Stay ConnectedDeconstructor of Fun podcast is created by games professionals for games professionals. We explore the business side of the games industry with the goal of bringing listeners content that is relevant, insightful, and entertaining on a weekly basis.
Hosts:
Michail Katkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Phillip Black www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdonahoe
Copyright: © Deconstructor of Fun
Zynga's EVP of Studio, Yaron Leyvan, shares his 13-year Zynga journey, from the early days to Zynga to today, where the company operates under Take-Two, and the acquisition strategy behind successful post-acquisition integration in mobile gaming.
Yaron breaks down how Zynga builds forever franchises: sustainable games powered by live ops, repeatable game development, and disciplined iteration, where innovation is real, and data-driven decisions don’t kill creativity.
We also get into studio culture after an acquisition: protecting speed, talent density, and decision-making while aligning with parent-company expectations.
Chapters:
00:20 Yaron's Journey
10:00 Creating Forever Franchises
19:40 Post Acquisition Studio Management
30:45 Day in the Life of a Head of Studios
47:38 Hubris and Humility
59:18 The Role of AI and Future Outlook
Did someone say Liftoff? Ok, well, Jen and Eric don’t think so. Heartopia is here, with a dramatic cross-platform launch in 2026, but what does it need to do to monetize? Does Design Home hold the key? Bobby Kotick gets sued by Sweden, with Phil and Eric cosplaying Phoenix Wright and Manfred von Karma. But who is who? Jen explains what the top Roblox charts mean, Phil reflects on the near-silent success of PUB:G, if Krafton should return shareholder money. And a special UA financing guest spot.00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview00:25 Drama with Bobby Kotick and Swedish Pension Fund00:36 Ad Tech Company Liftoff Files for IPO00:59 New Games and Industry Updates01:42 Mini UA Reunion in LA03:21 Corrections and Clarifications04:03 Epic Games and Prize Wheels Controversy08:08 Bobby Kotick's Legal Battles and Activision Sale18:07 Liftoff IPO and Ad Tech Industry Insights25:12 Resident Evil Showcase and Capcom's Future26:21 Roblox Corner: Latest Trends and Stats30:07 Crafton's Strategy and Investments31:30 PUBG's Evolution and Future32:33 Crafton's Mobile Focus and AI Direction38:17 The Role of Reddit in Game Development43:19 Heartopia: The New Cozy Game47:54 Challenges in Monetizing Cozy Games57:24 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up
This week in games, we go all-in on the hottest industry shake-ups: Fortnite turns the monetization dial up, Meta slashes Reality Labs in a major XR reality check, and Pixel Flow emerges as a potential puzzle hit — if it can crack the retention challenge. We break down why strong core mechanics aren’t enough, spotlight the rapid rise of Turkish game studios, pull the most important takeaways from the latest AppsFlyer report, track where gaming investment is really flowing across mobile and PC, and wrap with a heated debate on how AI is already reshaping game development — who wins, who loses, and what it means for the future of games.00:00 Welcome01:15 Episode Intro & Shills05:54 Fortnite's New In-Game Transactions14:03 Meta's Reality Labs Layoffs25:54 Pixel Flow: A New Puzzle Game32:57 Balancing Magic Sort Gameplay33:35 Early Success and Retention Concerns34:06 Turkish Game Development Excellence39:30 Marketing Insights from Apps Flyer Report43:30 Investment Trends in Gaming48:35 AI's Impact on Game Development54:05 Debate on AI in Game Development01:02:10 Concluding Thoughts on AI and Gaming
The sharpest operators in predictive modeling, signal engineering, and post-ATT user acquisition unpack what actually breaks when campaigns scale. This is a dive deep into ROAS curves, attribution loss, modeling vs reality, SKAN-era signal decay, and why UA performance often collapses right when it looks like you’ve cracked growth. A must-read or listen for founders, growth leaders, and UA teams.
links:
www.kohort.io/
Chapters:
02:45 Understanding the ROAS Iceberg: Paid vs. Organic
05:55 Incrementality Testing and Blended ROAS
09:48 Gross vs. Net ROAS: The Misalignment Dilemma
12:49 CPI and LTV Elasticity: Teaching Teams to Adapt
16:42 The New UA Meta: Signals and User Behavior
19:29Collaboration Between UA and Product Teams
22:31 Evolving Strategies in LiveOps and Personalization
26:05 The Evolution of Live Operations in Gaming
31:05 the Single Source of Truth
35:40Key Metrics for User Acquisition Success
42:00Pacing Rules for Effective User Acquisition
45:53The Future of Predictive ROAS and Automation
From brilliant plays to questionable moves, embarrassing predictions to market reality checks, we’re handing out the most honest (and occasionally brutal) awards of the year in games — including a very special Limping Donkey Award for moments that… didn’t quite stick the landing.We cover the biggest wins, the hardest falls, and the trends shaping what comes next, with a deep dive into Roblox advertising and what it means for the market.00:00 Welcome00:42 Golden Twig Awards Overview01:10 TV Show Banter02:59 Event Announcements and Clarifications05:42 Golden Twig Awards: Talk of the Year08:32 Embarrassing Predictions10:11 Most Damage Taken in the Year15:18 Most Disappointing Game of the Year20:54 Most Questionable Move of the Year24:57 Most Brilliant Move of the Year27:56 The Limping Donkey Award33:09 Crushed It: Top Performers of the Year36:31 Listener Feedback and Future Plans43:51 Roblox Advertising and Market Analysis51:05 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up
The crew discusses their off-air relationships, personal reflections, and New Year's resolutions.
