Deconstructor of Fun

Mobile gaming is slowing down, and the question isn’t if, but who still wins.

www.newzoo.com/resources/trend-reports/newzoo-global-games-market-report-2025

In this conversation, Michail Katkoff and Emmanuel Rosier from Newzoo break down Newzoo’s latest forecast, projecting the industry to hit $103B in 2025 with growth slipping below 3%. The duo explores what this slowdown means for developers, platforms, payment intermediarie...

The TWIG crew dives into Unity’s latest missteps and what they signal for the future of game development, breaks down Discord’s push toward a blockbuster IPO, and unpacks how Nintendo’s big announcements could reshape the company’s next chapter. We also examine TikTok’s potential U.S. acquisition, Apple’s quiet but bold moves to redefine its gaming app strategy, the explosive rise of AI-driven apps, and go behind the scenes of Diab...

What really happens when brands collide with games? Mishka Katkoff sits down with Bastian Bergmann, COO of Solsten, to break down why gaming is the most transformative medium of our time, how consumer psychology shapes player engagement, and why authenticity in games runs circles around social media.

00:20 The Power of Reading and Writing

01:12 Video Games as a Medium for Transformation

02:57 Parenting and Gaming: Finding Balance

08:2...

From Roblox’s RDC bombshells to Destiny Rising’s flop, this week’s DoF crew breaks down the biggest shifts in gaming. We get into NetEase’s bets, China’s growing power, and why analytics from Newzoo’s 2025 report matter more than ever. Plus: Blizzard’s messy leadership shakeups, Roblox’s new monetization tricks, Xbox’s subscription struggles, and the hype around Hollow Knight: Silksong. Oh, and yes, Jen’s got a big personal update ...

Jen Donahoe is joined by Joe Ferencz (GameFam) and Stephen Dypiangco (Max Power Gaming) to break down the biggest takeaways from Roblox Developer Conference (RDC) 2025.

The crew digs into Roblox’s massive milestone of 112M DAUs, the 8.5% bump in the developer exchange rate to lure in more professional talent, and the new “ad flywheel” that streamlines campaigns while adding rewarded video into the mix. They also tackle the tricky b...

Mishka Katkoff sits down with Pranav Singhvi (General Catalyst, Customer Value Fund) and Joe Wadakethalakal (PVX Partners) to unpack the rise of UA financing, a new capital instrument that lets gaming and app companies scale user acquisition without giving up massive chunks of equity.

We break down:

1. Why traditional VC or debt financing is often a poor fit for customer acquisition.

2. The origins of UA financing and why treating coh...

This week, we cover Google’s latest courtroom headaches, the evolution of KPIs in gaming analytics, and the incoming Call of Duty live-action movie. We unpack Rec Room’s layoffs, compare Roblox vs Rec Room head-to-head, and dig into Microsoft’s IP bets from Perfect Dark to Halo. Plus, we debate Star Wars: The Old Republic, break down Roblox’s latest monetization trends, and ask what the rise of real-money gaming in India means for ...

Phillip Black and Michail Katkoff break down why they left the Nordics, trading modesty-maxxing for Mediterranean chaos and a bit more sun. The two dive into the quiet conservatism baked into Scandinavian life, the erosion of hunger that comes with too much comfort, and the calculus behind moving to Cyprus and Greece.

00:00 The Conservative Psyop of Scandinavia

04:31 Cultural Reflections and Personal Experiences in Sweden

09:07 Trans...

TWIG crew dives into Gamescom chaos, funding trends, and post-Ibiza IV drips. From Supercell’s leadership addition, to IP-powered collabs (Raid x TMNT) and the EU’s regulatory squeeze on F2P, this episode cuts through the noise with sharp insights, hard takes, and a few too-real laughs.

02:07 Gamescom Highlights and Industry News

02:50 PlayStation Portal and American Football

06:45 DOF Talent Network and Scopely Controversy

10:39 E...

This one’s for the shooter heads. Host Phil Black (ex-DICE) is joined by Chris Sides (ex-Bungie) and longtime strategist Chris Anjos (ex-Activision) to dig into the decade-long arms race between Battlefield and Call of Duty. The muzzles are off.

