TWIG #371: Clash Royale's Death Spiral, Blizzard's Comeback, and Why AI Hype is Killing Games

We recap the Clash Royale creator controversy and CEO apology, dig into what’s broken with evolutions, heroes, and pay-to-win, and debate whether streamers can actually drive a comeback. We also cover Savvy’s rumored MoonTon deal, Blizzard’s updates across Overwatch, Diablo, and WoW, the slowdown in mobile games, the frozen state of M&A, and a reality check on AI in games - from hype to hard limits.

00:25 Welcome & Episode Lineup (No More Car Talk)

01:52 Rumor Mill + Why We’re Skipping Matthew Ball (For Now)

03:10 GDC Plans, Events, and Content Plug Roundup

06:00 Ad Break: Sensor Tower Pitch

06:20 Clash Royale Creator Controversy Recap + CEO Apology

09:44 What’s Actually Broken in Clash Royale: Evolutions, Heroes & Pay-to-Win

11:45 Do Streamers Drive the Revival? Twitch Data, Correlation vs Causation

13:02 PR Playbook Debate: Groveling vs Proactive Creator Celebration

21:53 Savvy’s Buying Spree: $6–7B MoonTon Rumor (Mobile Legends)

27:15 Overwatch Drops the “2”: DAU Surge, Live Ops, and Monetization Revamp

32:43 Blizzard’s comeback tour: Diablo drops, WoW housing & Overwatch’s 10-year arc

35:49 Mobile check-in: Habi’s 2026 slump and the post-Survivor.io reality

38:16 The real engine behind Habi: Gorilla Games and the “publisher outgrown” problem

40:36 M&A hypotheticals: Scopely, Savvy, and why deals feel frozen right now

42:36 AI in games debate: calling out the hype and what actually changes the medium

44:50 Why AI won’t make games cheaper: IP moats, attention scarcity, and AI-native platforms

49:17 East vs West AI reality check: layoffs, pipeline bottlenecks, and player backlash risk

57:03 Embark as an AI efficiency poster child? The smoke, mirrors, and AAA cost skepticism

01:01:43 Closing thoughts: mobile growth is over, share-of-time wars, and next week’s plug