TWiG #369: Genie 3 Explodes, Game Stores Die, & High Guard Stumbles
Thu Feb 05 2026
Mobile publishing isn’t dead, it’s mutating!
In this TWIG episode, we break down how Ares Interactive is trying to resurrect Glu with a $70M Series A and what that says about the current “publisher vs. studio” power balance.
We also tackle Google’s new immersive world model, Genie 3, and the industry’s first defensive reflex: how do you keep the genie in the bottle when the bottle is an API?
Phil drags us into Highguard Marketing, making us unpack the pitch, the incentives, and why “pseudo-defending” it still feels like a red flag.
Finally, we hit Arknights: Endfield launching off the back of a reported 35M pre-registrations, and what that number does (and doesn’t) predict once the game meets CPI, retention, and live ops gravity.
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Mobile publishing isn’t dead, it’s mutating! In this TWIG episode, we break down how Ares Interactive is trying to resurrect Glu with a $70M Series A and what that says about the current “publisher vs. studio” power balance. We also tackle Google’s new immersive world model, Genie 3, and the industry’s first defensive reflex: how do you keep the genie in the bottle when the bottle is an API? Phil drags us into Highguard Marketing, making us unpack the pitch, the incentives, and why “pseudo-defending” it still feels like a red flag. Finally, we hit Arknights: Endfield launching off the back of a reported 35M pre-registrations, and what that number does (and doesn’t) predict once the game meets CPI, retention, and live ops gravity.