Game Development Renaissance: LiveOps & Forever Games

For many game developers, 2025 looks set to be the dawn of a new creative and technological era. The industry is in the midst of a transformation in which the best games aren’t necessarily the newest, but rather the smartest in how they evolve and endure. That's the view of industry veteran John Wright, who believes we're no longer talking about short-lived hits, but ‘forever games’ - titles that thrive for a decade or more. Read on to learn why John reckons the studios that master live operations, embrace smart monetization, and leverage external tools will be the ones defining the industry’s next golden age. Why Live Service Games will be the Backbone of 2025’s Top Games “The biggest successes in 2024 didn’t come from new games,” John tells us. “They came from live ops.” The data backs this up. […]

John Wright February 26

Journal

Breaking the Charts for Hybrid and Hypercasual in 2025

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀? Buckle up for this takeaway-packed interview - it might just be the spark your game needs to blow up. 👇 Mobile game growth in 2025 is driven by three key aspects: speed, monetization, and globalization.Now, it's all about rapid iteration: how quickly you can develop and launch multiple games.This hybrid model balances immediate ad revenue with the potential for significant IAP income from engaged players, creating a more sustainable and profitable game in the long run.AI tools aren’t just handy- they are a necessity for keeping up with the demand for fresh content. As I explained:“𝘖𝘯 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘬𝘛𝘰𝘬, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯—𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦.” With over a decade of experience under their belts, […]

Matej Lancaric February 26

Journal

Streak mechanic turned into a time-limited event progression!

First time I see a streak mechanic turned into a time-limited event progression! Pencil Sort by Onetap Global lets you maintain a streak, climb up to 100, and collect rewards along the way. Super interesting take—maybe could use some visual polish, but the concept is solid! Check out the game here:Appstore: https://shorturl.at/djIGiGooglePlay: https://shorturl.at/oU1CI

Michael Kopelovich February 26

Highlights

The Mobile Ad Monetization: 11

I always joked that a term that was used in the early days of mobile gaming was: “If you want to win, hire a Finn🇫🇮.” Now I say, “If you want to make it work, Hire a Turk🇹🇷” The Turkish gaming market has seen some crazy exits throughout the years. I’d argue that the Turkish gaming scene is now in its third generation or cohort of gaming companies. We had the first generation led by Peak Games, which Zynga acquired for $1.8 billion. The second generation of gaming companies, led by Dream Games, which just announced that it’s raising $2.5 billion in a financing round. So, the way I see it, we’re now in the 3rd Generation of Turkish Gaming companies. It’s early days, but I’ve made a list of which 3rd-generation Turkish Studios I think are most likely to […]

Felix Braberg February 26

Highlights

Mobile Gaming Today: 48

Hallo Fam, Crazy how Hamburg is enjoying amazing weather this week while Istanbul is buried under snow! ☃️ Guess I should study Geography to make sense of it... or maybe it's just global warming doing its thing, huh? Game of the Week 🍭 Candy Crush Solitaire by King Having its global launch on Feb 6th, looking at the numbers the game did just $260K on 3M+ downloads. Doesn't seem like the result King was looking for. Why? 🤔 Compared to competitors, and there are many, there is one major change in core gameplay, where players can store 1 extra card as another "connecting" card, instead of just linear connecting all the cards on the board. This gives them much more tactical gameplay ⚔️, where they can save this card for later when they run out of their current chain to […]

Ömer Yakabagi February 25

Journal

This is why I love working with Meta Ads

This is why I love working with Meta Ads✨ Because of the speed to detect winning concepts!!Just look at that beautiful screenshot👇Purple line shows the top performing creative in one of my BAU campaigns on Meta. It held the #1 spot for nearly 30 days, even though I rotated over 10 creatives every week.We couldn’t find anything that outperformed it until February 19th, when we tested a simple, almost ridiculous 15-second video.From that day on, algorithm slashed the spend and reach of my top creative by 90%, reallocating ALL the budget and into these "stupid" videos 😂 And I love this! I love how fast the algorithm tells you that you found the needle in the haystack. In just one day you can detect this and create +50 iterations of the same concept by changing hook, music, transitions and all […]

David Vargas February 25

Journal

Interesting take on a rolling offer from Coin Master

Interesting take on a rolling offer from Coin Master by Moon Active—two lanes side by side! Not sure how it works, but always fun to see new tests and fresh ideas pushing design limits.

