PocketGamer.biz Podcast

Excitement brews for Gamescom as the team shares quirky anecdotes and personal preparations. They dive into gaming and film connections, contrasting feelings on trailers, and their competitive gaming journeys. Unity's recent financial shifts shake the mobile gaming landscape, while a push for sustainability takes shape with the Sustainable Games Alliance. Notable gaming sponsorship changes are discussed, linking mobile games with League One football. Plus, insights on AFK Journey's success in Asia and innovative trends in gaming keep the conversation lively.

CK Wang, CEO of Kooapps and former Microsoft employee, shares his journey from tech to gaming. He discusses the milestones that propelled Snake.io and Kooapps, emphasizing community engagement and evolving player experiences. The conversation highlights the shift from hypercasual to unified casual gaming and innovative monetization strategies like in-app purchases. CK also explores the role of influencer marketing and user-generated content in shaping future games, creating a strong connection with players.

Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths, Paige Cook, and Aaron Astle from PocketGamer.biz delve into the latest buzz in mobile gaming. They explore the mobile games market's resurgence and Nazara’s $100m investment strategy. A particularly hot topic is Turkey’s ban on Roblox, igniting discussions about industry repercussions. Daniel humorously vents about Beetlejuice's Roblox tie-in, while the group reminisces about early gaming experiences and the evolving landscape of mobile titles. Expect insights on mergers, AI in game development, and the future of beloved franchises.

Sophie Vo, a seasoned games professional with over 15 years at top studios like Rovio and PlayStation, shares her insights on leadership in the gaming industry. She discusses the critical shift from merely managing to empathetic leadership. Sophie highlights common challenges leaders face and stresses the need for emotional awareness. She proposes three self-reflection questions to enhance emotional management skills. Additionally, she talks about the importance of creating a safe environment for teams to thrive and the process of personal reinvention in gaming.

Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week. We delve into AppMagic's $3m raise and the future of market intelligence, discuss the big SAG-AFTRA games strike against AI, and the team gets very British about the weather. ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz 👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com 👉🏻Pocket Gamer Connects Speaker Submission form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoS5n-vdHu6aU-2d_rR7x1FAgewG51y3nlU1aB8RdetiKaGw/viewform 👉🏻Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards - https://www.mobilegamesawards.com 👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Party Cologne 2024 - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pocket-gamer-party-cologne-2024-tickets-927776854547 👉🏻 PocketGamer.biz MasterClass - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/announcing-the-pocketgamerbiz-masterclasses-summer-2024-programme/ 👉🏻 PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Industry Trends Survey - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/what-are-the-hottest-mobile-gaming-trends-right-now-let-us-know-in-our-2024-mobile-games-industry-survey/ 👉🏻 Top 50 Mobile Game Makers nominations - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/nominations-open-for-pocketgamerbizs-top-50-mobile-game-makers-2024/

Deceptive and disturbing ads are gutting your game. Recent reports found that nearly 60% of mobile gamers have encountered creatives that blatantly misrepresent gameplay and more than half of all games are uninstalled within 30 days. Simply put, bad ads are bad for business. Alex Yerukhimovich, Head of AppHarbr, likens locating and blocking these creatives as a game of whac-a-mole—exhausting, time-consuming, and ultimately something you can’t win on your own. To get you out of this spiral and back into the driver’s seat, AppHarbr manages and eliminates these ads for you before they hit the screen. Alex takes the mic this week to tell Peggy and Brian how AppHarbr's SDK and ad management platform, powered by GeoEdge, gives power back to the publishers, allowing them to control which ads appear alongside their games. He's joined by Vincent Février, CMO at TapNation. Together, the two break down the types of bad ads, how they affect game performance, and how AppHarbr helps publishers to police and put a stop to poor-quality ads before a user sees them. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro  03:20 - Types of bad ads 07:32 - Most harmful ads for publishers 12:12 - Side effects of bad ads  20:25 - How AppHarbr helps publishers to police  26:40 - Putting your foot down 30:05 -  AppHarbr's services to fight bad ads 32:47 - How to create ads policy and audit 35:55 - Games studios should make games 37:56 - Vincent's advice to publishers 40:10 - Favourite games Q&A * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Craig Chapple, Paige Cook and Aaron Astle from the PocketGamer.biz team discuss the latest mobile games industry news from the past week. We delve into how Lilith Games builds billion-dollar mobile games, discuss the Humble Games layoffs and the confusing messaging about its restructure/closure, and Craig gets angry about the definition of downloads. ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocketgamer-biz/ 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz 👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Connects - https://www.pgconnects.com 👉🏻Pocket Gamer Connects Speaker Submission form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoS5n-vdHu6aU-2d_rR7x1FAgewG51y3nlU1aB8RdetiKaGw/viewform 👉🏻Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards - https://www.mobilegamesawards.com 👉🏻 Pocket Gamer Party Cologne 2024 - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pocket-gamer-party-cologne-2024-tickets-927776854547 👉🏻 PocketGamer.biz MasterClass - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/announcing-the-pocketgamerbiz-masterclasses-summer-2024-programme/ 👉🏻 Inside mobile hitmaker Lilith Games - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/inside-mobile-hitmaker-lilith-games/

Guests Craig Chapple, Paige Cook, and Aaron Astle from PocketGamer.biz discuss Monopoly Go becoming a board game, the future of B2B games media, and the closure of Axis Studios. They also explore investments in gaming companies, AI applications, iPad support for Delta emulator, and the importance of B2B journalism in the mobile games industry.

For smaller studios, building long-term relationships with ad networks is crucial. This means asking the right questions, leveraging the right data, and utilising all available resources effectively. Sergey Sukhov, Chief Business Development Officer at AdQuantum—a performance marketing agency that offers unique support to smaller game studios on top of traditional UA services—offers his advice for nailing all three in this episode. Alongside our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, Sergey shares exactly what studios should bring to the negotiating table and how to obtain the right data from ad partners to know for certain whether to keep or kill your game. What's more, he breaks down Ad Quantum's bespoke solutions tailored to studios of all sizes and the creative format that outperforms all others. CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 02:17 - What does AdQuantum do? 04:35 - Tactics and questions for smaller studios 10:20 - Studios biggest challenges 12:15 - Navigating negotiations 15:20 - Building relationships with ad networks 20:35 - Get creative about creatives 24:15 - Formats that perform well 26:08 - AI for measurement 28:28 - Metrics that matter 30:00 - Emerging trends 32:20 - Favourite games Q&A * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Craig Chapple, Daniel Griffiths, and Paige Cook discuss surviving in the mobile games industry till 2025. They cover key insights from the Develop: Brighton conference, web3 gaming, game development strategies, top mobile game earners in June, and success stories like Wuthering Braves. The podcast also touches on challenges, partnerships, industry trends, and the importance of player feedback for game improvements.