GameMakers
146 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsThe GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.
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Episodes
Why Nvidia (NVDA) stock jumped and the impact of AI to gaming | AI X Gaming!
May 30, 2023 19:35 - 9 minutes - 9.11 MBExcerpt from GameMakers full interview: Pixels & Profits #1. Watch the full discussion here: https://youtu.be/2G539NGHfVI SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ 😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 • TWITTER → @jokim1 • LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/ — POPULAR CONTENT — 🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I 🔮 Gam...
Where is the Game Industry Today? - M&A and Public Game Companies | Pixels & Profits #1
May 29, 2023 06:23 - 1 hour - 79.7 MBLike the rest of the world, the games industry has undergone many changes! The impact of the end of ZIRP, global macro trends, and the end of the age of excess leads to many changes. We discuss where we are today, the M&A outlook, and the outlook for major public game companies. M&A discussion - Scopely/Savvy - Rovio/SEGA - Activision/Microsoft Public Companies: - AI + @NVIDIA (NVDA) - Embracer (EMBRAC-B) - Ubisoft (UBSFF) - Take Two (TTWO) - EA (EA) - Unity (U) - Applovin (APP) OUTLINE...
Mobile Growth: IDFA Deprecation Scapegoat or Reality?
May 23, 2023 07:10 - 48 minutes - 44.5 MBLet's be real. Everyone is blaming IDFA! Listen to the top 3 reasons why any game failed over the past 6 months; it's always IDFA. How real is this? There is a narrative today that IDFA deprecation has destroyed mobile marketing growth and made new game launches dramatically more difficult to even impossible. The counter-narrative more often whispered in private conversations, is that the scapegoating of IDFA is false. Bad games, bad forecasts, and fundamental team problems are more to b...
Diversity in a Changing World | Sarah Thomson Shares Her Experience
May 15, 2023 21:34 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBSarah Thomson is a long-time games industry veteran, having had an extremely successful career in business development at companies like IUGO, Gree, Sony (PlayStation), Google, and most recently at Bad Robot Games. We discuss her experience and thoughts on female diversity in the gaming industry. Get ready for a real discussion where we try to address topics more meaningfully. OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 1:30 How should women be treated in the workplace, if differently from men? 6:45 JK's experien...
JK Vlog #7: Adversity, Focus on Can Do!
April 02, 2023 06:54 - 7 minutes - 6.42 MBI'm back after a few months. Here are some recent thoughts on dealing with adversity that has come up this year. I really thought 2023 was gonna be easy! Lol. FORTUNATELY, I'm still struggling with challenges which is making me a better person. As my wife recently told me: "Don't focus on what we can't do or can't have, let's focus on what we can do." LFG everybody. Hope you're all killing it! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gamemakers/message
Hypernova: Facing Adversity and Building the GTA for India!
March 27, 2023 17:20 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBMayur Bhimjiyani is the CEO and co-founder of Hypernova, an India-based F2P games studio building a GTA-like game focusing on the Indian market. Mayur speaks about his background, the history behind Hypernova, and why they are building Mayanagari, a game Mayur hopes to become as successful as GTA. OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 1:02 Why do so many Indian game devs call Hypernova the most exciting game studio in India? 4:45 Why build Mayanagari - the GTA for India? 16:33 The history behind Hypernova 22...
Sequoia Capital India on Investing in Indian Gaming Market
March 21, 2023 04:30 - 24 minutes - 22.9 MBOUTLINE: 0:00 Sequoia Capital India introduction 0:49 Intro to Shailesh Lakhani and Prachi Pawar 3:29 Type of investments and founders they seek 4:36 Surge pre-Series A program 5:30 Specific opportunities and trends in India 9:04 Gaming opportunity in India 13:51 Specific gaming investment opportunities they seek 14:59 Why did Sequoia India invest in Lila Games? 16:30 Current investment environment, macro factors 19:19 Advice to founders based on current trends 21:10 Outlook on Web3 22:51...
