WildCard Games

AppLovin built a data empire on ad revenue. Unity is quietly building theirs on purchases. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗿. AppLovin closed the ad revenue loop. But there’s one they never controlled: 𝗜𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀. 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸, 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 "𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗔𝗣". It's a DTC solution, AKA web shops, native to the Engine. Another way to 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 feed spend data to Vector. $120B/yr in IAP flows through Unity-powered games. The market size for IAP UA is larger than IAA UA. If Unity captures even some of that signal, they leapfrog years ahead of AppLovin’s blind spot. Expanded IAP is a data reclamation strategy. Stripe handles the transactions. 𝗩𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹. AppCharge and Xsolla will keep the most share. They're more flexible, likely cheaper, and allow customers to retain control over their data. But Unity’s goal isn't market share. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗮𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗜𝗔𝗣 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟳 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻 → 𝟳 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄. That wasn’t luck. It was engineered. Most studios chase hits. 𝗪𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲. It was the difference between a comeback and a tombstone. When CPMs collapsed and UA broke, our playbook stopped working. Cash on hand was dropping. Morale Broke. Survival meant extending runway to buy feedback loops. Every A/B test became tuition. Every lesson stacked. 𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁. 𝗪𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁. This isn’t a revenue story. It’s a blueprint for resilience. The system we built turned volatility into velocity. A repeatable engine that compounds across games, people, and time. Next week in SF, I’ll break down how we built a durable studio. Not just a lucky one. Scars, numbers, and a system you can copy. Hits can collapse. Systems compound. Studios don’t die from lack of hits. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁.

Learn how to turn downturns into growth. In this candid keynote at Gamesforum San Francisco, Josh Chandley, President & COO of WildCard Games, shares how the company rebuilt product, monetization, and UA systems to achieve record-breaking revenue and cash flow — after a near-collapse in 2022. 📅 22–23 October | San Francisco 🎟️ Secure your pass now: https://lnkd.in/dtBWmBC9

𝗦𝗗𝗞 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. They don’t own the inventory, so they don’t pay the retention tax. When walled gardens like Google and Meta serve a bad ad, they lose DAU. When SDK Networks serve a bad ad, you bleed DAU. 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲? That’s why SDK networks can afford intrusive formats. The user experience penalty doesn’t touch their P&L. It touches yours. I respect how hard that balance is for ad networks. Mediators get judged on CPM. Not user experience or revenue per churned user. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺. Churn from your game to your competitors doesn't break their business model as long as spend keeps flowing through their SDK. That's why ad quality from Meta and Google is so good. When they win share, you don't just win ARPDAU. You win retention too. 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝘅. 𝗦𝗗𝗞 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻. The only question is how long you’ll accept that trade. The churn gap is brutal. Here’s a practical example: 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 '𝗫' 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 '𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲'. Players weren't pleased. Publishers lost users. The networks still profited. The algorithm isn't broken. It's incentivized asymmetrically. As long as SDK networks dodge the retention tax... Intrusive ads will keep winning. 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦: Unity 𝘈𝘥 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘥, 𝘜𝘚𝘈 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺.

We’re Hiring a Unity Developer 🚀 WildCard is growing. We're looking for team members who thrive on challenges and know their way around OOP. We move fast, think big, and tackle challenges head-on. Every day brings new problems to solve and new opportunities to grow. If you thrive in dynamic environments and want to see your work make a direct impact on real players, this is the place for you. What you’ll do: Refine core gameplay systems in Unity (C#) Apply OOP principles to create scalable, maintainable code Collaborate with artists, designers, and product managers to ship features that matter Grow alongside a passionate, ambitious team that values ownership and innovationIf this sounds like you, or someone you know, let’s connect. Drop me a message or apply here 👇

We’re proud to celebrate an important milestone at WildCard. Josh Chandley’s role has evolved to President & COO, reflecting his leadership of our vision, culture, and capital as we scale. Together with Ian Oliver as CEO, this reflects the leadership foundation guiding WildCard. The past few years have tested us, but our team rebuilt, adapted, and created the foundation for the portfolio we’re building today. This is the next chapter in WildCard’s growth.

AppLovin restricted e-com to US buyers only. That ends October 1st. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻. Until now, e-com on AppLovin's gaming inventory was restricted. Only US businesses, buying only US traffic. For months, new advertisers couldn’t even get in the door. October 1 ends that era. The floodgates finally open. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱’𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. In the last 30 days, 14 of the top 50 creatives on iOS were AppLovin e-com ads. No other network had e-com in the top 50. On Android, Google managed 5. AppLovin had 9. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆:  More advertisers bring more competition. More competition pushes up eCPMs. Higher eCPMs means APP & publishers earn more. That’s the chain reaction they want to trigger this week. The goal is obvious: grab e-com territory before Meta and Google are back on iOS. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹: 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗽. Mediation lock-in is AppLovin’s moat. Not the network. Not the optics. And that lock-in only holds if adROAS keeps delivering. 𝗤𝟰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗤𝟭 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀. 𝗢𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺.

🚀 Big milestone for WildCard! Congratulations to Evgenia and Kateryna on stepping into Director roles. The system is only as strong as the people who lead it, and we’re lucky to have both.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻. TikTok & Meta don’t need to test your ad. They already know the result. Creative teams still think they’re running experiments. But platforms like TikTok and Meta? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱. And here’s the part most teams miss: 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗷𝗼𝗯. Post-ATT, signal loss killed user-level optimization. So platforms trained their eyes instead. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀. No clicks. No installs. Just inference. We’ve quietly shifted from exploration to elimination. Testing used to be about learning what worked. Now? It’s about filtering what won’t. These platforms aren’t optimizing for advertisers. They’re optimizing for user experience. So what gets through? Familiar structures. Predictable patterns. Creatives the system already understands. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.

Unity isn’t chasing AppLovin's mediation crown. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. For years, AppLovin has been the Apex Predator. MAX + AXON created a feedback loop few could touch. Every bid, every impression, every outcome, all pulled into one model. Many think Unity has to win mediation to matter. They’re wrong. Mediation is leverage. Not the finish line. The real bar isn’t dethroning AppLovin. It's proving you can compound your own loop long enough to endure. Unity is circling from a different angle. 👉 Ad Quality is a Trojan horse into MAX's creative data. 👉 IronSource & LevelPlay will feed their data to Vector. 👉 The engine's IAP data will provide unique insight. And 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 even behavioral data. Two different strategies are now colliding: 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻: Control mediation, dominate auctions with scale and fees. 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆: Aggregate the signals AppLovin has, from IAA to creative, then supercharge it with IAP data only they have. One controls the auction. The other sits inside the game. Where it goes from here? That’s the real question. One data empire. One data rebellion. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴.