🇨🇳 AI trends n Mini-Games: MVP in 2 weeks. 80% of Chinese mini-game developers already use AI

We sit down with Chen Yang (Iwae) from Cocos again to unpack how AI is transforming the Chinese mini-game ecosystem across development, UA, and operations.The conversation reveals how AI-generated 3D, playable automation, LoRA fine-tuning, and instant meme cloning are redefining speed, scale, and creativity in the world’s most dynamic mobile market.💡 Key Takeaways1. 80 % of Chinese mini-game developers already use AI.AI is embedded across art, code, operations, and UA pipelines.The most common use cases are:2. AI improves development speed by up to 80 %.A single small team (1 artist + 1 programmer + 3 AI agents) can now build an MVP in 2 weeks.Before 2023, the same project required 5–6 people and 1–2 months.3. Custom LoRA models are the new secret weapon.4. AI video ads and playable creation are exploding.Average cost per playable: $1000–$2000.you can also get playables with playablemaker.com25–30 % of UA revenue in September 2025 came from AI-generated playables.5. AI video workflow = human + AI hybrid.Studios shoot a few clips with real actors ($500/day), then auto-generate hundreds of new scenes using Runway, VEO3, or Kling 2.5.The average cost is less than $40 000 per game.6. “Chinese Speed” defined.A meme seen on Douyin today becomes a mini-game level the next day.7. AI agents now analyze markets.Get our MERCH NOW: 25gamers.com/shop--------------------------------------PVX Partners offers non-dilutive funding for game developers.Go to: https://pvxpartners.com/They can help you access the most effective form of growth capital once you have the metrics to back it.- Scale fast- Keep your shares- Drawdown only as needed- Have PvX take downside risk alongside you+ Work with a team entirely made up of ex-gaming operators and investors---------------------------------------For an ever-growing number of game developers, this means that now is the perfect time to invest in monetizing direct-to-consumer at scale.Our sponsor FastSpring:Has delivered D2C at scale for over 20 yearsThey power top mobile publishers around the worldLaunch a new webstore, replace an existing D2C vendor, or add a redundant D2C vendor at fastspring.gg.---------------------------------------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 Lancaric⁠Special guest: Chenyang Sun https://www.linkedin.com/in/chenyangsun/Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 Introduction to Mini Games in China03:08 Cocos and the Mini Game Market04:09 Future of Mini Games and AI Integration---------------------------------------Matej LancaricUser Acquisition & Creatives Consultant⁠https://lancaric.meFelix BrabergAd monetization consultant⁠https://www.felixbraberg.comJakub RemiarGame design consultant⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakubremiar---------------------------------------Please share the podcast with your industry friends, dogs & cats. Especially cats! They love it!Hit the Subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple!Please share feedback and comments - [email protected] you are interested in getting UA tips every week on Monday, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lancaric.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & sign up for the Brutally Honest newsletter by Matej LancaricDo you have UA questions nobody can answer? Ask ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Matej AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - the First UA AI in the gaming industry! https://lancaric.me/matej-ai