🚀 War Inc Review: It's not 2018 anymore! Great game, questionable UA & growth.

In this episode, we break down War Inc: Rise, the new title from the studio behind Art of War: Legions - a game that previously generated over $150M.The gameplay? Solid.The systems? Efficient.The monetization? Confusing.The UA strategy? Questionable.We dive into:Why War Inc feels like Battle Legion + Lucky Defense combinedHow Fastone Games recycled their old IP smartlyWhy ad monetization is almost nonexistent (and why that’s crazy)The missed Applovin opportunityCreative strategy mistakes that cap scaleWhether this can become their next big hitThis game should be scaling 2–3x harder. It’s not. And the reason is simple.War Inc is actually good. Clean core loop. Smart recycling of IP from Art of War. Efficient production. Even layered modes like Lucky Defense built in.But here’s the problem.They barely monetize through ads. They don't push AppLovin. They’re still heavy on Facebook and Google. And their creative playbook looks like 2021.The lesson? In 2026, you can’t just build a good game. You need the full growth stack aligned. Miss one piece of the puzzle and you cap your scale.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 Lancaric⁠Join our slack channel here: https://join.slack.com/t/two-and-half-gamers/shared_invite/zt-2um8eguhf-c~H9idcxM271mnPzdWbipgChapters00:00 – “Why Isn’t This Game Bigger?”02:00 – First Impressions & Battle Legion Comparison06:30 – Core Loop Breakdown (Merge + Army Builder)10:30 – Gacha System Explained (And Why It’s Weird)15:30 – Limited Banner Strategy & Power Units18:30 – Lucky Defense Mode Inside War Inc23:00 – Why Co-Op Actually Matters26:00 – Comparing It to Art of War: Legions30:00 – Revenue & Spend Deep Dive ($40K/Day Reality)33:30 – Retention, Payback & Scaling Limits36:00 – Creative Strategy Review (What’s Missing)39:00 – The Ad Monetization Mistake41:30 – AppLovin, Blended ROAS & The Missed Scale43:00 – Final Verdict: Great Game, Capped Growth---------------------------------------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]