Chapters:

02:01 Meet the Experts

03:54 Historical Context: Battlefield and Call of Duty Sales

13:04 Battlefield’s Comeback: Beta Impressions

16:06 Gameplay Mechanics: Evolution and Innovations

32...

We dive into Duolingo’s ruthless gamification, how BeReal is evolving beyond its viral gimmick, why Tinder is betting big on live events, the surprising social features inside DraftKings, and the stickiness of Crypto.com’s engagement loops. Each case study is a window into how apps are blurring the line between entertainment, habit, and monetization.

Guest: Kalle Heikkinen, Lead Analyst at App Refinerywww.linkedin.com/in/kalleheikki...

This week on TWIG, the crew covers everything from corn in Minecraft to streak psychology in the New York Times’ latest game, Pips. We kick things off with Gamescom highlights, fresh updates from Ethan and Laura. 

From there, we dig into why streaks are such a powerful mechanic. We also debate Supercell’s unexpected Clash Royale comeback, before wrapping with a look at what Nintendo has in store with the Switch 2.

00:00 Introduct...

Why is LEGO doubling down on digital? In his first-ever interview as the founding president of LEGO Digital Play, industry veteran Aaron Loeb (Electronic Arts, FoxNext, Kabam) reveals the bold vision behind LEGO’s new company. From “forever games” like Roblox and Minecraft to building trust with kids and families, Aaron breaks down why now is the right time for LEGO to level up in gaming — and how his journey from Broadway to the b...

We kick things off with “midlife Kress-ises” before diving into the headlines you can’t ignore: Tencent’s latest controversy, AppLovin’s monster quarter, and Blizzard’s leadership shuffle.

From Storm Gate’s rough launch runway to the brutal math of market fit, we unpack why good games still fail. We break down Duolingo’s surprise move into music games, and why Playtika’s doubling down on direct-to-consumer could be the smartest—or r...

Full-time execs are out, and fractional leaders are in? In today’s episode, we break down the growing trend of founders building companies like modular tech stacks, swapping in CMOs, Product leads, and other execs *only* when they’re needed.

But here’s the catch: done right, fractional hires can supercharge growth. Done wrong, they can kill momentum before you even hit scale. I’m joined by executive headhunter Miklos Blasko to unpac...

This week, the TWIG crew goes full galaxy brain. We kick things off with the real effects of celebrity cringe marketing. Then it’s onto the real news: Probably Monsters' search for $220M ROI, Match Villains' monster raise, Lilith's search for growth, and Roblox's unstoppable growth.

00:00 Introduction and Host Introductions
02:46 Episode Overview and Key Topics
03:32 Celebrity Gaming League and Brand Marke...

In this episode, we unpack how today’s biggest mobile publishers are ditching segmentation in favor of experimentation at scale, what Apple’s privacy-first approach means to running LTV-focused live ops, and why personalization is no longer a “nice to have” but a competitive weapon.

Who better to answer the questions than the founding team of Metica, Phil Mohr, Puli Liyanagama, and Justin Stolzenberg?

These aren’t your average startu...

Hola! Greetings from Spain. Mishka here, tanned, confused by dinner hours, and tragically absent from today’s pod. But fear not, Eric questions the rise of private equity in games and reports back from an anime convention while giving Andrew Wilson a new mobile crown. Phil wants a recount on a couple of Scopley acquisitions, while Jen channels Kate Hudson into top-of-funnel awareness. Gundam demands attention while the crew debates...

In this Deconstructor of Fun podcast, Mishka Katkoff sits down with three of the sharpest minds in growth: Josh Chandley (Wildcard Games), Warren Woodward (Uptick), and Paul Bowen (StreamElements) to dissect the state of user acquisition in 2025.

STATE OF CREATIVES Report: https://tinyurl.com/393d9rum

Chapters:

02:00 Is UA Dead or Just Evolved?

07:00 The Real Impact of IDFA Deprecation

13:00 Time Spent vs Installs: The New Market R...