No UA. No App Store tricks. Chess.com - just 650 remote workers, a Netflix show, a cat bot named Mittens, and a $500M/year business.

We dive deep into one of the most fascinating growth stories in mobile: chess.com.

From Queen’s Gambit virality to Magnus Carlsen’s meme-worthy genius, we explore how chess.com built a mobile app empire on subscriptions, community, and strategic chaos — all without running a single ad campaign.

🎯 What You’ll Learn:

Why Queen’s Gambit + COVID lockdown sparked the app’s hockey-stick growth

How Magnus Carlsen, memes, and controversy drove global attention

The insane monetization potential chess.com isn’t using (but could)

Deep dive into subscriptions vs. ad revenue – and why purity might be expensive

Why their retention, session length, and user time rival top-tier mobile games

How they turn in-app education into a sticky, premium experience

The role of community-driven UA powered by YouTubers, Twitch, and chess drama

👑 Whether you're a game dev, monetization lead, or just a fan of big plays in niche markets — this episode is your move.

🧠 Chess.com isn’t just a game. It’s a content engine, a learning platform, and a masterclass in scaling without spending.

🎧 Listen to how they turned 🐾Mittens the cat bot into a quarter-million downloads/day spike — and why we think they’re leaving $50M+ a year on the table.

Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop

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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 Lancaric⁠

Podcast:

Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Chess and the Hosts

04:25 Chess.com: Growth and Revenue Insights

07:22 The Impact of External Factors on Chess Popularity

10:28 Chess.com Features and Community Engagement

13:22 Company Background and Strategic Moves

19:24 Monetization Strategies and Future Prospects

20:32 Monetization Strategies in Chess Apps

23:33 User Engagement and Learning Features

26:05 Ad Revenue vs Subscription Revenue

30:35 Potential for Increased Revenue

36:38 The Balance of User Experience and Revenue

39:43 Chess.com: The Dominant Platform

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Matej Lancaric

User Acquisition & Creatives Consultant

⁠https://lancaric.me

Felix Braberg

Ad monetization consultant

⁠https://www.felixbraberg.com

Jakub Remiar

Game design consultant

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar

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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 - matej@lancaric.me

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If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric

Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

How Chess.com became a $500M Business?

two &amp; a half gamers

two & a half gamers