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:...

In this episode, we are joined by Oscar Carbonell, currently serving as the Chief of Staff at Rossum, trained Coach and former Product Leader in games. We delve into the world of coaching and people leadership in the gaming industry, shedding light on the essential role it plays in fostering effective leadership and organizational development. The discussion expands to reflect on the games industry's potential to learn from more mature industries and the power of coaching in supporting CEOs...

We interview Taehoon Kim, the co-founder and CEO of nWay, the successful multiplayer fighting games company behind Chrono Blades and Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, acquired by Animoca Brands in 2020. TK shares his journey into the gaming industry as a serial entrepreneur, including his experience at Samsung, Real Time Worlds, and founding Nurian Software which was later acquired by Netmarble. TK shares the journey of nWay, a gaming company focused on delivering the best fighting multiplayer...

In this episode, Sophie Vo is joined by Anton Gorodetsky, the Head of Industry Relations at MyGames. Anton discusses the shift to hybrid work and MyGames' transition to fully distributed teams. They talk about the benefits of remote work, such as finding talent globally and working with international teams. They also dive into the challenges and considerations of establishing offices and hubs in different locations, including legal and tax implications. Anton emphasizes the importance of...

In this latest episode, we welcome Kalle Kaivola, co-founder of Lightheart Entertainment, known for their hit game Mr. Auto Fire (over 16 million downloads). Together, we discuss the company culture and the challenges of building a holacratic culture, inspired by the Teal organization described in the book "Reinventing Organisations" by Frederic Laloux. Holacracy is a system of self-management where leadership roles are not subject to a traditional hierarchy of command. Instead of having a...

In this episode, Sophie Vo, founder of Rise And Play, and Miska Katkoff, former CEO and co-founder of Savage Games, and founder of Deconstructor Of Fun reflect on their key lessons in starting a new company. We dive into the importance of self-esteem and self-awareness when throwing yourself out there to build your new business and being 100% behind it. We also cover strategies for dealing with negative feedback and the importance of self-reflection and self-evaluation. The conversation...

In this latest episode, we welcome Martial Valery, co-founder of Oh Bi Bi, a French mobile video game studio known for their latest hit, Frag Pro Shooter (over 150 million downloads). We are reflecting on over a decade of founding, building, and growing the studio, navigating the ups and downs of the company, including scaling up and down, company and game pivots. Martial opens up about the failures and lessons learned, such as the painful experience of a game flop, disappointment, and...

In this episode, we interview Jens Begemann, the former co-founder and CEO of Wooga, the Berlin-based casual mobile games company behind the success of Diamond Dash, Jelly Splash, and June's Journey. We cover Jen's journey in the gaming industry and the lessons he learned as an entrepreneur that led him to found Wooga in 2008. We also explore the growth of Wooga, its successful games, and the company's shift to mobile gaming. The conversation touches on the significance of company culture,...

We say it is essential to build diverse teams for innovation, creativity, and performance. Diversity of individuals sounds great on paper, but how do we make it work as a team in practice? How do you make people who avoid confrontation collaborate with confrontational people? How do you lead a team in an egalitarian way while most of what they've known is hierarchical leadership? ---- Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free...

Statistically 70-90% of M&A across all industries fail to add value to the acquirer. M&A in games is no exception. Why is that? From my course at Imperial College on M&A, here are some of the top reasons why M&A fail: overpaying for the target, overestimating the synergies between the companies, lack of due diligence, lack of a strategic plan (a Why), and lack of cultural fit. ---- Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and...

"There's a whole bunch of leaders out there who wake up every morning and put on a mask. They transform into their work selves, playing a role they think they're supposed to play. It's like they're living a double life. But let me tell you, it's not easy to keep up this charade. Behind that mask, these leaders face some serious challenges. They can't catch a decent night's sleep, and anxiety weighs them down day in and day out. Their energy levels go up and down like a yo-yo, and they feel...

You just inherited or built a new team. You've made a mistake of judgment, communication, or decision with the team. Now, the team doesn't like you or trust you but you still need to achieve an outcome together. What do you do? How do you come back from that situation and rebuild trust? It is unfortunately a common leadership story in everyday business. ---- Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free feature, theme, and art...

