BIGO Ads’ Eden Liu on how AI, emerging markets and privacy trends are changing the games market

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Pocket Gamer Connects, the leading international conference series for the global games industry, is coming back to San Francisco on March 17th to 18th, 2025.

This must-attend event will unite more than 750 industry professionals for two days of learning, pitching and networking. Attendees will dive into expertly curated conference tracks exploring the latest trends in mobile, covering everything from industry growth engines, user acquisition, and HTML5 to the investment landscape, monetisation, and UGC.

One of our expert speakers is BIGO Ads head of global business Eden Liu, who is set to host the talk titled: ‘Key Trends and Monetisation Strategies In Mobile Gaming’.

Ahead of the talk, we gave Liu a quick-fire interview for their thoughts on the big games industry trends, including emerging markets, AI and privacy.

PocketGamer.biz: What’s the most common mistake you see being made in the games sector?

Eden Liu: Choosing the wrong sub-category of gaming (such as hypercasual gaming).

If you could give other mobile games companies one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Don’t rely on too much on short-term ad monetisation at the expense of long-term player engagement.

Where are the next big opportunities in the mobile games market?

Emerging markets. Regions like Southeast Asia, LATAM, and MENA are experiencing rapid mobile gaming growth. With increasing smartphone penetration and improved payment infrastructures, these markets offer huge potential for user acquisition at a lower cost.

What’s the most important key performance indicator (KPI) for you – and why?

Helping gaming studios grow from zero to one and scale up is what truly defines the value of a B2B company.

What is your biggest aspiration/goal in mobile gaming? 

My biggest aspiration in mobile gaming is to bridge the gap between innovation and monetisation, helping developers turn great ideas into sustainable businesses.

What do you think the next big disruptor in mobile games will be?

AI-powered game development and personalisation. AI is transforming the way games are designed, from procedural content generation to dynamic difficulty adjustments. AI-driven personalisation will enhance player engagement by tailoring in-game experiences, recommendations, and monetisation strategies.

What is the single biggest challenge facing the mobile games industry today?

With Apple’s ATT (App Tracking Transparency) and Google’s Privacy Sandbox, traditional ad targeting and attribution have become more difficult, increasing UA costs and making it harder for developers to scale profitably. This shift forces game studios to adapt new growth strategies.

What developments do you think have been undervalued by the mobile games industry?

The rise of hybrid asual games and their impact on user retention and monetisation.