Hey, FAM! What’s up?
No Gamescom this year! Thanks god, but you should definitely enjoy it. See you next time..
Kinoa turns your existing players into more revenue, in real time, without waiting on development. Same players. More revenue.
What Kinoa is
One platform for Flows, Live Segments, In-App Messages, Push Notifications, Feature Settings, A/B Testing, Dynamic Content, and Webhooks.
Engagement, retention, and monetization, run from a single place by the operators who own those numbers.
Why it works (the differentiators)
Independent operators. LiveOps, monetization, and product managers launch and optimize without dev tickets.
Hours to integrate. Lightweight SDK or API, with AI mapping your events and data model automatically.
Built for games. LiveOps, remote config, and CRM in one platform instead of three to four tools stitched together.
Proof
Carry1st: +43% ARPDAU, 32% less development time.
Playstudios (Tetris Block Party): +31% revenue, +46% payer conversion.
Trailmix, Brainium, PlaySimple, PlayStudios, MTG all run on Kinoa.
So here is the deal… I have been talking about playables A LOT! So I took my best performing playable on Applovin.
It’s a very easygoing “tutorial-like” playable that one of my devs created when I hired him. He created 4-5 versions (shorter, longer, more complex, etc), but only this one worked the best. So obviously I want to iterate this.. What do I do? Layer.ai launched their new app, which IS absolutely amazing..
Besides other things you can do with your board, assets, research, videos, etc, you can actually iterate or edit playables. This is what I came up with so far…
So far, so good…
📖The Playable BIBLE: Winning recipe for 2026
·
Mar 1
Playable ads in 2025 stopped being a “cool side format” and quietly became the backbone of serious UA, especially once you plug them into video‑led funnels, AI workflows, and brutal creative volume.
This newsletter is brought to you by FastSpring.gg:
Stop Playing D2C Like an NPC: Play in legendary mode with FastSpring. Enjoy an innovative enterprise-grade platform coupled with advice from industry experts who help you learn, grow, and lead in D2C.
Unique Expertise: Unlike many D2C providers which ignore even basic ecommerce best practices, FastSpring is the only provider that couples deep game monetization expertise with decades of high-trust ecommerce and payments expertise.
Frictionless Player Experience: Go beyond cookie-cutter stores and deliver a web store that feels like an extension of your game with a suite of easy-to-use and flexible web store and checkout solutions.
Trust MATTERS: Careless or shady D2C providers can harm your reputation and relationship with players and global payment providers. Leverage a trusted provider with strong anti-fraud measures, a bullet-proof reputation, industry-leading approval rates, and sound fiscal responsibility.
Elite Global Scale: Join companies like Rovio, Tech Tree Games, Starform, and over 3,200 other customers who trust FastSpring’s enterprise-grade platform, consultative support experience, and global team.
Stop managing payments, start scaling your game. Get a personalized D2C strategy session at FastSpring.gg!
True detective-like exploration of creative trends and historical influences. Delving deep into the world of creatives to uncover hidden patterns and inspirations:
𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.
Meta didn't announce it. The docs don't mention it. Their help center still lists playables only on Feed, Stories, and Audience Network.
But last night in the Reels tab I hit a fully interactive playable for Idle Boxer (Tap Nine). Played it twice to be sure - randomized fighters each session, gear unlocks changing stats, 10-minute timer, end card to App Store. That's a real playable, not a video pretending to be one.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲:
Reels is ~half of Meta's ad inventory now. The fastest-growing placement just went from video-only to (quietly) interactive.
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿: get your vertical MRAID builds ready. When this opens up, early inventory will be cheap. It always is.
Yours truly, Cornelius.
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!
“Rly? How did you misjudged that? You mean if we turn the game to basically PayRoyale and remove metric-ton of free resources for top players, they would definitely not notice? Shees, who would have thought? Duh! Maybe that Jinxi guy that your CEO had to apologies in the end” Sincerely, Dr.Doom (https://mobilegamer.biz/how-did-we-misjudge-this-so-badly-what-supercell-learned-from-its-fierce-clash-royale-community/)
Because life is too short to be serious.
