Deconstructor of Fun

Why are gaming VCs shifting capital to consumer apps? In this episode, Henric Suuronen and Harri Manninen, founding partners of Play Ventures, one of gaming's top venture funds with $500 million under management and over 100 portfolio companies, break down how they evaluate founders, why they require a two-year vesting cliff, and what co-founder conflict really looks like from the investor side.

We discuss the venture capital math behind gaming startup funding, why consumer apps trade at higher multiples than games, how to read founder chemistry during a pitch, and what Play Ventures looks for in early-stage teams from Istanbul to Singapore. A personal conversation between friends who funded my startup, Savage Game Studios, before its acquisition by PlayStation.

CHAPTERS:
01:54 From Mobile Games to Apps
08:04 Backing Younger Hungry Teams
10:45 Founder Dynamics Due Diligence
15:54 Reading Founder Chemistry
20:44 Giving Clear Nos and Feedback
26:22 Board Truths and Founder Conflict
32:31 Impulsive Founder Decisions
35:54 Early Stage VC Role
41:48 Ecosystem Golden Eras
45:25 Scaling the VC Firm
49:41 Culture Without Hierarchy
55:14 Closing, Thanks, and Wrap

Supercell absorbs Merge Mansion, Xbox fires its veterans and hires from Instacart, and the math behind gaming's VC collapse finally gets laid out in full.
In this episode of TWIG, Mishka is joined by Josh Chandley, John Wright, and Ethan Levy to break down the biggest moves in games this week, from Finland's most beloved merge studio quietly running out of road to why gaming VC funding has dropped 95% since 2021.
Topics Covered:
● Supercell acquires Metacore and why a profitable $30M a month game still couldn't survive
● What the 70% layoffs tell us about liveops competition and the limits of celebrity UA campaigns
● Xbox replaces 24-year veterans with Instacart execs, and whether growth engineering can fix a content problem
● GameStop bids for eBay with no synergy pitch and why the meme stock era never really ended
● Roblox voluntarily takes a billion dollar hit on bookings and why it might be the smartest long-term bet in the room
● The math that broke gaming VC funding, from $12.5B in 2021 to $627M in H1 2025 and what founders should do instead
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Cold Open Jail Joke
00:11 Meet the Hosts
01:47 Episode Headlines
02:21 Theme Park Mario Talk
03:13 Line Monetization Schemes
04:40 Istanbul Events Plug
05:37 Consulting Shoutout
07:03 Supercell Buys Metacore
08:38 Metacore Rise and Stumble
10:51 UA Cuts and Layoffs
20:00 Strategic Investor Dynamics
23:14 Xbox Leadership Shakeup
24:42 Game Pass and Content Gap
26:48 Microsoft IP Live Service Vision
28:59 Xbox IPs Need Long Runs
29:55 GameStop Buys eBay Meme
32:22 Roblox Safety Overhaul Fallout
35:32 Age Verification Debate
37:02 Roblox Monetization and 18 Plus
43:03 Ustwo Cuts Costs Reality
45:16 Freelancers Bands Model
47:25 Premium Math Doesn't Work
51:19 VC Funding Math Broke
59:06 Is This the New Normal
01:01:56 Wrap Up and Thanks

Xbox doubles down on a DAU strategy with no real plan to get there. Ubisoft keeps cleaning house while its franchises collect dust. And the most doom-and-gloom post ever written about the games industry lands on LinkedIn, and it's hard to argue with.
Topics Covered:
● Xbox's public memo: Rebranding back to Xbox, shifting to DAU as a north star
● UK games subsidies: £28.5 million, three funding tracks, and why Turkey is still running laps around everyone
● Ubisoft Canada shakeup: Four big departures, Assassin's Creed Hex in trouble, and why Tencent might be the only real solution
● Marvel Rivals vs Overwatch 2
● China vs the West: The structural advantages nobody talks about and what Western developers can actually do about it
● The doom post: 10 reasons western gaming is structurally uninvestible, and where the guys agree and push back
CHAPTERS:
00:20 Show Intro and Agenda
01:35 Boys Only Banter
02:56 Shills
04:03 Istanbul Trip Plans
04:38 Division Resurgence Update
07:59 Xbox Memo Breakdown
17:33 UK Games Subsidies
23:45 Fortnite Shampoo Ads
26:55 Habi's New Game
30:58 PC Pivot Reality Check
32:06 China Publishers Paper Tigers
32:42 Marvel Rivals vs Overwatch
34:47 Blizzard Momentum Update
37:24 Ubisoft Canada Shakeup
43:59 Why China Dominates Mobile
46:29 Creativity vs Pragmatism
50:23 Game Industry Doom List

