Gamescom 2026 Recap: AI's Real Cost, Rising CPIs & the Death of the Game Disc

Welcome to episode 1 of Smart and Right, a weekly, no-nonsense catch-up on everything happening in mobile and console gaming, hosted by Adam Smart (AppsFlyer) and John Wright (Turborilla).
In this launch episode, we break down our biggest conversational takeaways from Gamescom 2026:

AI adoption has exploded, from supporting single departments a year ago to running across entire game studios today. But it's not all upside: we talk real stories of runaway token costs (one employee burned $30k in a month) and why "head of AI operations" might be gaming's next big hire.

Rising mobile CPIs are pushing studios toward web-to-app strategies to cut user acquisition costs, is it actually working?

AI is collapsing prototyping timelines from months down to weeks, letting studios take more shots on goal with less spend.

The slow death of physical media, PlayStation dropping discs, Switch 2's move to cartridge codes, and what the industry loses as a generation raised on Roblox and in-app purchases takes over as gaming's biggest spenders.

China's growing footprint at Gamescom, with major studios like miHoYo targeting female and casual audiences while Western studios stay risk-averse.

If you work in gaming, mobile marketing, or just want an honest, unfiltered take on where the industry is heading, subscribe new episodes every week.