What happens when AI collides with mobile gaming?
This is Unpredictable Hits, a series of sharp, fun, and brutally honest conversations with the people shaping what’s next. We’re here to find out what’s actually happening and where it's all headed, straight from the source.
Each episode, Amit, Co-Founder & CEO of Sett, teams up with brilliant guests to talk shop and ask the hard questions.
Join us as we explore the weird, the brilliant, and the broken sides of AI in gaming and try to make sense of it all.
Nimrod Klinger, VP of Marketing at CrazyLabs: Hybrid Casual, AI-Native Teams, and the New Role of UA
Amit sits down with Nimrod Klinger, VP of Marketing at CrazyLabs, who started as the company’s only UA manager, working
alongside one video editor and one graphic designer, and grew with it through kids’ games, hyper-casual and hybrid casual.
He has spent roughly a decade adapting to a business that keeps changing, from weekly launches and manual bid adjustments
to longer development cycles, higher creative standards and a marketing team learning to build with AI.
For Nimrod, changing how the team works starts with doing the work himself, making time to build with AI and expecting
people to stretch beyond their specialties. He explains how adoption became mandatory, with all 35 marketers presenting
their progress to him and the COO, and why human judgment remains essential as creative production gets faster. They also
discuss what broke in hyper-casual’s economics, why its simple design philosophy still works, and how those changes
reshaped the demands on marketing. That leads into CrazyLabs’ UA 2.0 role, where each UA manager becomes the CMO of their
game, helping shape product decisions and owning creative and store strategy. At the time of recording, he says half of the
team’s creative wins were already coming from UA managers themselves.
1 Sept 2026
Uri Pearl: Papaya Gaming's VP Marketing on Skill Gaming, Player Motivations & TV Builds Legitimacy
In this episode, Amit Carmi, CEO at Sett, sits down with Uri Pearl, VP of Marketing at Papaya Gaming, to talk about marketing in one of the most successful and least understood corners of the industry: real-money skill gaming. Uri's path is anything but typical, he started as an international relations and economics analyst writing trade reports for the prime minister's office before a former professor pulled him into gaming, and he grew from the fifth employee at Papaya all the way to VP, building the entire marketing function as the company scaled.They get into why skill gaming gave Papaya a real edge by skipping the 30% app store fee, how Uri markets to three completely different players at once, the money-led, the challenge-led, and the casual crowd he has to convert, and why building a player's confidence matters far more than telling them to "use your skills." They also dig into how CTV and television make gaming feel legitimate, the emotional pull behind campaigns like Swing and Play For Real, what it really takes to land in a new country like the UK, why a familiar genre like Solitaire travels while Triple Match doesn't, and how research and strategy become the real moat as AI commoditizes creative production.
18 Aug 2026
Amos Adler: SciPlay's VP of Growth on Creative Control & The Death of UA Operators
Amit sits down with Amos Adler, VP of Growth at SciPlay, a veteran of one of the biggest social casino portfolios in the world. Operating in a matured, red ocean market, Amos runs growth as something closer to a science than a spend button, and he is sharp about where the real leverage lives.They get into why creative is the only lever you fully control, and how SciPlay built a centralized creative strategy team to stop leaving money on the floor, why attribution is never a one-time decision but a constant hunt for the truth, and where AI is taking mobile UA next: the end of the operator, the rise of the analyst, and a near future where commerce, CPA and IAA run 90% autonomous
4 Aug 2026
Yotam Papo: PeerPlay's CEO - Building an AI-Native Studio, Why MVPs Are Dead & Leading on Intuition
Amit sits down with Yotam Papo, CEO and co-founder of PeerPlay, who took one of the least conventional paths into gaming: from running one of Tel Aviv's biggest nightlife businesses and making chart-topping dance hits as a DJ, to GM at Huuuge Games, to founding his own casual studio. He fell in love with the business of gaming, with monetization and free to play, and with the way it constantly pushes you to be excellent.
