Can Delta Force Beat PUBG? Is the Take-Two Mafia a Myth & How to Fix Recruiting? | MAG #5

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund just closed the largest gaming acquisition in history—$55 billion for Electronic Arts. But this isn't the typical private equity playbook.In this episode, host Joseph Kim sits down with two M&A experts who break down what's really happening:- Chris Petrovic - Board Chairman & CBO at FunPlus, former President of Publishing at Zynga where he orchestrated their transformative acquisition strategy- Matthew Kanterman, CFA - Gaming industry analyst specializing in M&A and financial analysisWe uncover the hidden truths behind the deal:→ Why EA's "operational bloat" narrative is based on an accounting myth→ The real reason EA chose to sell now (hostile takeovers? portfolio pressure?)→ Why Silver Lake's involvement is primarily "for optics"→ What "patient capital" means for EA's studios and the broader gaming industry→ The mobile strategy question: Will EA and Scopely actually integrate?→ Growth opportunities in sports, Asia, and transmedia→ Who really controls gaming's attention economy nowThis isn't about short-term cost-cutting. It's about sovereign wealth rewriting the rules of gaming M&A—and what that means for developers, studios, and the industry's future.Key Takeaways:- At 17-18x forward EBITDA, EA sold at a discount to Activision's 20x—why?- With Take-Two now the only major independent US publisher, what happens to exit opportunities?- EA's conservative accounting makes them look less efficient than they actually are- This deal is measured in decades, not the typical 5-7 year PE timeline📬 Subscribe to Gamemakers Newsletter:https://www.gamemakers.com/🔗 Connect with our guests:Matthew Kanterman: linkedin.com/in/matthew-kanterman-cfa-b6345133Chris Petrovic: linkedin.com/in/chrispetrovic🎧 More episodes: https://open.spotify.com/show/4FdVLkx3msRFsqsEVA1vp0?si=b5192182dc6b4e52#gaming #mergers #acquisitions #ea #saudiarabia #gamedev #podcast

Why is your ad revenue flat even when your game's traffic is growing? Margins are getting squeezed by hidden fees, and old strategies of yelling at partners no longer move the needle. In this episode, we sit down with veteran ad monetization consultant Kelly Kang to get her modern playbook for building a resilient and profitable ad strategy from the ground up.Kelly Kang has optimized ad strategies for some of the biggest names in mobile gaming, including Big Fish Games, Aristocrat, and Glu Mobile. She provides a masterclass on auditing your current setup, choosing the right tech stack, and understanding the metrics that truly matter for long-term growth.In this episode, you will learn:The #1 reason your revenue margins are shrinking (and it's not what you think).A 4-point framework to audit your ad stack, from mediation to placements.Why you should track Ad Engagement and Impression Depth over ARPDAU and CPM.The most common (and costly) mistakes studios make when launching and operating ads.Actionable "quick wins" that can immediately boost performance.How to structure and scale your ad monetization team based on revenue, not workload.Episode Chapters (Timestamps):(00:00:26) The Biggest Pain Point: Squeezed Margins & Hidden Fees(00:04:21) The Day-One Audit: A 4-Point Framework(00:07:37) Strategy: Header Bidding vs. Waterfall(00:14:25) The Metrics That Actually Matter (Beyond ARPDAU)(00:17:54) Ad Placement and Format Strategy(00:27:35) Launching a New Game: A Step-by-Step Plan(00:38:29) How to Structure and Scale Your Admon Team(00:49:03) Common Mistakes That Kill Revenue and LTV(00:55:49) Quick Wins to Boost Ad Revenue(01:04:08) The Future of Ad Monetization & AIFollow Us:For more expert insights, subscribe to the Gamemakers newsletter: https://www.gamemakers.com/Connect with our Guest:To learn more about Kelly Kang and her work, visit Game Plan Advisor: https://www.gameplanadvisor.com

This week, we're breaking down the end of an era: the historic $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts. Go inside the deal to hear the likely banker's pitch that sold EA's board and what this massive leveraged buyout means for the future of the games industry.Then, we shift from titans to upstarts to uncover the secrets behind Grow a Garden, the Roblox game from a 16-year-old developer that quietly became the biggest in the world with over 22 million concurrent players. Learn how reviving and adapting a classic formula can lead to massive success on new platforms.Finally, we share a powerful mental model called the "Alien's Eye View"—a simple framework to expose the gap between your team's intentions and its actions, helping you align your goals and maximize development velocity. Tune in for critical insights into the business and craft of making games.

