The Ledger #3: AppLovin's new chair, Donato's doubts

AppLovin reshuffles its top table

AppLovin named Craig Billings independent chair. CTO Basil Shikin will step down on July 1, handing the role to Giovanni Ge, and chief legal officer Victoria Valenzuela retires on August 1, succeeded by Corina Cacovean. The company's Q1 report is set for May 6.

What it means for buyers: none of this changes product or pricing today, but a new independent chair alongside a CTO and CLO transition inside the same year is a lot of leadership turnover to watch heading into earnings season.

Donato's patience with the Epic-Google settlement is thinning

Judge Donato signalled scepticism about the proposed Epic v Google Play Store settlement and has scheduled a summer evidentiary hearing rather than approving it on the papers. The hearing follows the disclosure of a previously undisclosed $800M commercial partnership between Epic and Google, which the judge has already flagged as a possible quid pro quo. The 2024 anti-steering injunction remains in force in the meantime.

What it means for buyers: Android steering and link-out rules are not settling this quarter. Keep planning around the existing injunction rather than a settlement that has not been approved.

Moloco picks up Costco

Costco has selected Moloco Commerce Media to run onsite advertising on Costco.com.

What it means for buyers: it is another data point in Moloco's push beyond app install advertising into retail media, a business line that does not directly touch mobile game UA but does diversify the revenue base behind the DSP most gaming buyers already use.

The Q1 M&A total, briefly

As covered in this week's full analysis, PocketGamer.biz and Aream put Q1 games M&A at $7.7B across 52 deals, more than triple the same quarter last year, led by Savvy's purchase of Moonton and Scopely's stake in Loom Games.

What it means for buyers: two large, strategy-adjacent deals account for most of that total. Do not read it as evidence that funding has loosened broadly across the sector.

Related archive reading

• The Ledger #21: A Settlement and Earnings Week Roundup
• The $800M question: Epic v Google's hearing and Android steering