TWIG #377: Epic for Sale, Unity Cuts Deep, and Merge Keeps Printing

The industry isn’t slowing down. This week, we break down the biggest shifts across games.

Topics Covered:

● Disney and Epic: Why the speculation is picking up and what a bigger Disney move into games could look like
● Unity’s latest shift: A strong earnings beat, the shutdown of Ironsource, and the sale of Supersonic
● Studio closures and shutdowns: What the latest cuts across VR, live service, and Embracer say about the market
● The Merge 2 rise: Why the category keeps growing and the debate over what’s really driving the revenue
● Cookie Run’s next step: Franchise expansion and the challenge of turning one hit into something bigger
● New soft-launch shooters: Ex-Supercell teams, familiar patterns, and questions about where action games fit on mobile

Plus ++
We also get into Tim Sweeney’s role in Epic’s future, Unity versus AppLovin in ad tech, card systems, soft-launch design, and Kress’s latest reality check on mobile.

CHAPTERS:

01:14 Mario Movie Backlash

03:45 Leroy Jenkins Capital

06:52 Housekeeping And Corrections

09:10 Disney Buying Epic Rumor

12:12 Tim Sweeney Control Fight

14:55 Entertainment Gaming Graveyard

17:46 Unity Dumps IronSource

23:22 Vector Versus AppLovin Scale

26:35 Shutdowns And VR Reality Check

30:46 Matthew Ball Metaverse Spat

33:38 Embracer Wildland Canceled

36:50 Merge Two Boom Explained

42:29 Cards Drive Revenue Debate

50:48 Cookie Run Franchise Bet

56:50 Soft Launch Shooter Doubts

01:00:22 Field Day Hands On Review

01:06:06 Kress's Mobile Reality Rant

01:10:16 Episode Wrap Up