Deconstructor of Fun

Jen Donahoe makes her triumphant return. She's joined by Eric Kress and special guest Stan Kwon from BetaHat.

We dig into:

• Battlefield 6 corrections, marketing takeaways
• Android’s new payment-link era

Unity’s cross-platform payments

• what General Intuition’s $134 M seed means for spatial reasoning and game data

• Rovio’s restructuring
• Football Manager deal with FIFA
• 
  

00:00 Welcome

03:12 Jen's Update

09:17...

Mishka Katkoff is joined by Daniel Ahmad (Director of Research & Insights, Niko Partners) and Lisa Hanson (CEO & Founder, Niko Partners) for a deep dive into the latest trends and insights from the Asian, MENA, and Indian gaming markets. We cover regulatory changes in China, the rise of India as a gaming powerhouse, the evolving MENA landscape, and much more. If you want to stay ahead in the global games industry, this epis...

Supercell’s CEO releases a rare open letter calling for more industry collaboration, while Ubisoft’s nepotism controversy reignites debates around leadership culture. Netflix Games kicks off its Battle for the Living Room with a push into Smart TV party games, and early buzz around PlayStation 6 points to an AI-driven leap in graphics and efficiency. Meanwhile, Battlefield’s launch performance goes head-to-head with Call of Duty on...

This week in games: Ilke’s open letter to the EU stirs the industry pot, AppLovin faces an SEC probe, and Epic drops its new Web Shops like it’s 2012 all over again. Ubisoft’s management drama continues, Istanbul’s gaming boom is no joke, and we wrap with a spicy take on the new wave of AI business slop.

00:00 Welcome

01:00 Intro & Shills

07:58 Ilke's Open Letter on EU Regulations

21:38 AppLovin Under Fire: SEC Probe and Stock Vola...

A one-person poker roguelike sold seven million copies and outperformed studios with hundred-million-dollar budgets. In this episode, Playstack CEO Harvey Elliott joins Michail Katkoff to break down how they discovered Balatro, what makes a modern indie publisher truly valuable, and why the next wave of hits will come from focus—not funding.

02:07 Understanding Bellatro's Success: Metrics and Engagement
04:50 The Indie Developer vs. ...

A new guest host, Josh Chandley, is stepping into the arena as we dig into Microsoft’s latest controversial moves and what they signal for the company’s long-term gaming strategy. Then, we unpack the historic $55B acquisition of EA by Saudi Arabia, the largest leveraged buyout in gaming history. What does this mean for EA, for the industry, and for the shrinking pool of public gaming companies? Finally, we explore AppLovin’s surpri...

No Jen this week — just the boys. Phil loses it on Supercell and Google Play, we wade into the “brain rot” panic, and Simon Hay somehow still gets a shoutout. From Newzoo’s latest report to Supercell’s IPO pipe dreams, Discord going offline, Xbox hiking prices, and Epic trying to AI their way out of irrelevance…Chapters00:00 Introduction00:27 Jen's Neuralink Update00:41 Phil's Rant on Supercell and Google Play01:48 Brain Ro...

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...