F2P Game Startups: Keep Going or Tap Out? ft. Michael Martinez (CEO of FunCraft)
March 17, 2023 16:55 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MBOUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 0:33 The "brutal" game dev environment 2:11 Current market environment vs. before 3:50 More about Funcraft and the business situation 8:15 Funcraft's biggest challenge 9:40 How do you determine what game to make? 11:52 Biggest lessons and challenges of startups vs. big companies to achieve success 14:54 Challenge of new game dev from big companies 17:20 Lessons for mobile gaming startups in current market environment 19:50 Focus vs. "don't bet the farm...
Debate: Is Blizzard Stack Ranking Evil?
February 18, 2023 20:19 - 1 hour - 81.2 MBOUTLINE: 0:00 Bloomberg article on stack ranking at Blizzard 1:01 Introduct to speakers: Matthew Kanterman, Drew Levin, and Brett Nowak 1:48 High level thoughts on stack ranking as a practice 5:33 Stack ranking poll results - Majority are against 7:30 JK hypothetical situations to use stack ranking 25:40 Character vs. cruelty in stack ranking during recruiting 36:30 Management rationale behind stack ranking 39:27 Should the Blizzard manager have been fired? 47:10 Stack ranking ties ...
Mobile Shooters: What's Next After Battle Royale? ft. Jordan Phang/Naavik (FREE REPORT!)
February 16, 2023 04:22 - 29 minutes - 27 MBOUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 0:50 Jordan Phang self intro 1:35 Mobile shooter game market size 2:53 Competitive concentration in mobile shooter and Asia 4:25 Success in China 5:40 US market and games to watch out for 6:50 Adapting games for specific markets like Japan and China 8:25 Naavik's shooter taxonomy and problems with classification 12:52 Explanation of extraction shooter sub-genre 14:15 Current extraction shooter games: Lost Light, Arena Breakout 15:22 The thesis behind ...
Breaking the Meta in The Game of Life! with Moritz Baier-Lentz (Lightspeed Venture Partners)
January 22, 2023 17:32 - 56 minutes - 52.2 MBMoritz Baier-Lentz is a partner at Lightspeed Gaming, heading up their gaming investment practice. Today we discuss viewing life as a game and how to optimize your own goals towards life by thinking about life as a game and how to break the meta. You won't want to miss this unique and interesting discussion, so check it out! SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Do...
Grateful for Opportunity | JK Vlog #6
November 26, 2022 17:03 - 2 minutes - 2.19 MBHappy Thanksgiving! I'm in India this year and had a Mexican burrito bowl in the office by myself. Lol. As I sat in the office late at night, I recorded another cringe and weird video for my kids. Too many people undervalue opportunity! I just wanted to let you know that I'm grateful this Thanksgiving for the opportunity to try to build something meaningful. It's not looking good right now, but that's what entrepreneurship is all about: how do we take a low-probability scenario and turn ...
Future of eSports ft. Ilaria Caputo (EA), Hugo Tristao (Newzoo), & Matt Kanterman (Ball Metaverse)
November 11, 2022 06:19 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBWe deep dive on eSports. Current market and growth projections, what kinds of games do well, business model, structure, prize pools, key trends, geographic differences, and more! Join us with our esteemed group of speakers: Ilaria Caputo (EA), Matthew Kanterman (Ball Metaverse Research Partners), and Hugo Tristao (Newzoo). Speaker links below. 👇 EPISODE LINKS: Ilaria Caputo, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilaria-caputo/ Matthew Kanterman, https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-kanterman-cfa-b63...
How to Install Company Values & Culture | Philosophy Friday #21
October 25, 2022 15:23 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBStoffer Touborg was a lead game designer on Eve Online at CCP, led Wild Rift at Riot, and currently acts as Executive Producer on Bitcraft Online for Clockwork Labs. Stoffer is one of the most thoughtful game industry executives I know, and I regularly ask Stoffer for advice on leadership, organizational principles, and recruiting. Today we talk about not just about coming up with a desired set of company values and culture, but how to actually implement or install these within a compa...
