two & a half gamers – How Chess.com became a $500M Business?

Summary

No UA. No App Store tricks. Chess.com – just 650 remote workers, a Netflix show, a cat bot named Mittens, and a $500M/year business.
We dive deep into one of the most fascinating growth stories in mobile: chess.com.

From Queen’s Gambit virality to Magnus Carlsen’s meme-worthy genius, we explore how chess.com built a mobile app empire on subscriptions, community, and strategic chaos — all without running a single ad campaign.

🎯 What You’ll Learn:
Why Queen’s Gambit + COVID lockdown sparked the app’s hockey-stick growth
How Magnus Carlsen, memes, and controversy drove global attention
The insane monetization potential chess.com isn’t using (but could)
Deep dive into subscriptions vs. ad revenue – and why purity might be expensive
Why their retention, session length, and user time rival top-tier mobile games
How they turn in-app education into a sticky, premium experience
The role of community-driven UA powered by YouTubers, Twitch, and chess drama
👑 Whether you’re a game dev, monetization lead, or just a fan of big plays in niche markets — this episode is your move.
🧠 Chess.com isn’t just a game. It’s a content engine, a learning platform, and a masterclass in scaling without spending.
🎧 Listen to how they turned 🐾Mittens the cat bot into a quarter-million downloads/day spike — and why we think they’re leaving $50M+ a year on the table.