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
Game Pass just got cheaper, China is rewriting the mobile market, and Ubisoft ships one of the most polished mobile games in years.
Topics Covered:
● Xbox drops Game Pass Ultimate by 23% and pulls Call of Duty from day one, but none of it actually fixes what's broken
● Chinese, Hong Kong, and Singapore publishers now own 30% of Western mobile revenue, up from 16% in 2019
● Pokémon Go surged 52% in downloads during its 30th anniversary, and why it's bigger than just one marketing event
● Why the US should stop competing on mobile content and start owning platforms like Roblox, Steam, and Unreal instead
● Division Resurgence is a genuinely great game with no audience in the West and one last hope, China
● Disney quietly pulls 30 licensed games from Steam with no explanation
CHAPTERS:
01:56 Phil’s China Trip Takeaways
04:19 Joachim Shoutout and Sponsor
06:52 Xbox Game Pass Price Cut News
10:55 Call of Duty Math Debate
15:52 Mobile Market Q1 Snapshot
19:53 Top Games and Pokemon Spike
22:49 China Dominance and New Hubs
36:43 EU: Stop Killing Games
41:21 Does Preservation Matter
43:55 Division Resurgence Numbers
45:18 Why Shooters Need China
49:42 PC Port and Controls
51:02 Mobile vs Console Culture
53:29 What Makes a Platform
54:16 Mods Create Mega Hits
59:21 Japan Builds Game IP
01:01:53 Licensing vs Hybrid Bets
01:03:09 Disney Steam Purge
01:04:01 Hasbro Hybrid Critique
01:06:33 Final Wrap and Thanks
Two kids. Zero filter. All the takes. Rocky and Mickey are back for Twig Jr., and they didn't hold back. From aging out of Roblox to explaining brain rot to calling out in-game money grabs, this is how Gen Alpha actually thinks about games.
Topics Covered:
● Roblox's highs and lows and what's actually gone downhill
● Friend Slop and how it's replacing traditional multiplayer
● Brain-rot games and why kids are starting to walk away
● Why Rocky and Mickey have mostly quit mobile gaming
● Discord vs iMessage and how Gen Alpha talks while gaming
● Graphics vs style and why fidelity isn't everything
The mobile gaming ecosystem is shifting fast this month. We break down the shocking deplatforming of Freecash, a $500M+ rewarded ad network, and what it signals for the future of user acquisition. Then we dive into Unity’s major strategic pivot: shutting down ironSource and going all-in on Vector. Is Vector actually working, or just great marketing?
Topics Covered:
● Freecash ban: what happened and why it matters
● The future of rewarded ad networks
● Unity shutting down ironSource
● Vector performance, growth, and real-world results
● The ongoing battle with AppLovin
We sit down with Joakim Achren, serial entrepreneur, former GP at F4 Fund, and now AI-first founder, to talk about why he walked away from venture capital and what he's building next.Topics Covered:● The founder-turned-VC trap: why it sounds like a natural progression but has a flaw nobody warns you about
● Micro-fund economics: a $10M fund pays you less than a startup salary, and you spend half your time fundraising for the next one
● Why industry clout doesn't move LP capital, and the relationship mistake that cost him the raise
● Gaming VC right now: why LPs burned in the COVID boom aren't writing new checks
● The three-legged stool of VC — LPs, founders, co-investors — and why you're competing and cooperating with the same people simultaneously
● How Claude Code became his entire publishing company and let him ship a book solo
● Distribution is the last human moat: why creativity and authenticity are what AI keeps failing at
● The AI productivity trap: working 18-hour days, thinking less, producing more mediocre output faster
● Why he wrote a sleep book for founders, and what chronic bad sleep does to your brain in the long term
Joakim's new book available now: https://sleepagain.co
A lot happened this week in games. Kids are outsmarting Roblox's age verification, Xbox is cracking under its own pricing, and Pokémon is running laps around everyone else's marketing. Topics Covered:
● Roblox age tiers: Three new segments, parental controls, and why lawsuits from 8 states still aren't the biggest threat● AAA dominance debate: Is the top 20 really losing ground, or is Newzoo misleading everyone?● Xbox Game Pass: A leaked memo, two price hikes in 15 months, and ad-supported tiers on the horizon● Borderlands Mobile: A surprise US stealth launch with no monetization and onboarding straight out of 2018● Pokémon's 30th: Five games in nine months, a Super Bowl ad, Tiffany collabs, and a masterclass in franchise marketing● Destiny Rising: NetEase guts its monetization after an 80% revenue drop - too little too late?
