Creative
Company
Documents about Creative
Session: From Workflows to Agents: The AI Shift Redefining UA Creative Production - I. Kuznetsov.
The shift from static AI workflows to autonomous agentic systems is fundamentally redefining user acquisition (UA) creative production in the mobile gaming industry.
- Top-performing mobile developers are now shipping up to 15,000 creative assets per quarter, with many studios tripling their ad iteration volume over the last three to four months.
- Fully automated AI creative workflows using UGC components have demonstrated significant performance gains, including 4% lower CPI, 7% higher CTR, and 8% higher ROAS compared to control groups.
- The shift from manual node-based AI workflows to agentic systems allows teams to generate multi-format ad campaigns from a single brief, eliminating the need to write individual prompts for every concept.
The new Paramount Games: 'We are not looking to chase GTA'
Paramount Games has established an integrated business unit designed to transform the company’s intellectual property into a cornerstone of its broader entertainment strategy.
- Paramount Games has launched an integrated business unit that combines internal studios and a dedicated publishing arm to transition from traditional licensing to a sustainable, high-quality production model.
- The company is pursuing a 'responsible ambition' strategy that prioritizes narrative-driven AAA experiences over the high-risk, massive-budget development models used by industry giants like Rockstar Games.
- Creative authenticity is maintained by pairing specific intellectual properties with developers who have a genuine passion for the source material, exemplified by the partnership with PlatinumGames for 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin'.
🎯 Creative Trends April 2026: Volume + 80/20 Creative Strategy FTW!
The mobile gaming industry is currently defined by a high-stakes volume race, where market dominance is contingent upon the rapid, consistent deployment of thousands of creative assets each month.
- Leading mobile studios are adopting an 80/20 creative strategy, allocating 80% of resources to iterating on proven concepts and 20% to exploratory innovation to maintain market dominance.
- Aggressive use of divergent hooks, such as mini-games and onboarding mechanics, has enabled 4X strategy games to reduce cost-per-install figures from $80 down to $15–$20.
- Market competitiveness is currently driven by a high-stakes volume race that requires the rapid, consistent deployment of thousands of creative assets every month.
🧠 MVP UA template AXON: How to set up your Applovin for Success by Matej Lancaric
AppLovin’s Axon platform functions as a high-performance, automated user acquisition engine that requires a distinct strategic approach compared to Facebook or Google.
- Creative assets are the primary performance driver on AppLovin, with playables accounting for 80% to 90% of total ad spend.
- Top-performing games maintain high creative velocity by producing and shipping over 60 new playable assets per month.
- Abandon traditional geo-bucket campaign structures in favor of a worldwide approach, using geo-level ROAS targets instead of geo-level budgets to manage traffic.
👾 Creative Trends March 2026: AI hooks, fake ads, and the infinite iteration machine
Mobile game marketing in early 2026 is defined by a strategy of infinite iteration, where developers prioritize the rapid, continuous remixing of proven creative concepts over original gameplay representation.
- Mobile game marketing in early 2026 is dominated by 'infinite iteration,' a strategy that prioritizes the rapid remixing of high-performing creative hooks over accurate gameplay representation.
- Top-grossing titles are increasingly utilizing stylized or misleading advertisements that bear little to no resemblance to the actual game experience to drive initial user engagement.
- The industry relies on a cycle of recycling proven tropes, such as wood-chopping mechanics, surreal animations, and failure-based puzzle loops, to maintain ad performance in a saturated market.
Watch us chat with British comedian and Taskmaster star Maisie Adam
The comedy and gaming industries share a fundamental structural challenge: the necessity of balancing creative evolution with the preservation of core elements that initially fostered fan loyalty.
- Success in both comedy and gaming requires balancing creative evolution with the preservation of core elements that initially established fan loyalty.
- Iterative development, similar to the software industry's early access model, allows creators to refine material through direct audience feedback before final release.
- Creators must manage the tension between maintaining a unique artistic voice and adapting to the shifting expectations of a diverse, global audience.
MDM Podcast, Season 7, Episode 7: MDM Mailbag #7 (with Matej Lancaric)
The mobile gaming industry is undergoing a structural shift toward web-based onboarding and direct-to-consumer payment strategies to mitigate the impact of platform-level tracking restrictions and high app store fees.
