Major shifts in mobile gaming, UA, and investments

This week’s Two and a Half Gamers Breaking News covers three massive trends shaping the industry right now:

📊 Chinese games dominating global top-grossing charts

💰 $7.7B in gaming M&A activity in Q1 2026

⚖️ Freecash controversy and removal from app stores

From Gossip Harbor climbing into the top revenue charts to massive acquisitions fueling new investments, the industry is showing clear signs of consolidation and power shifts.

At the same time, the rewarded UA ecosystem is under pressure, as Freecash faces scrutiny and potential platform restrictions — something that could impact UA budgets across the entire industry.

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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

Podcast:

Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-3bckldvr8-8PXvzciMWdheOzED9hq0SA

Chapters

00:00 Intro + why this week matters

00:40 US top charts breakdown

01:40 Global revenue leaders (Last War, Royal Match, etc.)

02:40 Gossip Harbor growth explained

03:30 Chinese dominance in top charts

04:30 M&A boom ($7.7B in Q1)

05:40 Why acquisitions drive new funding

06:30 Freecash controversy explained

07:30 What this means for UA

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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 feedback and comments - matej@lancaric.me

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

🚨📢 BREAKING NEWS: Chinese domination, M&A boom, Freecash controversy

two &amp; a half gamers

🚨📢 BREAKING NEWS: Chinese domination, M&A boom, Freecash controversy

two & a half gamers