two & a half gamers – How to 10x Your Revenue in a Tough Market by Paul West

Summary

Paul West, founder of Fumb Games, joins Two and a Half Gamers to share the real growth story behind the studio’s breakout year. From Bitcoin Miner’s $10 million run to the launch of Idle Mine and a creative rebrand that hit $1 million in sixty days, Paul explains how ruthless UA strategy, creative expansion, and a “cut what doesn’t work” mindset allowed a lean team to scale tenfold—right in the middle of the industry’s hardest year.

What’s inside:

UA: Bigger Risks, Smarter Focus
Fumb Games ditched the “three-day payback only” mindset, stretched paybacks, and invested in UA even when it was scary. They ran tons of networks, then cut to the four that moved the needle.

Creative Volume and Experimentation
AI tools, influencer gigs on Fiverr, and a nonstop creative testing culture delivered more winning ads and allowed for higher spend. The team tested everything—static, video, and even reskinned gameplay for new themes.

LiveOps and Community as Retention Fuel
Weekend and midweek events, Discord and Reddit codes, and direct player rewards kept ARPDAU and DAU rising together—unusual for a scaling idle studio.

Monetization Upgrades
Subscriptions became 80 percent of purchase revenue in new titles. Side revenue from play gap (offline ad fill), Zebedee (crypto microtransactions), and Discord monetization all helped lift margins.

Market Read and Thematic Focus
When Bitcoin Miner started to plateau, they rebranded a casual project into Idle Mine, doubled down on the Bitcoin theme, and saw instant traction and monetization in a proven niche.

Key Takeaway:
You do not 10x by playing it safe. Cut what doesn’t work, invest big in what does, and let your UA and creative testing do the heavy lifting. If the theme and the community are hot, pour fuel on that fire.