Stellaris Venture Partners on Game Investing in India | ft. Rahul Chowdhri
September 26, 2022 02:49 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MBI speak to Rahul Chowdhri, an investor at Stellaris Venture Partners, about the venture capital market in India, the current state of investment here, and his outlook on investments in gaming in India. OUTLINE: 0:00 General landscape of venture capital in India 2:20 Specialist vs. generalist VCs, the definition of micro-VC 3:35 Sudden investment interest in gaming in India 4:48 Should investors invest early in gaming or wait for talent to emerge? 5:17 Info on Stellaris and what ...
Predicting Game Success + Corporate Nonsense (Philosophy Friday #19)
September 09, 2022 20:46 - 1 hour - 69.7 MBPredicting a game's success during concept or development is an incredibly difficult problem. What are typical ways companies, especially big companies think about and manage their green light process? What kinds of corporate nonsense occurs that hurts game outcomes? SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/...
The F2P Game Designer | ft. John Kelly Creative Director at PlaySimple
September 08, 2022 18:14 - 48 minutes - 44.3 MBToday's focus will be on the F2P game design discipline. How it’s evolved, what does it take to be successful as a game designer, the tools and practice of a F2P game designer, and where does John think the future is headed for F2P game design. 👇 EPISODE LINKS: - PlaySimple Games: https://playsimple.in/ - John Kelly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-kelly-99b3966/ SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: ht...
Building a F2P Liveops Playbook | ft. The Games Consultant Matt Emery
September 03, 2022 19:45 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBI interview Matthew Emery aka "The Games Consultant" about what it means to build a F2P liveops "Playbook." Listen to this Q&A between me and Matt! SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 1:01 Matt's 19-Year Background & Current Business 2:24 High-Level Framew...
How to Argue Constructively (Philosophy Friday #20)
September 03, 2022 04:14 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBDrew Levin is currently Director of Product at Riot Games and before that a Director of Product Management at Zynga. Zynga vs. Riot: two companies with wildly different approaches to game development, decision-making, and a culture of debate and discussion. Even more, Drew worked as a political campaign manager before game development. I believe Drew is uniquely experienced in speaking very deeply about different cultures and approaches to having constructive debates within a corporate...
Living With Purpose | JK Vlog #5
August 24, 2022 20:10 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBI talk about why I'm sacrificing so much to try and make Lila Games a successful company. Also, how much of my thinking was influenced by the Clayton Christensen essay (there's a book as well, which I haven't read yet) "How Will You Measure Your Life?" --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gamemakers/message
Will Dislyte Be Lilith's Next Big Mobile Gaming Hit?
August 24, 2022 03:30 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBGet the data and read the more in-depth take here: https://gamemakers.substack.com/p/will-dislyte-be-liliths-next-big We talk about Lilith Games' latest mobile game: Dislyte. It's a "team battle" (game sub-genre) based mobile game that started strong but has recently slowed down. What are the chances of success? We bring on two experts who recently covered Dislyte #1. Harshal Karvande, Lead Game Designer at Rovio & Naavik Pro Contributor who wrote a deconstruction report on Dislyte and...
Adversity is a Gift | JK Vlog #4
August 13, 2022 17:07 - 9 minutes - 8.66 MBComing off of one of the toughest months in my career, I reflect on how lucky I am to be faced with problems. It's only through problems and major challenges that you can learn how to get better. Adversity, therefore, is a gift! As Ray Dalio wrote in Principles: Pain + Reflection = Progress It's tough, but I hope you realize as I have that we are fortunate to have the challenges we face. SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://...
Discipline, Drive, and Details X Mental Strength | JK Vlog #3
August 07, 2022 04:14 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBOh damn, I actually made another Vlog. Well, today I talk about the importance of discipline, drive, and details in execution and achieving successful outcomes. Further, I talk about how mental strength magnifies the 3Ds and how you can train for mental strength like a muscle. SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube...
