LevelUp

Chirag Ambwani | The data of LiveOps with Sensor Tower

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 12:32:18 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa Zeloof sits down with Chirag Ambwani, SVP Gaming & Entertainment at Sensor Tower, to discuss the data of LiveOps - how to measure them, their effect on games' long-term success, and how developers can use their LiveOps data to make better, more profitable games.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Interview
(00:00:29) - Stumbling Into the Game Industry
(00:03:06) - Sensor Tower
(00:04:56) - Sunstar on LiveOps & the
(00:08:49) - Do Studios Over Focus on Monetization?
(00:11:46) - How to Market Your Game to a Consumer
(00:13:46) - First-Time User Experience
(00:18:39) - What's A B Testing in LiveOps?
(00:21:30) - Can We Predict Player Behavior in Game?
(00:24:16) - Predictive Analytics in Game Development
(00:26:32) - Top Executives: Live-O-S
(00:30:14) - How to Keep Your Game Fun Long Term

John Wright | The new mobile market according to John Wright

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 08:01:25 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa Zeloof sits down with John Wright, CEO at Turborilla and ex-VP of Mobile Games at Kwalee, to discuss his vision of the mobile gaming market. They explore the biggest trends impacting the industry, the role of AI in development, funding strategies, the evolution of hybrid games, and the potential of alternative app stores.

Stefano Accossato | How TutoTOONS is using brand partnerships to drive growth for their biggest games

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:56:49 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa Zeloof sits down with Stefano Accossato, Head of Business Development at TutoTOONS. They discuss how TutoTOONS is thinking about IP and brand partnerships, the challenges and opportunities they face, and how they communicate the value of these partnerships to brands.

Yi Gong | How Tilting Point is unlocking the value of D2C webstores

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 08:24:35 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa Zeloof sits down with Yi Gong, VP of Growth at Tilting Point. They get into how Tilting Point is leveraging D2C webstores to drive new revenue streams, why Tilting Point decided to use a third-party platform for theirs, and how Yi sees the market's future.

Božo Janković | The new TCF 2.2 and CMPs: what you need to know

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 09:14:16 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Jess Overton sits down with Božo Janković, Head of Ad Monetization at GameBiz Consulting. Together, they dive into the new TCF 2.2 requirements, how to comply with them, what you need to know about Consent Management Platforms, and how to choose the right one for you.

Tune in here or read the highlights below:

https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/the-new-tcf-cmps-what-you-need-to-know/

Phillip Black | Roblox properly understood: lessons for virtual economies

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 10:19:52 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa sits down with Phillip Black, Game Economist at Game Economist Consulting and a cohost of the Deconstructor of Fun podcast. Together, they dive into what makes a game economist, the differences between game economies and real-world economics, the success of Roblox, and what other apps can learn for their own virtual economies.

Tune in or read the highlights here:

https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/roblox-properly-understood-lessons-for-virtual-economies/

The Unity Gaming Report | Diving in with the team behind it

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 22 May 2023 14:07:33 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa sits down with Emory Irpan and Nathan TenBoer, Director of Operations, Consultancy, and Insights and Lead Partner Manager and Insights at Unity respectively - two of the minds behind the Unity Gaming Report. Together, they get into the data behind the gaming industry, what didn't make the cut, why 2D games are making a comeback, and the value of pretty charts.

Tune in or read the highlights here: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/the-unity-gaming-report-diving-in-with-the-team-behind-it/

Sophie Vo | Leadership in games: solving the human puzzle genre

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 04 May 2023 07:57:04 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Jasmine sits down with Sophie Vo, GM at Savage Games. Together, they dive into the the role of empathy in leadership, what leadership means and looks like in games, how to spot a leader in your team, and more.

Tune in or read the highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/leadership-in-games-solving-the-human-puzzle-genre/

Lisa Brunette | Narrative in mobile games: why the story matters

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:38:40 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa sits down with Lisa Brunette, Narrative Designer and Game Writer at Brunette Games. They take a deep dive into the importance of narrative, why gameplay should always come first, how to write for mobile games, and how (and why) Lisa gamified her gardening.

Tune in or keep reading for the highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/narrative-in-mobile-games-why-the-story-matters/

Om Tandon | UX in games: User-centered vs human-centered design

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 12:03:11 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa sits down with Om Tandon, UX Director at UX Reviewer Games Consultancy. They dive into what makes good UX, the similarities between producing games and films, the differences between user and human-centered design, and how to put design thinking into practice.

