Deconstructor of Fun

Deconstructor of Fun podcast is created by games professionals for games professionals. We explore the business side of the games industry with the goal of bringing listeners content that is relevant, insightful, and entertaining on a weekly basis.Hosts:Michail Katkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/Eric Kress www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/Phillip Black www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/Jen Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdonahoe

Deconstructor of Fun is a leisure podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 812 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Deconstructor of Fun, a leisure show with 812 episodes published.

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  Deconstructor of Fun

  342. The Man Behind Most Gaming Deals | Affan Butt, Aream & Co.

  Aug 17, 20261h 41m

  Affan Butt has advised on 110+ gaming M&A deals worth $40 billion. He breaks down how game studios actually get sold, what acquirers pay for, and why earnouts wreck founders. We go through a studio acquisition from the founder's side of the table. How M&A processes really start, what due diligence looks like, why inbound corp dev interest is not validation, how bidding wars backfire, and the way earnout structures quietly turn against the people who signed them. 0:00 Loom Games sale to Scopely3:21 What creates FOMO in a deal10:58 Investment banker in gaming 21:14 Supercell story 26:26 Peak Games story 39:03 Private equity in gaming 42:12 Deal timelines48:21 Due diligence53:54 When to say no to a sale 68:10 Why deals fail74:20 Earnouts and incentives86:28 The changing exit landscape94:35 Where the gaming cycle is now

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  Deconstructor of Fun

  TWIG #396: AppLovin's Q2, Unity's Supersonic Fire Sale and GTA VI's Netflix Trailer Drama

  Aug 13, 20261h 10m

  Crew breaks down a packed week in mobile and games. AppLovin's stock craters despite the SEC closing its inquiry with no action, Unity sells Supersonic to Tripledot for a shockingly low $40 million, and Take-Two's GTA VI presales are on fire even as its mobile business slows. Topics Covered:• AppLovin's Q2 earnings and stock drop despite growth• Unity's Vector model closing the gap with AppLovin• Unity selling Supersonic to Tripledot for $40M• Take-Two's Q2 earnings, Zynga portfolio trends and GTA VI presales• GTA VI's Netflix trailer exclusive• Blizzard's leaked internal email and its quiet turnaround• Ubisoft Barcelona's layoffs and the birth of Puzzle Mage• Royal Smash and the rise of cannon physics puzzlesCHAPTERS:02:06 Spider-Man numbers debate03:23 Why Spider-Man wins03:53 Odyssey movie review05:28 Seattle roundtable recap07:34 Audience Qs and Roblox08:55 Corrections and Royal Match12:08 AppLovin earnings breakdown18:52 Unity Vector and D2827:14 Unity sells Supersonic34:21 Unity Supersonic Bargain35:09 Take Two Bookings Breakdown36:19 Zynga Portfolio Reality Check39:07 Old Games vs New Hits46:36 GTA VI Preorders and Netflix49:41 Blizzard Comeback Email53:31 Ubisoft Barcelona Fallout56:05 Royal Smash New Subgenre01:00:45 Farm Team and Monetization01:08:51 Wrap Up and Banter

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  Deconstructor of Fun

  341. Why the Best Founders Are Neither American nor European

  Aug 10, 20261h 9m

  Emmanuel De Maistre didn’t build Scenario by choosing between Silicon Valley ambition and European pragmatism. He learned to use both.In this conversation, the Scenario founder breaks down what years of building in the US taught him about ambition, failure, and venture-scale thinking, and why European founders often bring the grounding that Silicon Valley lacks. We also get into what AI adoption actually looks like inside top game studios, why buying tools rarely translates into real usage, what happens to creative teams when AI enters production, and why today’s AI economics may be hiding problems that surface when cheap tokens disappear.This is a conversation about AI, gaming, and startup culture from a founder who has already learned what happens when growth outruns fundamentals. Fewer than 20 people, near-zero customer churn, profitable before a Series A. No “AI will replace everyone” predictions, no ARR theater. Just a founder making the case that the best operators combine American ambition with European grounding.

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  Deconstructor of Fun

  TWIG #395: Xbox Prices Explode, Roblox's Worst Day Ever, and Merge Eats Puzzle

  Aug 6, 20261h 7m

  Xbox prices in Europe jumped as much as 50%, and the console math now writes itself.The crew digs into a rough week for hardware and a strange one for puzzle. PS5 is suddenly the obvious pick while a global RAM crunch threatens the entire next console cycle. Capcom is printing money off seven-year-old games. Roblox got its stock cut 30% after guiding bookings down, and the fight over its algorithm change turns into a bigger argument about platform health versus shareholder duty. Then Phil and Kress go to war over whether Merge-2 is real innovation or the same mechanic in a new skin, while it quietly overtakes Match on downloads for the first time.Topics Covered:• Xbox price hikes of 30 to 50% across Europe• Why PS5 is now the obvious console pick this generation• The RAM crunch that could break the next console cycle• Capcom's back catalog driving 90% of unit sales• Roblox stock crashing 30% after earnings• Retention thresholds and the collapse of viral hits• What the child torture games actually are• Roblox platform health vs fiduciary duty• Japan slowly opening up to foreign capital• Merge-2 climbing to 20% of the US puzzle market• Merge downloads overtaking Match for the first time• Whether Merge is innovation or reskinned mechanics• China flooding UA channels and taking Western shareCHAPTERS: 00:00 Cold Open Introductions00:45 Headlines And Banter02:48 EA Deal Layoff Rumors03:51 Creator Tools And Events07:22 Netflix FIFA Studio Shutdown10:39 Sony Earnings Xbox Prices13:33 Memory Crunch Console Future20:22 Capcom Catalog Dominance27:43 Roblox Earnings Slump35:17 Algorithm Chaos Fallout37:08 Retention Threshold Reality40:00 Child Torture Games Explained42:41 Profit vs Platform Health44:37 Valuation and Downside Risk47:38 Scopely Bets on Japan52:16 Merge 2 Takes Over Puzzle54:46 Is Merge Actually Innovation56:39 Meta Systems Drive Growth01:05:04 China Floods UA Channels01:06:17 Wrap Up and Goodbye

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  Deconstructor of Fun

  340. The State of Mobile Gaming Ad Monetization

  Aug 3, 202632 min

  After years of saying not yet, Sensor Tower finally estimated mobile ad revenue, and the number is $12 billion for 2025.Sam, their lead gaming insights analyst, walks through how the estimates were built and why $12 billion is a conservative floor. We get into why puzzle pulls more than half of all gaming ad revenue, how AppLovin keeps eating share while smaller networks shrink, the non-gaming advertisers like Temu, Shein and finance apps flooding into gaming inventory, and why AP-focused hybrids out-earn ad-first hybrids by 4x.CHAPTERS: 00:00 Why Ads Were Opaque01:07 How Sensor Tower Models Ads02:31 The 12 Billion Headline04:00 Coverage Countries Networks06:07 Ads Versus IAP D2C08:52 Non Gaming Demand Surge12:55 Network Share Winners15:15 AppLovin Take Rate Debate19:04 Puzzle Dominates Ad Revenue26:17 Hybrid Casual Economics30:25 Studio Strategy And Wrap

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