This week in games, we go all-in on the hottest industry shake-ups: Fortnite turns the monetization dial up, Meta slashes Reality Labs in a major XR reality check, and Pixel Flow emerges as a potential puzzle hit — if it can crack the retention challenge. We break down why strong core mechanics aren’t enough, spotlight the rapid rise of Turkish game studios, pull the most important takeaways from the latest AppsFlyer report, track where gaming investment is really flowing across mobile and PC, and wrap with a heated debate on how AI is already reshaping game development — who wins, who loses, and what it means for the future of games.00:00 Welcome01:15 Episode Intro & Shills05:54 Fortnite's New In-Game Transactions14:03 Meta's Reality Labs Layoffs25:54 Pixel Flow: A New Puzzle Game32:57 Balancing Magic Sort Gameplay33:35 Early Success and Retention Concerns34:06 Turkish Game Development Excellence39:30 Marketing Insights from Apps Flyer Report43:30 Investment Trends in Gaming48:35 AI's Impact on Game Development54:05 Debate on AI in Game Development01:02:10 Concluding Thoughts on AI and Gaming

The sharpest operators in predictive modeling, signal engineering, and post-ATT user acquisition unpack what actually breaks when campaigns scale. This is a dive deep into ROAS curves, attribution loss, modeling vs reality, SKAN-era signal decay, and why UA performance often collapses right when it looks like you’ve cracked growth. A must-read or listen for founders, growth leaders, and UA teams.

links:

www.kohort.io/

Chapters:

02:45 Understanding the ROAS Iceberg: Paid vs. Organic

05:55 Incrementality Testing and Blended ROAS

09:48 Gross vs. Net ROAS: The Misalignment Dilemma

12:49 CPI and LTV Elasticity: Teaching Teams to Adapt

16:42 The New UA Meta: Signals and User Behavior

19:29Collaboration Between UA and Product Teams

22:31 Evolving Strategies in LiveOps and Personalization

26:05 The Evolution of Live Operations in Gaming

31:05 the Single Source of Truth

35:40Key Metrics for User Acquisition Success

42:00Pacing Rules for Effective User Acquisition

45:53The Future of Predictive ROAS and Automation

From brilliant plays to questionable moves, embarrassing predictions to market reality checks, we’re handing out the most honest (and occasionally brutal) awards of the year in games — including a very special Limping Donkey Award for moments that… didn’t quite stick the landing.We cover the biggest wins, the hardest falls, and the trends shaping what comes next, with a deep dive into Roblox advertising and what it means for the market.00:00 Welcome00:42 Golden Twig Awards Overview01:10 TV Show Banter02:59 Event Announcements and Clarifications05:42 Golden Twig Awards: Talk of the Year08:32 Embarrassing Predictions10:11 Most Damage Taken in the Year15:18 Most Disappointing Game of the Year20:54 Most Questionable Move of the Year24:57 Most Brilliant Move of the Year27:56 The Limping Donkey Award33:09 Crushed It: Top Performers of the Year36:31 Listener Feedback and Future Plans43:51 Roblox Advertising and Market Analysis51:05 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up