Tune in or keep reading for the highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/ux-in-games-user-centered-vs-human-centered-design/

Anna Popereko | User motivations: Where game design and monetization meet

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 13:55:38 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa sits down with Anna Popereko, Game Design Consultant at ironSource from Unity. They talk about the importance of user motivations, what even are they, why they should be a part of your monetization strategy, and more.

Tune in or read the highlights here: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/user-motivations-where-game-design-and-monetization-meet/

Josh Burns | Mastering the world of IPs

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 15:10:39 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa sits down with Josh Burns, Senior Director of Business Development at FunPlus. They get into the history of IPs in mobile games, what to look for in an IP, their role in 2023, Josh's advice for smaller studios looking to leverage them, and more.

Tune in here or read the highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/mastering-the-world-of-ips/

Danny Moy | Building a mobile gaming business strategy

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 08:38:00 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa sits down with Danny Moy, Chief Strategy Officer at SciPlay. They dive into the role of business strategy at mobile games studios, the secret to navigating M&As (from both sides), how to create long-term plans while working in a fast-changing industry, and a whole lot more.

Tune in here or read the highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/danny-moy-gaming-business-strategy/

Dan Greenberg | AI and creatives: Now, later, and the far-future

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 10:17:00 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa sits down with our very own maestro of creatives Dan Greenberg, Chief Design Officer at ironSource. They talk AI image generation, what it is, how it can be used now, and what it needs to truly change the game.

Tune in here or read the highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/dan-greenberg-ai-and-creatives/

Matej Lanacaric | Going off autopilot: Creating a culture of experimentation in UA teams

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 12:56:00 +0000

In this episode of LevelUp, Melissa sits down with Matej Lancaric, UA consultant extraordinaire, host of the 2 & a half gamers podcast, and the king of no-BS actionable tips. Together, they dive into the rules, or lack of, of UA, what it takes to build a culture of experimentation from the outside, and Matej’s hottest takes.

Tune in here or read the highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/matej-lancaric-experimentation-in-ua-teams/

AppQuantum | Outsource vs In-house: The best way to build creatives in 2023

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 10:19:00 +0000

In this LevelUp episode, Melissa gets into building the dream creative team with Vitaly Gladkov, Creative Department Lead at AppQuantum. They attempt to finally answer the question: does it just make sense to move your creatives all in-house? Bonus content includes: why do you need a creative team anyway?

Tune in here or read the highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/vitaly-gladkov-appquantum-building-creatives/

HypGames | The evolution of mobile sports games

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 16:16:00 +0000

In this episode of the LevelUp podcast, Mike Taramykin, CEO at HypGames, sits down with our host Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource. They discuss the evolution of sports games, including the challenges moving from console to F2P, how to work with licensors, and what to expect in the future.

Tune in here or read the transcript:https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/mike-Taramykin-hypgames-evolution-sports/

UserWise | The psychology of in-game personalization

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 08:10:00 +0000

In this episode of LevelUp, Tom Hammond, CEO & Co-Founder of UserWise sits down with our host Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource. They discuss how game developers can better understand user psychology, putting user motivations into action within a game, and how game developers can utilize personalization with LiveOps.

Tune in here or read the transcript: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/tom-hammond-userwise-in-game-personalization/

Deconstructor of Fun | Blockchain Gaming, Pt 5: What the industry needs to do to make Blockchain Games mainstream

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 19:48:00 +0000

In this episode of LevelUp, our host Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource, sits down with Deconstructor of Fun's Javier Barnes and Ethan Levy, host of the Deconstructor of Fun Podcast.

They discuss why developers and gamers should start utilizing blockchain, the main challenges keeping blockchain from becoming an industry standard, and what exactly gaming industry leaders need to do to bring blockchain to the mainstream.

Tune in here or read the transcript: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-king-deconstructor-of-fun/

Business Evolution | Blockchain Gaming, Pt 4: Blockchain and the Metaverse

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 08:58:00 +0000

Blockchain and gaming and the metaverse? Oh my. Elad Yakobowicz, Founder at Business Evolution explores the state of the metaverse today and how blockchain games have managed to integrate into this vast digital world.

Elad is interviewed by Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource and Anton Backman, Principal at Play Ventures. They dive into the metaverse, what connects it to blockchain gaming, and what this collaboration could mean for the future of technology.

