Mariusz Gąsiewski brings 17 years of Google experience to the table. Working closely with performance marketing, measurement, and data analytics, he’s spent the last few years focusing on apps and gaming. Between 2018 and 2022, he helped grow the startup ecosystem across Central Eastern Europe – the region spanning between Russia and Germany, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea.
Now, Gąsiewski works with top clients in the gaming and forex industries. As he puts it, he’s an “industry expert” who helps major clients “understand and use Google solutions most effectively,” particularly in measuring performance and connecting data points to drive results.
Despite having five children that limit his personal gaming time, Gąsiewski’s passion for the industry is clear. “I love games,” he explains. “It’s bringing the best of technology and entertainment together.” This combination of technical expertise and genuine enthusiasm gives him unique insight into a rapidly evolving market.
In our exclusive interview, Gąsiewski shares his perspectives on regional gaming trends, user engagement challenges, and why the mobile gaming industry demands a specific mindset to succeed in today’s competitive landscape.
The High-Stakes World of Mobile Gaming
When Success Means Survival
The gaming industry isn’t for the faint of heart. As Gąsiewski explains, it’s a “high risk, high win” business where success can be significant but is never guaranteed. Even industry giants face substantial challenges – as he points out, “huge companies are closing their gaming divisions” despite previous commitments to specific games.
“It’s not really a type of business for people who work nine to five,” Gąsiewski notes. Success demands constant upskilling, adaptability, and a deep understanding of rapidly changing market conditions. Developers must stay ahead of technological shifts while maintaining an intimate knowledge of their audience across diverse global markets.
“Whoever does better can really win over you,” he explains, highlighting the competitive nature of the industry. This competition is multiplied across countries and cultures, creating both complexity and opportunity.
Worldwide or Nowhere Is The Defining Mobile Gaming Trend of Our Era
Perhaps most telling is Gąsiewski’s straightforward philosophy: “Either you go global or you do not exist.” This reality forces gaming companies to think beyond local markets from day one, regardless of their size or origin.
The global approach isn’t just about reaching more players – it’s about survival. Local markets, even sizable ones like Poland with its 40 million people, simply aren’t enough to sustain most gaming businesses. Gąsiewski reveals that for Polish studios, their home country typically ranks only “seven or eight” in their target markets.
“Either you go global or you do not exist”
This global mindset creates unique challenges. Studios must navigate different user behaviors, cultural preferences, and technology adoption rates across regions. The pressure never eases, as Gąsiewski cautions about companies that become “too fat” with success and fail to see new trends coming. The result? “A very hard time after a few years of success.”
In this landscape, achieving success is only half the battle. The real challenge, Gąsiewski suggests, is sustaining it in a market where user preferences, technology, and competitors evolve at breakneck speed.
The CEE Success Story
A Landscape of Diverse Gaming Cultures
The Central Eastern European region displays remarkable diversity in gaming development. Poland stands out with its strong foundation in core gaming, heavily influenced by PC and console traditions. “If you talk to most people in Poland about gaming, they understand PC and console games,” Gąsiewski explains. This background has shaped many Polish studios to focus on more complex games like RPGs.
In contrast, countries to the east like Belarus and Ukraine embraced mobile gaming almost from the beginning. Their studios typically develop casual games, particularly puzzles and match-three titles that sometimes blend game and app elements.
The Balkan region showcases remarkable specialization. Serbia has produced some of “the biggest sports managers in the world,” while Slovenia’s Outfit Seven created the globally recognized Talking Tom franchise, which Gąsiewski notes has amassed an incredible “16 billion downloads” to date.
From Cost Advantage to Quality Focus
Initially, many CEE studios leveraged their lower cost structure as a competitive advantage. This allowed them to start and grow businesses with less capital than their Western counterparts. However, as the industry globalized and salary differences narrowed, studios had to adapt.
“More and more effort into optimization,” became necessary, Gąsiewski points out. The region saw a substantial shift from quantity to quality, especially among studios that previously focused on ad-based revenue models. As markets matured and user acquisition became more challenging, developers recognized that user quality trumped quantity.