Thank you for reading Brutally Honest by Matej Lancaric. This post is public so feel free to share it.
⚔️ XP Hero is doing roughly $𝟱𝟬𝟬𝗞 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲. 🤑 I really love what the Supercent UA team is doing. 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀. Also, BIG BIG lol for 𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗗𝗦 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 in creatives with 𝟰𝟳 𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 🤣 👇
XP Hero (Supercent) is an idle RPG built on the same Alien Invasion core as Butcher Hero, but with much better onboarding and far more ads. Felix counted 𝟰𝟳 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝟲𝟬-𝟵𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻. The result: 53% ad revenue, landing the game plausibly around $500K/day (~$250K IAP + ~$250K ads) on pristine tier-one traffic. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 Jakub, 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲, 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗔, and it contains a genuinely sharp idea. Supercent steals the best 4X creatives 1:1 - Dark War, Kingshot, Whiteout Survival, Top Heroes, even Smash Fest - swapping in their yellow hero. Remember, the idle RPG genre is what 𝟰𝗫 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠. I really love this approach!
Supercent UA & creative team lifting every proven 4X creative, it's stealing it back, and it fits their game perfectly. ~𝟭,𝟯𝟬𝟬 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 (~𝟳𝟬𝟬 𝗻𝗲𝘄), heavily AI, with Axon by AppLovin and Mintegral led, with every channel running.
Whether the aggressive interstitials cost them the long game against Butcher Hero (Felix's bet) is the open question, but as a study in positioning plus creative arbitrage, 𝗫𝗣 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. Great job, Supercent!
📺 Watch on YouTube
👕 Get our Merch: 25gamers.com/shop
Sneak peek at what you get for your support:
UA Review Bible: How to do it Properly
·
Aug 4
A practical field guide for CMOs, UA Directors, and UA Managers who want reviews that actually change things. Built on two real accounts: a $1.19M geo puzzle, and a mature social app navigating a major spend decision.
Playable Ads Trends in Mobile Games & Apps - July 2026
·
Aug 18
As the UA landscape evolves, so do the creative trends that shape how games communicate with their audiences. With the rise of Applovin and increased spend on SDK networks, I’ve decided to bring you a monthly trends review of top-performing playable ads
📖The Playable BIBLE: Winning recipe for 2026
·
Mar 1
Playable ads in 2025 stopped being a “cool side format” and quietly became the backbone of serious UA, especially once you plug them into video‑led funnels, AI workflows, and brutal creative volume.
Today was a good day.
Hey hey, we would like to work with you. Your profile got our attention.
Hmm, this looks like spam. Add me on LinkedIn, and we can talk there.
Okay, no problem.
lol, this might be a real person…
Oh hey, so it's me from LinkedIn.
Nice, so what’s up?
We want to work with you on the content side; here is the NDA.
Well, I am not signing anything unless we move forward.
We have to take this in-house and see what we can do.
… meh
So, we wanna move forward..
Let's see what's gonna happen; I feel adventurous this time …
Today was a good day.
“These idiots put an ad on one of my apps that freezes the whole app and won’t let me get out of it.” - Kiwitraveller, YouTube comment
The AI revolution is here, and it’s transforming the way we approach mobile games marketing.
From creating scroll-stopping ad creatives to optimizing user acquisition strategies, AI is the game-changer we can’t ignore
Ask Matej AI a question. It’s actually quite good!
We produced one more episode at 2.5 Gamers. Check it out now:
We started a new segment. Give it a go:
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!
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!
Share Brutally Honest by Matej Lancaric
👇 Reach out for feedback, questions, or say hi!
Give me some love (or hate), & Subscribe everywhere! ♥️
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.