Tune in here or keep reading for the edited highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-metaverse-business-evolution/

Playmint | Blockchain Gaming, Pt 3: Life as a CEO

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 15:30:00 +0000

What’s it like to build a blockchain company from the ground up? Hear it straight from the source. David Amor, CEO at Playmint - a blockchain gaming company founded in 2021 - discusses what it's like to be on the frontline of the blockchain gaming revolution.

David is interviewed by Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource, Anton Backman, Principal at Play Ventures, and Kenrick Drijoningen, General Partner at Play Ventures, where they explore building his company, modern blockchain gaming technology, and comparing blockchain vs traditional gaming.

Tune in here or keep reading for the edited highlights:

https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-ceo-playmint/

Playmint | Blockchain Gaming, Pt 2: Community Building

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 03 Mar 2022 12:24:00 +0000

We’re back for the second episode of our blockchain gaming mini-series - this time we’re exploring how online communities are set to shape the future of blockchain games. Join Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource, along with Anton Backman and Kenrick Drijoningen from Play Ventures, and our guest Jon Jordan, Consultant at Playmint, for the conversation.

Together they explore the ins and outs of Discord communities, the biggest challenge traditional game developers have in the space, and the dichotomy between performance marketing and community building.

Tune in here or keep reading for the edited highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-communities-playmint/

Play Ventures | Blockchain Gaming, Part 1: The Fundamentals

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 11:05:00 +0000

It’s the buzzword on everyone’s lips: blockchain games. Melissa Zeloof, VP Marketing at ironSource, kicks off the first episode in a new mini-series all about blockchain gaming, along with Anton Backman and Kenrick Drijoningen from Play Ventures - a games VC with promising blockchain games in their portfolio.

Together, they review clear and concise definitions of key blockchain gaming terms, top companies to watch in the space, trends and predictions for the future, as well as the practicalities of producing a blockchain game.

Tune in here or keep reading for the edited highlights: https://www.is.com/community/podcasts/levelup/blockchain-fundamentals-playeventures

Double Loop Games | Indie Series, Part 5: Founding a Mobile Game Studio

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 16:18:00 +0000

In the fifth episode of our "What I Wish I Knew When" series for indie developers, Melissa Zeloof is joined by Emily Greer, founder and CEO of Double Loop Games, who also co-founded Kongregate over a decade ago with her brother. Emily discusses her experience establishing a new games studio and key tips for developers looking to do the same.

GamesBiz | Indie Series, Part 3: Getting Started with Mobile Game Monetization

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:24:00 +0000

In the fourth episode of “What I Wish I Knew When...”, our series for indie developers, Melissa Zeloof is joined by Bozo Jankovic, who heads up Business Development at GamesBiz Consulting. Bozo and his team spend a lot of time working with indie developers to strengthen their game's monetization performance, so we thought it would be a good idea to pick his brains on this topic and discuss what he wishes he knew about game monetization earlier on in his career, to help devs who are just started out themselves get on the right track.

Unity | Gametech, Part 3: The Insider's Perspective

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 16:21:00 +0000

Sally Lu, Director of Customer Success at Unity, joins Melissa Zeloof to discuss the role of Unity and gametech more generally in the games industry, and what we might expect for the future.

Mighty Bear Games | Indie Series, Part 3: Identifying Million Dollar Game Concepts

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 16:09:00 +0000

Simon Davis, Co-Founder and CEO at Mighty Bear Games, joins Melissa Zeloof in our "What I wish I knew when..." series to talk about his process for identifying and evaluating new game concepts, the learning curve he's experienced, and how to avoid bias

Facebook Audience Network | The Innovations of In-Game Advertising

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 11:14:00 +0000

Host Melissa Zeloof is joined by Nate Morgan, Global Gaming Lead at Facebook Audience Network, to discuss the rise of in-game ads and the key innovations in this space, the shift to hybrid monetization models, and the opportunities in-app bidding opens up for developers.

Hiro Capital, Barclays | Gametech, Part 2: The Investor Perspective

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:34:00 +0000

Melissa Zeloof is joined by Spike Laurie, Venture Director at Hiro Capital, and Mario Lu, VP at Barclays and Lead Analyst for video game stocks. We’ll be talking about the game investment landscape, the gaming industry and its relationship to gametech, and how gametech is spilling over to other industries.

