Walking into GDC 2025, I felt a familiar thrill—like stepping onto the pitch for a high-stakes match. Each session promised insights, but the real magic unfolded in intimate side conversations. GDC remains a hallmark industry event, but this year, the true value came from focused side events and richer discussions.
Why GDC Matters (and Why You Should Care)
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) has always been a compass pointing toward the industry’s future. My focus this year was mobile gaming, specifically User Acquisition (UA) and Ad Monetization. Here’s my distilled perspective—personal, actionable, and insightful.
Side Events: Where Deeper Conversations Flourished
Main events attract attention, but side events cultivate genuine engagement. This year’s standout side events provided filtered, relevant discussions:
- The Future of Web Gaming (Hosted by Google)
- Ads Connect (Hosted by Google)
- APAC Games Collective (Hosted by Google; special thanks to Ajay and Ankit for the invite!)
- Game, Dance, Connect (Applovin, Liftoff, and Sensor Tower)
- GDC Nights: Skipped it
These smaller gatherings provided deeper insights, practical knowledge, and more relevant conversations than broader sessions often can.
Key Learnings from Google’s Side Events
Here’s what I took away—game-changing innovations from Google that demand your attention:
- TROAS and ILAR (Target ROAS and Impression-Level Ad Revenue): Learn more about Impression-Level Ad Revenue here. These metrics redefine acquisition and monetization strategies, enabling precise, profitable growth.
- H5 Gaming: Discover Google’s insights on H5 Gaming. A potentially cheaper, highly effective user acquisition channel for mobile game developers—allowing developers to acquire engaged users at lower costs.
- Google AI Studio + Play Store API: Integrating Google’s AI studio with Play Store data might revolutionize personalized game experiences and optimization. Explore Google AI Studio.
- Living Games Era: We’ve evolved beyond traditional and even live games. With Generative AI, we’re entering the era of “living games,” where gameplay uniquely adapts to each user’s style, creating deeply personalized experiences.
UA Costs Rising: Adapt or Fade
The industry shocker Monopoly GO!’s astronomical $500M UA spend—reflects harsh realities post-IDFA. UA now demands smarter, not just deeper, pockets. The competitive edge belongs to those innovating through strategy rather than brute force spending.
Goodbye Waterfall, Hello Real-Time Bidding
Unity’s complete shift to real-time bidding signifies a tectonic shift. This democratizes monetization by removing outdated hierarchies and creating fairer opportunities, a philosophy I’ve consistently championed: openness and technology democracy.
Hybrid Monetization: Innovation Matters
Hexa Sort exemplified the future by embedding ads naturally within gameplay loops. Hybrid monetization models blending IAP and ads now clearly emerge as essential, not optional, components for sustainable growth.
The Growth Loop: Connect, Iterate, Grow
The biggest epiphany? Recognizing UA, monetization, and game design as interconnected, forming a seamless growth loop. Echoing my experiences from AdPushup, I’ve seen firsthand how cross-functional integration dramatically boosts performance.
AI Practical over Hype
AI has matured from a buzzword to a trusted companion. The core lesson remains: AI is best utilized to augment human creativity, not replace it. Teams must balance automation with human insight to stay truly competitive.
Alternative Channels: Creators & Web Distribution
Influencer-driven UA and web-based gaming platforms emerged as smarter growth channels, aligned perfectly with my long-standing beliefs in community-driven growth and collaborative industry approaches.
Strategic Reflections
Reflecting on GDC 2025, I see a clear roadmap: the winners will be those who intelligently blend creativity, AI-enhanced analytics, and community-centric strategies. My ongoing journey embraces these principles—collaboration, openness, and purposeful innovation.
Final Thoughts
Much like Metallica redefined rock without losing their essence, mobile gaming must evolve without sacrificing its core identity. For me, the future looks promising, innovative, and collaborative.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Yieldmonk co-founders, Neel, Sachin, and Shrikant—for giving me this incredible opportunity to attend these invaluable sessions and contribute to such enriching conversations.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
Enjoyed this wrap-up? Disagree or have insights of your own? Drop your thoughts below or connect with me directly on LinkedIn or schedule a meeting with me on dikshantjoshi.com.
Opinion Piece by Dikshant Joshi
Dikshant Joshi is an AdTech operator and startup advisor who helped scale AdPushup to $58M ARR and through the acquisition. He now advises SaaS and AdTech companies including YieldMonk on product, growth, GTM, and monetization strategy.