Michael Kopelovich February 25

Analysis

Casual Games LiveOps in Q1 2025

Casual Games LiveOps in Q1 2025 1️⃣ Luck-Based Cooking Mechanics • Dice rolls for ingredients (Family Farm Adventure, Seaside Escape) • Adds gambling excitement to cooking 2️⃣ PvP Sprint Tournaments • 1v1 battles feel more achievable • Short (1-hour) duration boosts urgency 3️⃣ New Mini-Game Variations • Arcade mechanics like Block Blast (Royal Kingdom) • Adds skill-based engagement 4️⃣ Social Co-Op Enhancements • Coin Master: Social reward multipliers in Plinko • Monopoly Go: Solo or team progress options 5️⃣ Point Multipliers Everywhere • Top 10 games use them to extend playtime • Loss aversion increases resource spending 6️⃣ Temporary Subscriptions • 7-day passes (Merge Mansion) • Daily rewards boost retention & monetization 7️⃣ Rise of Short-Term Events • 1-2 hour challenges (tournaments, mini-games) • Quick to start, easy to understand 8️⃣ Live Ops Calendar Compression • More frequent, shorter events […]

Anton Slashcev February 24

Journal

How do publishers find and sign new games?

If you’re a game developer looking to get noticed by a publisher, understanding how their sourcing process works is key. Who’s responsible for finding your game? Where do they look? And most importantly, how can you improve your chances of being discovered?🎯 The People Behind Game DiscoveryMost publishers have a dedicated “new business” or “sourcing” team whose main job is to scout new games. In some cases, this responsibility falls under the publishing manager, who not only finds and signs developers but also manages the commercial relationship post-signing.Regardless of their job title, this person is your gateway to the publisher. Making them an advocate for your game and studio can be the difference between getting signed or staying in the shadows.🕵️‍♂️ Where Do Publishers Find Games?Game scouts use a mix of tools and strategies to discover potential hits before their […]

John Wright February 23

Journal

What Game to Build, Which Publisher to Go?

What Game to Build, Why, and Which Publisher is Right for You?If you’re a game developer looking to pitch to publishers, the real question isn’t just what to build, it’s why you’re building it and who you should be partnering with. Here are three critical things to consider:1️⃣ Choose Your Development Strategy: Innovation vs. +1I see two main ways to approach game development:💠 True Innovation - Creating something the market has never seen before (think Roblox).✅ Upside: If you succeed, you own a genre and might be diving into money like Scrooge McDuck.❌ Downside: Most fail. It’s a high-risk, high-reward play.💠 The “+1” Strategy - Taking an existing, successful game and adding a new twist or meta.✅ Upside: Lower risk, faster validation, and a better fit for most publishers. a good example would Match 3D evolved from Match-3, creating a […]

John Wright February 22

Journal

10 signs you are working on a DEAD Game

10 signs you are working on a DEAD game ☠️ (you don't want to miss them)𝟭. 𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 👀↳ Without direction, priorities scatter and time is wasted. 𝟮. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲. 🎮 ↳ If developers don’t enjoy it, players won’t either. 𝟯. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁𝘀 🔄 ↳ Frequent changes derail progress and drain morale. 𝟰. 𝗡𝗼 𝗨𝗦𝗣 🪝↳ A generic game can’t stand out in a crowded market. 𝟱. 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 🌀 ↳ When no one knows who’s responsible, chaos reigns. 𝟲. 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 🛑 ↳ Finger-pointing creates toxicity and stalls solutions. 𝟳. 𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 📉 ↳ Players don’t come back if the game doesn’t hook them early. 𝟴. 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗽 ⁉️ ↳ Adding more instead of fixing the basics only bloats the game. 𝟵. 𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 🗨️ ↳ Empty forums and social channels […]

Anton Slashcev February 22

Journal

Are MMPs Evolving into MMMs?

The mobile app industry has long relied on Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) to track and attribute user acquisition efforts. These platforms provide deterministic attribution, helping advertisers understand which campaigns drive installs and revenue. However, with increasing privacy regulations, signal loss, and the rise of AI-driven analytics, a new measurement approach is gaining traction: Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM). As deterministic tracking becomes more challenging, will MMPs evolve into MMM platforms? Let’s explore the future of mobile measurement and the shift from event-level attribution to probabilistic modeling. The Challenges Facing MMPs MMPs have traditionally been the source of truth for app marketers, but their dominance is now being challenged by: 1. Privacy-First Changes • iOS 14.5+ (App Tracking Transparency – ATT): Apple’s privacy framework has drastically reduced the effectiveness of IDFA-based tracking, limiting MMPs’ ability to attribute users accurately. • Google’s Privacy […]

Doruk Kasoglu February 21

#Marketing

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