What Game Studios Still Get Wrong About DTC

What Game Studios Still Get Wrong About DTC

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) is moving from an experimental monetization channel toward a more established part of game publishing, but adoption remains uneven. Host Devin Becker is joined by David Stelzer [https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidstelzer/], CSO of Appcharge [https://www.appcharge.com/], to discuss findings from the company’s recent report [https://www.appcharge.com/DTC-is-already-a-17b-market-report] and what they reveal about the current state of DTC. They examine why more than half of studios are still making few meaningful changes, what separates the small group of innovators pulling ahead, and where developers continue to misunderstand web stores, player behavior, and the operational demands of running DTC effectively. The conversation also looks ahead to dedicated DTC teams, standardized technology stacks, broader adoption beyond games, and what winning in DTC could look like over the next three to five years. We’d like to thank Medal.tv [https://medal.tv/] for making this episode possible. If you're a PC gamer and want to clip your moments or a studio, publisher, or marketer looking to reach a high-quality gaming audience and get your game in front of the right players, check out all Medal has to offer at https://grow.medal.tv [https://grow.medal.tv/]. If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co.   Watch the episode: YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Eoa7bNooD2w2FNQpVqog] For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavin-mc-cabe-557339227/].

Naavik Digest: How the AI Boom Is Rewiring the Console Business

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, July 12th. In today’s issue, we evaluate the memory boom’s effect on the present and future of gaming hardware. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/ [https://naavik.co/digest/2023-genre-analysis/]the-ai-boom-is-repricing-gaming-hardware-and-rewiring-the-console-business [https://www.naavik.co/digest/the-ai-boom-is-repricing-gaming-hardware-and-rewiring-the-console-business] Meet with Naavik at Gamescom: https://naavik.typeform.com/to/qE3Yw6pa?typeform-source=www.dropbox.com [https://naavik.typeform.com/to/qE3Yw6pa?typeform-source=www.dropbox.com]  India’s State of Play report: https://mixiglobalinv.com/report/upload/indias-state-of-play-260708.pdf [https://mixiglobalinv.com/report/upload/indias-state-of-play-260708.pdf]  Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ [https://naavik.co/contact-us/]  Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co [podcast@naavik.co]. Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Eoa7bNooD2w2FNQpVqog] For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/].

Can Performance Marketing Finally Work On Steam?

Mobile has spent the last decade perfecting paid acquisition, and often, paid UA comprises 99% of a mobile game’s marketing budget. PC and console gaming generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue, yet most studios have never tried performance marketing once. PC and console have always played in the field of brand, festivals, press, influencers, and content creators due to a variety of reasons that we unpack in this episode.  Alexandra Takei [https://www.linkedin.com/in/takeit-eazy/], VP of Platform Revenue at Medal [https://medal.tv/], sits down with Jules Baculard [https://www.linkedin.com/in/baculard/], founder and CEO of AdZap [https://zap.ad/], to unpack why PC performance marketing has lagged behind mobile and what it would take to build a real acquisition stack for Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. The conversation covers the structural challenges: thin desktop inventory, cross-device attribution, Steam’s limited data visibility, long purchase windows, and the uncomfortable reality that many Steam purchases are never played. Jules explains how AdZap built their performance platform using mobile ad infrastructure, Steam’s companion app, landing pages, signal engineering, and retargeting to drive qualified traffic and wishlist growth. The episode also digs into real case studies across indie and Ubisoft titles, incrementality testing, CPI benchmarks, and why wishlists still matter, even if they are an imperfect KPI.For any studio trying to make every marketing dollar work harder, this is a tactical look at PC performance’s next frontier We’d also like to thank Medal.tv [https://medal.tv/] for making this episode possible. If you're a PC gamer and want to clip your moments or a studio, publisher, or marketer looking to reach a high-quality gaming audience and get your game in front of the right players, check out all Medal has to offer at https://grow.medal.tv [https://grow.medal.tv/]. If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co.   Watch the episode: YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Eoa7bNooD2w2FNQpVqog] For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/].

Naavik Digest: The Next Wave of Creator-Led Growth

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, July 5th. In today’s issue, we discuss the underrated, emerging intersection of creators and DTC — and why creator codes specifically are becoming an increasingly low-cost, high-reward way to drive player engagement and monetization. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/ [https://naavik.co/digest/2023-genre-analysis/]the-next-wave-of-creator-led-growth [https://www.naavik.co/digest/the-next-wave-of-creator-led-growth] Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ [https://naavik.co/contact-us/]  Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co [podcast@naavik.co]. Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Eoa7bNooD2w2FNQpVqog] For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/].

Inside Cannes Lions: What Makes Award-Winning Gaming Campaigns?

In this special episode of the Naavik Gaming Podcast, recorded live from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, host Kalie Moore [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/] sits down with fellow Cannes Lions Gaming Jury member Cheryl Platz, author of The Game Development Strategy Guide, and former UX leader at Riot Games, Scopely, Microsoft, and Amazon. Together, they pull back the curtain on what it was actually like judging one of the world's most prestigious creative awards programs, from the multi-stage evaluation process to the debates that shaped the final winners. They discuss the challenges of evaluating gaming campaigns across vastly different audiences, genres, and markets, and share lessons for brands, agencies, and developers looking to create work that genuinely resonates with players. The conversation explores some of the most memorable campaigns from this year's competition, including a deep dive into Supercell's big year. Kalie and Cheryl unpack why Copycat's Welcome earned the coveted Grand Prix, how Pocket-Sized Halftime Show won Gold and dominated the conversation across all entertainment conversations, and what these campaigns reveal about creativity, player insight, and measurable impact. They also discuss Skittles' viral gaming flute, Silent Clean's horror game for a century-old cleaning brand, and campaigns that used gaming to tackle organ donation, wildfire prevention, and medical education. The episode offers a rare inside look at how creative excellence is judged at the highest level and what the future of brand integration in games might look like. We’d also like to thank Dive for making this episode possible! With its fully managed analytics and LiveOps platform built for game studios, 95% of their clients grow revenue in one year. All of that without having to hire an in-house data team. Learn more here: dive.games/scale.. If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co [podcast@naavik.co]. Who’s On: Guest - Cheryl Platz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylplatz/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylplatz/] Host - Kalie Moore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/]  Watch the episode: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/] Links mentioned: * https://www.cherylplatz.com/ [https://www.cherylplatz.com/] * https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/ [https://www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/] * https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/enduring-play-a-game-development-podcast/id1826460395?l=es-MX [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/enduring-play-a-game-development-podcast/id1826460395?l=es-MX] * https://www.lovethework.com/en/awards/winners-shortlists/cannes-lions/entertainment-lions-for-gaming?tag=publication+dates%40%40year%40%402026 [https://www.lovethework.com/en/awards/winners-shortlists/cannes-lions/entertainment-lions-for-gaming?tag=publication+dates%40%40year%40%402026]