The heart of the conversation is how PeerPlay actually operates: a company born with AI, where everyone codes and everyone is still a junior, and why studios that don't go deep on AI will simply lose their best talent. They get into why you can't launch an MVP anymore when you are competing with entertainment and even with Claude Code itself, why launching a game is a continuous process rather than a single moment, and why the real edge comes from conviction and intuition, not just data, in the years before you have any. Along the way Yotam shares PeerPlay's bets, from injecting casino-grade volatility into casual gameplay to building what he calls the world's first gay mobile game.
16 Jul 2026
Matt Veysberg: Plarium's Director of Global Creative Marketing on Marketing, Creative, and AI
Matt Veysberg, Director of Global Creative Marketing at Plarium (the studio behind RAID: Shadow Legends), has spent 15 years working on the bridge between business and creative, in gaming and outside it (MyHeritage, Lightricks, Lumen), and he joins Amit with sharp, specific opinions about where creative marketing is actually going.They get into what product marketing really is, and why it is the missing link most studios still don't hire for, why you only need one winning creative instead of a thousand, and how, because the algorithm has no taste, methodology and the "why" behind every test still decide who wins. Matt breaks down how to structure a creative marketing team around disciplines instead of headcount, how he preps creative before launching a new game, and the honest truth about brand and IP: why brand is a two to three year investment and not performance marketing, why a celebrity is not a brand, and how Plarium chooses collaborations like Alice in Wonderland, Predator, and Assassin's Creed so they feel like a natural fit and not a brand slap. Plus where AI leaves the human: taste and experience as the last real differentiator.
30 Apr 2026
Noam Gohary: Ex-Scopely Director on Attribution, Black Box Algorithms, and Why UA Is an Amplifier
Amit sits down with Noam Gohary, ex-Director of Product & Marketing Tech at Scopely and Playtika, to crack open what's actually broken under the hood of mobile games marketing, and the things the industry has quietly accepted as "good enough." Noam brings the rare holistic view: how studios, games, and UA teams mesh (or don't), why the foundations of attribution haven't evolved, and what shifts when AI starts touching every layer of the stack.In this episode: attribution stuck in the stone age while algorithms became spaceships, the black box problem nobody at Google or AppLovin can explain, the studio-game-UA gap and the money quietly missed inside it, why UA is just an amplifier (a weak game can't be saved), the new UA manager as diplomat over optimizer, and AI in 2026 with personalized game lobbies and shrinking teams.
14 Apr 2026
Shay Ze’ev Yosifon: Zynga’s VP on Monopoly Go, the last UA lever, and UA managers' future
Amit Carmi, CEO at sett, sits down with Shay Yosifon, VP Marketing at Zynga, who previously led performance marketing for one of the biggest mobile game launches in recent history: Monopoly Go. From building centralized marketing teams at Playtika to scaling UA at Scopely and now overseeing marketing for studios like Gram and Socialpoint, Shai brings a rare depth across the entire mobile gaming marketing spectrum.
In this episode, Shay breaks down what it took to scale Monopoly Go from soft launch to the top of the charts, why creative is now the only lever UA managers fully control, and how the role of UA is shifting toward signal optimization and early monetization strategy. He makes a sharp case for embedding marketing inside game teams, explains why playable ads should be built by game designers and shares his view on AI as a force multiplier that frees talent to focus on what matters most: innovation.
24 Mar 2026
Scopely's Dir. of Performance Marketing on the Death of Manual UA, Building Marketing Squads, and Why UA Becomes Growth Hacking
In this episode, Amit Carmi, CEO at Sett, sits down with Marilyne Chasseur, Director of Performance Marketing at Scopely.
She breaks down why UA, creative, and branding should operate as one marketing squad with shared KPIs instead of siloed teams passing assets around. They dig into why creatives have become one of the last levers UA managers actually control as manual targeting disappears, how Asian publishers are flooding the market with massive creative volume but tiny iterations that may not move the needle, and why the UA role is evolving from media buyer to growth hacker.
10 Mar 2026
Rovio's VP Marketing on Player Motivations, Protecting a Legacy IP, and Why APAC Is Winning
In this episode, Amit Carmi, CEO at Sett, sits down with Luis de la Cámara, VP of Marketing at Rovio, to talk about what it takes to market one of the most recognized gaming brands in the world. Luis has been in gaming for 20 years, starting at EA, moving through 2K, Gameloft,King, and Scopely before leading marketing at Rovio for the last four years.
