The Modern Mobile Gaming Economy With Phil Black
I went on Mobile Dev Memo with Eric Seufert. A ton of fun, and more econ nerdy than expected.
Listen on Spotify | Watch on YouTube
We talk about:
- Why mobile gaming revenue is increasingly concentrated in puzzle and 4X games, and what that means for smaller or independent developers.
- The three forces that define the mobile gaming market.
- What the growth of merge means for casual economics, and the coming "Royal Match" moment for the genre.
- Whether hyper-casual mechanics are being absorbed into deeper core loops rather than remaining a standalone category.
- The connection between LTV and UA bidding, and whether gains from better matching accrue to studios or ad networks.
- What Android and iOS install patterns reveal about mobile marketing health and app-store gatekeeping.
- Whether third-party web shops and direct-to-consumer monetization can meaningfully reduce dependence on platform fees.
- When mobile gaming will finally stop being framed primarily through the post-ATT recovery lens.
- How Warbonds represent a shift away from traditional battle passes.