Starberry Games | Indie Series, Part 2: What I Wish I Knew When Pitching to Investors

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 17:06:00 +0000

This is the second episode in our series for indie developers called, “what I wish I knew when.” Host Melissa Zeloof welcomes Antti Hattara, the CEO and co-founder of Starberry Games, the developer behind the hit idle game, Coffee Corp, and winner of ‘Best Indie Developer’ Award at the Pocket Gamer Mobile Games Awards in 2019. We’ll be talking about what he wishes he knew when first pitching to investors and getting funding for his startup.

Lockwood Publishing | Avakin Life, the Metaverse, and Games as Social Media

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 14:13:00 +0000

Oliver Kern, Chief Commercial Officer at Lockwood Publishing, who are behind the hit mobile game Avakin Life, joins Melissa Zeloof to discuss the challenges of building a “virtual world” game (how does one integrate a live music concert from a real life pop star into a mobile game?!), how they scaled their daily active users to 1.5M, the metaverse, and games as the new social media.

CNN, PocketGamer | Gametech, Part 2: The Journalist Perspective

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 13:37:00 +0000

Melissa Zeloof is joined by Ric Cowley, Editor of PocketGamer.biz, and Shannon Liao, reporter at CNN Business, to discuss the key happenings and trends in the gaming industry and in the gametech ecosystem behind it. As journalists covering gaming, they have a special inside-outside view of the industry, which made this a fascinating discussion. We cover gaming’s role in the entertainment world, how it adapted so well to COVID-19, Apple vs Epic Games, the importance of gametech, and much more.

VGames | Unearthing the Next Generation of Gaming Unicorns

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 15:20:00 +0000

Eitan Reisel, former lead in Google’s gaming division and founder of VGames, an investment firm focused specifically on unearthing the next generation of Israeli and Eastern European gaming unicorns, joins to discuss the investment opportunities in these ecosystems, the biggest trends in gaming, the importance of gametech, and much more.

Seenax | Indie Series, Part 1: What I Wish I Knew When Choosing a Game Publisher

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 11:25:00 +0000

This is the first episode in our new series for indie developers called, “what I wish I knew when.” Host Melissa Zeloof welcomes Gabriel Coriiu, Co-Founder of Seenax Oy and the developer behind the hit game, Hide and Seek. Gabriel will be talking about what he wishes he knew when choosing a publisher and about his journey to launching a hit hyper-casual game.

Newzoo | Gametech, Part 1: How Gametech is Fueling the Industry's Growth

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 14:41:00 +0000

Newzoo's CEO Peter Warman, and Market Lead of Game Developers and Publishers, Tyler Long, discuss the rapidly growing gametech ecosystem, how they mapped it out, and where it's headed.

ironSource | Creative Operations, Part 3: How to Make High Impact Ad Creatives

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 15:40:00 +0000

Melissa Zeloof welcomes Noa Eckstein, Director of Creative Performance at ironSource Luna, to discuss all things in-ad data, including Playworks' process for optimizing ad creatives for some of the industry's biggest names.

ironSource | Creative Operations, Part 2: How to be a Creative Sponge

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 12:25:00 +0000

Elad Gabison, Creative Lead at ironSource Luna, discusses his process for sparking ideas and producing ad creatives for world class mobile games. Read the transcript: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-to-be-a-creative-sponge/

ironSource | Creative Operations, Part 1: How to Build a World Class Creative Team

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 09:20:00 +0000

Dan Greenberg, Chief Design Officer at ironSource and founder of its in-house ad creative studio Playworks, discusses the world of ad creatives in the gaming industry, where it is headed, and how he built a world-class creative team that’s produced over 4,000 creatives for games ranging from Call of Duty Mobile to Homescapes. Read the transcript: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-to-build-a-world-class-creative-team/

LudiqueWorks | Emerging Markets with Newzoo, Part 4: Sub-Saharan Africa

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 16:29:00 +0000

This is the fifth episode in our Emerging Markets mini-series, co-hosted with Tom Wijman, Senior Games Market Analyst at Newzoo. Founded in 2007, Newzoo is an intelligence provider for the games and eSports industries, providing data across both global and local markets. Our guest this episode is Douglas Ogeto, Co-Founder and CEO at LudiqueWorks, Africa’s fastest-growing game publishing company. LudiqueWorks is also a game development accelerator and dedicated game fund for the African market. Listen to the podcast or skim the edited highlights: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/gaming-in-sub-sarahan-africa/

ironSource | Growth Loop, Step 3: Optimizing Monetization

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 26 May 2020 20:33:00 +0000

Catch Melissa Zeloof chatting with VP Growth Yevgeny Peres all about Step 3 of the Growth Loop - optimizing monetization and maximizing LTV. Yevgeny explains which KPIs are important to track and when, best practices for optimizing engagement and revenue, a better way to look at ad monetization products (hint: it's not all about the money), and guidelines for setting up meaningful A/B tests. Listen here or read the transcript: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/step-3-growth-loop-optimize-monetization/

