Pokémon’s patent of spherical objects throwing of cartoon creatures threatens Palword’s lifeblood, while Tim Sweeney has lifted, at least a percentage point, in total gaming GDP with its injunction success.
How does Apple’s rent-seeking rate change in the face of this ruling?
Should Apple lower its rate to 15%, like it did in subscriptions?
Remember, it faced competition primarily from “webstores” too.
We premier a new segment: SOLVE that for EQUILIBRIUM. We discuss the marginal monetization effects and debate the benefits of personalization opportunities (hint: there are none) with webstores. @Chris is intrigued by Joost’s piece on rising game costs, while AI’s effects on the industry are measured in the Solow model. @Phil insists rising game costs mean rising revenue and stable margins, while Eric has his own doubts.
@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.
Habby (Happy + Hobby) rewrote mobile’s growth playbook when Archero exploded in 2019, and the studio has remained a case study in scaling hybridcasual hits ever since. The game coined “hybridcasual,” surpassed $500M in revenue, and, more importantly, created a meta sturdy enough to be recycled in every project that followed. Despite a surge in hypercasual puzzle games over the last two years, casual developers have yet to adopt the Habby Meta.
Nothing is as misunderstood as loot boxes in gaming (virtual currency is a close second). Critics decry them as a normalization of gambling that preys on weak impulse control. Strip away the moral panic, and a sanguine explanation emerges: loot boxes solve two vexing economic problems.
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!
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