In this episode, we break down what’s really happening in mobile game creatives right now. Creative trends for January 2026 are here..

From Kingshot clones everywhere to Pixel Flow conveyor belts invading other genres… from 2022 impulse puzzles coming back to life… to the brutal truth about creative fatigue lasting DAYS instead of weeks.

We look at Golden Goblins, Royal Kingdom, Match Factory, Tasty Travels, Tile Survive and more, and what their ads tell us about 2026.

If you work in UA, creative production, or game marketing… this one matters.

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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

0:00 – Why Creative Trends Matter More Than Ever

2:45 – Golden Goblins & The Decline Curve

6:20 – Creative Fatigue Is Now Measured in Days

10:05 – Borrowing Hypercasual Mechanics Into 4X

12:10 – Noob vs Pro Is Back

16:00 – KingShot’s Influence Across Genres

20:00 – Royal Kingdom, Block Blast & Fake Mini-Games

23:10 – Tower War, Mob Control & Genre Crossovers

28:40 – 2022 Concepts Are Working Again

30:55 – Elevate vs Impulse & The “IQ App” Strategy

33:00 – Tile Survive & Massive Playable Scaling

36:45 – Tasty Travels & 10-Click Playables

38:25 – The Real Lesson 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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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

🎯​ Creative trends don’t DIE. They cycle! Quiet influence of Kingshot (January 2026)

two &amp; a half gamers

🎯 Creative trends don’t DIE. They cycle! Quiet influence of Kingshot (January 2026)

two & a half gamers