🚨📢 BREAKING NEWS: Block Blast Hits 70M DAU, Apple Fined €98M, Brazil Forces App Store Changes

Exactly. So unfair. Thank you for someone actually saying this out loud. This is crazy. Anyway, [music]
Two and a Half Gamers exclusive. Breaking news. [music] Literally breaking. Hello everyone and welcome to the news. Today I have three news stories from this past week that I think are the most important from mobile. So I have one story about Block Blast and then two stories about Apple. So without further ado, Block Blast scales to 70 million DAO as Hungry Studio runs over 10,000 experiments in a single year. So, Hungary Studio today announced in a press press announcement that its flagship titled Block Blast has reached 70 million daily active users and 300 million monthly active users globally. A scale supported in part uh

by a year-long experimentation system with [music] more than 10,000 AB tests conducted across gameplay progression and [music] user experience. Built on a classical block place uh blockbased mechanics, block blast delivers intuitive drag match eliminate experience that is easy to learn yet designed for long-term engagement. Since its launch in 2021, the game has evolved from a single mode puzzle into a multiode experience, balancing instant accessibility with sustained challenge. Behind this [music] scale is not a single feature or moment of our reality, but a disciplined experimentation system that constantly refineses player experience. Block blast may look simple, but it's powered by an extensive AB testing framework, said Jason Wang, VP of marketing and brand at Hungry Studio.

We view experimentation as the foundation for understanding players, optimizing player quality, and building products that last. In 2025 alone, our team ran more than 10,000 AB tests. [music] Crazy. Uh with over 300 experiments running parallel each day. Uh we also developed our own user behavior simulation platform block AI which enables high density automated testing before new versions go live. Thus we have reduced the likelihood of post-launch experience issues by more than 50% while significantly improving [music] iteration efficiency. Today block blast is active in 200 plus countries and regions and ranking number one in the puzzle category in over 40 markets. I guess it's not that impressive being top in 200 countries because you just have to be on the app store, but uh number one in 40 markets. It's very impressive. Apple shared that

Block Blast was included on the App Store's list of the most downloaded iPhone games of 2025 in the United States, demonstrating the scalability of an experience first experimentationdriven model. Looking ahead, Hungry Studio plans a long-term investment in AI across its product roadmap [music] from AIdriven AB experimentation and faster iteration uh to broader exploration across platform and monetization capabilities while keeping player experience at the center of every decision. Let's just stop here to pause because it's over. But this is so impressive that this game has been growing like this. And if you may or may not remember from uh the predictions episode we did a couple of weeks ago, my big prediction was that Block Blast will be the single largest mobile app by this time next year, beating Garenna Free Fire. So moving on to the next story. So we have Hacker News. This is a story that came out on December 24th, which I

didn't think got enough attention as actually deserved, but it's actually from Hacker News. Italy finds Apple's $98 million over ATT rules limiting app [music] store competition. Apple has been fined 98 million uh euros by Italy's antitrust authority after finding that the company's app tracking transparency privacy framework restricted app store competition. Duh. That's kind of what it designed to do, right? All right. The Italian Competition Authority has said that the company's absolute dominant position in app distribution [music] allowed it to unilaterally impose the AT rules on third party app developers without consulting them beforehand. The investigation was launched in May 2023. Well, duh. That's what it was supposed to do. The AGCM, the Antitrust Authority, said it's not calling into question Apple's decision to adopt safeguards designed to enhance users

privacy on iOS, but rather is taking issue with the consent requirement that are excessively burdome for developers and disproportionate to stand uh to the stated objectives of AT. specific uh specifically this requires developers to serve both ATT and GDPR related permission prompts in [music] apps for iPhone and iPad users in the EU to seek user permission before processing their data for personalized ads. In contrast, Apple's own apps, services, and services can obtain this permission with a single tap. Okay, pause here. Exactly. So unfair. Thank you for someone actually saying this out loud. This is crazy. Anyway, the authority said that the double consent requirement that arises as a result of AT harms third-party developers who rely on advertising. Yes, it really does. Adding Apple should have ensured the same level of privacy protection for users by allowing developers to obtain

consent to profiling in a single personalized advertising prompt. Yeah, this is uh pretty crazy. So this is not the first time the privacy framework has run at odds with competition authorities. Back in March in 2025, the company was also fined €150 million by Franches Watchdog for using AT to leverage its dominant market position in mobile advertising. Apple is also facing similar probes in Poland and Romania. And earlier this month, Germany's antitrust authority said it was [music] testing Apple's proposed changes to AT, which included changes to the text and formatting of the consent prompt while maintaining core benefits. So, it really feels like something I've been talking about for so long is finally coming to light about how unfair the AT rules are on iOS for developers. But, this is just a little taste, I think, what's going to happen. And I think Apple is facing quite a lot of headwinds from its app stores because

watchd dogs are finally waking up to exactly what happened when they actually rolled out at all these years ago and turned this whole industry upside down. So moving on to the third and final story which is also Apple related which also was announced on December 24th. So it almost feels like maybe these was all announced because people wanted to get not like to take attention away from the fact that this is actually happening. That's usually what you do when you announce news around Christmas times cuz no one notices. So this is from Mac Rumors. Apple to introduce new app store fee structure in Brazil following antitrust settlement. Brazilian regulators have appointed uh a settlement that will require Apple to change how App Store operates on iPhones in the country, including allowing alternative app stores, expanded payment options, and a defined new fee structure. In a press release, Brazil's Administrative Council of Economic Defense, great name, by the way, CAD,

said its court has [music] approved a term of commitment to seize the seize proposed by Apple to resolve an investigation into the company's app store rules on iOS. The case began in 2022 and examined whether Apple's restriction on app distribution and payment limits limited competition in Brazil. Of course, it does. So, yeah, good on you. The CAD said that the investigation focus on Apple's prohibition of third-party app stores on iOS. The requirement the developer use Apple's inapp purchases system for digital goods and subscriptions and [music] restrictions that prevented developers from informing users about alternative payment options. Under this settlement, Apple will be required to allow developers in Brazil to link to external payment options and [music] promote offers that take place outside their apps. Developers will also be permitted to offer thirdparty payment methods within their apps alongside Apple's own in-app purchase system. The CAD requiring that these options both be

presented next to Apple's payment option. Pretty cool, huh? So, what do we think about this? Right. So, oh yeah, also says here Apple will be allowed to uh will be allowed to have third party app stores also has to be allowed to have third party app stores in Brazil. And Apple would may still display warnings orformational messages to users, which is not great, I guess. Uh but those messages must be neutral, objective, and limited in scope. Uh and must not include extra steps or barriers that make uh alternatives, harder options to use. So what do we think about this? This is also something we've been talking about. the whole payment thing which has been crazy if you compare this credit card fees you know 4% fees but Apple charges 30% and then punishes you if you actually try to circumvent it pure craziness but you know this happened in the states now it happened in Japan now it's happening in Brazil Brazil is not that important as an [music] AP market but it does kind of see like show you where the winds are

kind [music] of blowing for Apple right now a lot of headwinds and from a personal note I don't think I've actually seen a Apple product come out since the AirPod except for maybe the TV show Pluribus. That's kind of groundbreaking. Yeah, a lot of headwinds for Apple I can see in the future. But that brings us to the end of the news for this week. This has been another fantastic [music] news episode by the Two and a Half Gamers podcast. Please forget to like and subscribe if you like this type of content. [music] Thank you. Bye-bye.