CHAPTERS:
02:26 Boss Mode Nomination
04:49 Twig Jr Roblox Shill
09:04 AAA Dominance Debate
15:47 Roblox Age Tiers
18:21 Roblox Safety and Workarounds
22:45 Roblox Stock and Regulation Risk
28:50 AI Tools and Kids Next
32:01 Xbox Internal Memo Leak
37:57 Borderlands Mobile Stealth Drop
42:21 Gameplay Praise Franchise Doubts
46:29 Pokemon Champions Cross Platform Push
51:20 Pokemon 30th Marketing Blitz
55:57 Destiny Rising Monetization Pivot
58:14 Wrap Up Life Updates Florida
We sit down with Ben Porter, Director of Consulting at Newzoo, to go through their 80-page 2026 PC & Console report page by page.Topics Covered:
● Newzoo calls it an Inflection Point but we call it winner-takes-more on a flat engagement base● Roblox is the #1 most played franchise on PC & Console with 50%+ playtime growth YoY but is it even a game?● The Roblox generation actively avoids AAA narrative games and what that means for traditional developers● Free-to-play is dying on consoles while premium live service titles like Arc Raiders and Helldivers steal the spotlight● Game Pass is great for playtime, terrible for premium revenue and the data proves it● The $30-$50 mid-price sweet spot is quietly becoming the most interesting battleground in gaming● 43% of PC growth came from China which wasn't even in the report
This week, we go two-on-two for a lighter, looser TWIG, but there’s nothing light about the topics.We break down the biggest shifts across film, platforms, AI, and where attention is really going. Topics Covered:● Don’t ever put Mario in the corner; he crushed it at the Box Office● Aream and Investgame report ● Take Two takes an Axe to its AI team and lets them go in advance of GTA6● Monopoly Go launches a chat App and it wasn’t an April Fools Day joke as it hits #2 in top social downloads in the US+Bonus: The life of a consultant vs. the life of a corporate employee
What to do, what to do about Marathon? The crew considers radical shock therapy with surprising answers and solutions. Deadlock pushes systems design to its logical extreme in a few shooters that are just starting to play with, but does it actually have an audience? Take bets now.We discuss:● Deadlock’s systems-first design philosophy◦ Layered stat architecture across weapon, vitality, and spirit◦ Scaling curves that turn every component into a progression vector◦ The role of the Action and X-Y-Z plane crosshairs● Marathon’s core tension: retention without acquisition◦ Strong engagement signals versus weak top-of-funnel growth◦ Why extraction shooters remain a constrained TAM◦ Arc Raiders reframing the genre through accessibility◦ Why tuning economy variables won’t solve an acquisition problem● Extraction as a product, not a feature◦ Why the loop requires full-system commitment, not a side mode◦ The importance of PvE readability and social cooperation◦ Session design, server economics, and continuous player insertion
Roblox has over 150 million daily active users, a million concurrent hits, and some of the fastest game iteration cycles in the industry. So why do so many Roblox games still fail to become real businesses? We sit down with Nick Tornow, SVP of Engine and Creator Engineering at Roblox, and Zach Letter, CEO of WonderWorks, to unpack how discovery really works on the platform, why small teams are outperforming traditional studios, and what it actually takes to build a sustainable Roblox company in 2025.Questions we answer in this episode:● Is Roblox a place to build hits or a place to build real companies?● What do outsiders still misunderstand most about Roblox in 2025?● Why are small teams able to ship hit Roblox games in just 5–6 weeks?● How does Roblox discovery actually work, and which metrics matter most?● Why is user acquisition so different on Roblox compared to mobile gaming?● What kinds of games are working now that didn’t work a few years ago?● Can traditional mobile or AAA studios succeed on Roblox, or do they need to become “Roblox-native” first?● How important are community, influencers, and social co-play to growth?● Why is ad revenue still such a small monetization pillar for most Roblox studios?● What will a successful Roblox studio look like three years from now?Michail Katkoff | Nick Tornow | Zach Letter
The industry isn’t slowing down. This week, we break down the biggest shifts across games.
Topics Covered:
● Disney and Epic: Why the speculation is picking up and what a bigger Disney move into games could look like
● Unity’s latest shift: A strong earnings beat, the shutdown of Ironsource, and the sale of Supersonic
● Studio closures and shutdowns: What the latest cuts across VR, live service, and Embracer say about the market
● The Merge 2 rise: Why the category keeps growing and the debate over what’s really driving the revenue
● Cookie Run’s next step: Franchise expansion and the challenge of turning one hit into something bigger
● New soft-launch shooters: Ex-Supercell teams, familiar patterns, and questions about where action games fit on mobile
Plus ++
We also get into Tim Sweeney’s role in Epic’s future, Unity versus AppLovin in ad tech, card systems, soft-launch design, and Kress’s latest reality check on mobile.
CHAPTERS:
01:14 Mario Movie Backlash
03:45 Leroy Jenkins Capital
06:52 Housekeeping And Corrections
09:10 Disney Buying Epic Rumor
12:12 Tim Sweeney Control Fight
14:55 Entertainment Gaming Graveyard
17:46 Unity Dumps IronSource
23:22 Vector Versus AppLovin Scale
26:35 Shutdowns And VR Reality Check
30:46 Matthew Ball Metaverse Spat
33:38 Embracer Wildland Canceled
36:50 Merge Two Boom Explained
42:29 Cards Drive Revenue Debate
50:48 Cookie Run Franchise Bet
56:50 Soft Launch Shooter Doubts
01:00:22 Field Day Hands On Review
01:06:06 Kress's Mobile Reality Rant
01:10:16 Episode Wrap Up
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