In this episode, we deconstruct with Marina Barthélémy how to make sound financial decisions for your company when things are going well, instead of making those decisions when things are going wrong. Marina has an impressive track record in gaming and finance. She previously worked as the CFO at Amplitude Studios, which SEGA later acquired in 2016. Marina and her co-founder Arthur, recently launched their own gaming fund PixCapital, to support premium studios. ---- Thank you to our...

Today is a special episode as we're witnessing an intimate leadership conversation between Maria Sayans and Daniel Gray, respectively CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Ustwo Games. What is it to be a leader at Ustwo Games? ---- Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free feature, theme, and art style study included with your Navigator purchase, a $20,000 value. Offer valid through 8/31/23. ---- Maria will share her leadership...

How do you build the perfect teams based on psychological and motivational traits? How do you create those magical teams at different stages of growth of a company? The people who brought you from 0 to 1 may not be the same ones who help you bring the company from 1 to 10. How do you update your human systems while scaling your company? We will deconstruct in this episode those questions with Bastian Bergmann, co-founder at Solsten, using the human psychological lens on teams, processes, and...

It is difficult to launch and scale a new casual game these days. However, a few studios found a way to survive the turbulences of the market and become antifragile. Hear the business success story of FunCraft, a lean and small casual studio founded in 2019 by ex-EA and Zynga Product Leader Michael Martinez and his co-founder Jason McGuirk. Learn how after failing their first startup Juicebox, the two co-founders came back together to try again, taking the key learnings from the past: focus...

How often do we look back and share openly what led to a studio's closing? While we can learn from success, we can learn as much from failures. And we should, especially given how many studios are unfortunately closing these days. In this episode, we go back to the story of Skunkworks Games, the makers of Merge Friends, a notable successful merge game released in 2019 during the rise of other new merge games. ---- Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x...

In this episode previously streamed on 27.04 in partnership with Evolution Nordics, I will share my expertise on the principles of non-violent communication and how they can be applied in a leadership role. Watch the full online workshop here: https://youtu.be/GDRPJL5Sm30 ---- Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free feature, theme, and art style study included with your Navigator purchase, a $20,000 value. Offer valid...

We are following up on the previous episode recorded with Miska Katkoff (How To Become A Stoic Leader And Control Your Emotions) to continue our applications of Stoicism to leadership and business. We invited this time, Arseny Lebedev, co-founder and CEO of Original Games and ex-Head of Studio at Machine Zone to talk about applying Stoic principles to business decisions. We all have our internal model to make decisions, but is it always reliable? Video of the episode:...

What is the most fundamental human need: to be seen and recognized for who we are? When holding a management position, how is being yourself a realistic expectation? We discuss in this new episode with Miska the limitations of being truly yourself as a leader. It is easier and even recommended to be yourself when you're part of a game team (i.e. Product Manager, Producer), to build trust and connection with your team. When you are in a management role (i.e. CEO/C-level/VP, Game Director),...

Maverick Games is a brand-new AAA studio formed by the ex-Forza Horizon Directors. We interview today Harinder Sangha, their COO who shares the foundational journey of the company. Harinder has worked 20 years in tech, and 16 years in the games industry, including building successful studios with a great culture. Sangha is an award-winning studio leader who previously helped form SEGA HARDlight and Sumo Leamington. ------------------------------ Thank you to our sponsor! Visit...

How did you start your career in games? Did you also think that working hard, hustling, and reaching "success" at work would bring happiness and fulfillment? How do you reflect on those earlier years of sacrifice for work, that you will never get back? Hear the candid and personal story of the successful Game Designer and Executive Producer Ethan Levy (ex-EP at N3twork and Bioware), also known for hosting The Deconstructor Of Fun podcast, who reflects on his career in games. Ethan shares what...

Getting into an emotionally charged conversation at work is one of the most uncomfortable feelings. As a leader, you cannot really get away from it. You start to feel uncomfortable and anxious about the hard conversation you need to have (i.e. dismissal, reassignment, negative feedback, project canceled, conflict resolution...). Your report can feel it too, so everyone feels uncomfortable. It doesn't help to get anywhere. ------------------------------- Thank you to our sponsor! Visit...

We often confuse the role of a manager and of a leader. Being a good manager doesn't imply that you are a great leader. Referring back to the episode "How To Lead With A Coaching Mindset" we recorded with Ben and Aaron, a manager's focus is to optimize the outcome of an existing system while maintaining or improving the status quo. A leader's focus is to influence others toward a common goal. A leader sets a direction or changes through influence and extremely good communication....