00:00 New Year's Resolutions and Sarcasm
00:27 Introduction and Episode Overview
00:49 Listener Questions and Emotional Moments
01:46 Promoting CREs and Gen Alpha Insights
02:33 Supercell and Industry Dynamics
05:01 Predictions and Industry Trends
13:14 Off-Air Relationships and Dynamics
21:41 Running Bits and Personal Promises
26:50 Dream Interviews and Burning Questions
28:53 Showcasing Virtual Economics
29:34 Will Wright and the AI Founders
30:17 Super Executives and Industry Leaders
33:55 Personal Reflections and Challenges
43:24 Biggest Wins of the Year
48:41 Impactful Moments and Lessons Learned
58:52 Hopes and Dreams for the Future
Hiring is one of the most underestimated competitive advantages in startups, and one of the fastest ways to break a company.
In this episode, Michail Katkoff (Deconstructor of Fun), Joe Burridge (Head of Talent at Play Ventures), and Miki Blasko (Head of Talent at Deconstructor of Fun) break down what founders consistently get wrong about hiring, and how those mistakes quietly turn into culture, execution problems, and talent drain.
links: www.deconstructoroffun.com/talent
www.linkedin.com/in/joeburridge
www.linkedin.com/in/mikiblasko
We unpack:
Chapterrs
01:00 The Challenges of Hiring in Startups
06:33 Understanding Compensation and Talent Attraction
16:10 Culture vs. Competence in Hiring
17:31 Identifying the Right Fit for Startups
23:13 The Role of Founders in Shaping Culture
30:43 Navigating the Unhinged Nature of Founders
40:06 Reality Distortion and Leadership
45:41 Challenges in Retaining Talent
51:13 Building an Employer Brand
53:25 Hiring Patterns for Success
61:24 Painful Hiring Mistakes
Rocky (12) and Mickey (10) are back with Eric Kress and Jen Donahoe for the annual TWIG Jr segment, bringing unfiltered Gen Alpha opinions on everything from Roblox to the Switch 2. The kids don't hold back: hypercasual games are "mindless slop," Steal a Brain Rot is "ruining America," and Fortnite is running out of collabs. They break down what's actually hot at school (Clash Royale in the carpool line), why Grow a Garden faded, and make predictions for 2026.The conversation takes a sharp turn when Eric asks if they've heard of PrizePicks. Turns out, after watching four football games in a day, these kids can rattle off gambling brands like pros. They don't know what the apps actually do, but they've definitely seen the ads. A revealing look at what sports media saturation looks like through younger eyes.00:00 Welcome to Twig Junior Awards01:30 Meet the Junior Hosts: Rocky and Mickey02:57 Opinions on Gaming Industry04:24 Twig Junior Awards: Disappointing Games07:07 Twig Junior Awards: Talk of the Year12:00 Roblox and Social Gaming16:24 Console Gaming and Preferences17:00 Fortnite and Minecraft Discussions18:23 Minecraft Education vs. Switch18:43 Gaming Predictions for the Future19:04 Fortnite and Platform Preferences20:08 Clash Royale Craze21:32 Discovering New Games22:27 Indie Games and PC Gaming23:38 Social Media and Gaming24:44 Predictions for 202626:46 Sibling Dynamics and Gaming28:39 Sports and Betting Ads30:14 Conclusion and Holiday Wishes
Is Die Hard a Christmas Shooter Movie? Only this podcast would know!We discuss:- Call of Duty’s rare public admission of failure and what the end of back-to-back sub-franchise releases actually signals.- Marathon’s delay, $40 price point, and why fiscal calendars still distort launch strategy.- Why Valorant Mobile exploded in China, and why Western mobile shooters keep failing to break through.- EA hiring a VP of Shooters for mobile, and whether Battlefield or Apex can realistically return to phones.- Highguard’s confused reveal, the danger of losing narrative control, and why innovation still matters.- Marvel Rivals as a ceiling, not a failure, and what the hero-shooter arms race gets wrong about retention.
Steam PC flops, Xbox layoffs return, Sony’s handheld dominates, investors flee games for apps, Roblox sees a $100M exit, China beats Turkey, PC indie rises, mobile teams pivot to apps.
01:01 Tribute to Vince Zampella
08:03 Biggest Game of the Year Predictions
08:09 GTA 6 and Its Impact
11:42 Other Major Game Predictions
14:13 Industry Macro Trends
18:50 VC Investments and Gaming
26:11 FIFA and Netflix Collaboration
32:51 China's Dominance in Mobile Gaming
38:52 Epic Games and the Future of Gaming
43:08 Predictions for the Gaming Industry
53:25 The AI Bubble and Its Implications
56:50 Final Thoughts and Holiday Wishes
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