Bombay Play and Hyper Social Games ft. Mr. Oliver Jones
August 06, 2022 12:45 - 34 minutes - 32 MBOliver Jones is an OG game maker in India having worked at 2 of India's biggest companies like Zynga and co-founded Moonfrog (sold to Stillfront for $100M). He has now co-founded a new games studio called Bombay Play focusing on a new breed of games called "hyper social" games. Why did Oli come to India in the first place? How were companies like Zynga and Moonfrog like during the early days? How has the Indian game dev ecosystem evolved over the years? How and why did he found Bombay Pl...
Health is Critical to Grind | JK Vlog #2
July 27, 2022 16:15 - 11 minutes - 10.6 MBAre you a workaholic grinder like me? Well, it finally got the best of me and totally jacked up my back and face. Health is critical! I talk about a big problem, trying to fix my health, and the results of my plan to get better in this video. SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 😃 —CONNECT...
Bayesian Thinking for Startups with @SebPark
July 19, 2022 09:45 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBToday I speak to Seb Park regarding how startups should incorporate "Bayesian Thinking" into their strategic decision-making process. This means how to incorporate new information for a startup best and how to use that to gain a massive competitive advantage. SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMaker...
Starting vs. The Grind | JK Vlog #1
July 17, 2022 09:08 - 7 minutes - 6.75 MBWhen you're at the office super late and hella tired, you do weird shit like starting a Vlog. I'm Joseph Kim, CEO of Lila Games and we are trying to build a mobile gaming studio out of Bangalore, India. SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @...
Garena Free Fire: Secrets to Success and Analyzing The Fall
July 15, 2022 03:51 - 1 hour - 57 MBMobile free-to-play game design experts from Naavik - Thomas Baker (former lead game designer at Electronic Arts and lead on Real Racing 3) and Eva Grillova (former game designer from Wooga and SocialPoint) - have written a super in-depth analysis on Garena Free Fire. Find out how Free Fire was able to achieve success to become the world's most downloaded shooter game of all time! Further, why has Free Fire dropped by over 30% since last year? What are the big risks and opportunities ahea...
UA Apocalypse, Product Validation, Impact Global Recession, Employee Compensation (Philosophy #17)
July 11, 2022 10:42 - 1 hour - 66.6 MBWe talk about a lot of hot topics people have been discussing in the games industry. Topics: #1. The dramatic decline in user acquisition marketing - UA Apocalypse #2. Impact of global recession #3. Employee compensation SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 2:...
Culture Communication Isn't Enough + Employee Incentive Systems (Philosophy #18)
July 09, 2022 20:08 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBJoseph Kim and Brett Nowak talk about cultural installation (not just conveying or communicating culture) and about how to create incentive systems for employees. SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 2:01 Installing Culture (Not Just Communication of Culture) ...
Will Harbin on Lessons from Kixeye and Making a Comeback
June 29, 2022 15:06 - 55 minutes - 50.6 MBWill Harbin was CEO at Kixeye during the early 2010s when the company launched some of the most innovative games to the market at that time: Desktop Tower Defense, Backyard Monsters, War Commander, and Battle Pirates. The company was poised to become the next big gaming juggernaut but did not quite make the transition to mobile. Today Will is making a comeback with Kixeye 2.0, his new company Global Worldwide which recently launched Kingdom Maker. Don't miss this fascinating discussion,...
Sebastian Park on why User Generated Content is the Future of Games
June 23, 2022 23:06 - 38 minutes - 35.2 MBSebastian Park is a co-founder of the UGC publishing company Infinite Canvas and a venture partner at BITKRAFT Ventures. He was also formerly VP of eSports for the Houston Rockets and co-founded Clutch Gaming. Seb talks about his beliefs on why user-generated gaming is the next frontier for the games industry. SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss...
Entertainment IP in Games - The Complete Guide by 3 World-class Experts
June 20, 2022 15:37 - 1 hour - 79.6 MBThree of the greatest experts on Entertainment IP in Games give perhaps the most in-depth discussion on impact, deal structure, issues, and advice. You don't want to miss this if you have any interest of licensing IP in your game! SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio OUTLINE: 0:00 I...