The Evolution of Regional Studios
Many CEE studios began by creating numerous smaller games but gradually moved toward larger, more ambitious projects. “Once they were maturing, they were moving towards bigger projects,” Gąsiewski observes, noting a trend toward hybrid monetization models combining in-app purchases with advertising.
The industry’s evolution is perhaps most visible in Cyprus, which has emerged as a “gaming gold mine” according to Gąsiewski. This transformation came as many studios relocated from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, creating a concentrated hub of talent and innovation.
Despite facing unique challenges in accessing specialized gaming capital compared to markets like Finland, UK, or Israel, the region has seen increasing investor interest following several success stories. This demonstrates what Gąsiewski describes as “specific globalization” in the investment space, with capital increasingly flowing across borders to find promising gaming ventures regardless of their location.
Blurring Genre Boundaries
Moving Beyond Traditional Gaming Extremes
The mobile gaming landscape has traditionally operated at two extremes. On one end, simple “hyper-casual” games – what Gąsiewski humorously calls “toilet games” that people can play during brief moments. These games feature minimal barriers to entry but limited depth.
On the opposite end sit complex RPGs and strategy games requiring significant player investment in terms of time and skill. These titles target “small audiences of people who spend a lot of time and money,” according to Gąsiewski.
What’s happening now is a fascinating convergence. “We see a lot of games that are trying to combine, or trying to be a bit between,” Gąsiewski explains. This middle ground aims to capture the best of both worlds.
Casual Games Growing Up
Hyper-casual games are evolving beyond their quick-play origins. Developers are redesigning these accessible games to accommodate users who want to spend more time and potentially increase lifetime value (LTV).
“They’re very simple to use, but for users who want to spend more time, they can be used for longer with much higher LTV,” Gąsiewski notes. This approach maintains the low-threshold appeal while adding layers of engagement for committed players.
“They’re very simple to use, but for users who want to spend more time, they can be used for longer with much higher LTV”
Complex Games Opening Their Doors
Simultaneously, traditionally complex genres are becoming more approachable. Gąsiewski observes that developers of “very heavy RPG games for very niche audiences” are focusing on making their titles “much more friendly for people who can start easily.”
The strategy involves creating accessible entry points where new players can learn gradually. As Gąsiewski puts it, “on the way, they can learn how to play more advanced games” and discover “more advanced features and elements.”
This convergence represents a maturation of the mobile gaming market. Developers recognize that rigid genre boundaries limit potential audiences. By blending elements of casual and core gaming, studios can create experiences that appeal to broader player bases while maintaining depth for dedicated users.
User Psychology Addressing The Loyalty Challenge
Gaming Habits Die Hard
One of the most significant challenges for new games is confronting established player habits. Gąsiewski draws an interesting parallel to the lending business in the USA, where consumers rarely change providers once they’ve settled on one.
“In the USA, most people, if they already got used to that loan, that bank, that supermarket, they’re not changing it,” Gąsiewski observes. “They need to over-achieve something in order to just consider changing.”
The same principle applies to gaming. Players develop strong attachments to the games they already play, creating psychological barriers to trying new experiences. As Gąsiewski puts it, gamers become “so attracted, and sometimes kind of even obsessed with the games that they’re playing” that they resist change.
The Struggle for Attention
This resistance creates what Gąsiewski identifies as “the struggle of new games that are coming to the market.” No matter how innovative or well-designed a new title might be, it faces an uphill battle against established player loyalties.
The industry has recognized this shift. As markets mature, the focus increasingly moves from pure acquisition to retention and engagement. It’s no longer enough to attract users briefly – games must develop deep, lasting relationships with players.
This evolution has forced developers to think differently about game design. Features that encourage daily play, social connections, and long-term progression have become essential rather than optional. The goal is creating experiences compelling enough to break through the loyalty barrier.
For CEE developers, this challenge is particularly acute. Without the marketing budgets of major Western studios, they must rely on exceptional design, innovative mechanics, and strategic targeting to overcome user resistance to change.
As the competition for player attention intensifies, understanding the psychology behind gaming habits has become as important as technical development skills. The most successful studios are those that can not only create engaging experiences but also persuade players to change established behaviors.
