We sit down with Chen Yang (Iwae) from Cocos again to unpack how AI is transforming the Chinese mini-game ecosystem across development, UA, and operations.

The conversation reveals how AI-generated 3D, playable automation, LoRA fine-tuning, and instant meme cloning are redefining speed, scale, and creativity in the world’s most dynamic mobile market.

💡 Key Takeaways

1. 80 % of Chinese mini-game developers already use AI.

AI is embedded across art, code, operations, and UA pipelines.

The most common use cases are:

2. AI improves development speed by up to 80 %.

A single small team (1 artist + 1 programmer + 3 AI agents) can now build an MVP in 2 weeks.

Before 2023, the same project required 5–6 people and 1–2 months.

3. Custom LoRA models are the new secret weapon.

4. AI video ads and playable creation are exploding.

Average cost per playable: $1000–$2000.

you can also get playables with playablemaker.com

25–30 % of UA revenue in September 2025 came from AI-generated playables.

5. AI video workflow = human + AI hybrid.

Studios shoot a few clips with real actors ($500/day), then auto-generate hundreds of new scenes using Runway, VEO3, or Kling 2.5.

The average cost is less than $40 000 per game.

6. “Chinese Speed” defined.

A meme seen on Douyin today becomes a mini-game level the next day.

7. AI agents now analyze markets.

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For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.

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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

Special guest: Chenyang Sun

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenyangsun/

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

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Mini Games in China

03:08 Cocos and the Mini Game Market

04:09 Future of Mini Games and AI Integration

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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!

Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!

Please share feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

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If you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej Lancaric

Do you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai

🇨🇳 AI trends n Mini-Games: MVP in 2 weeks. 80% of Chinese mini-game developers already use AI

two &amp; a half gamers

🇨🇳 AI trends n Mini-Games: MVP in 2 weeks. 80% of Chinese mini-game developers already use AI

two & a half gamers