Brutally Honest
newsletter delivers a candid overview of mobile user acquisition trends in the post‑IDFA era, emphasizing practical tactics for early‑stage subscription apps and creative execution. It highlights
Sensor Tower
global mobile app ecosystem experienced a slight contraction in early 2023, with total downloads falling 2.6% year-over-year to 35 billion. Despite this overall decline, the market
Adjust
mobile app economy in Türkiye is experiencing a high-growth phase, characterized by a young, tech-savvy population and robust digital infrastructure. With 80.7 million active mobile connections
Esports Charts
Asian esports market solidified its position as the global epicenter of competitive gaming throughout 2025, characterized by sustained viewership engagement and the strategic expansion of tournament infrastructure
Bain & Company
entertainment time to gaming. These gamers increasingly engage in immersive, cross‑platform ecosystems that combine social interaction, co‑creation and real‑world extensions of game IP. Their spending
Dungeon Investing
intellectual property. Following a period of stagnant profit growth and volatility within its gaming division, the firm is successfully balancing the development of proprietary hits like Uma Musume
Koei Tecmo
margin royalty income from licensed titles and the continued success of the smartphone game sector, resulting in an improved operating profit ratio of 26.9%. The strategic focus centers
GameDiscoverCo
This analysis examines the distribution of first-week revenue across various gaming platforms, emphasizing the necessity of transparency in multi-platform sales data. The primary thesis suggests that
SciPlay
million, driven primarily by virtual‑currency sales in its flagship mobile titles such as Jackpot Party Casino and MONOPOLY Slots. Operating expenses increased modestly, while a reduction
Brutally Honest
hybrid-casual segments. Historical data illustrates how this mechanic evolved from early mobile implementations and Fortnite’s building systems into a dominant trend seen in titles like Cube
Slovak Game Developers Association
country. The sector is dominated by private entities, with 72.7% focusing on core game development and the remainder providing outsourcing or specialized services. While the industry features
Video Games Industry Memo
Jones and the Great Circle; these releases will test the efficacy of the Game Pass subscription model and the potential for a "double-dip" revenue strategy involving timed
Inworld AI
clear financial incentive: 81% of players expressed a willingness to pay more for games featuring intelligent characters, and 79% stated they would be more likely to purchase
Koei Tecmo
Hearts, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Atelier Ryza 3, and Winning Post 10, alongside mobile offerings like Blue Reflection Sun and Dragon Quest Champions. A significant component
GameDiscoverCo
copies in 24 hours despite its day-one availability on Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. In the AAA sector, Starfield showed immense pre-release momentum, with
GameDiscoverCo
sales for discounted games without necessarily cannibalizing full-price revenue. Beyond platform-specific insights, the industry is currently grappling with the tension between game length and perceived value
Ukie
three major policy wins: recognition of games as a growth sector, a tailored growth package and £30 million for the UK Games Fund. The organisation also secured
SuperJoost
current state of the global video game industry is frequently mischaracterized as a market crash, a sentiment often echoed by industry veterans. However, analytical evidence suggests that
Aarki
global mobile ecosystem is entering a period of maturation characterized by a 2.3% decline in installs, necessitating a strategic pivot from aggressive user acquisition toward sophisticated retention models
Video Games Industry Memo
traditional console-exclusive strategy. Furthermore, Fortnite is analyzed not merely as a game but as a dominant digital platform, capturing 8.4% of total global playtime and pioneering
Nacon
compared with €129.9 million in the same period last year. Total game revenue rose 1.9 % to €25.9 million, driven by a 39.9 % increase in catalogue sales (€13.7 million
11 bit studios
million per project and targeting a release cadence of one proprietary game per year, the company aims to stabilize long-term returns. Operational scaling is evident
GameDiscoverCo
Systems illustrate that professional game design principles do not always translate to success in the Fortnite ecosystem. While a polished, rule-based multiplayer game like Fast Feud failed
ESAC – Entertainment Software Association of Canada
balanced talent pipelines. Complementary efforts include a bilingual “#MyWhy” vaccination campaign that mobilized seven influencers to produce eight videos, and a newly funded guide outlining electronic‑waste recycling
Koei Tecmo
upward trend in operating profit through a balanced portfolio of console and mobile titles. Management is targeting 7.6 million unit sales and 30 billion yen in operating profit
Electronic Arts
distribution strategy places 65–70% of revenue on Sony and Microsoft consoles, while mobile and digital storefronts—including partnerships with Tencent and Nexon—expand its global reach. Risk
GameDiscoverCo
Passengers serves as a case study for the current market viability of "friendslop" games—multiplayer, social-focused titles characterized by chaotic, shared-world gameplay. This trend highlights
GameDiscoverCo
regarding the organic nature of wishlists for certain indie titles like Battlebeasts. The mobile segment reveals a strategic shift for Apple Arcade, which recently integrated older "App Store
Nitro Games
Nitro Games achieved a record‑breaking 2024, with revenues climbing 29 % to €11.4 million and EBITDA surging 241 % to €2.4 million, largely driven by the launch
Gamecity Hamburg, Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft
enabling them to showcase their projects at Europe’s largest trade and consumer games fair despite the absence of physical events during the 2021 pandemic. By securing
The newsletter delivers a candid overview of mobile user acquisition trends in the post‑IDFA era, emphasizing practical tactics for early‑stage subscription apps and creative execution. It highlights Airbridge’s new Core Plan, which offers 15 000 free attributed installs and a 3 000‑install bonus for early adopters, positioning the tool as essential for measuring paid‑ad conversion to subscriptions and channel attribution. The author stresses that playable ads are not simple creatives but full games requiring proper design documents, HTML5 coding, and iterative testing; poorly executed playables are dismissed by ad networks and fail to scale.
A case study of Grand Games’ “Block Out” illustrates how incremental design changes—shifting from a planning‑heavy mechanic to a real‑time, zero‑empty‑space puzzle—can double downloads and lift revenue beyond the original IP. The post cites specific metrics: $300 k+ daily revenue, 140 k downloads per day on iOS, and a 32‑36 % ad revenue share from post‑level interstitials. The author notes that the game’s success stems from a disciplined UA playbook: iOS‑only soft launch, single AppLovin campaign for 4–6 months, followed by tier‑one geos and global expansion.
Methodologically, the newsletter draws on real campaign data, creative benchmarks, and industry interviews, offering actionable templates for launching AppLovin or TikTok campaigns. The tone remains blunt yet data‑driven, urging readers to treat playable production as a product and to focus on execution over novelty. The content is aimed at UA managers, indie developers, and early‑stage subscription app founders operating primarily in the U.S. market during 2026.