🚨 EMERGENCY EPISODE🚨 Game over, Apple? What you need to know & do NOW!
On April 30th, 2025, a U.S. court ruled that Apple’s anti-steering policies are anti-competitive and unenforceable.That single sentence could redefine the mobile app economy.For the first time ever, developers can now directly link to their own web stores from inside their iOS apps, promoting them, pricing them competitively, and funneling players off-platform without fear of being banned.We unpacked everything on a special emergency episode with Chip Thurston, Head of Gaming at FastSpring (and former Scopely product leader)🧠 What You’ll Learn:How the Epic v. Apple court ruling changes the rules immediatelyWhat Apple is now legally required to allow inside your appWhy this ruling could unlock 50%+ of iOS revenue via webWhat tools, compliance, and merchant of record solutions do you need to get startedLessons from studios already monetizing 40–50% via webWhy Apple’s retaliation is likely — and how to prepare📈 Whether you're a midcore dev, casual publisher, or indie studio, this is your moment to take back control of your margin, your funnel, and your future.According to Chip:- Before the ruling, best-in-class midcore games saw 40–50% of revenue via web after years of investment- Casual games managed 20–25% at best- Now, with direct promotion allowed, any game could hit 50% web revenue with proper messaging and value placementLet that sink in.Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop---------------------------------------This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers session. Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 a.m. conference discussion vibe, so let's not take it too seriously.Panelists: Jakub Remiar, Felix Braberg, Matej LancaricSpecial Guest: Chip Thurstonhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/thurstonchip/FastSpring: https://fastspring.gg/Our Yacht party: https://go.fastspring.com/D2Sea_Laser_Yacht_Party_dm_rg.htmlYoutube: https://youtu.be/6jk-mDnia3YJoin our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest04:22 Apple's Court Ruling and Its Significance08:44 Impact of Anti-Steering Policies12:27 Apple's Response and Future Implications16:22 Choosing a Merchant of Record19:18 Risk Management and Market Expectations21:03 Revenue Shifts in Gaming23:31 Promoting Web Stores Effectively26:20 Choosing the Right Merchant of Record28:32 FastSpring's Unique Value Proposition31:08 Navigating Apple's Response33:40 Future of Web Stores in Gaming38:12 Beneficiaries of Increased Profitability40:02 Looking Ahead: Regulatory Changes---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultanthttps://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultanthttps://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultanthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - [email protected] you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit lancaric.substack.com & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask Matej AI - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai
