Two & a Half Gamers
Two & a Half Gamers is a YouTube channel covering the mobile games business. It publishes videos on ad monetization, user acquisition, game launches, studio strategies and industry news.
Documents
two & a half gamers honest interviews #4 - Erik Gloersen (Why is the company vision important?)
A clear, unified vision serves as the primary catalyst for successful game development and effective studio turnarounds.
- A clear, unified vision is the primary driver for successful game development and studio turnarounds, ensuring all technical and creative decisions remain aligned with the core identity.
- Investors prioritize operator-led due diligence, specifically evaluating team cohesion, past performance, and the ability of founding groups to pivot under pressure.
- Successful founding teams must integrate cross-functional expertise across four key pillars: technology, product, art, and business.
two & a half gamers session #36 - Google AdROAS campaigns, Admon Exchanges, Survivor.io update
Google’s Target ROAS (tROAS) campaigns have become a critical tool for ad-monetized mobile games, offering robust performance even for titles that integrate hybrid in-app purchase models.
- Integrating competing ad exchanges like Digital Turbine into mediation layers forces demand-side platforms to bid against each other, yielding revenue increases of 12% to 20% on lower-value inventory.
- Google tROAS campaigns perform optimally when developers adjust budgets and bids by 10% to 20% increments while maintaining frequent creative asset rotation.
- Survivor.io maintains daily revenues of $1.3 million to $1.5 million by prioritizing aggressive live-ops and rapid value extraction, despite facing low long-term retention rates of 3% at day 30.
two & a half gamers session #35 - Charge Champions in SL, Facebook UA tech checklist, Amplify update
The mobile gaming industry is currently navigating a period of growth deceleration, necessitating a strategic pivot toward diversified monetization models that extend beyond traditional in-app purchases and standard advertising.
- AppLovin is introducing branding demand into its exchange, which typically offers lower eCPMs than performance-based gaming ads but provides a new revenue stream as mobile games scale as a supply pool.
- Implementing 'app open' ads—ads displayed immediately upon launching an app—can yield a 10% uplift in ad revenue when managed with high price floors to protect user retention.
- AppLovin’s 'Vessel' is a new SDK-based marketplace and wallet that allows developers to integrate NFTs into their games, enabling users to buy, sell, trade, or convert in-game assets to cash.
two & a half gamers session #34 - Low budget UA, Sheep a Sheep game in China, APS Update, Amazon UA
Amazon Publisher Services (APS) represents a significant opportunity for mobile game developers seeking to diversify their monetization strategies beyond traditional giants like Meta.
- Amazon's ad ecosystem is split into two tiers: UAM (Unified Ad Marketplace) for initial access and TAM (Transparent Ad Marketplace) for high-performance inventory, which requires individual IOs with 4–10 different DSPs.
- To gain access to Amazon's premium ad placements, publishers should leverage their Amazon account manager to advocate for whitelisting, a process that can take anywhere from one week to three months.
- For low-budget ad-monetized games, the recommended UA strategy is to start with Facebook for D0/D1 optimization, then pivot to Google tROAS campaigns once performance signals decline or stabilize.
two & a half gamers session #33 - The UA (r)evolution, from fake ads to fake core gameplay in games
The mobile gaming industry is currently defined by a strategic shift toward the use of misleading advertisements and deceptive core gameplay mechanics to drive user acquisition.
- Fake ads—creative that depicts gameplay not present in the actual app—are used to drastically lower Cost Per Install (CPI), even though they often result in lower user retention.
- The math behind fake ads relies on volume: acquiring 100 players at a low CPI via misleading creative can yield more total conversions than acquiring 10 players at a high CPI through accurate gameplay footage.
- A current industry trend involves integrating the 'fake' gameplay into the actual game as a secondary feature, such as using hyper-casual mini-games to occupy players while waiting for timers in 4X strategy games.
two & a half gamers session #32 - Global launch games like a pro, Playrix GL rumour, Google updates
Global mobile game launches have transitioned from high-risk, singular events to iterative, data-driven processes that prioritize long-term retention and technical stability.
- Modern mobile game launches should move away from single 'big splash' events in favor of iterative, data-driven processes that prioritize long-term retention and technical stability.
