Roguelites have dominated mobile and Steam for three years — Survivor IO, Vampire Survivors, Habi’s new games, and a wave of Steam hits. But the genre is hitting a wall: every run resets too much, and long-term progression is stuck in 2018.

In this solo episode, Jakub breaks down the next evolution of the roguelite genre: the imprint system — a mechanic where each run becomes a permanent resource.

What you’ll learn

• Why traditional roguelites suffer from harsh resets

• How Uma Musume solved the progression problem with “run → character” imprints

• How Chaos Zero Nightmare created a more accessible imprint system

• Why deckbuilders (Slay the Spire-style) handle imprints perfectly

• Why MegaBong, Bonk roguelites, and Ball X-Pit are missing the key feature

• How imprint systems increase retention, investment, and buildcraft

• Why the next Western roguelite hit will use this mechanic

• Why Habi, Supercell, and 4X devs will adopt it in 2026

Key takeaway

The future of roguelites is simple: your best run should never die — it should become your next strongest asset.

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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 — The core problem with roguelites (resets ruin progression)

03:10 — Uma Musume: the first full-feature imprint system

08:20 — Chaos Zero Nightmare: the streamlined imprint evolution

13:10 — Steam roguelites (MegaBong, Ball X-Pit): deep innovation but missing imprint save

18:00 — The future: imprint systems will redefine mobile roguelites

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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 feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

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The next evolution of Roguelites is finally here by Jakub Remiar

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two & a half gamers