2018 was quite the year for ironSource’s LevelUp Podcast.
We launched the LevelUp podcast, produced 13 episodes (and 2 seasons!), generated thousands of listens, and made some awesome friends along the way.
With the new year upon on us, we thought to curate a list of our most listened to LevelUp podcast episodes with some of our favorite quotes for you to enjoy.
Mishka Katkoff - Founder of Deconstructor of Fun & Head of Studio at Rovio - The Rise of Hyper-Casual & 2018 Gaming Trends
In Episode 2, Mishka shared his predictions for the gaming industry in 2018 and he discussed whether or not we’ve hit a peak with hyper-casual games (no, we have not).
“As casual games implement deeper, mid-core features they become more engaging, but also more complicated. This, in turn, opens up a segment for hyper-casual to dominate.”
Listen to the full podcast here!
Jeff Gurian - VP Ad Monetization & Marketing at Kongregate - The Monetization and Marketing Loop
In Episode 1, Jeff discussed all things related to monetization and marketing, and how the two interact together.
“While a lot of companies keep monetization and marketing departments siloed, they really do go hand in hand. UA needs to know what the eCPM’s are because that affects what the ARPDAU is for ads, and that affects the LTVs, especially in games that are ad driven. If UA doesn’t know how much the value of ads has increased, then they don’t know how they can increase their bids accordingly. It’s something that needs to be an active conversation.”
Check out what Jeff has to say!
Carissa Gonzalez - Head of Marketing and Ad Monetization at Pixelberry Studios - The Social Impact of Gaming
In Season 1 Episode 6, Carissa shares her views on how gaming can have an impact on people’s lives, what it’s like being a women in the gaming industry, and the importance of questioning your data.
“You can’t do UA without taking a deep dive into your numbers. One of the first things I learned early on was to ‘never trust the data’ -- if it’s good question it, if its bad questions it too, if it’s out of trend, question it. Whatever it is, always question the data”
Listen to Carissa’s podcast here!
Nate Barker - Head of Business Development at Kolibri Games - Designing Idle Games for Active Players
In Episode 7, Nate discussed all things related to the idle games genre - from reviewing how the genre best fits in today’s gaming landscape, to discussing the benefits of a fast and iterative development process.
“One of the most important things about the game industry is maintaining a tight focus on what actually makes your players happy rather than just focussing on the metrics. Things like DAU, MAU, and ARPDAU are important but you can make better decisions about the right way to drive your monetization or UA based on your players.”
Listen to the idle master here!
Jane Anderson - Head of Ad Monetization at Zeptolab - Balancing Ad Monetization with User Experience
In episode 8, Jane provides insights on how to successfully balance user experience with ad monetization, and she discusses the huge potential for brand advertisers in the gaming space. \
“There’s been a big shift across the entire industry to focus and understand mobile advertising’s effect on gameplay. In the past, advertising was like an inevitable evil that everybody had to implement in order to survive in the market. Now advertising is the source of product improvement, as well as the source of incremental revenue. Mobile advertising and especially mobile game advertising today are largely shifting to be an integral part of users’ engagement strategy and overall in-app experience. Additionally, all the major publishers are now integrating advertising in soft launches, measuring all the possible metrics and seeing how various ad units impact a soft launch.”
Check out Jane’s full podcast here.
Like what you’ve read? Check out our LevelUp page for more podcasts and other interesting content.