Is your game only available in English? You could be ignoring over 80% of your potential players. In this deep dive, I sit down with Alexander Murauski, CEO of localization agency Alkonost, to unpack the entire game localization playbook from start to finish.We cover the critical strategies, ROI analysis, and common mistakes that can make or break your global launch. Learn why you should start localizing on Day 1, how professional agencies use AI like ChatGPT to cut costs by 30% without sacrificing quality, and what to look for when choosing the right partner.Connect with our guest, Alexander Murauski:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amurauski/Email: [email protected] to GameMakers for more deep dives with industry leaders! Link: https://www.gamemakers.com/00:00:00 - The Mr. Beast Growth Hack00:01:02 - The Economic Impact: Unlocking 82% of the World's Players00:05:10 - How to Decide Which Languages to Localize00:06:10 - The #1 Rule: Your Marketing Plan Comes FIRST00:12:03 - Using Data vs. The "Base 10" Languages (FIGS & CJK)00:17:46 - The Golden Rule: Why You MUST Start Localization on Day 100:26:24 - The Most Common Localization Mistakes (Technical vs. Translation)00:30:45 - The Importance of a Glossary & Style Guide00:34:31 - Why Spreadsheets Fail & What Tools to Use Instead00:40:13 - What is a Localization Platform? (e.g., Crowdin)00:42:22 - How to Choose a Localization Agency00:59:24 - The Role of AI: Can't I Just Use ChatGPT?01:05:30 - How Agencies Use AI to Cut Costs by 30%01:12:19 - Case Study: A 15-Year Localization Partnership01:24:16 - The Founder's Story: From Side Hustle to 1,500 Translators01:35:14 - The Future of Localization01:39:32 - Where to Find Alex

On this episode of Game Makers, we explore three critical topics: how Delta Force's mobile revenue soared past PUBG's by 75% , why the "Take-Two Mafia" thesis is a myth centered on the wrong company , and a powerful framework for fixing your recruiting process by treating candidates like customers.In this episode, you will learn:MACRO: How Delta Force's monetization and LiveOps strategy led to a 6x revenue spike, and what its 97% revenue concentration in China means for Western studios.ALPHA: Why the popular "Take-Two Mafia" thesis is flawed and how the timeline points to Peak Games, not its publisher, as the true source of a mobile gaming "mafia effect".GAME DEV: How to apply the "Customer Journey and Touchpoints" concept from Tony Fadell's book Build to your candidates to create a recruiting process that attracts and wins 10x talent.Episode Timestamps:(02:20) Macro: Delta Force vs. PUBG Mobile Analysis (11:40) Alpha: Debunking the Take-Two "Mafia Effect" (22:30) Game Dev: Optimizing the Candidate Journey For charts and a full transcript, subscribe to our newsletter at: https://www.gamemakers.com/ Follow Game Makers and subscribe for more insights into the business and craft of making games.

In this episode, we explore the major headwinds facing the games industry, from publisher-developer tensions to the viability of long-standing business models. We start with a raw look at industry layoffs before pivoting to a deep-dive analysis of Arena Breakout Infinite's turbulent PC launch, which reveals a massive culture clash in monetization strategy.This discussion offers critical insights for anyone building or investing in games today, including:Arena Breakout Deep-Dive: We unpack the game's pay-to-win backlash, the shocking Tarkov plagiarism allegations, and what its performance signals for the future of extraction shooters.The End of an Alpha: A detailed breakdown of why the once-unbeatable model of pairing Western IPs with Chinese developers, like with Destiny Rising, is now likely dead due to economic and cultural friction.A Call for Contrarianism: An argument for why success in today's market requires embracing "secrets" and "stupid ideas" that conventional thinking would immediately reject, as outlined in Peter Thiel's Zero to One.

Alpha: Clash Royale 5x Revenue, Understanding the Illegible Margin GameDev: The Problem with Product ValidationHappy MAG-nificent Monday!3-Macro: 3 stories impacting the competitive environment in which we operateHike shuts down after India RMG banWhy GenAI is failingAmazon and Netflix announce Gaming+Streaming bundle2-Alpha: 2 potential sources of Finding AlphaClash Royale hits 3 year all-time highs… how?The Illegible Margin (by Taylor Pearson)1-Game Dev: 1 lesson learned from getting my ass kicked in game devThe Problem with Product Validation

