We dive into AceCraft, Moonton’s new Tom & Jerry–themed midcore gacha shooter that mixes Cuphead-style 1930s cartoon art with Habi-inspired systems and miHoYo-style monetization depth.

Key insights:

Gameplay & Core Loop:

Systems & Meta

Dual banners (Tom & Jerry separately) with pity timers, skewed rates, and duplicate scaling.

Each major character has a signature weapon requiring rolls.

Collectible album (Royal Match / Monopoly Go style) with trade functionality, now ported into midcore — a first.

Co-op synchronous mode

Three-layer skill trees, elemental affinities, wingman companions.

Monetization:

~$330K/day IAP revenue post-launch (peaking with Tom/Jerry banner).

Battle Pass upsell trick:

Downloads ~300K/day at launch, half from China.

Scaling across 17+ networks: TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Unity, AppLovin, IronSource, Mintegral, etc.

UA creatives lean on retro cartoon surrealism, dancing ads, Tom & Jerry music, plus street interview trend (borrowed from Raid Rush).

Prediction:

Likely to fade in Western markets (art style too niche, monetization too punishing).

Moonton may line up other WB/Looney Tunes IPs (Sylvester, Tweety, Popeye, Roadrunner) for similar launches.

Takeaway: AceCraft is one of the deepest midcore gacha launches in 2025 — but built for Asia, not the West.

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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

Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipg

Chapters

00:00 Intro

03:46 Discussion on Ace Craft and Impressions

09:22 Core Gameplay Mechanics and Innovations

12:14 Character Development and Gacha Elements

15:04 Battle Pass and Game Structure

21:05 Exploring Game Modes and Social Features

23:05 The Collectible Album Revolution

25:23 Gacha Mechanics: A Deep Dive

31:48 Event-Driven Engagement Strategies

41:03 Nostalgia in Gaming: The Influence of Classic Titles

47:09 The Role of IP in Game Development

50:32 Cultural Differences in Game Reception

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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 the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!

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Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

Acecraft review: Retro Cartoons + Hardcore Gacha. Collectible Albums just hit Midcore!

two &amp; a half gamers

Acecraft review: Retro Cartoons + Hardcore Gacha. Collectible Albums just hit Midcore!

two & a half gamers