@Blake Robbins and @Mitch Lasky argue in Gamecraft Ep.18, “The Mobile Gaming Duopoly,” that Apple and Google have squeezed innovation out of mobile gaming. Mobile innovation hasn’t vanished; instead, it has splintered. And while it didn’t vanish, it has slowed, but the culprit isn’t IAP or a top-grossing chart—it’s ATT.

Developers: you should ship updates to your in-app webstore UX TODAY: side-by-side pricing, knocking down scare screens, and an all-out webstore offensive the likes of which Stash and Xsolla have never seen.

Two troubling signs for gaming: First, Danielle Tran from Konvoy reports that AI accounts for only 10% of gaming investments, compared with 71% across all venture activity. Do VCs believe AI will transform every industry except gaming? AI is a growth mechanic, and the idea that gaming won’t benefit as much is a tough pill to swallow. But it’s not necessarily wrong, as our relationship to entertainment rather than tech may limit AI’s relative effectiveness in optimizing the supply chain.

Second, the game from the famed AI match-3 studio Cosmic Lounge is in soft launch, receiving another update this week, following its late December launch and initial appearance. Pets & Puzzles looks like a standard match‑3, albeit with a super‑cute Nintendogs‑style meta. This is the first public AI gaming bet stepping up to the plate, and it looks like they’ll have to win on the supply side, as the core matching doesn’t scream anything groundbreaking. This is one to watch!

Monopoly Go (MoPoGo) spent truckloads of capital quickly, but UA is simply maxed out. There’s no better evidence than the game’s shift to celebrity-driven TV advertising following a nearly linear decline in downloads since its August 2023 highs, dropping from 13m a month to 3m. Stocked in the F2P dev/pub medicine cabinet is F2P’s natural aspirin, a prescription known for its reliability and convenience: a game extension/re-skin.