PocketGamer.biz Podcast

This episode is brought to you in partnership with GameAnalytics. PocketGamer.biz Podcast hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow sit down with Falko Boecker, Head of BD & Customer Success at GameAnalytics, to explore a hard truth about the industry:

Studios are not short on data.
They are short on clarity.

Across rising UA costs, privacy shifts, AI disruption and tighter margins, one thing has become non-negotiable: teams must make better decisions, faster.

But collecting data is not the same as using it well.

Falko brings a rare perspective, having worked across journalism, publishing and business development before moving into analytics. His mission has always been to connect creative thinkers with the business side of games, and data is now the bridge.

In this conversation, we unpack:
Why “data maturity” is not the same as “data sophistication”
Where studios get stuck when trying to think full funnel
Why infrastructure matters less than mindset
How segmentation moves teams beyond surface-level metrics
What actually changes between pre-launch and live ops
Why Roblox and fast-moving ecosystems are redefining how teams react to player behaviour

One of the most important takeaways:

Data does not replace creativity. It sharpens it.

As Falko explains, analytics should not be a black box owned by specialists. It should be accessible across design, product and marketing so teams can align around shared goals instead of siloed assumptions.

We also explore how AI is beginning to shift analytics from reactive dashboards to proactive insight, and where humans still need to drive the decisions.

If you are building a game in 2026, this episode is a reminder that success is not about having more dashboards.

It is about asking better questions.

** Let's Connect **
👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz
👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pocketgamer-biz/?originalSubdomain=uk
👉🏻 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

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple, deputy editor Paige Cook and news editor Aaron Astle talk through the latest games industry news on the 87th episode of the Week in Mobile Games Podcast.
On this week’s show we discuss:
The Epic layoffs and how that reframes its Google settlement and years of court battles to reduce mobile platform fees and remove anti-steering policies.
Savvy Games Group's CEO Brian Ward's thoughts on M&A, China and rising Eastern influence.
Duolingo's experiments with a tool to lock other apps until daily lessons are complete.
Our big interview about the development of Wuthering Waves.
Roblox's decision to take a slice of in-game brand deals with creators under new advertising rules.
Savvy's acquisition of Mobile Legends developer Moonton from ByteDance.
** Let's Connect **👉🏻 Twitter -   / pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group -   / pocketgamer-biz  👉🏻 Facebook -   / 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/1FA...👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2025 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-5...👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...👉🏻 Join the AI Gamechangers newsletter - https://aigamechangers.substack.com

PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple, deputy editor Paige Cook and news editor Aaron Astle talk through the latest games industry news on the 86th episode of the Week in Mobile Games Podcast.On this week’s show we discuss:- Final thoughts on GDC week and the future of the show.- The recent Google and Epic deal, plus what Epic Games Store GM Steve Allison had to tell us about it.- A visit to King's London studio and comments on its former midcore ambitions.- The BAFTAs continues to sideline mobile games. Are publishers to blame?- PEGI's decision expands age ratings to cover loot boxes and in-game spending.- Fortnite returns to Google Play.** 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👉🏻 The Top 50 Mobile Game Makers 2025 - https://www.pocketgamer.biz/the-top-50-mobile-game-makers-of-2025/👉🏻 Download the PocketGamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey Winter 2024/25 report - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3tbjUxVkG17CuHHljMblfmUC3DZ6gNAzV8qiz8bAALUXSvQ/viewform👉🏻 Join the AI Gamechangers newsletter - https://aigamechangers.substack.com

Recorded on location at Pocket Gamer Connects London, host Peggy Anne Salz sits down with Berkley Egenes, CMO at Xsolla, to examine a structural shift in the industry.

Gaming is no longer just entertainment. It is becoming the commerce layer connecting developers, brands, platforms and players.

Xsolla’s recent rebrand reflects that evolution — moving beyond payments to enable publishing, distribution, promotions and marketplace infrastructure designed to help developers launch, grow and win.

In this conversation, Peggy and Berkley break down:
Why D2C is now a strategic pillar, not a workaround
How casual games are outperforming expectations in web shop adoption
Why Southeast Asia is accelerating faster than many Western markets
How brands, telecoms and super apps are converging around gaming
What happens when commerce, loyalty and gameplay start to merge

As Berkley puts it, the stereotype of the “gamer” is gone. Everyone is a gamer. That makes gaming the most powerful engagement layer in digital culture.

When attention lives in games, commerce follows.

This episode explores why the next phase of growth may depend less on transactions inside the app — and more on orchestrating an ecosystem around it.

Chapters
00:00 The Evolving Identity of the Gamer
00:40 Xsolla’s Mission in Video Game Commerce
02:53 Exploring Growth in Southeast Asia
05:07 Unique Ad Experiences and Monetization
07:07 Integrating Non-Endemic Brands into Gaming
09:23 Insights from the Xsolla Report
14:41 The Future of the Gaming Industry

Let's Connect
👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz
👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pocketgamer-biz/?originalSubdomain=uk
👉🏻 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

In Part 2 of this two-part PocketGamer.biz special, host Peggy Anne Salz continues her conversation with Jon Radoff — CEO of Beamable and one of the early architects of online game infrastructure, long before LiveOps became a discipline and games-as-a-service became the norm.

If Part 1 examined why backend now determines competitive advantage, Part 2 tackles the macro reality reshaping every studio’s growth strategy.

Installs have plateaued. Time spent has stabilised. Revenue growth is no longer coming from incremental user acquisition, but from deeper monetisation of existing players. Sensor Tower calls this the “monetisation-first” era, and the message is clear: scale alone is no longer enough.

As Jon puts it: “Games is a services business now. You don’t ship a product and walk away. You run it.”

In this episode, Peggy and Jon unpack what that actually means in practice:
• Why value per player now matters more than volume
• How retention, loyalty and operational excellence have become the real growth levers
• Where monetisation systems, competition frameworks and identity infrastructure reinforce each other
• Why partnership can become a strategic advantage rather than a loss of control
• Where AI lowers operational barriers — and where trusted infrastructure remains essential

This conversation makes one thing explicit: in a monetisation-first environment, infrastructure is not plumbing. It is strategy.

Together, these two episodes explain not just what the Skillz–Beamable integration represents, but why developers who adapt to this new growth model will be structurally better positioned over the next cycle.

Chapters
00:00 - Content That Would Never See the Light of Day
00:42 - Democratize Game Development
01:26 - Wild West Experience
02:49 - Understand Roblox
03:07 - Lesson for the Broader Game Industry
04:28 - Co-creation with Your Player Population
06:58 - Skillz and Beamable
09:08 - Building Your Own 3D Engine
10:44 - Exclusively Creative Industry
13:40 - English Language Programming
17:48 - Unique Technical Architecture of Games
22:57 - The "1 + 1 Equals 3" Merger

Let's Connect
👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz
👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pocketgamer-biz/?originalSubdomain=uk
👉🏻 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