Chip Thurston, Head of Gaming at FastSpring, returns to Two and a Half Gamers with explosive updates on the Apple and Google rulings that are blowing open the direct-to-consumer (D2C) floodgates. Since Apple’s April ruling unlocked steering — legally directing players from your game to an off-platform payment page — publishers have shifted millions in revenue from Apple and Google to their own web shops, keeping the 30% cut and boosting player value.

Key insights from the episode:

Steering Levels: From conservative in-game banners to aggressive side-by-side pricing and direct-to-checkout flows, publishers are experimenting with how far they can push players to web shops.

Impact Numbers: Playtika reports 25% of revenue now comes from D2C, equating to $667M/year not tracked by Sensor Tower or AppMagic.

Friction Is Dead: New checkout flows get players from game to web payment and back in under 10 seconds.

Global Domino Effect: US first, Japan’s ruling hits Dec 18, 2025, with Brazil, Spain, and Korea exploring similar laws.

Google Twist: Upcoming ruling could allow in-app third-party payments, not just web-based — potentially game-changing.

Why Not Everyone Jumps: 43% of studios still have no web shop — mostly due to fear of Apple/Google retaliation (with zero confirmed cases).

Optimization Endgame: Big publishers now mediate between multiple payment providers, routing by region, payment method, or even pricing for maximum margin.

Bottom line: The payments landscape is shifting fast. Studios that delay web shop adoption are literally leaving money on the table — and their competitors are scooping it up

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For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.

Our sponsor FastSpring:

Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 years

They power top mobile publishers around the world

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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

Special guest: Chip Thurston

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

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Context of Payment Rulings

04:18 Shifts in Payment Strategies Post-Ruling

07:05 Exploring Steering Techniques in Mobile Games

09:39 Direct-to-Consumer Revenue Insights

12:35 Examples of Successful Web Store Implementations

15:25 Incentivizing Players to Use Web Stores

18:27 The Impact of Unaccounted Revenue

21:12 Future of Payment Regulations Globally

23:58 The Role of Multiple Payment Providers

26:47 The Evolution of Direct-to-Consumer Strategies

29:38 Anticipating Future Rulings and Changes

32:12 Conclusion and Future Outlook

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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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