Deconstructor of Fun

Roblox's Chief Safety Officer and VP of Safety Products join the podcast to answer the question every parent is asking: Is it actually safe?What's covered:● Why Roblox's safety chief uninstalled the app for his own daughter● The new Roblox Kids and Select accounts launching in June● How facial age verification works at scale, and how parents keep breaking it● AI moderating 150 million daily users across every server, every second● The "predator hunters" YouTube show that went viral, and why Roblox banned them anyway● How bad actors move kids off-platform to Discord and Snapchat, and what Roblox does about it● Why Roblox faces more scrutiny than TikTok or YouTube despite tighter restrictions

Microsoft is laying the groundwork to spin Xbox off, Supercell just cut 70% of Metacore's staff after burning through $180M. Meanwhile, EA just launched a real ad platform for sports games.
In this episode, we break down:
● Why Xbox keeps losing its top studio leadership
● Whether Microsoft is actually preparing to spin off Xbox
● What Sharma's first 100 days reveal about her real strategy
● Why Believer raised $55M to ship an AI plugin instead of a game
● How Supercell's Metacore acquisition turned into a 70% staff cut
● Why EA's new in-game ad platform might actually make sense, for once
● Why microdrama apps are growing fast but can't fix their retention
● Why Konami's eFootball is quietly beating FC Mobile in revenue
● Why Netflix's FIFA World Cup game became an instant disaster
● Why the consumer apps "threat" to gaming doesn't hold up under the data
CHAPTERS:
00:42 Topics Preview
02:04 Shills and Events
03:01 Roblox Safety Podcast
04:08 Puzzle Monthly Updates
06:05 Conference Island Recap
08:48 Xbox News Rundown
11:49 Kress on Xbox Spinout
20:07 Sharma 100 Days Analysis
25:32 Believer AI Plugin
29:40 Metacore Acquisition Fallout
33:38 EA Advertising Debate
35:02 Ads In Sports Games
36:34 Why In Game Ads Failed
38:08 Roblox Brand Detour
40:37 Micro Drama Boom
41:45 Retention And Monetization
44:18 Merge Drama And Subscriptions
47:57 Konami Strategy And Collabs
51:03 FIFA Netflix Game Rant
54:38 Consumer Apps Threat Myth
58:59 Attention CPI And Webshops
01:02:19 IDFA Rumor And Farewell

Gossip Harbor is beating Candy Crush, Merge Mansion is going to Supercell, and the Merge genre is at an inflection point.

In this episode of Puzzle Monthly, we break down the real state of Merge games in 2026, from the history of the genre to why Gossip Harbor succeeded where others failed, and what the next Merge hit might look like.

Topics Covered:
● The history of Merge — from Tripletown to Merge Dragons to Merge 2
● Merge 2 vs Merge 3: how the economies actually differ
● Why Gossip Harbor surpassed Candy Crush while Merge Mansion collapsed
● The no-fail-state problem and how live ops try to solve it
● Board clutter, storage frustration, and persistent board design
● Sensor Tower data: Travel Town vs Gossip Harbor vs Merge Mansion
● Hard order labeling and whether Match 3 lessons apply to Merge
● What the next Merge game should look like

CHAPTERS:
01:07 Merge Takes Center Stage
02:07 Origins of Merge Games
02:38 Merge Two vs Three
03:48 Core Loop Explained
06:03 Merge Mansion vs Gossip Harbor
07:54 Live Ops Without Fail States
09:40 Why Merge Feels Boring
11:51 Progress and Board Order
15:45 Dog Quest and Board Clutter
17:45 Persistent Boards and Storage
19:24 Monetization Paradox
20:11 What's Next for Merge
21:28 Soap Opera and Generator Ideas
22:12 Persistence Makes UX Hard
22:48 Persistent Boards Shift
23:32 Making Merge Feel Dynamic
24:28 Separate Boards Live Ops
25:06 Lucky Catch Event Design
26:02 Battle Pass Segmentation
26:38 Why Gossip Harbor Won
28:17 Merge Engine Under Hood
36:24 Next Genre Innovations
39:00 Cannibalization By Sequels
40:53 Hard Labeling For Orders
43:13 Generator Overcharge Ideas
44:04 Future Focus Areas
44:48 Wrap Up And Farewell

Nintendo's stock is getting hammered without a new Mario, Monopoly GO is going all-in on The Simpsons, and Liftoff is back on the public markets. Meanwhile, Xbox finally seems to be doing what it should have done years ago.In this episode, we break down:● Liftoff's IPO and the AppLovin challenge● Monopoly GO's Simpsons mega-event● How Scopely uses IP for reactivation● Apple's crackdown on low-quality apps● Xbox's biggest Summer Showcase in years● Why Xbox is bringing exclusives back● Fable, Gears, Persona 6, and Minecraft Dungeons 2● Nintendo Direct's biggest announcements● The growing mystery of missing Mario● Why Nintendo investors are getting nervous● Paramount's new gaming division● TMNT, Star Trek, Avatar, and Marvel projects● Why Hollywood struggles to make games● The missing mobile strategy at Paramount● Apple IDFA rumors and what they mean for UA● The future of AppLovin, Meta, and Google adsCHAPTERS:01:36 Minecraft Summer Parenting03:22 Quick Correction Bond Sales05:18 Liftoff IPO Breakdown06:41 UA Ecosystem and AppLovin08:37 Private Equity Red Flags10:41 Simpsons Takes Monopoly Go11:53 Why the Crossover Works15:20 UA Reactivation and Celebs19:12 Apple’s App Store Purge21:54 Xbox Showcase and Strategy25:57 Xbox Margin Unlock26:38 Platform Strategy Risks27:29 Minecraft Sales Reality28:30 Nintendo Direct Highlights30:42 Where Is 3D Mario36:12 Paramount Games Revealed38:17 Execution Over Press41:48 Mobile Missing Piece43:19 IDFA Rumor Rant46:20 If IDFA Returned48:10 Rumor Season Noise50:24 Closing The Episode

Two mobile games with a $500M annual run rate in just two years, with a fivefold revenue increase in the last 12 months alone. If you're building in mobile gaming or just want to understand what a genuine rocket ship looks like from the inside, this one's worth your time.Grand Games' founder Batuhan Çelebi built one of the fastest-growing mobile game studios in history. In this episode, Batuhan breaks down exactly how Grand Games did it: the multi-studio structure that keeps teams small and ownership real, the game greenlight process that filters out imitation before it starts, and why Turkish mobile gaming talent is pound-for-pound best in the world. We also get into the honest stuff. The capability gaps they're still closing, what happens if growth flattens, and brutal seasons of raising his first round.