period that precedes every earnings cycle offers a moment for reflection on some of the underlying economics in the business of games. First, and most personally, I spent some time over the weekend analyzing the behavior of my now 15,000-strong subscriber base. What started as a quick monthly digest has spun into a more ambitious project. You'll notice a few changes in the coming weeks as I optimize the newsletter. Burrowing through the numbers, one thing became clear: I deeply appreciate your willingness to take me seriously, especially when I'm off the mark. Like my classroom, writing in public presents an incredible educational experience. I’m grateful. Thank you. Second, I wanted to explore the economics of AAA game development in greater depth. Although not a new topic, it remains […]

Gamigion April 29

Journal

Four lessons from Angel Investing

I made over 30 angel investments between 2019-2023 before starting my VC firm. Four lessons from angel investing:1. Returns take a LONG time.Assume the money is gone. Exits will probably take 7–10 years, and founders may choose to stay private longer, even in good markets.2. You will loose a lot of money before you see anything.I've had one exit (2X invested money came back) and seven companies go bust, where I lost all the money. Still, I've got over 20 companies which might become successful and have an exit. The losses will always come before the wins.3. Portfolio size matters.Because of the power law, a few investments drive nearly all returns. A serious angel portfolio should have at least 20 companies to have a real shot at winning big, not 6-8 companies, which I've seen a lot, especially with the […]

Joakim Achren 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

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