GDC 2025 & Gamechanger TLV: Mobile Gaming’s Next Big Moves, AI Innovations, and Strategic Opportunities

The Game Developer Conference (GDC) 2025 recently came to a close, and for anyone in mobile gaming or app publishing, it stood out as one of the most important industry events of the year. 

For Z2A Digital, represented by Chief Strategy Officer Erez and Strategic Partnerships expert Lior, this five-day event was transformative, packed with insights, new connections, and revelations capable of shaping the mobile gaming landscape in the years to come.

From the moment we arrived, the atmosphere at GDC was alive with energy. The first two days were primarily reserved for informal meetings and pre-arranged networking sessions, providing us invaluable opportunities to build connections before the official Expo began on the third day. During this time, we also attended several Summits and Workshops covering topics like level design, UX, AI, and storytelling. 

The halls were filled predominantly with creative professionals, engineers, and designers, all focused on pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in gaming.

Interestingly, marketing professionals were noticeably fewer in number. This gap showed an essential opportunity for mobile game publishers, particularly in improving user acquisition and monetization strategies for long-term growth.

One noticeable part of the Expo  was the strong theme around country-specific exhibition areas, particularly focused on Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and affiliate marketing strategies. These zones underscored the ongoing global shift towards performance-based marketing, which aligns perfectly with Z2A Digital’s focus and expertise. 

This alignment gave us a clear chance to use our performance marketing strengths and start conversations with global publishers and mobile developers.

AI’s Growing Influence

If there was one theme that truly defined GDC 2025, it was the explosive rise of AI in gaming. It came up in nearly every talk, and left many wondering not just if but how fast AI will change the way games are built and played.

AI has moved beyond being just a futuristic concept, it's now integral to successful game development, user acquisition, monetization, and player engagement strategies.

AI tools have become a core part of game development, helping teams move faster, reach the right players, earn more from their games, and deliver experiences that feel more personal and engaging. 

We’ve covered AI’s expanding role across user acquisition and monetization in a previous blog post.

Building upon our AI insights from GDC, shortly afterward, we received valuable feedback from Gamechanger TLV, highlighting real-world applications of AI that are reshaping the mobile gaming industry:

Google Cloud’s Sveta Morag introduced several pioneering tools that immediately caught our attention. SIMA Agent, an innovative AI solution, can independently learn mobile games, playing them to carefully test for bugs and performance issues.

This groundbreaking development reduces reliance on manual testing, significantly cutting costs and improving efficiency. Imagen 3 was another standout AI innovation, capable of quickly transforming static character images into dynamic, engaging videos, significantly speeding up the content creation process.

Meanwhile, Gemini 2.0 demonstrated how quickly it can produce podcasts using website or social media links, with full control over language style, speech pace, and tone, ideal for dynamic content marketing.

Crazy Labs, represented by Nir Miretzky, talked about how AI is integrated deeply into their extensive portfolio which includes over 700 games and an impressive 7 billion downloads. 

AI plays a crucial role in their playable ad strategies, interactive video ads allowing potential users to experience snippets of gameplay. By using AI, Crazy Labs integrates authentic music and actual game levels directly into these ads, improving engagement and conversion rates.

Also, AI-generated voiceovers and translations in multiple languages support their global outreach. Nir highlighted the challenges involved in adopting AI effectively, emphasizing the intensive effort required to train AI models properly. He mentioned how “We often see the shopfronts of others, while we see only our own backyard.”

This reflects a broader trend we noticed throughout GDC, AI is beginning to replace certain roles like QA testers and artists, but the need for human oversight, quality control, and thoughtful integration is just as important as ever.

Finetuners.ai, led by Dori Adar, specializes in establishing AI-driven art departments within gaming companies. Despite AI's clear advantages, Dori noted that integrating AI into traditional creative teams is often met with some hesitation. He pointed out that it's still important for people to review AI-generated game assets to make sure they meet quality standards. He also mentioned that AI models need thorough and accurate training to consistently meet what developers are looking for.

These discussions at Gamechanger TLV complemented our GDC experiences perfectly, emphasizing the practical challenges and nuanced realities of AI adoption. While AI promises significant advantages, such as cost reductions, time savings, and new creative possibilities, it also requires careful implementation, substantial investment, and continuous human oversight to ensure optimal outcomes.

There were also concerns around data privacy and security, highlighting the importance of handling sensitive information carefully when using AI tools.

New Approaches to App Monetization

Beyond the AI ecosystem, another major topic that generated significant interest at GDC was monetization strategies in mobile gaming (we wrote about it here). Developers are increasingly exploring sophisticated methods like subscription-based models, hybrid monetization approaches combining in-app purchases and ads, and leveraging detailed, personalized analytics for improved player engagement. These discussions confirmed our understanding of how critical it is to strike the right balance between user satisfaction and revenue generation. Ben Porter from Newzoo was among those who spoke on Thursday, giving an overview of how player engagement, spending habits, and revenue models are evolving in 2025.

Another critical insight from our conversations was a notable knowledge gap around the Cost Per Action (CPA) advertising model among many gaming professionals. CPA, a performance-driven advertising model where advertisers only pay for specific user actions, such as installs or in-app purchases, offers a highly effective way to minimize marketing risks and maximize ROI. Recognizing this gap, Z2A Digital focuses on helping developers learn and apply CPA strategies so they can make the most of their marketing budgets and run more effective campaigns. You can read more about it here.

Opportunities and Challenges Ahead

Overall, attending GDC 2025 and Gamechange LTV for the first time gave Z2A Digital useful insights into upcoming shifts, new opportunities, and the challenges shaping the mobile gaming industry. It reinforced our belief that adaptability, innovation, and strategic alignment with evolving technologies and methodologies, particularly AI, are critical to success in this constantly evolving scene.

Another interesting layer to the conference came through a general industry report that was shared during the week, offering a snapshot of where things stand for developers in 2025. Layoffs have impacted roughly 1 in 10 developers over the past year, highlighting just how much pressure the industry is under. But at the same time, indie resilience is strong, with about half of all developers now self-funding their games.

As we already reflected on, there was also a noticeable shift in how tech is being used on the ground. One in three developers are now using generative AI to streamline workflows,  a clear sign that AI adoption isn’t just hype, it’s becoming standard. And beyond the dev tools, the content itself is evolving: a third of AAA titles are now being adapted for film or TV, which says a lot about gaming’s influence in mainstream entertainment.

And while mobile continues to grow, PC is still very much the center of gravity, with 80% of developers focused on the PC market.

As we continue to reflect on the valuable insights and takeaways from GDC and Gamechanger TLV, we're committed to passing along what we've learned and sharing our experience. Keep an eye out for upcoming articles and detailed analyses as we further explore these critical topics and opportunities.

With mobile gaming constantly changing, staying up to date and flexible is more important than ever. 

AI and strategic innovation are no longer just nice-to-haves, they’re essential. As the industry evolves, embracing these changes together is how we stay ahead. 

Let’s take on the challenges, seize the opportunities, and move the future of mobile gaming forward.

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