He shares how Rovio balances UA creative performance with protecting the Angry Birds IP, why fake ads actually work when they match player motivations, and how he embedded marketing teams directly into game studios. They also get into why Chinese and Turkish studios are eating the West's lunch, how the UA role is evolving as automation takes over, and how Rovio built an internal team of "surfing instructors" to help everyone ride the AI wave.
24 Feb 2026
Asi Burak: Tilting Point's CBO on UA Financing, Big IPs, and a Changing Industry
In this episode, Amit Carmi, CEO at Sett, sits down with Asi Burak, Chief Business Officer at Tilting Point, to dive into the business side of mobile gaming from someone who's been in the industry for over two decades. Asi shares how Tilting Point evolved from traditional publishing to pioneering UA financing in 2017, why that model has now become the industry standard, and what it takes to win big IPs like 007 and SpongeBob in a market where launching new games is harder than ever.
They also discuss how AI is reshaping monetization and advertising, and why Asi believes video games are still a medium the world underestimates.
11 Feb 2026
Yair Melamed: From Engineer to Running 1,000+ People at Zynga
In this episode, we sit down with Yair Melamed, SVP Games at Zynga, to explore what it really takes to lead at the highest levels of mobile gaming. Yair shares why even while managing over a thousand people, the best executives stay obsessed with the details, and how that obsession is what enables strategic thinking, not the opposite. From his early days as an engineer at Playtika to Chief Games Officer at Wildlife and now running multiple studios at Zynga, Yair's career spans every phase of the mobile gaming journey. We discuss launching new games in an era of rising CPIs, the fight for players against aggressive APAC competition, how to scale a game into a real business, and the personal moments that shaped his leadership including the decision to bet on himself and leave his comfort zone.
10 Feb 2026
Unpredictable Hits Season 2 - Barcelona
Different city, same obsession. This season, Unpredictable Hits lands in Barcelona to sit down with the people who've been shaping mobile gaming for years. Serious studios, global hits, and a lot of tapas.
We're diving deep into what's really moving mobile games right now: UA and creatives, AI, and how the best teams are building systems that scale.
Each episode, Amit, Co-Founder & CEO of Sett, brings in brilliant guests to talk shop and unpack what's working, what's broken, and what's next.
This is the show for UA and marketing people who want to stay curious, stay sharp, and stay in the game.
16 Dec 2025
JAGEX (RuneScape) Community, Craft and AI: Running a Game That Never Dies
Unpredictable Hits is a series of sharp, fun, and brutally honest conversations with the people shaping the future of mobile gaming in the AI era.In this episode, we sit down with Jon Bellamy, CEO of Jagex, to explore what it takes to lead RuneScape, a 25-year-old world that millions still treat as home. Jon explains why running Jagex often feels “more like government than game development,” and how community and trust shape every decision.From his early years as a RuneScape player to roles in VC, Huge Games, and now the CEO seat, Jon’s path spans every side of the industry. We discuss legacy, community governance, the real impact of AI on development, and what it takes to keep a living game thriving across generations.We dive into:(00:00:00) Intro and Jon's journey to Jagex(00:02:42) Managing a community like a government(00:06:51) The 70% poll threshold for new features(00:09:23) Dragonwilds and early access success(00:14:10) Card Game: Hardest lessons and unsolvable problems(00:20:06) Strategy: Betting on 10 bold things(00:26:21) Balancing new players vs. loyal community(00:37:43) The truth about AI in game development(00:46:04) Human creativity vs. "AI Slop"Check other episodes: https://www.sett.ai/podcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sett-ai/posts/?feedView=all
25 Nov 2025
IP games, running Hutch & building a new studio in the AI era
Unpredictable Hits is a series of sharp, fun, and brutally honest conversations with the people shaping the future of mobile gaming in the AI era.
In this episode, we sit down with Shaun Rutland, ex-PlayStation and founder of Hutch, to explore how the playbook for building a studio is shifting, and what it takes to do it with clarity and speed.
