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two & a half gamers

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two & a half gamers
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  • two & a half gamers

    🎮 How to build playables that actually convert by Matej Lancaric

    25/02/2026 | 29 mins.
    I also built a playable during the recording! Playables are no longer optional. If you're running on AppLovin, Unity, ironSource, or any SDK network and you don’t have playables, you’re leaving scale on the table.
    https://playablemaker.com/25gamers/ build your playables now!

    In this solo episode, I break down:
    • Why top games produce 60 playables per month
    • The real playable testing structure
    • Why “just wrapping your tutorial” doesn’t work
    • Template strategy vs gameplay fidelity
    • How to iterate instead of building from scratch every time
    • And I built a playable live on camera

    This episode is a teaser for the upcoming Playable Bible.

    If you want to scale outside Meta/Google/TikTok in 2026, this is mandatory.

    🧠 Key Takeaway

    Playables are not a creative asset. They are a system these days. If you build one playable and stop, you lose. If you build a pipeline that outputs 5+ per month, you scale.
    Recent playable trends: https://open.substack.com/pub/lancaric/p/playable-ads-trends-in-mobile-games-127?r=7qqaf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

    ---------------------------------------
    This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
    Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Matej Lancaric⁠
    Podcast:

    Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

    Chapters
    00:00 – Why Playables Are Mandatory in 2026
    02:20 – The Shift to SDK Networks (AppLovin, Unity, etc.)
    05:00 – Why Longer Ad Units Convert Better
    07:30 – Build Playables as a System, Not One-Offs
    10:00 – What’s Working Now (4X, Merge, 3x3, Gates)
    13:00 – Templates vs Real Gameplay Debate
    16:00 – Anatomy of a Converting Playable
    19:00 – Testing Structure (Video + Playable Combinations)
    22:30 – Iteration Framework & Monthly Cadence
    25:00 – Case Study: 3x3 Puzzle That Scaled
    27:30 – Building a Playable Live (Quick Walkthrough)
    29:00 – Final Advice + Playable Bible Teaser
    ---------------------------------------
    Matej Lancaric
    User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
    ⁠https://lancaric.me
    Felix Braberg
    Ad monetization consultant
    ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com
    Jakub Remiar
    Game design consultant
    ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar
    ---------------------------------------
    Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!
    Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!
    Please share feedback and comments - [email protected]
    ---------------------------------------
    If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric
    Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
  • two & a half gamers

    🤖 AI just leveled up AGAIN. We Tracked 127 AI Ads. The results are insane!

    23/02/2026 | 42 mins.
    AI game creatives just made another massive leap. In this episode, we break down 127 new creatives across Dark War, Top Heroes, Township and more and the quality jump in just one month is honestly insane.

    We’re talking:
    • Full anime-quality world model sequences
    • AI influencers everywhere (grandmas, gamers, street interviews)
    • 50+ completely different “games” promoted under one title
    • Movie-level 4X fantasy ads
    • Hyper-niche creative strategy instead of broad targeting

    This is not an incremental improvement. This is a structural shift in how UA works. If you run paid UA, creative production, or mobile marketing… this episode is mandatory.

    👇 Drop your hottest AI take in the comments. WE CAN'T WAIT!

    Key Takeaway
    The creative strategy is shifting from “broad appeal” to “own every niche.”
    AI now allows studios to generate dozens of fully different game fantasies — and scale them all at once.

    Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop
    --------------------------------------
    PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.
    Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/
    They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.
    - Scale fast
    - Keep your shares
    - Drawdown only as needed
    - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you
    + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors
    ---------------------------------------
    For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.
    Our sponsor FastSpring:
    Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years
    They power top mobile publishers around the world
    Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.
    ---------------------------------------
    This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
    Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠
    Podcast:

    Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

    Chapters
    00:00 – The AI quality jump in 30 days
    01:20 – 127 creatives this week (yes, seriously)
    03:25 – King Shot & localization with AI
    06:45 – AI influencers take over UGC
    09:50 – Cute overload & grandma trend
    12:10 – Stitching vs realism: does it even matter?
    14:30 – Dark War’s massive creative evolution
    20:30 – Old vs new: 1 month difference
    22:40 – The River team = top AI creative squad
    27:00 – Township & AI story hooks
    29:50 – Top Heroes goes nuclear (50+ concepts)
    33:00 – “All niches” strategy explained
    36:30 – Why this shouldn’t work… but does
    39:10 – AI fantasy RPGs that look real
    41:45 – What this means for UA teams
    ---------------------------------------
    Matej Lancaric
    User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
    ⁠https://lancaric.me
    Felix Braberg
    Ad monetization consultant
    ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com
    Jakub Remiar
    Game design consultant
    ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar
    ---------------------------------------
    Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!
    Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!
    Please share feedback and comments - [email protected]
    ---------------------------------------
    If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric
    Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
  • two & a half gamers

    🚨📢 BREAKING NEWS: PixelFlow & Scopely MEGA deal, Unity AI Builds Games?! Meta embeds Manus in Ads Manager.

    20/02/2026 | 8 mins.
    This week’s episode centers around two major AI developments in gaming. Unity claims its upcoming AI beta will allow developers to prompt full casual games into existence. At the same time, Meta has begun embedding Manus AI into Ads Manager, signaling deeper automation inside UA workflows. The industry is clearly shifting — but whether this is real product evolution or investor-driven positioning remains the big question.

    🧠 CORE INSIGHTS
    1️⃣ Unity Is Selling the “No Code” Dream

    Prompt-based game creation sounds revolutionary. But fully AI-generated casual games are not realistically replacing studios yet. Templates and tooling? Yes. Instant hits from text prompts? Not there.

    2️⃣ AI’s Real Impact Is Marketing

    Creative generation, playables, automation workflows — that’s where AI is actually changing mobile gaming today. Not full game engines.

    3️⃣ Meta Is Signaling AI Monetization

    Manus AI inside Ads Manager is less about utility and more about showing investors measurable AI impact. Automation + reporting + agents = Wall Street comfort.

    4️⃣ M&A & Global Power Shifts Continue

    ByteDance potentially selling Moonton to Saudi-backed Savvy signals broader strategic repositioning in gaming.

    5️⃣ Regulators Are Watching

    The UK's ban on Call of Duty’s ad shows edgy marketing still has limits. Creative boundaries matter.

    ---------------------------------------
    This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
    Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠
    Podcast:

    Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

    ---------------------------------------
    Matej Lancaric
    User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
    ⁠https://lancaric.me
    Felix Braberg
    Ad monetization consultant
    ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com
    Jakub Remiar
    Game design consultant
    ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar
    ---------------------------------------
    Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!
    Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!
    Please share feedback and comments - [email protected]
    ---------------------------------------
    If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric
    Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
  • two & a half gamers

    🎯​ Creative trends don’t DIE. They cycle! Quiet influence of Kingshot (January 2026)

    19/02/2026 | 39 mins.
    In this episode, we break down what’s really happening in mobile game creatives right now. Creative trends for January 2026 are here..

    From Kingshot clones everywhere to Pixel Flow conveyor belts invading other genres… from 2022 impulse puzzles coming back to life… to the brutal truth about creative fatigue lasting DAYS instead of weeks.

    We look at Golden Goblins, Royal Kingdom, Match Factory, Tasty Travels, Tile Survive and more, and what their ads tell us about 2026.

    If you work in UA, creative production, or game marketing… this one matters.

    Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop
    --------------------------------------
    PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.
    Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/
    They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.
    - Scale fast
    - Keep your shares
    - Drawdown only as needed
    - Have PvX take downside risk alongside you
    + Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors
    ---------------------------------------
    For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.
    Our sponsor FastSpring:
    Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years
    They power top mobile publishers around the world
    Launch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.
    ---------------------------------------
    This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
    Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠
    Podcast:

    Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

    Chapters
    0:00 – Why Creative Trends Matter More Than Ever
    2:45 – Golden Goblins & The Decline Curve
    6:20 – Creative Fatigue Is Now Measured in Days
    10:05 – Borrowing Hypercasual Mechanics Into 4X
    12:10 – Noob vs Pro Is Back
    16:00 – KingShot’s Influence Across Genres
    20:00 – Royal Kingdom, Block Blast & Fake Mini-Games
    23:10 – Tower War, Mob Control & Genre Crossovers
    28:40 – 2022 Concepts Are Working Again
    30:55 – Elevate vs Impulse & The “IQ App” Strategy
    33:00 – Tile Survive & Massive Playable Scaling
    36:45 – Tasty Travels & 10-Click Playables
    38:25 – The Real Lesson for 2026
    ---------------------------------------
    Matej Lancaric
    User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
    ⁠https://lancaric.me
    Felix Braberg
    Ad monetization consultant
    ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com
    Jakub Remiar
    Game design consultant
    ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar
    ---------------------------------------
    Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!
    Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!
    Please share feedback and comments - [email protected]
    ---------------------------------------
    If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric
    Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
  • two & a half gamers

    🎙️ Mobile Ad Monetization basics: What every studio gets wrong by Felix Braberg

    18/02/2026 | 18 mins.
    If you think eCPM is the most important metric in ad monetization, this episode is for you.

    Felix breaks down:

    • eCPM vs Fill Rate
    • Why Ad ARPDAU is king
    • Recency model & impression decay
    • Why more ads can hurt revenue
    • SDK crash risks & ANR thresholds
    • Aggressive end cards & churn
    • How mediation doubles revenue
    • Networks vs exchanges explained

    This is a practical introduction to how mobile ads actually work once the SDK is live.

    Key takeaway:
    Ad monetization is not about showing more ads. It’s about optimizing per user.
    The biggest misconception in mobile ad monetization is obsessing over eCPM. eCPM alone is meaningless. Revenue comes from eCPM × fill rate, and the only metric that truly matters is Ad ARPDAU. That’s your real performance line of sight. If eCPM goes up but fill drops, you can still lose money. Networks respect publishers who talk about Ad ARPDAU because it shows you understand the business, not just vanity metrics.

    eCPMs are not fixed. They are dynamic and driven by complex algorithms. Networks use dozens of parameters including device type, geo, historical installs, auction loss rate, and most importantly recency models. The first few impressions per user are the most valuable. After 5–7 impressions, the per-unit value drops sharply. If you keep pushing more interstitials, you may increase impressions per DAU but flatten total revenue while damaging retention. More ads ≠ more money.

    Operational discipline separates professionals from amateurs. Never rush SDK updates. Android ANRs and crash thresholds can destroy organic distribution. Aggressive end cards increase churn. Mediation doubles revenue when implemented correctly because it creates a marketplace instead of a single buyer. And exchanges are not networks — they are resellers. Understanding these mechanics is the difference between earning $100 a day and scaling to $1,200+ before expanding demand sources.

    ---------------------------------------
    This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.
    Panelists: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jakub Remia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠r,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Felix Braberg, Matej Lancaric⁠
    Podcast:

    Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

    Chapters
    00:00 – Why Most Studios Misunderstand Ads
    01:20 – The 4 Metrics That Actually Matter
    03:30 – Why eCPM Is Overrated
    05:10 – Ad ARPDAU: The Only Metric That Counts
    07:00 – How Networks Calculate eCPM
    09:20 – Recency Model & Impression Decay
    11:40 – Why More Ads Don’t Always Mean More Revenue
    13:00 – SDK Risks, ANRs & Crash Thresholds
    15:10 – Aggressive End Cards & Churn
    17:10 – Mediation Explained (Why It Doubles Revenue)
    ---------------------------------------
    Matej Lancaric
    User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant
    ⁠https://lancaric.me
    Felix Braberg
    Ad monetization consultant
    ⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com
    Jakub Remiar
    Game design consultant
    ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar
    ---------------------------------------
    Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!
    Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!
    Please share feedback and comments - [email protected]
    ---------------------------------------
    If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric
    Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

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About two & a half gamers

This is a no BS gaming podcast. We share insights, knowledge and fun gossip relating to the topics of User Acquisition, Game Design and Ad monetisation. You will find here actionable insights in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. A safe space where we mimic the honesty of a 4am conference discussion. Enjoy & let us know your feedback!
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