two & a half gamers Softlaunch Sonar: Why everyone is cloning Pixel Flow! (and still missing the point)
This Softlaunch Sonar episode is a reality check.
Studios are shipping faster than ever, cloning proven mechanics within weeks, and still failing to create real differentiation. PixelFlow, Arrow Flow, Sand Loop and their endless variations show how quickly the market reacts, and how rarely it innovates.
The discussion cuts through cozy games, monster IP arms races, match-3 fatigue, and why “being early” now matters more than production quality. Softlaunch isn’t about polish anymore. It’s about speed, angle, and knowing when the train has already left the station.
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 — What Softlaunch Sonar actually is
01:15 — High-budget monster games vs reality (FunPlus, Pokémon-likes)
03:55 — Why cozy games are exploding (Hoyoverse, female skew)
06:45 — Defining success for high-budget live-ops games
08:30 — Social casino logic leaking into new genres
10:05 — Puzzle as the new hypercasual
12:00 — Dice, merge, and “half a UA solution” games
14:05 — PixelFlow clones start flooding the market
16:20 — Why Moon Active copying PixelFlow makes no sense
18:40 — Being late is worse than being wrong
21:05 — Match-3 is no longer the safe bet
23:20 — Physics puzzles and Sand Loop iterations
25:40 — When art style alone kills CPI
27:55 — Dragon shooter puzzle: real innovation or fake ad?
30:15 — Arrow Flow and the speed of cloning
32:10 — Why most softlaunch games will never scale
34:20 — Final verdict: speed beats originality (for now)
---------------------------------------
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 - matej@lancaric.me
---------------------------------------
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