From Royal Mail to PlayStation to Hutch, Shaun’s career moved across roles, platforms, and company sizes — all the way to building his own AI-first studio today. It’s a look at how experience, adaptability, and timing shape the way modern game studios are built.
We dive into:
(00:00) Intro: AI, Mobile Games, and the Unfiltered Truth
(01:17) Shaun's Path: Postman, PlayStation, and Hutch's Origin
(08:22) Crucial Lesson: Why You Must Ship the Game
(15:25) The Danger of Hyper-Growth & Team Alignment
(28:25) AI-First Studio: Why Now is the Best Time to Build
(34:29) AI's Biggest Impact: Why It's Not Just Art Assets
(45:50) Competitive Edge: Distribution Trumps Execution
(50:10) Early Marketing Hire: Finding the Science-Driven Marketer
(57:15) Founder Advice: Community, Focus, and Giving Back
Check other episodes: https://www.sett.ai/podcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sett-ai/posts/?feedView=all
4 Nov 2025
UA and Creatives in the Era of AI and Finding Winners with Zynga's Creative Director, Zeynep
Unpredictable Hits is a series of sharp, fun, and brutally honest conversations with the people shaping the future of mobile gaming in the era of AI.
In this episode, we sit down with Zeynep Tasoz Cataner, Senior Marketing Creative Director at Zynga, to talk about the tension between speed, data, and authenticity in mobile gaming. She shares what it takes to build creative teams that move fast without losing their edge, and why AI won’t replace artists, but will raise the bar for them.
We dive into:
(00:00) Intro
(01:31) From Brand Entrepreneur to Zynga’s Creative Lead
(05:00) The Crisis of Authenticity in an AI World
(07:50) Balancing Scale, Authenticity, and Retention with Authentic Ads
(15:38) The "Deconstruction" Method: How to Find Your Next Hero Creative
(28:22) The Secret to Ending UA vs. Creative Team Tension
(31:36) What is a "Data-Driven Artist"?
(39:38) Launching New Games: Creative Strategy for Soft Launch
(45:10) Advice for Creative Leaders and Entrepreneurs
Check other episodes: https://www.sett.ai/podcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sett-ai/
19 Oct 2025
Tripledot’s Akin Babayigit: Hard Work Over Know-How, Rising Hubs & the AI Era
Unpredictable Hits is a series of sharp, fun, and brutally honest conversations with the people shaping the future of mobile gaming in the era of AI.
Most founders dream of building a gaming empire. Akin Babayigit actually did it.
In this episode, we sit down with the co-founder of Tripledot Studios, one of Europe’s fastest-growing game companies, to unpack his journey from Turkey to the global gaming stage. Akin shares some unfiltered perspectives on risk, resilience, and building from zero to one.
We dive into:
Global forces in mobile gaming
The personal bets and early risks behind founding Tripledot
How Akin thinks about scaling a gaming company (and why he thrives in the zero-to-one stage)
What it means to build for the long game vs chasing short-term wins
The mindset shift that separates good founders from legendary ones
If you care about games, startups, or building something that lasts, this one’s for you
(00:00) Intro
(01:15) Akin Babayigit’s Journey: From Turkey to Yale and McKinsey
(09:51) Building the Facebook (Meta) Gaming Ecosystem
(14:06) The Founding Story of Tripledot Studios
(19:47) The "Zero to One" Founder vs. The Scaled Executive
(36:55) Why Turkish and Chinese Gaming Studios are Dominating
(40:08) How Gaming Companies Should Actually Be Using AI
(53:24) Advice for New Founders: "If Not Now, Then When?"
19 Oct 2025
Meet Unpredictable Hits
What happens when AI collides with mobile gaming? This is Unpredictable Hits, a series of sharp, fun, and brutally honest conversations with the people shaping what’s next. We’re here to find out what’s actually happening and where it's all headed, straight from the source.
Each episode, Amit, Co-Founder & CEO of Sett, teams up with brilliant guests to talk shop and ask the hard questions.
Join us as we explore the weird, the brilliant, and the broken sides of AI in gaming and try to make sense of it all.
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