Industry Insights
Why game developers should prioritise player trust over instant dopamine
Jaroslav Stacevic says that game developers should focus on respecting players’ time and building trust
Staff
Guest Author
Contact info@pocketgamer.biz
About PocketGamer.biz regularly posts content from a variety of guest writers across the games industry. These encompass a wide range of topics and people from different backgrounds and diversities, sharing their opinion on the hottest trending topics, undiscovered gems and what the future of the business holds.
Articles by Guest Author
Page 1 of 30
Next »
Page 1 of 30
Next »
Industry Insights
Forecasting mobile game profitability: How publishers predict UA performance
Iaroslav Kobozev discusses how mobile studios predict long-term profitability from early user acquisition performance
Industry Insights
From Game of War to Last Asylum: The evolution of 4x monetisation
Jakub Remiar discusses the evolution of 4x games and the rise of hybrid onboarding
Industry Insights
From Helix Jump to Little Farm Story: How h8games reinvented itself
Oleg Batrakov shares on how the studio evolved after Helix Jump to create Little Farm Story
Industry Insights
What our data reveals about ad quality and player churn in mobile games
Ivona Pinjak analyses player churn across ad networks, formats and platforms using Unity's AdQuality tool
Industry Insights
The link between product and marketing teams in a competitive market
Evgenii Dobrelia examines how closer collaboration between product and marketing teams is becoming critical in an increasingly competitive games market
Industry Insights
From CPI to LTV: How player motivations are powering hybridcasual’s big wins
Giacomo Maragliulo explains how player motivations are reshaping UA strategy and stronger hybridcasual performance
Industry Insights
How the role of the marketing analyst is changing in the age of AI
Iaroslav Kobozev discusses how AI is reshaping the skills and workflows for marketing analysts
Industry Insights
How Azur Games increased retention and doubled revenue with Hidden Objects 2
Daria Korbyleva explains how structural design and live ops helped Hidden Objects 2 outperform its predecessor
Industry Signal
What Loom Games' $1bn exit with 20 people tells us about the future of game studio hiring
The Loom Games acquisition isn't just a great exit story. It's a signal that the games industry hasn't fully reckoned with yet
Industry Insights
How Gossip Harbor builds live ops from day one
Balancy breaks down Gossip Harbor’s approach to onboarding players through live ops
Child Safety
UK consultation on kids’ online lives: what the video games industry needs to know
Celia Pontin explains the UK government’s consultation on keeping children safe online
Ai In Games
AI won't make your game, but it can lighten the load
Ludo.ai CTO Jorge Gomes gives his view on the role of AI in game production and where it could make a difference
Playbook
Rewarded UA unlocked
Gamelight offers tips and a playbook for managing rewarded UA campaigns
Ai Insights
AI can build your game prototype but it can’t build your strategy
Tom Storr from The Experimentation Group explores how AI is speeding up game prototypes and why experience is still key
Mobile Games University
Ad monetisation basics in mobile gaming
Aurion11 CEO and Co-founder Igor Lautar gives a detailed rundown of mobile games advertising 101
Industry Insights
How doubling down on physics expertise helped Rollance stand out in a crowded market
Nikita Tikhomirov talks on building successful products around a studio’s core expertise
Ugc Finance
Why you should bring your finance team into product strategy
Travis Hughson from Tipalti Mass Payments explores the vital role of finance and payouts in making games a success globally
State Of Play
Neogames: The state of Finland's games industry in 2026
Neogames Finland's Suvi Latva and KooPee Hiltunen analyse the opportunities and challenges facing the Finnish games sector
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
The Slingshot Formula: How Angry Birds joined forces with Star Wars
This book excerpt from The Slingshot Formula by Pascal Clarysse delves into the beginnings of Angry Birds: Star Wars, launched in 2012
Industry Insights
How culture became currency in gaming campaigns
Ada Mockute Jaime shares insights on how culture-led campaigns drive engagement and strengthen communities
Live Ops
Live ops in 2026: What 2025 revealed and how studios should prepare
Balancy's leaders speak on the evolution of live ops and what comes next for studios
Growth Strategies
How developers can build games for the long haul and why not every project is cut out for it
Sergey Martinkevich talks on long-term growth in a mobile market dominated by legacy hits
Industry Insights
When should a mobile games studio hire a CFO?
Martin Macmillan explores why finance leadership in mobile games is driven by complexity not just revenue
Industry Insights
Should developers look for long-term partnerships and what makes a studio worth backing?