The Financial Realities Of Capital and Growth
The Investment Geography Gap
Access to capital varies dramatically across the gaming landscape. Gąsiewski notes that countries like “Finland, UK or Israel have a bit better access to capital” due to their established venture capital ecosystems specializing in gaming investments.
This advantage has historically created challenges for CEE studios. Without ready access to specialized gaming investors, many developers had to bootstrap their growth or seek alternative funding sources. The region has traditionally seen “less visible” investment activity compared to Western hubs.
Success Driving New Interest
The financial picture is changing as the region produces more success stories. Gąsiewski observes that “as we had more and more really nice successes coming out of the region, there was higher and higher interest in that space.”
This growing attention reflects the quality of games emerging from CEE studios. Investors have begun to recognize that technical talent, creative innovation, and competitive cost structures make these companies attractive opportunities despite geographical distance from traditional investment centers.
The Maturing Financial Ecosystem
The evolution reflects what Gąsiewski describes as “specific globalization” in the investment landscape. Capital increasingly flows across borders, seeking promising gaming ventures regardless of location.
For CEE developers, this shift means greater possibilities for funding ambitious projects. However, it also raises the bar for investment readiness. Studios must demonstrate not only technical excellence but also business sophistication and global market understanding to attract international capital.
Rising Entry Barriers
Despite improved funding access, Gąsiewski cautions that “the entry barrier for the gaming space is getting higher.” Creating a game is no longer the primary challenge – “it’s not now the problem to make the game,” he explains.
Instead, the critical challenge has become “how to actually find the audience for the right price” and “how to engage them so they will stay with your game.” These marketing and retention challenges require significant capital, making adequate funding more important than ever.
This financial reality has pushed many CEE studios toward greater ambition and scale. As Gąsiewski notes, developers increasingly pursue “bigger projects” with hybrid monetization models that can generate returns substantial enough to justify larger investments.
Global Market Targeting: Strategic Approaches
Different Models, Different Markets
A key insight from Gąsiewski is that monetization models dictate market targeting. Developers must understand where their approach will yield the best results.
For games relying on in-app purchases (IAP), tier-one markets like the US, UK, and Germany typically deliver the highest value. These regions have higher disposable incomes and established spending patterns for digital content.
However, Gąsiewski points out that for ad-based games, the calculus changes completely. “For ad games, ad-based games, often the top markets are not really US or [Germany],” he explains. Instead, high-population countries become the priority.
The Population Play
Ad revenue depends primarily on user volume. This makes countries with massive user bases – “like 300 millions of users” – particularly attractive. Gąsiewski specifically mentions “India, Indonesia, Brazil, even Philippines or Nigeria” as key targets for ad-monetized games.
This approach creates different geographic priorities based on business model. While IAP-focused games might concentrate marketing efforts on wealthier Western countries, ad-supported titles often find better returns in emerging markets with large, growing smartphone user bases.
The Balance Challenge
The strategic challenge becomes finding the right balance between market size and monetization potential. Developers must weigh user acquisition costs against lifetime value expectations across diverse regions.
For CEE studios, this often means being more creative with targeting than their bigger competitors. Without the massive marketing budgets of major publishers, regional developers must identify niche opportunities within major markets or target specific user segments across multiple countries.
Data-Driven Decisions
Gąsiewski’s Google expertise becomes particularly relevant when discussing market targeting. The successful approach now relies heavily on data analytics to identify the most promising opportunities.
Understanding user behavior, conversion patterns, and monetization differences across markets allows developers to allocate resources more efficiently. This data-driven approach has become essential as competition intensifies and acquisition costs rise.
As Gąsiewski emphasizes throughout the interview, the global imperative means developers can’t afford to ignore any significant market. The question isn’t whether to go global, but how to prioritize resources across a complex global landscape.
Future Outlook
Adapting to Evolving Market Realities
Looking forward, several key trends emerge from Gąsiewski’s insights about the mobile gaming landscape. The industry continues to move toward higher quality and deeper engagement, with the bar for success rising steadily.
“The entry barrier for the gaming space is getting higher,” Gąsiewski notes. This isn’t about technical challenges in creating games, but about discovering sustainable audiences. As he puts it, “It’s not now the problem to make the game, but how to actually find the audience for the right price.”
