Creative output hits record highs, Turkey and India attract massive funding, Meta shuts down VR studios, Rockstar launches a paid mod marketplace, and Arc Raiders sells 12M copies in just 2.5 months.

The State of Gaming Marketing 2026 Report:

https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/reports/gaming-app-marketing/?utm_source=influencer&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=CO%3A+State+of+Gaming+01-2026&utm_term=matej&utm_content=Newsletter

This week shows how fast the industry is consolidating around execution, scale, and monetization efficiency.

What I cover

• Creative volume explosion

• $25B global UA spend

• Tale Monster & Liquid Nitro funding

• Meta VR studio shutdowns

• Rockstar’s paid mod marketplace

• Valve’s Steam Machine update

• Ubisoft layoffs

• Arc Raiders breakout success

2026 is not slowing down.

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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 — Why this week matters

00:32 — Creative volume explodes (2,600 creatives per quarter)

01:40 — AI shifts from creation to reporting

02:45 — Tale Monster raises $30M (Turkey momentum)

03:40 — Liquid Nitro and AI live-service model

04:45 — Global UA spend hits $25B

05:35 — GDC becomes a premium festival

06:20 — Meta shuts down VR studios

07:10 — Rockstar launches paid mods

08:05 — Valve updates Steam Machine strategy

08:45 — Ubisoft layoffs & ARC Raiders breakout

09:25 — Final take for 2026

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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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🚨📢 BREAKING NEWS: 2026 State of Gaming Marketing, Turkish studio raises big, Meta shuts studios

two &amp; a half gamers

two & a half gamers