- Developers should set initial price floors 30 to 40 percent above benchmarks during the launch window, refining these figures only after two weeks of empirical performance data.
- Monetization strategy requires a mix of global and geocentric ad networks organized into tiered waterfalls based on eCPM values to maximize revenue.
two & a half gamers session #31 - survivor.io redemption story, You scaled your game, now what?
Survivor.io serves as a primary case study for modern mobile monetization, demonstrating the efficacy of a hybrid model that blends hyper-casual accessibility with deep, long-term progression.
- Survivor.io achieves over $1 million in daily in-app purchase revenue by utilizing a hybrid monetization model that combines hyper-casual accessibility with deep, long-term progression systems.
- To maximize monetization without sacrificing retention, developers should target a 45% to 70% rewarded video viewer rate with four to five impressions per daily active user.
- Long-term player engagement is best sustained by introducing secondary progression layers and new currency tracks, which prevent unsustainable spending gaps caused by simple stat-based scaling.
two & a half gamers session #30 - survivor.io global launch case study UA, GD, Admon view
Survivor.io represents a significant evolution in mobile gaming, successfully refining the established Archero formula into a faster, action-oriented experience.
- Survivor.io generates between $1 million and $1.5 million in daily revenue by refining the Archero formula into a faster, action-oriented experience.
- The developer sustains daily install volumes of 400,000 to 600,000 by utilizing aggressive, zombie-themed creative assets on platforms like TikTok and IronSource.
- Current daily ad revenue outside of China ranges from $60,000 to $90,000, with potential to reach $250,000 through optimized rewarded ad placements.
two & a half gamers session #29 - how to scale your mobile game, CPI vs LTV, Amazon gamescom rumours
The mobile gaming industry is currently undergoing a structural evolution defined by shifting ad monetization landscapes and the integration of cross-platform technology.
- Profitability in mobile gaming is driven by the ratio of lifetime value (LTV) to cost per install (CPI) and the target payback period, rather than marginal gains from creative or app store optimization.
- Successful monetization for non-hyper-casual titles requires a hybrid model that integrates in-app purchases with a high volume of rewarded video ads.
- Optimal player engagement with rewarded video ads occurs between four and fourteen views per session, with top-performing titles achieving four to five impressions per daily active user.
two & a half gamers session #28 - Admob bidder uplift update, how do hypercasual games make money?
The mobile gaming industry is currently experiencing a period of significant structural evolution, characterized by aggressive corporate expansion and the refinement of ad-monetization technologies.
- Transitioning to a hybrid monetization model that combines traditional waterfall placements with Google’s AdMob bidder can increase average revenue per user (ARPU) by 14% to 18% for rewarded video inventory.
- While hybrid bidding offers significant revenue potential, it currently suffers from inconsistent eCPM stability and lower performance on low-quality traffic compared to fixed placements.
- Top-tier hyper-casual studios are maintaining profitability by replacing intrusive interstitial ads with compliant, end-of-level ad formats that adhere to new platform regulations.
two & a half gamers session #27 - Unity - Applovin bomb, Zynga gambling, worst career mistakes
The mobile gaming industry currently faces a period of significant structural and operational volatility.
- AppLovin proposed a merger with Unity, a move that would require Unity to terminate its pending acquisition of ironSource and pay a $150 million termination fee.
- Netflix has struggled to gain traction in mobile gaming, with only 1% of its subscribers engaging with its 23.3 million total downloads since the initiative launched in November 2021.
- Zynga reached a $12 million class action settlement regarding its gambling-themed mobile applications.
two & a half gamers honest interviews #3 - Sophie Vo (How to motivate your team?)
Effective studio leadership in the gaming industry hinges on prioritizing team culture, clear vision, and defined behavioral values over a narrow focus on game-centric metrics.
- Sustainable studio success relies on treating leadership development as an iterative product that prioritizes team culture and clear behavioral values over narrow game-centric metrics.
- Recruitment strategies should prioritize alignment with shared values and individual growth drivers over purely technical assessments to reduce turnover and management overhead.
- Leaders must foster financial literacy among staff and involve teams in project evaluation processes to ensure transparency when making difficult decisions, such as project termination.