In 2022, investment surged in web3 gaming – taking nearly half of all gaming investment in terms of dollars and raw numbers. However, for all of that investment, there was a lot of speculation, but not a lot of games. With the crypto crash, web3 gaming has gone through a downturn – with layoffs, panic, and uncertainty surrounding the sector. In this podcast roundtable, Upptic's Ian Brent and Sherif join hosts Xander Agosta and Warren Woodward in discussing what went wrong with web3 gaming,...

In science, biopsychosocial factors are physical, psychological, and social factors that impact an individual. What does this have to do with gaming? Joe Schaeppi, Founder and CEO of Solsten, connects the dots in this episode. Joe has a background in both psychology and gaming – starting out as a psychotherapist before moving into gaming as the Sr. Manager of User Experience at Big Fish Games. At Solsten, Joe and his colleagues are building an AI-powered platform to better understand...

The games industry is in a transitory state and many factors are making it difficult for effective games growth. Data is fragmented and attribution methodology is incomplete. Creative workflows can be messy and digital assets are often all over the place. These issues make it hard to understand what is and isn't working. Amid this volatile climate, Upptic has been growing its games portfolio to its most profitable ever. In this recorded webinar, learn how our team tackles data, creatives,...

VC investments have long been a key funding resource for fledgling startups – including indie game studios and companies promising innovative solutions for the games industry. How much of an impact has VC funding had on the games industry, though? Are VC investors directing the trajectory of the space with their money – either directly or indirectly? We sit down with a16z Games Partner Josh Lu and Storygrounds Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Green to discuss VC funding's impact on gaming. a16z...

With their scalability and flexibility, appchains may be the future of web3 gaming. But what is an appchain and how does it differ from other blockchain technology and solutions? Atif Khan, VP Business at thirdweb, and Ed Chang, Head of Gaming at Ava Labs, give us a crash course in appchains, dapps, sidechains, and more. They also dive deep into the web3 gaming sector and how it's liable to impact gaming as a whole: Atif calls the "bear market" designation of the web3 games sector...

UGC, or user-generated content, is a big buzzword these days. Amid the buzz, Viraaal has created a UGC platform where content creators can quickly find campaigns, shoot videos, and get paid. Founded and helmed by CEO Alexei Chemenda, a veteran of start-ups, Viraaal seeks to revolutionize the world of UGC agencies. Alexei shares his insights on the differences between influencer marketing and UGC marketing, how these segments of marketing are evolving, the pros and cons of working with...

Both Web2 and Web3 are going through times of change and are in need of a bit of a renaissance. While Web3 can provide the technology for some interesting new mechanics, onboarding can be clunky at best while marketing pipelines are almost non-existent. Meanwhile, Web2 is the current gold standard for mass-market appeal – but is in need of ongoing innovation and fresh ideas. Amid these two forces, BLOCKLORDS is forging a path as an accessible, mass-appeal, player-driven, medieval...

In a world that's saturated with games and offers, it's more important than ever that game studios and publishers are driving deeper engagement with their audiences. In this world, content is king. Many companies turn to influencers to help connect with their players. Nexus is taking the natural need for engaging content further with their creator program. Justin Sacks, CEO at Nexus, sits down with us to explain the difference between content creators and influencers, what a creator program...

Ensuring your game resonates with its audience is key to growth and success. It's easier if you're building games with the gamers who want to play it. BattleFly is a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) creating the BattleFly game alongside its players. Ben, BattleFly's founder, joins us in the studio to talk about the different iterations of BattleFly and how the DAO has engaged with its players to create a game that everyone enjoys. Learn how web3 has helped enable more...

Ad platforms are a core component of the modern marketing ecosystem – and one that has been undergoing big changes these last few years along with many other parts of the games marketing industry. As Unity's VP Strategic Partnerships & Business Strategy, Steve Webb works with key advertising and monetization partners and platforms – and also works to provide game developers with unique insights on how to succeed in gaming – giving him a deep understanding of how the ecosystem is...

Whether it's Google's move away from placements, new CMP requirements, or changes in ad quality, ad monetization continues to evolve. We sit down with mobile ad monetization expert and 2.5 Gamers podcast host Felix Braberg to learn the history of ad monetization, current growth hacks, and what's coming down the line. Get insights on the "beauty of ads," differences between waterfall and header bidding, the rise of rewarded video, SKAN's impact on ad monetization, how quickly growth hacks...

User acquisition is only half the battle. Engagement and retention is the other half. While many game companies use online communities and social media to engage players, these don't necessarily get them into the actual game. One often overlooked retention lever are tournaments. Fractal Product Manager Brent Liang shares his insights on how tournaments can increase retention and player LTV. Learn about which genres work best for tournaments. Discover which types of contests gamers connect...

Web3 gaming is a space that continues to evolve at a brisk pace. As game developers and marketers assess and adapt to what's working and what isn't, there are lessons to be learned about effective engagement and retention. It's in this environment that the Soulbound Ecosystem – a cross-game player acquisition and retention platform – has been built and grown. Soulbound co-founders Casey Grooms and Matt Conn share their insights on the web3 gaming space and what they've learned during their...

Game marketing attribution is evolving. Not only does the established mobile segment continue to evolve due to privacy changes and new technologies, but PC and console gaming is having an attribution renaissance, and the nascent web3 segment continues to evolve toward attribution infrastructure and mindsets. We explore these new frontiers with AppsFlyer Director of Product for Gaming Adam Smart, Gamesight CEO Adam Lieb, and Spindl Founder Antonio Garcia-Martinez. They share their insights on...

Michael Migliero, CMO of Big Time Studios, joins the podcast to share his insights on growing web3 games. Big Time Studios is the company behind Big Time – “a free-to-play, multiplayer action RPG game that combines fast-action combat and adventure through time and space.” Learn about content funnels for Meta, TikTok, and other platforms and how Big Time utilizes NFT mints in conjunction with other revenue sources to monetize users more sustainably. Also hear some surprising stats on game...

"We think it's the most important channel. We think it's the most authentic channel," Emilee Helm says of influencer marketing. She heads up influencer marketing at Gamesight – which focuses on performance marketing for PC, console, and web3 games. Emilee joins our podcast this week alongside Bradley Kincaid, the Co-Founder of Lucky Axolotl – a creative studio focused on influencer marketing and UGC. Bradley shares several insights on UGC and influencers – including how to best utilize CTV...

Phiture Partner and Co-Founder Andy Carvell wrote the book on mobile growth stacks. Literally. In this episode, Andy gives us the history of how the Mobile Growth Stack came about and walks us through its components piece by piece. We take a walk through data and analytics – which Andy notes may never have been as transparent or accurate as people wanted to believe, even before new issues complicated matters. Andy also shares his insights on engagement, retention, and monetization. Xander...

Retargeting is a beast of its own, requiring different strategies and creatives than normal user acquisition campaigns. We sit down with Adikteev COO Kate Lovejoy and Upptic Creative Director Ava Savitsky to discuss retargeting at large, the similarities and differences between UA and retargeting, useful tools, and future trends. FULL EPISODE SUMMARY

Measurement is broken, but that doesn't mean performance is. That's among the lessons from this episode's podcast guest: Shamanth Rao, Founder and CEO of boutique growth marketing firm RocketShip HQ. Take a deep dive into creatives and data as we discuss the latest trends, useful tools, and effective strategies for the evolving mobile landscape. See full episode summary here.

Urvit Goel, the VP, Head of Global Business Development at Polygon Labs, sits down with Warren and Xander to talk about onboarding web3 gamers, the current state of web3 games, the Crypto Winter, and Polygon's new partnership with Upptic – which will bring Upptic's world-class growth services to select web3 game developers on the Polygon blockchain. Become an early access user on the Upptic Platform Full episode summary

Upptic has been successfully scaling games on iOS for 2+ years. Learn how you can too in our webinar "Maximizing Games Growth with the Upptic Platform". The 2022 crypto crash brought much of web3 gaming to a halt. How is the industry faring now? Rian Rabinowitz of Polygon Labs and Melty Tantiwanich of XP Foundry join Warren and Xander for a roundtable on the topic. We take a hard look at the web3 landscape, lessons learned amid the crypto crash, and how things might change in the near...

Wish there was a way to make user acquisition functional on iOS? There is! Learn more in "Maximizing Games Growth with the Upptic Platform." Sit down with Matej Lancaric and get the answer to the question on everyone's mind: Is user acquisition dead? Matej is a UA consultant with 10+ years of experience. He has global launched 32 games in the last 4 years, produces the "Brutally Honest" UA newsletter, and is also the host of the no-b******t gaming podcast “Two & A Half Gamers.” We chat...

Don't miss our public unveiling of the Upptic Platform on March 15. Register now to learn how to utilize the platform to maximize ROAS. Welcome back to season 5 of "App Talk with Upptic" – or, rather, "Games Growth with Upptic"! We kick off season 5 by talking about this rebrand before diving into several different topics with a couple of our own colleagues – Upptic Creative Director Ava Savitsky and Upptic Sr. Web3 Growth Manager Ian Brent. Together, we discuss the state of games growth...

As we close out season 4 of App Talk with Upptic, we ask ourselves: Are we entering a new era of gaming? To help answer this question, we look back at the ups and downs of the last several years and chart out a potential path forward for 2023 and beyond. Upptic CGO Warren Woodward guides us as we, first, look at why 2022 has been such a transformative year, pointing to privacy changes, worsening macroeconomic conditions, gaming's first revenue contraction, and the growth of web3 technology...

This podcast is brought to you through a partnership with Animoca Brands. Animoca Brands is one of the world's leading mobile game developers and publishers . They are on the frontlines of Web3, investing heavily in a vast portfolio of Web3 projects. Benjamin Charbit, CEO at Darewise, joins us in our virtual recording studio. Darewise is the developer of web3 game Life Beyond – a metaverse experience, built with Unreal Engine and blockchain, where players can build, trade, and own assets on...