In this special episode, Sophie Vo shares a heartfelt thank you to the community for their loyalty and support over the past three years, and reveals a major personal update: the start of her new game company, Kylan. This new venture will lead to a short break in podcast content, but we assure listeners that this is just a brief hiatus! We are onboarding new co-hosts so if you're interested in giving it a try, contact us at [email protected] Workshop and 1-1 coaching inquiry at...

In this episode, we interview Jamie Smith, a principal game designer at People Can Fly, about the challenges and insights into design leadership for AAA development. While agile development with quick feedback loop is common for mobile games, it is not for AAA! So how do you combine the mindset of agility and traditionally long and siloed AAA game development? Jamie Smith, with over 13 years of experience working on AAA titles like Tom Clancy's The Division, FIFA, and Call of Duty, discusses...

In this episode, we deconstruct the success of Beatstar, from the lens of design and company culture at Space Ape Games, with our special guest Charmie Kim, Game lead at Space Ape Games. We explore the evolution of game development from first-mover advantages beginnings to the complex, research-driven approach necessary in today's competitive market. Through Charmie's journey from working on Samurai Siege Live Ops to leading the highly successful music game Beatstar, we uncover insights on...

We interview Derk De Geus, co-CEO and Co-Founder of Paladin Studio to explore leadership lessons learned over two decades in the gaming industry. The episode covers the genesis of Paladin Studio, its transition from a service company to a game development studio, and how it navigated challenges and growth without external investment. Bootstrapping successfully a studio is a rare story we hear of these days! Derk shares insights on the importance of self-awareness, empathetic communication,...

Different teams make different games, for different audiences, In this episode, we interview the duo Caroline Marchal and Charu Desodt, respectively CEO and Studio Director at Interior Night, to share their journey building an innovative AAA studio from scratch. Interior Night is an independent game studio formed by Quantic Dream and Sony veterans based in London, dedicated to creating innovative interactive stories for a broad and mature audience. They are the crreators of the original...

In this episode, we follow the journey of Laura Carter, CEO and co-founder of TreesPlease Games, with the mission to bring a positive impact on the planet, through games. After a stellar career at companies such as Natural Motion, Square Enix, The Walt Disney Company and PlayStation Studios, Laura decided in 2019 to take a leap and bring her passion for the planet and business together and found TreesPlease Games. TreesPlease Games raised $8M in seed funding in 2023:...

The podcast features Kim Nordström, a gaming industry veteran from Paradox Interactive and King, and the author of 'Up, Down, Up', a book about the life cycle phases of gaming startups. We delve into Kim's analytical approach exploring startup successes and failures, identifying key patterns across companies. Over two years of research, Kim interviewed over a hundred gaming founders, CEOs, and leaders. Relevant topics ranging from the necessity of creative tension and disciplined...

In 2023, there were 11.89% female CEOs and 8.95% co-founders (reported from 7 different funds) from approximately 400 companies and 1000 founders. It is progress but there is still a long way to go before we see more women accessing positions of CEOs, especially when they are not founding their own company. In this episode, we interview Veronica Rojas, who climbed the ranks in her career from product marketing at Gameloft to Head of Studio, ultimately becoming the co-CEO at Uken Games. How...

As the gaming industry is maturing, we become aware of the importance of diversity in audience, teams, and leadership. But what about the investment side? In this episode, we interview Kelly Wallick, the former founder of Indie Megabooth and now a partner at 1Up Ventures, founded in 2019 by Ed Fries (Former Microsoft Vice President). Their mission is to build a diverse and inclusive community of the most talented, experienced, and creative independent game developers in the world. Their...

"What if I build my own company? What if I have more money? Then, I will be happier!" In this episode, Sophie interviews Miska Katkoff, founder of Deconstructor of Fun and former CEO of Savage Games, to reflect on the journey post-acquisition from PlayStation Studios in 2022. We discuss the definition of success and the common pressures individuals face in attaining it. Miska shares his personal experience navigating his sense of achievement, dealing with external validation, and the value...

With thousands of people being laid off in the gaming industry over the past few months, what does it look like to create your own job rather than waiting for the job market to recover? Matej Lancaric, known for his prominent role in UA in Games, shares his journey as a solopreneur on the podcast. We cover Matej's transition from a corporate career to UA consultancy, his unique approach to providing value to the audience, the evolution of his content creation, and his definition of success....

In this episode, Mika Tammenkoski, the CEO and co-founder of Metacore shared the evolution of his gaming company since its inception in 2020. From a small team prototyping smartwatch games to novel merge mechanics, the company has grown to 190+ members. The studio’s first global hit game Merge Mansion already has over 50 million players. Metacore is one of the fastest growing game companies in Europe, with EUR 129 million in revenue in 2022 and a team of 190 professionals. The company has...

