Mobile Gaming Rebounds in 2025 with AI & Emerging Markets

The mobile gaming market is bouncing back in early 2025, showing clear signs of growth, according to Adjust’s latest Gaming App Insights 2025 report. After a turbulent period, the industry is finding its footing again—driven by evolving monetization strategies and AI-powered personalization. Global Gaming App installs rose by 4% YoY in 2024, with emerging markets leading the charge. LATAM saw a 9% increase in installs, while MENA followed closely with 7%. Hyper-casual games dominated install share at 27%, though they struggled with retention, while strategy games surged with an impressive 83% install growth. AI is also reshaping user acquisition, helping developers fine-tune their ad strategies for better engagement. “After a period of market volatility, mobile gaming is back on a growth trajectory,” says Tiahn Wetzler, director of content and insights at Adjust. With mobile-first adoption booming in LATAM and MENA, […]

Ömer Yakabagi March 14

Highlights

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

Journal

New Games on the Rise!

NEW GAMES ON THE RISE Returning this week with our helpful list of “Games on the rise”.Here I bring you titles debuting at the top of the charts. 👇 These are this week's highlights. 👇➡️ 4x strategy games are still hot! 🔥 The giant gaming company Century Games, whose portfolio includes the big 4X strategy hit “Whiteout Survival”, launched another 4x strategy in February, “Kingshot”. Set in the medieval period, “Kingshot” has a similar gameplay to “WS”, but with a few differences, such as highly polished character animations and a hero roster. The game has been performing well, with growth in both the number of downloads and IAP revenue. On March 8, it appeared in the 🔝 500 for mobile game revenue for the first time. 🏅On March 9, it appeared in the 🔝 1,000 downloads in mobile games for […]

Carlos Pereira March 14

Journal

Native-style creative blending UGC aesthetics with actionable incentive

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸? 👇 𝟭. 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰)• The design mimics Apple's Notes app, making it look like a personal, organic, and trustworthy recommendation rather than an ad. This reduces ad blindness.• Users are familiar with this format, which makes it feel like a genuine tip from a friend rather than a promotional post.𝟮. 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗸 & 𝗨𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆• The "Archero 2 Must-Knows" list creates curiosity and a checklist format that encourages engagement.• Gift codes immediately offer value, making users more likely to interact.𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 & 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆• The in-game screenshot is visually appealing and relevant, reinforcing the gaming theme.• The play button suggests a video, increasing engagement and making it feel interactive.𝟰. 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 & 𝗙𝗢𝗠𝗢 (𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁)• Mentioning “Newbie Carnival” and build recommendations implies that experienced players know these tips, pushing new players to […]

Matej Lancaric March 14

Highlights

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

Highlights

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

Highlights

€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

Highlights

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

Journal

Games are about emotions.

Games aren’t just about mechanics. They’re about emotions.Here’s how to design games that evoke emotions:🎮 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬 • Systems: Mechanics, core loop, difficulty• Emotions: Fun, curiosity, and mastery📈 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡• Systems: Unlocks, skill trees, rewards• Emotions: Anticipation, joy, and the drive to push forward🎨 𝗔𝗥𝗧 & 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡• Systems: Cohesive style, animations, characters• Emotions: Immersion, exploration, and game feel🖥 𝗨𝗜 & 𝗨𝗫• Systems: Screens, user flow, icons• Emotions: Intuitive understanding and smooth navigation📚 𝗧𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗦• Systems: Soft & hard tutorials, visual hints• Emotions: Competence and those satisfying “aha” moments💰 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗭𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡• Systems: Offers, ads, in-game currency• Emotions: Balancing "pain" with fairness and value 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗦• Systems: Events, leaderboards, challenges• Emotions: FOMO, excitement, and social engagementDon’t just build game systems. Build experiences players will feel.

Anton Slashcev March 13

Journal

Top 10 Shooter Games by Revenue

Top 10 Shooters by Revenue In 2025, the genre’s monthly revenue surpassed $350M for the first time since 2021, fueled by PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile 🚀The top 3 revenue leaders remain stable: in the past year, PUBG Mobile holds 36% of the market, followed by Call of Duty Mobile (10%) and Cross Fire (7%), together making up over 50% of total revenue, not including regional versions of games!Only one game crossed $1B in annual revenue last year, with just five others exceeding $100M 🏁While most YoY changes were mild, newcomer Hunting Sniper surged 292% YoY 🎯Do you see a new contender breaking into the top 10 this year? Explore the Dashboard.

Andrei Zubov March 13

Journal

Brutally Honest: UA Rocks

Hey, FAM! What’s up? 🦩Tip of the week This hierarchy highlights platform-specific creatives for user acquisition (UA) campaigns. Key Breakdown: Facebook: Prioritizes vertical formats for Reels/Stories with flexible video lengths. Google: Favors longer videos (30+ seconds) in both orientations. TikTok: Short, hook-driven TTCC videos for quick engagement. Moloco: Mix of static and mid-length videos. Applovin: Combines videos with interactive playables. Mintegral: Short videos paired with playables. 🐊 Cornelius: The Suspicious Investi-gator True detective-like exploration of creative trends and historical influences. Delving deep into the world of creatives to uncover hidden patterns and inspirations: 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 $𝟲𝟬𝟬𝗸/𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. This would have been my statement a few days ago, but now they are back to $200k/day. What is happening? Their revenue has been declining since January 2025. The stable $10-12 million/month revenue for the whole of 2024 is now […]

Matej Lancaric March 13

Journal

AI Agents for Game QA: Nunu.ai Raises $6M

Yes, I hear you. It's for Mobile Gaming, as well! Nunu.ai secured $6 million in funding to advance its AI agents, dubbed Unembodied Minds, designed for Game Testing and beyond. These AI agents can seamlessly control any virtual entity, testing hundreds of game levels while executing tasks across various environments. However, this innovation sparks debate over the potential displacement of human game testers. Beyond Gaming: AI Agents in the Real World Nunu.ai envisions applications far beyond video games. As game engines evolve into hyper-realistic physics engines, their AI agents could eventually transition into real-world tasks. “Since our launch, multiple studios have deployed our AI agents for QA testing. We’re expanding beyond virtual spaces into real-world applications,” said cofounder Kyrill Hux. The Investment and Industry Endorsement The funding round, co-led by A16z Speedrun and Tirta Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, […]

Gamigion March 12

Journal

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