Product Manager to Founder | Akash Senapaty (From Zynga to Vah Vah)
May 01, 2022 14:50 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBAfter a career in product management at places like Zynga Natural Motion and Digital Chocolate, Akash Senapaty founded e-learning startup Vah Vah with 3 others from Zynga India. What are the lessons learned? What was he able to translate from being a games PM at Zynga to entrepreneurship? What are his thoughts on the gaming companies and the opportunities in India? SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://ww...
Web3 Opportunities for Game Devs
April 24, 2022 09:22 - 1 hour - 74.7 MBWe discuss the current opportunity space for traditional game developers around Web3. SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio OUTLINE: 0:00 Introduction 1:51 Why Web3? 6:20 What Does Web3 Mean? 24:37 Axie Hack & Big Risks 39:27 Emotional Web3 Devs 46:08 Areas of Innovation ...
We Raised a $10M Series A | Game Studio Funding Mistakes! 💰
April 18, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 88.5 MBWe talk about game studio fundraising and specifically Series A funding - what that means - and lessons, best practices, and mistakes based on my own experience with this current financing round. Understand the difference between Seed and Series A. Make sure you don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't be a lame CEO and make sure you take funding seriously! SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.you...
The Rise of the Indian Gaming Market
April 16, 2022 15:05 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MBMr. Product Growth Guy himself Aakash Gupta and I discuss the details behind our recent report on the growth and Rise of Gaming in India. Check out the full written analysis here: https://gamemakers.substack.com/p/the-rise-of-the-indian-gaming-market SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 • TWITTER → @jokim1 • LIN...
How Companies Can Retain Employees (Philosophy Friday #16)
April 10, 2022 15:20 - 1 hour - 65 MBHow should companies think about retaining employees? 1. How much to invest in employees when they may wind up just leaving? 2. How to retain employees besides just wage escalation? 3. What should the attitude of employers be regarding the loss of employees? 4. How to think about matching competitive compensation vs. letting employees go? 5. Thinking about redundancy or building an anti-fragile company? SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spoti...
Russia Ukraine War Impact on Video Games Industry ft. Boris Kalmykov CEO Hypemasters
April 08, 2022 22:12 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBThe Russia Ukraine war has had a dramatic impact on many people’s lives. Huge impact to society, to our economies, and to various industries in different ways. How has video game development been impacted by the war? Boris Kalmykov, CEO of Hypemasters is a Russian living in the UK but with most of his company formerly located in St. Petersberg. - How have his company and other companies with employees in Russia and Ukraine been impacted? - What about the impact on big companies wit...
How to Create a Hit Games Studio From India? | LILA Games CTO Avinash Pandey
March 27, 2022 03:45 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBToday I’m here with my co-founder and CTO of LILA Games, Avinash Pandey. Having a frank discussion about the games industry here in India and what it’s going to take for India to become a place where world-leading games studios emerge. If China and Turkey can do it, why not India? SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.sp...
Marketing Analysis: Garena Free Fire Max and PUBG New State! Ft. Matej Lancaric & Nebo Radovic
March 19, 2022 15:26 - 1 hour - 60 MBWe breakdown the mobile marketing activities of both Garena Free Fire Max and PUBG: New State, comparing and contrasting the user acquisition initiatives deployed in both games. We first start with a high-level overview of the top 3 mobile shooter games: PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, and Garena Free Fire. Joining to review, discuss, and add meaningful insights to the presentation from SocialPeta we have 2 of the best mobile marketers in the world. SPEAKERS: - Matej Lancaric, ...
Philosophy Friday #14: Most Critical Product Manager Skills vs. Personality
March 11, 2022 21:58 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MBWhat are the skills and kind of personality required to be a winning product manager? In particular, what do you need to become a "needle-moving" PM instead of a minor cog that doesn't actually make much of a difference? High-level outline 1. Organizational differences we often see in different gaming studios and talk about some of the ways in which, therefore - certain skills and personality traits would be more critical than others. 2. General discussion about what are the kin...