3. MacroTop 3 Most Significant Gaming News From Last Week:Dreamhaven Games Hit by Layoffs (GamesIndustry.biz): Dreamhaven, the studio founded by former Blizzard Entertainment co-founder Mike Morhaime, confirmed it has undergone an unspecified number of layoffs. Despite the cuts, the CEO expressed optimism about the studio's future and the projects currently in development.Hollow Knight: Silksong Sees Massive Launch Success (IGN): Following its highly anticipated release, Hollow Knight: Silksong immediately surged on Steam, achieving over 453,000 concurrent players within hours of launch. The immense demand, which briefly caused issues on various digital storefronts, placed the game as the third most-played title on Steam and positioned it as potentially one of the biggest indie game launches ever.Pete Hines slams Xbox Game Pass as "worth jack s***" without proper compensation (Kotaku): Former Bethesda VP Pete Hines delivered a scathing critique of subscription services, arguing Game Pass creates an unsustainable ecosystem that doesn't properly value developers, Kotaku +2 reigniting heated industry debates about subscription models. His comments highlight growing tensions between platform holders and content creators as the industry grapples with profitability challenges.2. AlphaMagic Tiles 3 - Piano GameThe Great Divergence: Western AAA vs. AA/Indies1. Game DevOn Decision Making

Top 3 Gaming News From Last Week:NetEase Shuts Down Another Western Studio (Game Developer): NetEase has closed T-Minus Zero Entertainment. This marks the third Western studio closure as part of a broader reassessment of business priorities and has raised concerns about the stability of Western studios under NetEase's ownership.IGN Publisher John Davison Exits Following Major Layoffs (Kotaku): John Davison, IGN's publisher since 2019, announced his departure at the end of August 2025 following significant layoffs affecting 12% of the editorial union. The exit represents broader instability in gaming media as the largest gaming outlet globally faces consolidation pressures.Ubisoft and King Showcase AI Production Acceleration (Business Insider): Major studios revealed how AI tools are transforming game development, with Ubisoft's FaceShifter reducing 3D head creation time from a week to half a day, while King uses AI as a "co-pilot" for playtesting at scale and level tuning across thousands of Candy Crush Saga levels.Top 2 Game Dev Issues I Thought About From Last Week:1. People vs. ProductMost companies overindex on product analysis while treating people issues as taboo - You can ruthlessly critique and analyze the product all day, but giving critical feedback to individuals often gets labeled as "toxic" or grounds for termination. This creates a toxic positivity culture that stunts growth.People are the engine that builds the product - Without improving your team's capabilities through honest feedback (both positive and constructive), you're fundamentally limiting your organization's potential. The product can only be as good as the people making it.Recognize and leverage both skillsets - Some folks excel at people management (mentoring, developing talent, giving balanced feedback), others at product work (analysis, problem-solving, execution). The rare ones who master both are gold. The challenge is that people-focused contributions are harder to measure than code commits, leading to these employees being undervalued.2. Why Our Game Design Process Sucks"Ooh, that's cool!" is not a design philosophy - Too many designers are really just players in disguise, borrowing features from other games without connecting them to clear design objectives. Real design starts with objectives, not with "wouldn't it be cool if..."Lack of rigor kills games - Your team's design specs are missing crucial elements: user flows, edge cases, knock-on effects to other systems. Without tools like logic trees to map out the full implications of a feature (seeing the whole elephant, not just the parts), you're essentially doing "RNG design" - throwing random features at the wall and hoping they stick.This is a massive competitive advantage waiting to be claimed - Getting design process right is a huge source of "alpha" because frankly, most companies - even successful ones - are terrible at it. The fact that games with fundamental design flaws still succeed proves that nobody really has this figured out.2 Game Dev Lessons: #1. People vs. Products#2. Why Our Design Process Sucks -> Don't RNG Design

In an era where “good” isn’t good enough, this talk breaks down how to generate alpha—company-specific excess returns—by choosing the right game to play and going all-in on the highest-leverage moves. We cover the macro forces reshaping competition, case studies of teams that found alpha, and where velocity and AI change the basis of competition. What's your unique advantage? This talk emphasizes the significance of business strategy, particularly in light of the rise of AI and intense competition.Chapters:00:00 — Why “Finding Alpha” matters in 202501:15 — Macro: 5 secular trends (China, Attention Economy, Efficiency, LiveOps, AI)05:50 — Concepts: Alpha vs. Beta, Macro vs. Micro09:40 — Play to Win: Finding the biggest point of leverage15:10 — History snapshots: distribution & monetization plays that created alpha21:30 — Where alpha lives now: Product × Growth × LiveOps (+ AI)26:45 — Product velocity: iterating fast in the right direction29:20 — Organizational Meta: re-shaping teams for the age of AI31:10 — Takeaways & next steps