What would happen if someone leaked their company's full compensation information to the entire company? That's how you can evaluate your readiness to move your company toward an open salaries policy, or not. In the future of work, where more and more employees will prioritize transparency and equality, open salaries are poised to become a standard for Gen Z in Western cultures. If you want to remain competitive in the long term and hiring talents, you may want to consider embracing open...

🇮🇳 SPECIAL INDIA SERIES 🇮🇳 In this last episode of the series, we unleash India's gaming potential from an investment point of view with Vivek Ramachandran, early-stage investor at Matrix Partners. We dive into the exciting world of game development and explore the potential of the Indian market. We discuss the growth of the media and entertainment sector, the rise of mobile gaming, and the opportunities for global distribution. Vivek also shares insights into the challenges and...

🇮🇳 SPECIAL INDIA SERIES 🇮🇳 In this episode, we follow the journey of Ram Reddy, CEO and co-founder at QuriousBit, and former product leader at Play Simple, which was acquired by MTG in 2021 for $510M. QuriousBit was founded end of 2022 and raised its funding of $2 million from gaming-focused venture capital firm Lumikai and early-stage investor General Catalyst. The studio is taking a fresh and innovative approach, both in game design and distribution, to achieve category-leading success...

🇮🇳 SPECIAL INDIA SERIES 🇮🇳 In this episode, we go on a captivating journey into the world of gaming and e-sports in India. Joined by Roby John, the CEO of SuperGaming and former co-founder of June Gaming, we discuss the rise of India's gaming industry and the unique player-centric and cultural approach SuperGaming has taken in building its innovative Indo-Futuristic Battle Royale title: Indus. More about Supergaming: https://www.youtube.com/@supergaming6686 More about Indus:...

🇮🇳 SPECIAL INDIA SERIES 🇮🇳 What if AI could be the answer to providing quality education for every child in the world? What if we could leverage tech and entertainment to have a social impact at scale? That's the world problem Rishi and his Supernova AI team try to crack. In the episode, we go deep inside Supernova's fascinating journey, where the team believes that learning should be fun and interactive instead of just being a passive experience. We live in the age of user-centricity, and...

🇮🇳 SPECIAL INDIA SERIES 🇮🇳 In this episode, we sit down with Ojas Vipat, the CEO and co-founder of Mayhem Studio ($20 million raised in a Series A round led by Sequoia Capital), to uncover the untapped potential and lack of awareness surrounding the Indian gaming scene. Ojas shares his journey and what led him to break away from the norm and start his studio. We discuss the development of the gaming market in India, the shift towards more popular genres, and the rise of esports. But what...

🇮🇳 SPECIAL INDIA SERIES 🇮🇳 In this episode, we are joined by Oliver Jones, CEO and co-founder of Bombay Play, one of the leading gaming studios in Bengaluru, India. Oliver shares his journey in the gaming industry before founding Bombay Play, from working at Zynga and Glu to founding his first company Moonfrog Labs (acquired for USD 90 million by Stillfront in 2021). Oliver talks about the booming gaming ecosystem in India and how companies like Zynga and EA established their studios in the...

This episode is about the inspiring journey of a resilient young entrepreneur, who is committed to cracking the puzzle of fitness to mobile games for GenZ. In this episode, we interview Jenny Xu, the CEO of Talofa Games, to discuss her journey in the gaming industry and the creation of their unique fitness RPG game, Run Legends. Jenny shares her background in the industry, including her previous solo-founded company, JC Soft Inc., and being part of the Niantic Kickstarter Program leading to...

In this captivating episode, we dive into the revolutionary game publishing model of Kepler Interactive. Join our conversation with Catherine Chew, Senior Director of Investments and Business at Kepler, to uncover the secrets behind their unique co-ownership model. In 2021, Kepler has raised $120 million from NetEase in a financing round as part of its launch. At Kepler, studio founders become co-owners with a say in the decision-making process of the collective and are able to utilize the...

In this episode of the podcast, we interview Antti Hattara, CEO and Co-Founder at Starberry Games. We discuss Antti's journey in the mobile gaming industry, from the Digital Chocolate Alumni days to working on popular games like Jelly Splash (Wooga) to starting his own company in 2017. Antti shares his experiences bootstrapping, pivoting the company, securing funding, and navigating the challenges of the industry. We also talk about the growing gaming ecosystem in Berlin. Starberry is known...

In this episode, we invite Niek Tuerlings a seasoned F2P mobile game designer and writer for naavik.co, who previously worked at Spil Games, Wooga, Voodoo, and now at Moonlit Games, a mobile studio based in Berlin. You can read the latest piece from Niek here: https://naavik.co/deep-dives/evolution-of-hybridcasual-deepdive/ We cover Niek's journey in games and the importance of broadening those 7 extra skills as a designer if you want to grow in the industry: 1. Game design core skills:...