In this week’s News Navigator, Jakub breaks down the biggest global gaming stories from November 17th. Apple tries its own WeChat-style mini-app ecosystem. Unity and Epic shock the industry with a collaboration nobody saw coming. Roblox revamps age restrictions. Google Play crowns Pokémon TCG Pocket as Game of the Year after $1B+ in revenue. And Ubisoft’s trading halt hints at a looming plot twist.

What you’ll learn

• How Apple’s 15% MiniApps program works

• Why Unity & Epic are suddenly “friends”

• The new rules for US third-party payments

• Roblox’s age-based chat brackets and moderation strategy

• The insane scale of Pokémon TCG Pocket

• Why Ubisoft halted trading and delayed earnings

• Why the AI bubble isn’t slowing down (NVIDIA’s numbers)

Key takeaway

The industry is shifting toward open ecosystems, cross-engine collaboration, and safer platforms—while the biggest revenue wins still come from IP heavyweights and AI-driven infrastructure.

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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 — Cold open: Welcome to News Navigator

00:15 — Apple MiniApps Program explained

02:00 — Why MiniApps work in China (but may struggle in the West)

03:10 — Unity & Epic partnership: what it really means

05:00 — D2C & payments: Stash x Galleon, Google ruling

06:10 — Roblox age-based chat brackets

07:00 — Google Play Awards: Pokémon TCG Pocket hits $1B+

08:00 — Vampire Survivors deckbuilder spin-off

08:40 — NVIDIA’s monstrous $57B AI quarter

09:10 — Dark Horse: Ubisoft trading halt mystery

10:00 — Wrap-up: Stay two and a half steps ahead

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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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