Gazeus Games | Emerging Markets with Newzoo, Part 4: Latin America

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 06 May 2020 16:04:00 +0000

This is the fourth episode in our Emerging Markets mini-series, co-hosted with Tom Wijman, Senior Games Market Analyst at Newzoo. Founded in 2007, Newzoo is an intelligence provider for the games and eSports industries, providing data across both global and local markets. Our guest this episode is Etienne Guebriant, Head of UA at Gazeus Games, a top gaming company in Brazil. Etienne’s been in the gaming industry for years - starting out at 18 as a pro eSport player for World of Warcraft. Listen to the podcast or skim the edited highlights: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/latam-game-market-latin-america/

Alictus | Emerging Markets with Newzoo, Part 3: Turkey

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Fri, 01 May 2020 16:34:20 +0000

This is the third episode in our Emerging Markets mini-series, co-hosted with Tom Wijman, Senior Games Market Analyst at Newzoo. Founded in 2007, Newzoo is an intelligence provider for the games and eSports industries, providing data across both global and local markets. Our guest this episode is Emre Tas, CEO of Alictus, a top hyper-casual gaming company in Turkey. Listen to the podcast or skim the edited highlights: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/a-mature-market-analyzing-the-turkish-game-developer-scene/

Games2Win | Emerging Markets with Newzoo, Part 2: India

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 21:12:56 +0000

This is the second episode in our Emerging Markets mini-series, co-hosted with Tom Wijman, Senior Games Market Analyst at Newzoo. Founded in 2007, Newzoo is an intelligence provider for the games and eSports industries, providing data across both global and local markets. Our guest this episode is Tejas Shah, Head of Distribution and Revenue at Games2Win, a leading Indian mobile games publisher with over 290 million downloads. Listen to the podcast or skim the edited highlights: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/breaking-down-the-indian-gaming-market/

Amanotes | Emerging Markets with Newzoo, Part 1: Southeast Asian Gaming Market

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 22:07:00 +0000

This is the first episode in our Emerging Markets mini-series, co-hosted with Tom Wijman, Senior Games Market Analyst at Newzoo. Our guest this first episode, which is all about the Southeast Asia gaming market, is Rahul Ravindranath, Monetization Specialist at Amanotes, a music gaming company located in Vietnam. Listen to the podcast below or skim the edited highlights: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/diving-into-the-southeast-asian-gaming-market/

Simpool | How to Balance and Design Your Game Economy

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 12:24:00 +0000

In this episode of LevelUp, Guy Bar Sade, co-founder and CEO at Simpool, breaks down everything around building in-game economies. Guy offers tips to balance the game economy, how game teams should define their KPIs, and common mistakes he sees from game developer companies, and how to create a company culture based on data. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-to-balance-your-in-game-economy/

ironSource | Growth Loop, Step 2: Monetizing F2P Games

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 19:42:26 +0000

In the third episode of LevelUp’s Growth Loop mini-series, ironSource’s VP Growth Yevgeny Peres walks us through Stage 2 of the Growth Loop: Monetization. Yevgeny explains to us that the Growth Loop is just as valuable for IAP-based games as ad-based games, best practices for setting up rewarded video and interstitials, and key metrics to keep track of and monetization tests to conduct. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/breaking-down-the-growth-loop-part-2/

App Annie | Discoverability is Just Half the ASO Battle

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 14:07:21 +0000

Getting people to your app store page is just half the ASO battle. How do game marketers make sure they’re also setting up their app store page for conversion. Lexi Sydow, Senior Market Insights Manager at App Annie, sits down with Melissa to discuss everything app store optimization, including best practices, common mistakes game marketers make, and the difference between optimizing for discoverability and optimizing for conversion. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcast/understanding-discoverability-and-conversion-in-aso-for-games

ironSource | Growth Loop, Step 1: Starting with UA, Not Monetization

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 09:56:46 +0000

In the second episode of LevelUp’s Growth Loop mini-series, ironSource’s VP Growth Yevgeny Peres walks us through Stage 1 of the Growth Loop: User Acquisition. Yevgeny argues why game developers should start the cycle with user acquisition as opposed to game monetization, offers best practices for maximizing key metrics like IPM, and shares how game development teams can increase production by improving the relationship between monetization and UA. Skim the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/breaking-down-the-growth-loop-step-1-starting-with-ua

