Brutally Honest #124 by Matej Lancaric

Hey, FAM! What’s up?

?? Drink talk

Are you going to attend Gamescom? Great! I am not, so enjoy it to the fullest! See you next year!

Oh, wrote a new article for paid subs about Merge games marketing! Enjoy:

How to market a merge game? Top3 UA channels, trends & Winning creatives!

Merge games became the new match-3, full stop! What’s the secret behind this puzzle subgenre's popularity? Why do players like the merge mechanic? How should merge games be marketed?

Read full story

??Tip of the week

Use the TikTok Creative Challenge as a source of inspiration!?Transform the best-performing ads into ads that you can also use on other channels.

TTCC creators use your own assets, so you can replace them with AI people and recreate the same creative angle that works well on TikTok.

My go-to AI tool for this purpose is Synthesia . Works like a charm!

?? Dr. Doom is not amused

One of my industry friends amused me with his direct and honest TL;DRs, so we agreed to share it here, too! My friend remains anonymous as Dr.Doom!

"Ahh, nothing smells better than the good old corporate greed ?? Buying expensive vintage cars with your CEO salary during layoffs can be expensive, but bragging about it to employees in the company cafeteria, where they discuss how they can't afford groceries, that is priceless ??" Sincerely, Doom (https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/bungie-developers-express-fury-and-sorrow-over-layoffs-following-the-revelation-that-ceo-pete-parsons-allegedly-spent-at-least-2-414-550-on-vintage-cars-in-the-past-2-years/)

??? “Ha-ha” moment

Because life is too short to be serious.

cc: Sven Jürgens

?? two & a half gamers - Softlaunch Sonar #5

The Chinese gaming market is rapidly growing and is projected to reach $40 billion in revenue this year. WeChat mini-games have also grown like crazy in the last three years!

WeChat mini-games are popular in China and offer fully-fledged gaming experiences, such as Whiteout Survival, which are available on the WeChat app. No 20MB gaming experiences!

The Chinese gaming industry operates quickly, with fast payments and data sharing among industry players. Transfer your Admonetisation $$$ into UA budget in one click!

Chinese game developers have a different mindset and approach to creativity than the Western market. UA (user acquisition) and creatives are highly valued positions in the Chinese game industry.

?? Watch on Youtube

?? Listen on Spotify

??Paid subs only

Sneak peek at what you get for your support:

How to market a merge game? Top3 UA channels, trends & Winning creatives!

Merge games became the new match-3, full stop! What’s the secret behind this puzzle subgenre's popularity? Why do players like the merge mechanic? How should merge games be marketed?

Read full story

Match 3D UA playbook - Real data inside!

Here we go again! Another paid newsletter filled with Tips & Tricks! Let's dive into the Match 3D UA Playbook. While match-3 games have been around for years, Match 3D adds a more recognizable dimension. The game takes the proven match-3 gameplay and pushes it into 3D. The difference is more than superficial, it profoundly affects gameplay and the strategies players need to conquer the gaming table.

Read full story

How to soft launch a mobile game in 2024? Benchmarks & Real data inside!

How to Soft launch your game in 2024? Did something change? Of course, YES! Although the soft launch framework, in general, has not changed much, some aspects of the process are done differently. Launching a mobile game takes loads of work. After months of development and production time, the soft launch period comes.

Read full story

?? Diary of a Dancing Unicorn

Today was a good day.

Hey hey, great to be in touch again. Was good meeting you in person last year!

Yeah, indeed! what’s up?

Would love to work with you on creative production.

Say no more! Let’s do it.

Yeah, when my friend strongly recommended you, I wasn’t really sure who you were. But when we talked a bit more with her, I realized! "Oh yes, he is the crazy unicorn!”

hahahahaha yeah, that’s me!

Looking forward to start

Today was a good day.

Subscribe now

?? Quote of the week

“it’s the usual bullshit “we can’t show off revenue so we say 2 billion?hours?played" - Jakub, 2.5g chat

Great games in Softlaunch!

?? Level up yourself

I launched a YouTube Channel . I'm putting a ton of energy into creating valuable content that I think you'll like. Check out the latest stuff , and give me a like and subscribe.

??? Gaming blast from the past

Do you remember this game? What did you play when you were young?

?? Before you go

Ask Matej AI a question. It’s actually quite good!

We produced one more episode at 2.5gamers. Check it out now:

?? Fun starts in two & a half gamers Slack! Join now

We are opening up a Slack channel for everybody. It is the most inclusive slack for the gaming industry. Female, male, non-binary, juniors, mid-level, seniors, vendors, developers = EVERYBODY! We are waiting for you ??

Feel free to join here !

?? Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter!

Please do me a favor and share this with someone in your network who you think would benefit from the insights and brutal honesty. It would mean a lot to me!

Take care, everyone! See you next Monday!

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?? Reach out for feedback or questions, or say hi!

Give me some love (or hate) & Subscribe everywhere! ??

?? PS: The latest UA & marketing jobs for you prepared by Gamigion :

Lead Growth Manager Kwalee

UA Specialist Gameloft

Senior UA Manager Gameloft

UA Manager PLAYSTUDIOS

Mobile UA Manager Moon Active

Lead Performance Marketing Manager Rovio

UA Manager Zynga

Director of UA Mistplay

UA Manager SplitMetrics

UA Specialist ShyftUp

Find out more here !