Match-3 is harder than ever to win, clones are getting taken down, and Royal Kingdom is scaling toward the top of the puzzle market.In this episode of Puzzle Monthly, we break down the real state of puzzle games in 2026, from Turkish startup funding to Supercell’s latest attempt, Pixel Flow clone drama, and whether Royal Kingdom can actually challenge Candy Crush.Topics Covered:● Turkish puzzle startups raise fresh funding and why the ecosystem keeps producing hits● Supercell tries puzzle again with Hay Day Match, and why timing might be wrong● Is Match-3 innovation dead? The debate on risk vs scale in today’s market● Pixel Flow clone gets taken down. Are copycats finally under pressure?● The real monetization strategy: UA costs, clones, and ad funnels explained● Royal Kingdom’s explosive growth and whether it can ever reach Candy Crush level● Why most new puzzle games fail, and what it actually takes to win todayCHAPTERS: 01:35 Turkish Seed Funding Wave02:13 Cheer Games and Hexa Sort Playbook05:23 Supercell Tries Heyday Match09:45 Why Match Three Is Stuck10:47 Innovation vs Scale Debate12:52 King Sequels and Meta Lessons15:56 Farm Heroes Saga Hits $2B21:08 Pixel Flow Clone Takedown23:27 Trade Dress And Platform Rules24:57 Why Copycats Make Money26:54 Clone Ads As Strategy29:52 Royal Kingdom Relaunch Story31:39 Growth Charts And Celebrity UA33:13 Can It Beat Candy Crush33:30 Paid Installs Profitability Math35:00 Organic Fame And Payback Window37:08 Cannibalization Versus Incremental38:42 Live Ops Similarities And PVE43:14 Wrap Up And Next Episode

Game Pass just got cheaper, China is rewriting the mobile market, and Ubisoft ships one of the most polished mobile games in years.

Topics Covered:

● Xbox drops Game Pass Ultimate by 23% and pulls Call of Duty from day one, but none of it actually fixes what's broken
● Chinese, Hong Kong, and Singapore publishers now own 30% of Western mobile revenue, up from 16% in 2019
● Pokémon Go surged 52% in downloads during its 30th anniversary, and why it's bigger than just one marketing event
● Why the US should stop competing on mobile content and start owning platforms like Roblox, Steam, and Unreal instead
● Division Resurgence is a genuinely great game with no audience in the West and one last hope, China
● Disney quietly pulls 30 licensed games from Steam with no explanation

CHAPTERS:
01:56 Phil’s China Trip Takeaways
04:19 Joachim Shoutout and Sponsor
06:52 Xbox Game Pass Price Cut News
10:55 Call of Duty Math Debate
15:52 Mobile Market Q1 Snapshot
19:53 Top Games and Pokemon Spike
22:49 China Dominance and New Hubs
36:43 EU: Stop Killing Games
41:21 Does Preservation Matter
43:55 Division Resurgence Numbers
45:18 Why Shooters Need China
49:42 PC Port and Controls
51:02 Mobile vs Console Culture
53:29 What Makes a Platform
54:16 Mods Create Mega Hits
59:21 Japan Builds Game IP
01:01:53 Licensing vs Hybrid Bets
01:03:09 Disney Steam Purge
01:04:01 Hasbro Hybrid Critique
01:06:33 Final Wrap and Thanks