Mammoth Media | Creating Mobile Content and Games for Gen Z

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 13:17:03 +0000

Benoit Vatere, CEO and Founder at Mammoth Media, joins ironSource's Melissa Zeloof on LevelUp to talk everything Gen Z. Who are they? What do they care about? How can game developers and brands appeal to them? And what sort of content do they love? Tune in to find out, or read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/creating-mobile-content-gen-z/

Playtika | How a Single Games Company Monetizes Multiple Genres

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 16:12:53 +0000

Adi Shalom, Ad Monetization Team Leader at Playtika, joins ironSource’s Melissa Zeloof to discuss all things monetization, including how his team is structured, their weekly habit for success, tips for optimizing the waterfall, and more. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-a-single-studio-monetizes-multiple-game-genres/

Ketchapp, Mobilityware, Jam City, Kwalee | Merging Monetization and Marketing

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 13:38:17 +0000

Live from Gamefest 2019 in the Negev Desert, Melissa chats with Chandra Macias Hill from Mobilityware, Fabian Hersen from Ketchapp, Brian Sapp from Jam City, and Jason Falcus from Kwalee to hear how each of their companies tackles monetization and marketing - is it one unit or separate? Does connecting the two actually scale activities? Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/merging-monetization-and-marketing-teams/

Gameloft, Halfbrick, Social Point, Random Logic | In-App Bidding and the Future of App Monetization

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 13:37:18 +0000

Live from Gamefest 2019 in the Negev desert, Melissa from ironSource gets together with Andrew Stone from Random Logic, Jane Anderson from Gameloft, Shainiel Deo from Halfbrick, and Sofia Gilyazova from Social Point to discuss in-app bidding and the future of app monetization. Is in-app bidding really poised to change monetization? Find out. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/in-app-bidding-and-the-future-of-monetization/

Neon Play, Playrix, Madbox | Trends for Mobile Game Creatives

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 13:35:31 +0000

Live from Gamefest 2019 in the Negev Desert, Melissa from ironSource interviews Oli Christie from NeonPlay, Alexander Derkach from Playrix and Jean Nicholas Vernin from Madbox about top creatives trends they've seen this past year, and their thoughts for what's about to come in 2020. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/trends-in-mobile-game-creatives-2019/

NBCU | Game Analysis and Building the Right Data Infrastructure for F2P Games

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 07:51:15 +0000

Andrew Waag, Manager of Data Analytics at NBC Universal and Victor Wang, Senior Product Manager Mobile Games at NBC Universal joins Melissa Zeloof from ironSource and Joe Kim from GameMakers.com on LevelUp: Game Product Managers Edition. Tune in to hear them talk about best practices for building data infrastructures for free-to-play games, tips for setting up the right KPIs, and common mistakes in game analyses. Read the edited highlights: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/game-analysis-and-building-the-right-data-infrastructure-for-free-to-play-games/

Quantic Foundry | Analyzing Gamer Behavior, Psychology, and Motivations

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 02:54:42 +0000

Nick Yee, Co-Founder at Quantic Foundry, explains how the gaming industry is beginning to standardize user behavior analysis and breaks down the 12 factors that motivate gamers to keep playing. Plus, he reveals the biggest surprise his team discovered in their research on player psychology and how game developers can leverage it to their advantage. Read the edited highlights: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/analyzing-gamer-behavior-psychology-motivations/

Square Enix | Behavioral Economics in Games: Monetizing Tightwads, Spendthrifts, and the Unconflicted

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 06:31:51 +0000

Paula Neves, Product Manager at Square Enix, breaks down the principles behind behavioral economics and how they can be applied to monetize free-to-play games - for both in-app purchases and ads. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/monetizing-f2p-games-behavioral-economics/

Voodoo | Creating a Culture Code for Winning Game Teams

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 09:27:25 +0000

Sophie Vo, Game Lead at Voodoo, joins Melissa Zeloof from ironSource and Joe Kim from GameMakers on LevelUp: Game Product Managers Edition. Find out what DNA really stands for, the cost of being unaligned, best practices for recruiting your dream team, and how to implement a great team culture. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/creating-a-culture-code-for-winning-game-teams/