Game Industry M&A in 2022 and Beyond! Miniclip, Drake Star Partners, & FunPlus Weigh In
March 08, 2022 03:45 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBWe discuss the current state of mergers & acquisitions in the games industry. Topics: 0:00 Introduction 4:13 Activision to Microsoft 12:16 Zynga to Take-Two 25:30 Current M&A Landscape 39:25 Potential Targets 48:17 Playtika Acquisition 51:52 Carve-Out Opportunities 1:01:03 Predictions Speakers: - Saad Choudri, CEO at Miniclip - Michael Metzger, Partner at Drake Star Partners - Chris Petrovic, Chief Business Officer at FunPlus 👇 CHECK IT OUT Newsletter: https...
Structured Mobile Marketing | The Ad Concept Model (Zynga + Consumer Acquisition)
March 02, 2022 00:09 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBSome context: - IDFA deprecation has created a -30% margin compression for many game studios against their game revenue - With the deterioration of lookalike audiences CA submits that contextual and interest-based targeting will be more performant - Consumer Acquisition performed over 25,000 multivariate tests on Facebook, Google, Tiktok, and Snap and have learned that 85-95% of new creative concepts fail to outperform the best ad in an existing portfolio. Hence you may need 20-50 new ...
Philosophy #12: On Employee Motivation
January 24, 2022 09:31 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBA deep discussion on how we think about employee motivation to work. How should we think about it? We cover topics such as key factors that contribute to higher motivation, the importance of desperation, how it's important to help some employees tie potential outcomes to the work they do, and the importance of creating the right incentive systems to align work motivation. Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https...
GameMakers 2021 Drunk Game Awards Show: Best and Worst of 2021
January 16, 2022 03:11 - 1 hour - 92.7 MBWe discuss the best and worst of game dev in 2021. Our awards crew: Javier Barnes, Lead Game Designer at King Josh Burns, Founder at DigitalDevConnect Shannon Chang, Head of Operations at Trading.TV Niklas Herriger, Executive Coach at 8 Bit Coaching Matthew Kanterman, CFA, Senior Equity Research Analyst at Bloomberg LP Eric Kress, Principal at Gossamer Consulting Group, LLC K en Landen, Lead Product Manager at Scopely Brian Peganoff, Ex. Senior Director, Corporate Developm...
roduct Philosophy #11: 2021 Review | Key Trends & Lessons Learned
December 31, 2021 19:18 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBWe talk about some of the biggest trends and lessons of 2021: 1. Rise of Personal Brands (and everyone now jumping on) 2. Power and Importance of Relationships 3. The Duality of Existence and Human Nature 4. The New New Thing Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gamemakers/message
Philosophy #11: 2021 Review | Key Trends & Lessons Learned
December 31, 2021 19:18 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBWe talk about some of the biggest trends and lessons of 2021: 1. Rise of Personal Brands (and everyone now jumping on) 2. Power and Importance of Relationships 3. The Duality of Existence and Human Nature 4. The New New Thing Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gamemakers/message
Philosophy #10: Recruiting Like A Pro | Games Industry
December 25, 2021 00:12 - 1 hour - 92.7 MBToday we discuss one of the most important topics for the success of a games studio, especially for startups and those working on new game projects: RECRUITING! GUEST: - Tayber Voyer, VP of Product - A Thinking Ape HOSTS: - Joseph Kim, CEO at LILA Games - Brett Nowak, CEO at Liquid & Grit Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gamemakers/message
Philosophy #9: Bill Walsh | Don't Make Enemies
December 17, 2021 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBBill Walsh, the Hall of Fame NFL coach, had a number of incredibly insightful and effective leadership philosophies as discussed in his book "The Score Takes Care of Itself." One philosophy Walsh discusses is something he calls "Make Friends, Not Enemies." We discuss this concept and as always the nuance and specific application. Check it out! HOSTS: - Joseph Kim, CEO at LILA Games - Brett Nowak, CEO at Liquid & Grit Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers....