TECH & PLAY in Ebisu: An Evening with Japan's Game & App Marketers

On April 28, Playio teamed up with GMO TECH to host TECH & PLAY in Ebisu — an in-person networking event for game and app marketers in Tokyo's Ebisu district.

The event was designed to bring together marketers from Japan's game and app industry for candid conversations about data-driven game marketing and the real-world challenges they face every day. It was a chance to feel the pulse of the market, hear firsthand what practitioners are grappling with, and explore what lies ahead — the kind of exchange that's hard to replicate online.

Playio is a mobile game marketing platform built around the belief that "Grow with Real Gamer" isn't just a slogan — it's a philosophy. We believe that the time gamers invest in the games they love has real, measurable value, and that value should drive sustainable business growth for game publishers.

We believe the hours players pour into a game aren't just consumption — they deserve to be recognized as genuine engagement. By building an ecosystem where players and publishers grow together on a foundation of trust, we're working to turn that deep engagement into lasting, sustainable growth.

TECH & PLAY in Ebisu was our opportunity to share this vision directly with partners and marketers in the Japanese market.

What Was TECH & PLAY in Ebisu All About?

The game and app marketing landscape is shifting fast. Not long ago, the name of the game was user acquisition — getting as many installs as possible. Today, the questions that matter most are different: How long do those users stick around? How deeply do they engage? What kind of long-term value do they create?

In game marketing especially, metrics like retention, playtime, and LTV have become the benchmarks that truly matter. Simply driving install numbers is no longer enough to build sustainable growth.

Yet there are still surprisingly few spaces where practitioners can openly share insights grounded in real user behavior data. Companies across the industry are wrestling with similar challenges, but opportunities to exchange perspectives on market trends and data remain limited.

That's exactly why we partnered with GMO TECH to put this event together — to create a space where game marketers could meet face-to-face, talk shop, and learn from each other's experiences.

Inside the Event 

TECH & PLAY in Ebisu took place at TOOTH TOOTH TOKYO in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was a free networking event for marketers in the game and app industry, co-hosted by Playio and GMO TECH.

We were also joined by sponsors Adjust, Sensor Tower, and SpySmart — companies that each play a vital role in shaping the mobile app and game marketing ecosystem. Their involvement helped make the event an even richer forum for exchange.

The evening kicked off with opening remarks from the hosts, followed by networking, a quiz event, and a raffle. Rather than a stiff seminar format, we wanted to create an atmosphere where attendees could strike up natural conversations and share what's on their minds.

And that's exactly what happened. Discussions covered everything from UA strategy and shifts in the Japanese gaming market to retention-focused marketing and approaches to leveraging data. For us, it was an invaluable opportunity to hear directly from local marketers about the challenges they're navigating.

What Playio Wanted to Share

At the event, we introduced how Playio supports growth in game marketing.

Playio is a platform that helps optimize game marketing based on real player data. By analyzing the playtime and in-game behavior of deeply engaged, everyday gamers — what we call "real gamers" — we enable more precise targeting and better retention outcomes.

What matters most to us isn't just driving user volume.

The core of what we do is connecting publishers with users who are genuinely likely to love their game — and helping those users stay for the long haul.

We also shared our AI and machine learning models built on Playio's accumulated gamer data, along with real-world marketing performance case studies. We hope these provided some practical takeaways for publishers and marketers thinking about LTV-driven strategies.

Playio's direction is clear: respect players' engagement, and help turn that engagement into growth for publishers. We believe this will become an increasingly important principle in the future of game marketing.

Game Marketing Is Shifting from "Acquisition" to "Growth"

User acquisition still matters, of course. Getting a great game in front of more players is a fundamental part of marketing.

But the follow-up questions are now what really count:

• Are the users you've acquired actually playing?

• How long are they sticking around?

• Which users are contributing to long-term growth?

• Is your marketing spend translating into real LTV?

Answering these questions requires more sophisticated data and a more grounded understanding of user behavior.

Playio helps publishers focus on the growth metrics that truly matter, powered by real gamers' playtime and behavioral data.

At TECH & PLAY in Ebisu, many attendees resonated with this shift. It was clear that looking beyond short-term campaign performance to prioritize long-term retention and LTV is becoming an increasingly important trend in Japan's game and app market as well.

Getting Closer to Our Partners in the Japanese Market

Playio currently supports publisher growth across multiple markets, including South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Among these, the Japanese market holds special significance for us.

Japan is a market where players are deeply engaged and many beloved IPs and titles enjoy long-lasting popularity. That makes user quality, play duration, and long-term value especially critical in game marketing here.

This event gave us a valuable opportunity to share Playio's vision directly with Japanese marketers — and, just as importantly, to listen. It wasn't a one-way presentation of our data and case studies; it was a genuine exchange of perspectives, and that's what made it so meaningful.

Going forward, Playio will continue to stay close to our local partners and publishers in Japan, supporting game growth in ways that fit the market.

The Little Touch That Set the Tone

The event also featured a special collaboration with Boksoondoga, a premium craft makgeolli brand from South Korea, who provided their handcrafted makgeolli for attendees.

When industry professionals are meeting for the first time, the little things that help break the ice matter. Boksoondoga's makgeolli did just that — softening the atmosphere and making it easier for attendees to settle into relaxed, natural conversation.

The response was overwhelming — the supply ran out quickly. Thanks to this thoughtful touch, the networking portion had a lighter, more easygoing vibe that made it easy for everyone to open up and share their experiences.

Attendees connected freely around the shared theme of game marketing, building new relationships with people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Playio Will Keep Growing with Real Gamers

TECH & PLAY in Ebisu was far more than just another industry event for us.

It was a chance to explain in person why Playio focuses on real gamers' engagement, why we build our approach around playtime and behavioral data, and why we believe so strongly in an ecosystem where players and publishers grow together.

Under the banner of "Grow with Real Gamer," Playio will continue to honor the time players dedicate to the games they love — and turn that commitment into tangible growth for publishers.

Beyond South Korea, across Japan, Taiwan, and an expanding global footprint, we'll keep sharing insights and creating meaningful opportunities for publishers and marketers to connect and grow.

To everyone we met in Ebisu, Tokyo — thank you.

Playio is just getting started on the next chapter of game marketing growth.

Want more insights like this? Download our latest Global Game Advertising Trends Report.

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