Uken | How to Identify and Evaluate New Game Projects

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 08:54:21 +0000

Conrad McGee-Stocks, Director of Growth at Uken Games, joins Melissa Zeloof from ironSource and Joe Kim from GameMakers.com on LevelUp: Game Product Managers Edition. Tune in to hear them talk about best practices for identifying and evaluating new game products, including idea funnels, trend analysis, and market tests. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-to-identify-and-evaluate-new-game-projects/

N3twork, Smule | How Game Product and UA Teams Can Work Better Together

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 13:43:34 +0000

Next in our GPM series, Nebojsa Radovic, Director of Performance Marketing at N3twork, and Jon Lau, Director of User Acquisition at Smule discuss why it’s so important for UA and PMs to collaborate effectively and steps for building that relationship. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/game-product-ua-work-better-together/

ironSource | Why Game Growth is a Loop and not a Funnel

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 16:08:01 +0000

Yevgeny Peres, VP Growth at ironSource, explains why game developers just look at growth as a funnel and not a loop, how he came up with the concept, and how developers can start implementing it into their growth strategy. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/game-growth-loop-not-funnel/

Lucky Kat Studios | How an Indie Developer Reached #1 with Nothing but Bootstraps

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 12:51:47 +0000

Herdjie Zhou co-founder and CEO of Lucky Kat Studios, speaks about the process of building his own gaming studio from the buttom up and how they got to first place on the top charts without any paid user acquisition. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-an-indie-developer-reached-number-one/

GameMakers | How Root Cause Analysis Optimizes Game Design

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 11:27:20 +0000

LevelUp is kicking off our new miniseries on game product management with Joe Kim, founder at GameMakers. In this pilot episode, Joe breaks down how and why product managers should do root cause analyses. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-does-root-cause-analysis-optimize-game-design/

Homa Games | How to Make Hyper-Casual Games, Part 4: Checking In

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Sun, 23 Jun 2019 07:56:20 +0000

Next up in our hyper-casual series, Vincent Hart de Keating, Managing Director at Homa Games gives us an update on genre and where it stands in the wider gaming indstry. It's been more than a year since hyper-casual took off. Is it starting fade or just getting steam? Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-to-make-hyper-casual-games-part-4-hyper-casual-check-in/

Social Point | Transitioning to an In-App Bidding World

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 10:15:55 +0000

Sofia Gilyazova, Ad Monetization Manager at Social Point, talks everything in-app bidding - from challenges and drawbacks to benefits and brands coming on board. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/transitioning-to-an-in-app-bidding-world/

Jam City | How to Secure an IP for Your Mobile Game

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 14:13:04 +0000

Brian Sapp, VP User Acquisition at Jam City, discusses how to conquer IPs in games, including the pros of partnerning with IPs, how game developers can get an IP, the ideal marketing strategy for them, and more. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-to-secure-an-ip-for-your-mobile-game/

Tactile Games | The Evolution of Puzzle Games

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 14:18:26 +0000

Christophe Carvenius, Head of Insights at Tactile Games, runs through the evolution of the casual puzzle game genre while giving a deep dive into the psychology and motivation for playing puzzle games. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/the-evolution-of-casual-puzzle-games/

Random Logic | How to Monetize and Advertise Word Games

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 13:53:41 +0000

Andrew Stone, President at Random Logic Games, shares best practices for monetizing, advertising, and designing word games. What demographic plays word games most? Which ad unit performs best? And should you run competitior ads? Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/monetize-advertise-word-games/

Kwalee | How to Make Hyper-Casual Games, Part 3: Marketing

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 13:52:13 +0000

In our next installment of our dedicated hyper-casual series, Ryan Davies, Digital Marketing Manager at Kwalee, tells us how his team runs successful user acquisition campaigns for hyper-casual games, which tools they rely on, and his thoughts on failing (hint: it's key). Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/whats-the-hype-with-hyper-casual-games-part-3-marketing/

Miniclip | The Future of Programmatic Mediation

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 13:14:25 +0000

Pieter Kooyman, Chief Advertising Officer at Miniclip, sets the record straight on programmatic mediation and predicts what the mobile games industry can expect to see in the near future. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/the-future-of-programmatic-mediation/

Mobile Free to Play | How to Make Hyper-Casual Games, Part 2: Trends and Insights

