Liquid & Grit

What Liquid & Grit does

Liquid & Grit is a privately held, founder-led research and consulting firm that delivers subscription-based market intelligence to mobile gaming studios. Founded in 2015 by Brett Nowak — a former Lead Product Manager at Zynga and Director of Product at Blue Shell Games — the company is headquartered in Ross, United States, and operates with a small core team augmented by a 20+ person Expert Faculty Network drawn from companies such as King, EA, Playtika, Scopely, and Zynga.

The product surface spans monthly market reports segmented by vertical (core, casual, casino, slots, ad creatives, growth marketing), proprietary tools including a 50,000+ screenshot Feature Database, an Insights Tool, a Lift Estimator, and the Impact Portal member hub, plus services such as Custom Research, Expert Support, an Advisory Board, Events/Webinars, and Sponsorship. Underlying research is produced through a proprietary methodology that combines in-house analyst work with exclusive third-party data partnerships (SensorTower, Playliner, Solsten, MindGame Data). The firm has an API and public documentation, indicating some programmatic integration with customer workflows.

Liquid & Grit generates revenue primarily through enterprise subscription tiers priced at $15,000/month (Full Team) and $25,000/month (Enhanced), with bespoke multi-year Enterprise contracts, supplemented by custom consulting projects and event sponsorship. The go-to-market is direct enterprise sales targeting a limited roster of top-tier gaming studios — publicly named clients include Rovio, King, Big Fish, Jam City, Supercell, Zynga, Activision, Blizzard, AppLovin, Playtika, and Plarium — supported by content marketing, expert webinars, and dedicated Slack engagement channels.

Name

Liquid & Grit

Legal name

Liquid & Grit

Website

https://liquidandgrit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Liquid & Grit is a founder-led, subscription-based research and consulting firm that delivers monthly market intelligence, proprietary tools, and expert advisory services to top-tier mobile gaming studios. It serves product, monetization, and growth leaders across core, casual, and casino gaming verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Gaming Market Research & Intelligence

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry Research, Data & Market Intelligence (Charts, Sales, Analytics) (MPAFAMAG)

Keywords

• Mobile gaming research
• Competitive intelligence
• Game economy analysis
• Subscription market reports
• Monetization insights

Headquarters

HQ city

Ross

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Subscription Research Memberships: Monthly subscription providing access to market reports, teardowns, benchmarking tools, expert roundtables, and advisory services. Includes flexible research blocks allocated monthly for custom projects.
2. Custom Consulting Projects: Tailored research and analysis services addressing specific product challenges, competitive intelligence needs, and strategic questions. Delivered as structured deliverables including docs, spreadsheets, Miro boards.
3. Sponsorship: Brand growth and thought leadership opportunities through Liquid and Grit sponsorship programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Liquid & Grit provides subscription-based market research, competitive intelligence, and consulting services exclusively to mobile gaming studios. Its offerings include monthly market reports (core, casual, casino, slots, economy, ad creatives, growth marketing), proprietary tools (Feature Database of 50,000+ screenshots, Insights Tool, Lift Estimator, Impact Portal), custom research projects, advisory boards, and expert-led events. The company combines its 20+ expert faculty network with third-party data from SensorTower, Playliner, Solsten, and MindGame Data to deliver actionable insights on gameplay, design, UX/UI, economy, and player growth for top-tier gaming studios.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Membership Subscription service providing timely access to in-depth insights on mobile gaming and app development challenges, industry trends, impactful features, growth hacks, and player perspectives. Tiered at $15K/month (Full Team) and $25K/month (Enhanced), with custom Enterprise pricing.
• Custom Project / Custom Research Original research and insights crafted by mobile gaming experts for specific team or client project needs, covering competitive monitoring, economy analysis, and feature teardowns. Delivered as structured artifacts including documents, spreadsheets, and Miro boards.
• The Grit Advisory Personalized advisory service providing guidance from industry leaders in mobile gaming and app development, offering expert advice and tailored strategies to navigate challenges and drive innovation.
• Expert Support Connects members with mobile gaming and app development specialists for targeted insights on specific topics or dedicated assistance with challenges.
• Events & Webinars Exclusive roundtables, AMAs, and expert panels connecting members with top industry leaders to discuss mobile gaming trends, product, monetization, economy, competitive intelligence, and user growth topics. Available live and recorded.
• Feature Database A repository of over 50,000 screenshot libraries from top-grossing mobile games, providing instant access to the latest in feature design and trends for benchmarking and inspiration.
• Insights Tool Delivers actionable, data-driven recommendations to help optimize game performance and stay ahead of market trends.
• Lift Estimator Analyzes the impact of new features and events on game performance, enabling informed decisions that boost player engagement and revenue.
• Impact Portal Member resource portal providing integrated access to reports, deep dive toolkits, market reports, live-ops tracker (Trader tool), and revenue lift tools.
• Expert Faculty Network A team of 20+ industry experts from leading gaming companies including King, EA, Playtika, Scopely, and Zynga providing strategic insights and reviews across competitive intelligence, product, economy, monetization, and user growth topics.
• Sponsorship Sponsorship opportunities enabling brands to grow presence, showcase thought leadership, and connect with target audiences through Liquid & Grit events, reports, and channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800 basis points improvement in D1 retention and 400 basis points improvement in D30 retention using economy reports
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SensorTowercoreTechnology or IntegrationDigital intelligence platform providing mobile app performance tracking, ad spend analysis, user acquisition strategies, and market trends including downloads, revenue, audience behavior, and competitive benchmarking
• PlaylinercoreTechnology or IntegrationLive-ops intelligence platform tracking real-time events, features, and promotions across leading mobile games, revealing how top studios drive engagement, retention, and revenue through in-game economies and content strategies

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DeltaDNA: DeltaDNA provides game analytics, player segmentation and live-ops tooling used by mobile studios — adjacent but overlapping with L&G's Insights Tool and Lift Estimator capabilities.
• GameAnalytics: GameAnalytics offers free and paid game analytics dashboards and benchmarks across mobile titles; it competes with L&G on quantitative game performance insights at a lower price point.
• Deconstructor of Fun: Deconstructor of Fun publishes game teardowns, monetization analysis and live-ops breakdowns for free and via paid tiers; it competes head-to-head with L&G for the same product manager audience.
• Naavik: Naavik provides gaming industry research, newsletters, and advisory services to game studios and investors — closely comparable to L&G's subscription research and consulting motion.
• GameRefinery: GameRefinery sells mobile game feature teardowns, market reports and competitive intelligence to gaming studios — directly overlapping with Liquid & Grit's core membership offering and target buyers.

Broad incumbents

• Newzoo: Newzoo publishes global games market reports and consumer insights across PC, console and mobile; it competes with L&G on industry research and market intelligence for gaming stakeholders.
• Sensor Tower: Sensor Tower is both an L&G data partner and a broader mobile app intelligence platform serving downloads, revenue and ad-spend analytics; it competes with L&G on market intelligence while also supplying underlying data.
• data.ai (App Annie): data.ai provides mobile app market intelligence, competitive benchmarking and usage analytics — overlapping with L&G on mobile gaming market data but at significantly larger scale and broader app scope.
• Pocket Gamer / Steel Media: Pocket Gamer Biz publishes mobile gaming news, industry reports and events such as the PG Awards; it overlaps with L&G on mobile gaming media and industry intelligence.
• IDC Gaming Insights: IDC Gaming Insights offers enterprise market intelligence on games, esports and XR; it competes with L&G at the high end of gaming market research for large publishers and platform holders.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@liquidandgrit/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/liquidandgrit
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/liquid-and-grit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liquid & Grit