It’s not now the problem to make the game, but how to actually find the audience for the right price
For developers, this means focusing even more on game quality and long-term player relationships. The days of quick success through simple games are largely over, replaced by a more mature market demanding substantive experiences.
The Continued Importance of Region
Despite these challenges, the CEE region remains well-positioned in the global gaming ecosystem. The technical talent, creative approach, and growing experience with international markets give regional studios unique advantages.
Gąsiewski’s observation about studios moving “towards bigger projects” suggests a continuing evolution toward more ambitious development. This includes hybrid monetization approaches that combine different revenue streams to maximize returns.
The region’s transformation from cost advantage to quality focus represents a successful adaptation to market realities. As salary differences between East and West continue to narrow, the emphasis on game quality and user experience will only intensify.
Bridging Gaming Divides
Perhaps most significant is Gąsiewski’s insight about the convergence between casual and core gaming. This middle-ground approach – making simple games deeper and complex games more accessible – points toward a future where traditional genre boundaries matter less than engaging gameplay experiences.
For the mobile gaming industry as a whole, Gąsiewski’s “go global or do not exist” philosophy remains the fundamental reality. Success requires thinking internationally from day one, understanding diverse markets, and creating experiences that resonate across cultural boundaries.
As competition intensifies and user acquisition becomes more challenging, the developers who thrive will be those who can balance creativity with data-driven decision making, crafting games that not only attract players but keep them engaged for the long term.
Key Insights
Global Expansion is Non-Negotiable
Mobile gaming success requires global thinking from day one—”Either you go global or you do not exist,” emphasizing that local markets alone cannot sustain gaming businesses.
Regional Specialization Emerges
Central Eastern Europe (CEE) shows distinct gaming development patterns—Poland excels in complex games and RPGs, Belarus and Ukraine in casual mobile games, and the Balkans in specialized niches like sports managers and character franchises.
Market Convergence Trend
Mobile gaming is witnessing a blend of casual and complex game elements—hyper-casual games are adding depth for committed players while complex RPGs are becoming more accessible to newcomers.
User Loyalty Challenge
Established gaming habits create significant barriers for new titles, with players strongly attached to current games, making user retention as important as acquisition.
Monetization Dictates Market Targeting
In-app purchase models perform best in wealthy tier-one markets (US, UK, Germany), while ad-based games target high-population countries (India, Indonesia, Brazil).
Rising Entry Barriers
The challenge has shifted from game development to finding and retaining the right audience at sustainable costs.
Evolution from Cost to Quality
CEE studios initially leveraged lower costs but now focus on quality and optimization as salary differences narrow globally.
FAQ
What is the main challenge for mobile game developers today?
Finding and retaining the right audience at a sustainable cost has become the primary challenge, rather than the technical aspects of game development. The industry demands constant upskilling and adaptability to stay competitive.
How do monetization models affect market targeting?
Games using in-app purchases perform best in wealthy markets like the US, UK, and Germany, while ad-based games target high-population countries like India, Indonesia, and Brazil where volume generates revenue.
Why is user loyalty a significant challenge in mobile gaming?
Players develop strong attachments to games they already play, creating psychological barriers to trying new experiences—similar to how consumers rarely change banking providers once established.
How are mobile games evolving to attract wider audiences?
A convergence is happening where hyper-casual games are adding depth for committed players, while complex RPGs are creating more accessible entry points—blending elements to appeal to broader player bases while maintaining depth.
What advantages do Central Eastern European studios have?
CEE studios benefit from technical talent, creative approaches, and growing experience with international markets. Initially leveraging cost advantages, they’ve evolved toward quality focus and specialized niches.
How has Cyprus emerged as a gaming hub?
Cyprus has become what Gąsiewski calls a “gaming gold mine” following the relocation of many studios from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, creating a concentrated hub of talent and innovation.
What’s changing in investment patterns for gaming companies?
The industry is experiencing “specific globalization” where capital increasingly flows across borders to find promising gaming ventures regardless of location, with growing investor interest in CEE studios following regional success stories.