Why D2C is a major relief valve for UA pressure

Pocket Gamer Connects, the leading international conference series for the global games industry, returns to London on January 19th to 20th, 2026. 

The must-attend conference will bring together 3,000 delegates from 70+ countries, including decision makers from key international games hubs across the globe. Companies set to join the show include Supercell, Epic Games, Duolingo, CD Projekt Red, Tencent, PlayStation, EA, AppLovin, TikTok and many more.

PGC London will host 32 tracks across two days, including at the Apps Business Summit (January 19th) and the Beyond Games: Transmedia Summit (January 20th).

One of the speakers set to join the conference is Neon's head of customer success Liu Xu. The role sees her partner with game developers to maximise player lifetime value, retention, and overall net revenue through direct-to-consumer strategies and best practices.

Xu has 11 years of experience working with game developers across partnership management, client success, and growth roles. She previously held senior positions at Unity and LoopMe.

Xu will be hosting a session with Yodo1 head of games Ioannis Lefkaditis entitled: 'How Yodo1 Grew Transformers: Earth Wars Webshop Revenue Share 2.2x In Under A Year'.

We caught up with Xu ahead of the show to discuss how developers and publishers can maximise the performance of their direct-to-consumer strategies.

PocketGamer.biz: Please give us a summary of what you’re speaking about and why it’s important.

Liu Xu: I'll be joined by Ioannis Lefkaditis, head of games at Yodo1. We're sharing how Yodo1 grew Transformers: Earth Wars web shop revenue share from 25% to 57% in eight months.

We'll provide real-life, tangible examples of how midcore/strategy games can achieve meaningful direct channel success through a global web shop strategy. You'll see the exact tactics that shifted player behaviour at scale, giving you a proven playbook to replicate with your own titles.

What’s the most common mistake you see being made in the games sector?

Casual games often assume D2C isn't right for them. They think it only works for midcore or hardcore titles with dedicated player bases. But we've seen the opposite.

One of our recent casual game clients drove close to 50% of their revenue through D2C in just a few weeks. Players respond to value and convenience regardless of genre, and casual games actually have an advantage with their broader audience and higher transaction frequency.

What’s the most important key performance indicator (KPI) for you - and why?

For mobile games, it's a metric we call "mix-shift," which is the percentage of IAP revenue you move from Apple and Google to D2C. It tells me how effective the D2C strategy is and how well developers are communicating the webshop or implementing Direct Checkout to players.

As that number goes up, net revenue and profits go up with it. It's the clearest indicator of whether your D2C channel is actually working.

What is the single biggest challenge facing the mobile games industry today?

The rising cost of user acquisition and marketing overall. In the post-ATT era, UA has become so expensive that many games can't survive. Their costs have increased and completely flipped the economics on ROAS and LTV.

D2C is a major relief valve for this pressure. When developers can recoup up to 35% more revenue on any given transaction by bypassing app store fees, it helps them get back to a positive financial model and actually sustain and grow their games.

What’s your favourite ever mobile game?

Beatstar. I loved the gameplay and music selection, but unfortunately the game was sunset after the studio behind it, NextBeat, was acquired by Duolingo. I dream of that game coming back!

When not making/selling/playing games, what do you do to relax?

Playing with the Sylvanian Families tree house set with my three-year-old daughter.