Deconstructor of Fun

Zynga's EVP of Studio, Yaron Leyvan, shares his 13-year Zynga journey, from the early days to Zynga to today, where the company operates under Take-Two, and the acquisition strategy behind successful post-acquisition integration in mobile gaming.
Yaron breaks down how Zynga builds forever franchises: sustainable games powered by live ops, repeatable game development, and disciplined iteration, where innovation is real, and data-driven decisions don’t kill creativity.
We also get into studio culture after an acquisition: protecting speed, talent density, and decision-making while aligning with parent-company expectations.
Chapters:
00:20 Yaron's Journey
10:00 Creating Forever Franchises
19:40 Post Acquisition Studio Management
30:45 Day in the Life of a Head of Studios
47:38 Hubris and Humility
59:18 The Role of AI and Future Outlook

Did someone say Liftoff? Ok, well, Jen and Eric don’t think so. Heartopia is here, with a dramatic cross-platform launch in 2026, but what does it need to do to monetize? Does Design Home hold the key? Bobby Kotick gets sued by Sweden, with Phil and Eric cosplaying Phoenix Wright and Manfred von Karma. But who is who? Jen explains what the top Roblox charts mean, Phil reflects on the near-silent success of PUB:G, if Krafton should return shareholder money. And a special UA financing guest spot.00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview00:25 Drama with Bobby Kotick and Swedish Pension Fund00:36 Ad Tech Company Liftoff Files for IPO00:59 New Games and Industry Updates01:42 Mini UA Reunion in LA03:21 Corrections and Clarifications04:03 Epic Games and Prize Wheels Controversy08:08 Bobby Kotick's Legal Battles and Activision Sale18:07 Liftoff IPO and Ad Tech Industry Insights25:12 Resident Evil Showcase and Capcom's Future26:21 Roblox Corner: Latest Trends and Stats30:07 Crafton's Strategy and Investments31:30 PUBG's Evolution and Future32:33 Crafton's Mobile Focus and AI Direction38:17 The Role of Reddit in Game Development43:19 Heartopia: The New Cozy Game47:54 Challenges in Monetizing Cozy Games57:24 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up

This week in games, we go all-in on the hottest industry shake-ups: Fortnite turns the monetization dial up, Meta slashes Reality Labs in a major XR reality check, and Pixel Flow emerges as a potential puzzle hit — if it can crack the retention challenge. We break down why strong core mechanics aren’t enough, spotlight the rapid rise of Turkish game studios, pull the most important takeaways from the latest AppsFlyer report, track where gaming investment is really flowing across mobile and PC, and wrap with a heated debate on how AI is already reshaping game development — who wins, who loses, and what it means for the future of games.00:00 Welcome01:15 Episode Intro & Shills05:54 Fortnite's New In-Game Transactions14:03 Meta's Reality Labs Layoffs25:54 Pixel Flow: A New Puzzle Game32:57 Balancing Magic Sort Gameplay33:35 Early Success and Retention Concerns34:06 Turkish Game Development Excellence39:30 Marketing Insights from Apps Flyer Report43:30 Investment Trends in Gaming48:35 AI's Impact on Game Development54:05 Debate on AI in Game Development01:02:10 Concluding Thoughts on AI and Gaming

The sharpest operators in predictive modeling, signal engineering, and post-ATT user acquisition unpack what actually breaks when campaigns scale. This is a dive deep into ROAS curves, attribution loss, modeling vs reality, SKAN-era signal decay, and why UA performance often collapses right when it looks like you’ve cracked growth. A must-read or listen for founders, growth leaders, and UA teams.

links:
www.kohort.io/

Chapters:
02:45 Understanding the ROAS Iceberg: Paid vs. Organic
05:55 Incrementality Testing and Blended ROAS
09:48 Gross vs. Net ROAS: The Misalignment Dilemma
12:49 CPI and LTV Elasticity: Teaching Teams to Adapt
16:42 The New UA Meta: Signals and User Behavior
19:29Collaboration Between UA and Product Teams
22:31 Evolving Strategies in LiveOps and Personalization
26:05 The Evolution of Live Operations in Gaming
31:05 the Single Source of Truth
35:40Key Metrics for User Acquisition Success
42:00Pacing Rules for Effective User Acquisition
45:53The Future of Predictive ROAS and Automation

From brilliant plays to questionable moves, embarrassing predictions to market reality checks, we’re handing out the most honest (and occasionally brutal) awards of the year in games — including a very special Limping Donkey Award for moments that… didn’t quite stick the landing.We cover the biggest wins, the hardest falls, and the trends shaping what comes next, with a deep dive into Roblox advertising and what it means for the market.00:00 Welcome00:42 Golden Twig Awards Overview01:10 TV Show Banter02:59 Event Announcements and Clarifications05:42 Golden Twig Awards: Talk of the Year08:32 Embarrassing Predictions10:11 Most Damage Taken in the Year15:18 Most Disappointing Game of the Year20:54 Most Questionable Move of the Year24:57 Most Brilliant Move of the Year27:56 The Limping Donkey Award33:09 Crushed It: Top Performers of the Year36:31 Listener Feedback and Future Plans43:51 Roblox Advertising and Market Analysis51:05 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up