Supercell absorbs Merge Mansion, Xbox fires its veterans and hires from Instacart, and the math behind gaming's VC collapse finally gets laid out in full.
In this episode of TWIG, Mishka is joined by Josh Chandley, John Wright, and Ethan Levy to break down the biggest moves in games this week, from Finland's most beloved merge studio quietly running out of road to why gaming VC funding has dropped 95% since 2021.
Topics Covered:
● Supercell acquires Metacore and why a profitable $30M a month game still couldn't survive
● What the 70% layoffs tell us about liveops competition and the limits of celebrity UA campaigns
● Xbox replaces 24-year veterans with Instacart execs, and whether growth engineering can fix a content problem
● GameStop bids for eBay with no synergy pitch and why the meme stock era never really ended
● Roblox voluntarily takes a billion dollar hit on bookings and why it might be the smartest long-term bet in the room
● The math that broke gaming VC funding, from $12.5B in 2021 to $627M in H1 2025 and what founders should do instead
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Cold Open Jail Joke
00:11 Meet the Hosts
01:47 Episode Headlines
02:21 Theme Park Mario Talk
03:13 Line Monetization Schemes
04:40 Istanbul Events Plug
05:37 Consulting Shoutout
07:03 Supercell Buys Metacore
08:38 Metacore Rise and Stumble
10:51 UA Cuts and Layoffs
20:00 Strategic Investor Dynamics
23:14 Xbox Leadership Shakeup
24:42 Game Pass and Content Gap
26:48 Microsoft IP Live Service Vision
28:59 Xbox IPs Need Long Runs
29:55 GameStop Buys eBay Meme
32:22 Roblox Safety Overhaul Fallout
35:32 Age Verification Debate
37:02 Roblox Monetization and 18 Plus
43:03 Ustwo Cuts Costs Reality
45:16 Freelancers Bands Model
47:25 Premium Math Doesn't Work
51:19 VC Funding Math Broke
59:06 Is This the New Normal
01:01:56 Wrap Up and Thanks

TWIG #382: Merge Mansion Falls, Xbox Fires the Wrong People, and the Math That Killed Gaming VC

Deconstructor of Fun