Evgeny Maurus shares insights on the shifting mobile games market and what studios must do to stay competitive
Market Analysis
Greenlighting is a lottery: How Voodoo, SLG Giants, and Habby turn ‘luck’ into ‘math’
While indies pray for a hit, the industry giants have turned mysticism into mathematics. Here is how they calculate the optimal solution in an uncertain market.
Industry Insights
Beyond downloads: Why engagement metrics are the true north for publishers
Supersonic's Guy Yogev shares why engagement metrics now define sustainable success in mobile game publishing
Industry Insights
Why hits are built not born
Omri Grinberg explains how data-driven iteration builds today’s mobile game hits
Masterclass
UX Strategist Celia Hodent to hold masterclass blending cognitive science with practical game UX frameworks
The session explores how perception, attention, memory, and emotion shape player experience
Epic/google
Epic wins again: US court forces Google Play to open to alternative payments - what does it mean for developers worldwide?
Futura’s Alexandra Kurdyumova and Alina Davletshina provide insight into results of the Epic vs Google ruling
Industry Insights
Why community management has become a core growth function in game development
AppQuantum’s Yuriy Makhanov on why nurturing player community from day one can make or break your game
Platform Policy
YouTube policy update: new rules for gambling, violent gaming videos and streaming
Futura’s Alexandra Kurdyumova and Evgenia Shikholeva share insights into YouTube’s stricter rules
Behind The Scenes
From hypercasual success to hybrid growth: The evolution of State Connect
Azur Games' Yuriy Tsoy shares how the team behind State Connect revitalised a long-running hypercasual title through updates and a shift toward hybrid monetisation
Industry Insights
As a resurgent Clash Royale peaks, does Supercell need a radical change in strategy for new games?
Jakub Remiar highlights Clash Royale's revenue surge and if Supercell has a growing reliance on aging titles among its new-game pipeline
Ad Experiments
What five in-game ad experiments taught us about player behaviour and revenue
GameBiz Consulting’s Božo Janković shares how small in-game changes led to big surprises in ad performance
Case Study
“Sometimes feelings matter more than metrics”: Flexus's unconventional approach to hybrid projects
Flexus founder Semyon Kozyura uses Train Miner as a case study to show the studios approach to its projects
Behind The Scenes
From a hybridcasual hit to an indie PC title: The story of My Little Universe part two
Davis Toliasvili, CEO of Estoty Riga shares on taking My Little Universe beyond mobile and into a multi-platform hit
Digital Fairness Act
The Digital Fairness Act consultation, but for actual human beings
Celia Pontin combats misinformation around the Digital Fairness Act, with an overview of the coming regulatory initiative
Live Ops
Cutting the wait: How game teams are accelerating live ops
Antonina Belova discusses why speed is now a live ops strategy
Game Monetisation
Beyond microtransactions: The future of game monetisation lies in loyalty, not loot boxes
Xsolla’s Chris Meredith on moving beyond microtransaction towards player-first monetisation
Industry Insights
Five ad monetisation tests that didn't match the data
GameBiz Consulting’s Božo Janković shares insights from experiments that challenge assumptions in ad monetisation
Industry Insights
A developer’s guide to negotiating publishing deals
Wiggin’s Peter Lewin breaks down what indie developers need to know when negotiating publishing deals
Storytelling
Why stories sell: The emotional trigger for mobile game players
Giacomo Maragliulo discusses how light storytelling can transform mobile game ads
Industry Insights
The ins and outs of retention in an idle game with merge and puzzle elements
Oleg Nalimov shares on Gold & Goblins the genre-blending mechanics, monetisation and live updates that turned the game into a $60m success
Changing Times
Navigating payment freedom: Gaining a lead in the new app store landscape
Ben Cousens shares on monetisation strategies in the new app store economy
Ai Insights
How a solo creator scaled a daily game to 1,000 users without writing a single line of code
Columbia business school grad Brandon Newquist explains how he leveraged AI tools to build and scale The Sphinx Riddle
Behind The Scenes
Behind Black Deck’s rise: A case study in product, monetisation, and trust
SayGames’ Katya Sabirova shares on Black Deck’s journey from early struggles to a $30M hit
Industry Insights
From click to commitment: a D30 strategy
Experts at Supersonic from Unity break down how to turn new players into loyal gamers
Industry Insights
Can AI replace ad monetisation managers?
GameBiz Consulting’s Damjan Kačar tests if AI can keep up with ad monetisation experts
New Rules
Decoding Apple's new App Store business terms in the EU
Futura Digital delves into the latest rules for the EU App Store as the iPhone giant battles with the DMA