- Mobile game developers are increasingly using web-based onboarding and shops to bypass the 30% platform fees charged by Apple and Google, though major companies remain hesitant to fully move their monetization stacks due to security concerns and the difficulty of auditing web-based transactions.
- Artificial intelligence and no-code tools have drastically shortened production cycles for high-quality video and playable ads, allowing developers to deploy new creatives in as little as one day using pre-built templates.
- The effectiveness of mobile measurement partners (MMPs) remains debated, with smaller studios often lacking the internal resources to manage complex data attribution, leading to a reliance on internal dashboards built on top of Firebase and Looker.
🎯 Creative trends don’t DIE. They cycle! Quiet influence of Kingshot (January 2026)
Mobile gaming is currently defined by a rapid, cyclical approach to creative strategy, where proven concepts are continuously recycled and adapted across diverse genres.
- Mobile gaming is currently defined by a cyclical strategy where developers prioritize recycling evergreen mechanics—such as 'Noob vs. Pro' narratives and puzzle-based hooks—rather than pursuing entirely new trends.
- The 'Kingshot' mechanic exemplifies the industry trend of cross-pollinating successful, singular interactions across diverse genres to maintain user engagement.
- While revenue remains stable, the industry is experiencing a contraction in total download volumes, suggesting that the reliance on recycled creative assets is hitting a point of diminishing returns.
Ad Creative Testing for Mobile Marketers (Meta, TikTok, Unity, Applovin, Google)
Mobile marketing success hinges on a high-velocity, iterative approach to creative testing that prioritizes authentic engagement over high-production value.
- Creative performance is platform-specific: Facebook requires a strong hook and gameplay focus, whereas AppLovin prioritizes a clear call-to-action at the end of the video, as users are more likely to watch the full duration.
- For high-volume testing (hundreds to thousands of creatives), use Value Optimization (VO) campaigns on Facebook, which allow for up to 50 creatives per ad set and simulate business-as-usual performance.
- Small-scale studios producing only 1–3 creatives per week should bypass dedicated testing campaigns and integrate new assets directly into their primary business-as-usual campaigns to maximize budget efficiency.
Interview: How the Fallout TV show transformed Fallout 76
The Fallout television series has served as a significant catalyst for the growth of the online RPG Fallout 76, driving over one million new players to the game in a single month following the show's debut.
- The Fallout television series drove over one million new players to Fallout 76 within a single month of the show's debut.
- Development strategy focused on thematic alignment by integrating show-inspired gear and tonally consistent expansions like Burning Springs to capitalize on the influx of interest.
- The development team manages player onboarding by leveraging the existing veteran community to assist newcomers, maintaining a collaborative environment rather than relying on intrusive messaging.
Fireside Chat: Money Talks - Listening To Buyer Signals - Adam Smart & Edik Mitelman, AppsFlyer.
The data collaboration platform SignalHub, developed by AppsFlyer, enables gaming companies to leverage real-world consumer spending data for highly targeted user acquisition.
- AppsFlyer’s Signal Hub platform allows game studios to build custom user acquisition audiences based on real-world consumer spending data from partners like Mastercard, Factures, and Equifax.
- The platform enables targeting based on specific merchant transactions, product SKUs, spending ranges, and socioeconomic status, allowing studios to reach users with high propensities for in-app purchases.
- Data is processed through a privacy-compliant, hashed, and encrypted environment where no raw data is downloadable or shared, meeting strict audit requirements from major financial institutions.
☠️ The end of original creatives: Creative Trends just got darker
The mobile gaming industry is currently undergoing a fundamental shift toward a copy-first development strategy, prioritizing high-volume, replicable creative assets over original intellectual property.
- The mobile gaming industry is shifting toward a copy-first strategy that prioritizes high-volume, replicable creative assets over original intellectual property to maximize conversion metrics.
- Artificial intelligence is being leveraged to mass-produce deceptive creative content, significantly lowering production costs while enabling the rapid deployment of fabricated, high-drama scenarios.
- Publishers are increasingly utilizing 'fake ads' that feature unauthorized use of major global brands and misleading gameplay representations to drive user acquisition.