Deconstructor of Fun

TWIG #403: The Market Only Grew 2%, Friendslop Hits the PC Charts and China Drafts Off GTA VI

Strip out inflation and the games market has barely grown in a decade.This week we dig into Newzoo's latest numbers and what they say about where growth comes from: matur

Shooter Monthly #10: War Dogs Sells 2.2M, Cash Economy Breakdown and the 1v1v1 Debate

War Dogs sold 2.2 million copies in four days and nobody saw it coming.This episode we break down Bulkhead's early access hit. A hardcore milsim with three teams, no matc

350. Zynga Founder Mark Pincus: Why Your Favourite Ideas Are Almost Always Wrong

Mark Pincus founded Zynga that was later acquired of $12.7B by TakeTwo and still thinks he misplayed the hand. On this episode he unpacks the playbook behind Life at the

TWIG #402: Xbox Bets on Kojima, Halo Gets Handed to CoD and AppLovin Hits the Road

Xbox is cutting niche studios and signing a niche Kojima project in the same month. We try to make it make sense.Sony pulled funding on Physint after budget concerns, and

Puzzle Monthly #6: Disney Solitaire's Big Win, Playtika's Earn-Out Trap and Solitaire vs Puzzle

Disney Solitaire is one of the biggest launches of the year, and it might be too successful for its own parent company.This episode breaks down how SuperPlay turned a sol

349. From Zero Offers To Record Revenue I Michael Martinez, CEO of FunCraft

Michael Martinez, co-founder and CEO of FunCraft, tried to sell his mobile game studio in 2025. Trusted people said "don't do it yet". He chose otherwise. A banker pitche

TWIG #401: Blizzard Goes All In, Roblox Breaks Out of Its Own App and Aniimo Nails Launch Day

Gaming is back, and this week had a lot to talk about.BlizzCon delivered the biggest slate of announcements Blizzard has had in years, but the timelines and team sizes ra

348. Why None of Us Saw Cyberpunk Coming Apart I Michal Nowakowski. joint CEO, CD PROJEKT RED

Cyberpunk 2077 sold 13 million copies in ten days, then Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store. CD Projekt Red joint CEO Michal Nowakowski was the one taking the calls

TWIG #400: Is the Game Industry Actually Crashing, OpenAI's Astra and 8 Years of Hot Takes

400 episodes in, and yes, we swear more than anyone will admit.This is the big one. Before the retrospective, we tear apart the latest "video game industry is crashing" c

347. Questions Istanbul Founders Stopped Asking I Akin Babayigit, Arcadia Gaming Partners

McKinsey, the United Nations, Skype, Rocket Internet, Facebook, King. Then Akin Babayigit co-founded Tripledot, spun out Luna Labs, and now runs Arcadia Gaming Partners,

TWIG #399: GTA VI Breaks Netflix, EU Targets Roblox and Zero Company's Studio Implodes

GTA VI just proved it can break Netflix, the EU just put Roblox under its strictest rulebook, and one of the best reviewed games of the year is already falling apart behi

Shooter Monthly #9: Battlefield's Hot Streak, Gears Goes Helldiving, and the Battle Pass Plateau

Shooters are having one of their best summers in years, and every major franchise still can't agree on what to do about it.The crew runs through the battle pass shakeup h

346. Why Mattel Wants Studios to Pitch the Uncomfortable

Mattel owns Barbie, Hot Wheels, UNO, Masters of the Universe and Street Sharks. Marcus Liassides runs its digital business, which now Roblox, Fortnite, and a licensing pr

TWIG #398: Gaming's 2026 Reality Check, The GTA 6 Leak Nightmare and Why Jobs Are Still Vanishing

Rockstar is fighting a leak it cannot plug, and the leaker has turned the whole thing into a token economy.Episode 398 covers a week where the data says growth and the jo

345. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of UA Financing

Everyone's telling you cohort financing is free money to scale. It's not, and the contract fine print is where that story falls apart.Josh Chandley (President & COO, Wild

344. The Truth About Taking Over A Company

In March 2025, Jon Bellamy became CEO of Jagex and Alexis Bonte became CEO of Stillfront. Both inherited companies with legacy, scale, and a long list of things that need

TWIG #397: Roblox Under Fire, Apple’s EU App Store Shake-Up and Netflix Games’ Studio Retreat

Crew breaks down another packed week in games. Roblox faces mounting pressure over child safety as Congress launches an investigation, Apple rewrites its EU App Store eco

343. WEBTOON Is Bigger Than Monopoly Go: Inside a New Game Marketing Channel

Jen sits down with WEBTOON and Square Enix to break down a channel that reaches mobile, PC, and console at once.UA is saturated and everyone is hunting for new reach. WEB

342. The Man Behind Most Gaming Deals | Affan Butt, Aream & Co.

Affan Butt has advised on 110+ gaming M&A deals worth $40 billion. He breaks down how game studios actually get sold, what acquirers pay for, and why earnouts wreck found

TWIG #396: AppLovin's Q2, Unity's Supersonic Fire Sale and GTA VI's Netflix Trailer Drama

Crew breaks down a packed week in mobile and games. AppLovin's stock craters despite the SEC closing its inquiry with no action, Unity sells Supersonic to Tripledot for a