Deconstructor of Fun

Sam Aune from Sensor Tower breaks down the State of Gaming 2026 - from Battlefield 6 proving premium is far from dead, to why free-to-play is getting harder to break into, and how social indie games are driving viral success. In this episode, we go deep on mobile’s slowdown, strategy games dominating revenue, and how Chinese publishers are out-executing the West across both midcore and casual.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Welcome and Report Setup
00:43 State of Gaming Goes Beyond Mobile
03:22 Trend One Battlefield Six Dominates
05:05 Premium vs Free to Play Reality Check
07:10 Hybrid Pricing and Live Ops Middle Ground
09:01 Battlefield Six Marketing Playbook
11:53 Indie Breakouts Repo and Peak
12:31 Why Social Games Go Viral
16:12 AAA Response and GTA Six Outlook
18:08 Mobile Market Maturity and Consolidation
20:37 Why Growth Stalls IDFA Saturation
23:34 Strategy Genre Wins Worldwide
26:41 Regional Genre Opportunities and New Hits
28:00 Free Fire US Surge
28:30 China Social Extraction
28:52 Why China Wins
31:47 Century Games Playbook
34:23 How West Competes
38:35 Indie Focus Advantage
43:21 Web Store Incentives
46:38 App Store Search Wars
49:46 SEO Naming Strategy
51:22 Report Wrap Up

We talk about how Pixel Flow scaled so quickly, why its core design works for monetization, and how games like Hexa Sort and Magic Sort helped push the sort puzzle genre forward.

The discussion also covers UA, the wave of Pixel Flow-style clones appearing in the market, and whether hybrid-casual puzzle design is starting to influence traditional puzzle studios. We also touch on what kinds of mechanics might lead to the next big puzzle hit.

We discuss Turkey’s new government subsidies for game developers and why the country may become one of the most attractive places to build a studio, the uncertain future of WB Games following major media consolidation, and Discord delaying its global age-verification rollout after backlash and regulatory pressure. We also discuss the Misfits seed round from an ex-Supercell/King team, a correction around Tilting Point’s recent deal, Playtika surpassing $1B in direct-to-consumer revenue, and Ubisoft reshuffling leadership on Assassin’s Creed, along with broader conversation around monetization, web shops, and the state of the games industry heading into GDC.

CHAPTERS

01:53 LA Dinner and Downtown Vibes
02:44 Mishka London Detour
04:10 GDC Shilling and Events
07:59 Tilting Point Deal Debate
11:34 Appcharge Web Store Ad
12:27 Misfits Seed Round Breakdown
20:45 Turkey Subsidies Update
23:17 Paramount Buys WB Fallout
28:16 Assassins Creed Leadership Shuffle
30:58 Discord Age Verification Backlash
34:33 Roblox Lawsuits And Regulation
36:25 Playtika DTC Numbers Breakdown
38:51 Supercell Web Shop Playbook
43:48 Marathon Server Slam Impressions
45:07 Sales Forecasts And Sony Stakes
50:58 Retention Wipes And Monetization
55:23 Skate Layoffs And F2P Trap
01:00:39 Gundam Collab And Sony PC Pivot
01:03:57 Wrap Up And GDC Plans

Guy Meiboom, Meta’s US EMEA Gaming Director, breaks down what actually happened to gaming performance after ATT and why Meta had to rebuild its gaming org from the ground up. From creative velocity and algorithmic reach to geo lift testing and UA funding, this episode focuses on execution. Not theory. Not slides. The uncomfortable middle between marketing, product, and capital allocation.
If you’re scaling a mobile game in 2026, this conversation is about the mechanics that matter and the habits you may need to unlearn.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Post ATT Reality Check
01:08 Why Gaming Needed Its Own Org
06:10 What Works Now In UA
09:34 AI Moats And Creative Diversity
14:34 Guardrails Versus Clickbait Ads
18:20 Attribution Mistakes Get Expensive
24:53 Long Term ROAS And Source Of Truth
27:08 Lift Testing Playbook
29:06 Future UA Roles Map
31:17 Macro Outlook for Gaming
35:04 Mobile Downloads and Scaling
39:05 UA Funding and Capital
41:12 Learning from China
43:49 Unlearning Marketing Habits
46:30 Apps vs Games Lessons
48:01 Challenge the Status Quo

Xbox is at a strategic inflection point. The question now is why, how, and what comes next. We break down the massive Xbox leadership shakeup, what it reveals about Microsoft’s real strategy, sharp critiques of the new CEO, and exactly what the brand must do to survive. Fresh off a hockey loss and curling cheating allegations, Adam returns to the podcast with a lot to answer for.

We unpack PlayStation’s shutdown of Bluepoint Games and the broader consequences of its live service overreach. Sweden is apparently now going to run Asian MMOs, Tencent shuts down Teamy, Nexon promotes Sutherland, Gossip Harbor dethrones King, and no one can solve why this studio didn’t sell out.

We tackle the Overwatch Rush debate, dive deep into Matthew Ball’s State of the Gaming, and close with one of the most unexpectedly uplifting self-care talks the game industry has heard plus a fiery argument over what the metaverse actually means.

Be sure to listen closely for our upcoming GDC plans and live show announcements!

CHAPTERS:00:00 Welcome and Agenda
01:43 Adam Returns and Olympics Banter
03:17 Puppy Update and AI Obsession
04:57 GDC Plans and Live Show
08:13 Corrections
10:19 Xbox Leadership Shakeup
12:45 Crest Rips the New CEO
21:48 What Xbox Should Do Next
27:44 Phil on Microsoft Motives
31:48 Jen on Leadership Brand Competition
38:38 PlayStation Shuts Bluepoint
42:41 Live Service Overreach
43:04 Tencent Shuts Teamy
45:59 Nexon Promotes Sutherland
50:03 Gossip Harbor Beats King
52:04 Overwatch Rush Debate
01:01:07 Matthew Ball Report
01:14:35 Metaverse Definition Fight
01:18:35 Wrap Up And Farewell