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 07:56:55 +0000

Next in our series on hyper-casual games, Tom Kinniburgh, a mobile consultant for game studios who also runs the popular blog Mobile Free to Play, walks us through the history of hyper-casual, monetization and user acquisition best practices, and what it's like with game publishers. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/whats-the-hype-with-hyper-casual-games-part-2-trends/

MAG Interactive | How to Make Hyper-Casual Games, Part 1: Hyper-Casual Game Design

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 14:27:00 +0000

Discover the basics of how to make, design, plan and develop hyper-casual games with hyper-casual game idea fundamentals on this episode of LevelUp.Paul Woodbridge, Director of Design at MAG Interactive, shares what goes into designing a hyper-casual game, his team’s development process and standard KPIs, best practices, and the future of the hyper-casual genre. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/how-to-make-hyper-casual-games-part-1-designing/

ironSource | The Next Generation of Designing Interactive Mobile Ads

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 11:04:12 +0000

Dan Greenberg, Chief Creative Officer at ironSource, shares what goes into designing hit playable ads, discusses where we can expect to see AR pop into mobile gaming, and reveals the game studio he admires most (spoiler - they build games for toddlers). Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/the-next-generation-of-interactive-mobile-ads/

Gram Games | User Acquisition for Mobile Games

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 10:55:37 +0000

Tatyana Bogatyreva, Head of User Acquisition at Gram Games, discusses mobile user acquisition strategy and the differences between UA in ad-driven games and IAP-heavy titles. Tatyana gives advice on cracking UA with limited resources, and reveals why understanding monetization is imperative for executing a strong UA strategy. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/cracking-user-acquisition-strategies-for-iap-and-ad-driven-titles/

Zeptolab | Balancing Ad Monetization with User Experience

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:41:15 +0000

Jane Anderson, Head of Ad Monetization at Zeptolab, shares how she’s seen the game industry change over the last few years, provides insights on how to successfully balance user experience with ad monetization, and discusses the huge potential for brand advertisers in the gaming space. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/balancing-ad-monetization-with-user-experience/

Kolibri Games | How To Make An Idle Game: Idle Game Design

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 14:04:13 +0000

Join Nate Barker, Director of Biz Dev at Kolibri Games, in talking about idle games. Learn strategies for making and designing idle games that will monetize. Learn more here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/designing-idle-games-for-active-players/

Pixelberry | The Social Impact of Gaming

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 19:13:04 +0000

Carissa Gonzalez, User Acquisition Manager at Pixelberry, shares her insights on everything from being a woman in the game industry, to how we've seen game marketing evolve, and how you always need to question the data. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/the-social-impact-of-gaming/

Gram Games | Setting Company Culture as a Business Imperative

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Thu, 17 May 2018 11:31:03 +0000

Erin O'Brien, Head of Culture at Gram Games, discusses what it means to set company culture as a business imperative and shares her secret sauce for nurturing a strong community in the workplace. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/setting-company-culture-business-imperative/

GameIS | Building Great Game Communities

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 15 May 2018 09:42:35 +0000

Nir Miretzky, Chairman of GameIS, covers everything on what it takes to establish and maintain strong game communities and illustrates the trends and challenges in developing mobile games. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/building-great-game-communities/

Nexon | Bridging East and West in Gaming

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 07:59:29 +0000

Warren Woodward, Director of User Acquisition at Nexon, shares his insights on mobile user acquisition, the importance of soft launches (can you get away without one?) and what it’s like bringing games from East to West and vice versa. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/bridging-east-and-west-in-gaming/

Deconstructor of Fun | The Rise of Hyper-Casual and Other 2018 Gaming Trends

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 12:46:51 +0000

Hear Mishka Katkoff, Director of Product Management at Rovio and the founder of gaming blog Deconstructor of Fun share his predictions for the gaming industry in 2018 (will AR mature this year?), and discuss whether we've hit a peak with hyper-casual games. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/the-rise-of-hyper-casual-2018-gaming-trends/

Kongregate | The Monetization and Marketing Loop

Unity / Melissa Zeloof — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 16:29:56 +0000

Tune in to hear how Jeff Gurian, VP Ad Monetization and Marketing at leading game publisher Kongregate, views the monetization and game marketing loop, what's going to happen to user acquisition, and whether we're going to see more major game companies invest in TV. Read the edited highlights here: https://www.ironsrc.com/podcasts/the-monetization-and-marketing-loop/