Blog

Stories from the field

Notes from the team — what we learn building AI monetization for Unity and Unreal studios.

• Jul 18, 2026 · 5 min read

  Instant games: the no-install channel worth testing

  Instant games let players try a stripped-down build in one tap, no install required. Here's what that layer can prove and what it can't.

• Jul 18, 2026 · 4 min read

  Engine licensing in 2026: seat fee or royalty wins

  Unity's per-seat price rose again in 2026, Unreal still takes a royalty above $1M, and Godot charges neither. Here's how to weigh the tradeoff.

• Jul 18, 2026 · 5 min read

  The install-conversion tax hiding in your SDK stack

  Every SDK you add makes your app bigger, and app size quietly costs you installs. Here's the data and how to keep the running total visible.

• Jul 17, 2026 · 5 min read

  Involuntary Churn: Renewals Lost to a Failure, Not a Choice

  Roughly a third of subscription cancellations trace to a failed payment, not a decision to leave. Most of that is recoverable

• Jul 17, 2026 · 4 min read

  Google Play Games Achievements Now Drive Discovery

  Google's Level Up program ties achievement quality to store promotion. A separate migration deadline applies whether you care or not

• Jul 17, 2026 · 4 min read

  Outsourcing vs Co-Development: Picking the Right One

  Project-based work and co-development solve different problems. Picking the wrong one for a live game costs more than outsourcing saves

• Jul 16, 2026 · 6 min read

  Texas age verification law is enforced, not yet decided

  Texas can enforce its app age verification law while the constitutional fight continues, so studios must build for it now, not wait for a final ruling

• Jul 16, 2026 · 6 min read

  Live ops seasonal art: reusable systems beat one-off bursts

  Running frequent seasonal events strains art teams the same way it strains offer design. Reusable art systems fix it. One-off bursts don't scale

• Jul 16, 2026 · 5 min read

  First session behavior predicts who pays before anyone does

  A player's first session reveals spend intent long before a purchase happens. Route ads and offers on that signal instead of waiting weeks to learn it

• Jul 15, 2026 · 4 min read

  Server Downtime Communication That Keeps Player Trust

  How fast you communicate during an outage, and what you offer after, moves player sentiment more than the outage itself did

• Jul 15, 2026 · 4 min read

  Simulate Your Game Economy Before Players Break It

  A single spreadsheet projection shows one outcome. Running thousands of simulated players through your economy shows the whole spread

• Jul 15, 2026 · 4 min read

  AI QA Testing Replaces the Grind, Not the Judgment

  AI handles nightly regression across every device, freeing testers for the judgment calls automation still can't make in mobile game QA