We're back with another episode in the series where we explore the book - "Up, Down, Up - Why some game companies succeed while others fail" written by Kim Nordström. This time we talk about the growth phase of the companies journey. We delve into what characterizes this phase and how the focus of companies change during this phase. We talk about crazy concepts such as "Culture transfer rate" and other tricks of the dark arts. You can find more info on it here: https://updownupbook.com/

In this episode we had a chat with Astrid Refstrup - CEO of Tripletopping and now in charge of Developer Relation & Business Development at the games fund WINGS who invest in gender marginalized teams. Astrid shares war stories and we talk about WINGS modus operandi. We try to figure out how one balances business excellence with idealistic goals. You can find Wings and their application process here:  Wings: https://wingsfund.me/https://wingsfund.me/apply/And Astrid can be reached...

We're back with another episode in the series where we explore the book - "Up, Down, Up - Why some game companies succeed while others fail" written by Kim Nordström. This time we talk about the startup phase of the companies journey. Kim shares insights and takeaways from other companies that mastered and flubbed this critical phase. You can find more info on it here: https://updownupbook.com/

In this extra long interview I had the privilege of talking to the illustrious leader of Finji - makers of Canabalt, Overland, Tunic and many more fun games. We delve into the details and get a good understanding of why Finji - being an artist centric developer - has managed to also build and grow as a business successfully over the years. Finji makes some truly magical games - which you can find here: https://finji.co/ Rebekah can be found here: https://twitter.com/BexSaltsman 

We return yet again to Hooded Horse for a Q&A episode - but almost immediately things go off the rails. The idea was to pepper the CEO of Hooded Horse Tim Bender with dozens of questions from the community - but instead we barely got past the 3rd question thanks to Tim's insightful answers and ensuing discussion. Take out your notepads for this one kids. Send us more questions to attack Tim with in the future.Visit https://hoodedhorse.com/ and find their games here:...

How do you make the most out of a trip to the annual Game Developers Conference if you're starting out in the industry or generally want to up your game? In this episode we invited Fernando Rizo back to the show to talk about how to get the most out of a GDC (Game Developers Conference) show attendance. If you're Phil Spencer this episode isn't for you - but you might still enjoy it Phil. GDC is one of the business development highlights of the year and it's hard to navigate if you haven't...

This is the first episode of a multipart series where we talk to Kim Nordström, alumni of Sony, King, Paradox Interactive and other companies who's written an exciting book called Up, Down, Up - The Journey of a Successful Game Company.  It's a must read for anyone interested in the business side of things in the industry. So no surprise then that we will cover the book over a number of episodes this season. Kim has gone through the herculean effort of interviewing hundreds of business...

We return to the scene of (my) crime by having Sebastian Forsström from Paradox Interactive come visit us to talk about their newest publishing label Paradox Arc. Why does it exist, how is it different from the rest of the company and how do they operate? And we get to the heart of the matter - how does a big company innovate?   Visit Paradox Arc here: https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/our-games/paradox-arc and bother Sebastian here: https://twitter.com/SebastianFo 

Crowdfunding first made a huge impact on the business side of our industry about a decade ago. There was even talk of it rendering publishers irrelevant. Things didn't play out exactly that way. Well, they did for Chris Roberts and Star Citizen - but not for the rest of us.  We decided catch up with the eminent expert in the field - Anya Combs and learn how Crowdfunding is doing today as an option for games companies.  If you want to get hold of Anya here's her contact info. Don't miss the...

The first episode of 2024 is about Hooded Horse marketing apparatus and how they make sure their games get visibility in a marketplace where 40 other games are released every day. Joined as always by Hooded Horse's own CEO Tim Bender and Director of Marketing Abhishek Chaudhry.

This episode features a conversation with none other than Larry Kuperman! Larry runs biz dev over at Nightdive Studios. They've been banging out cool remaster/remake after remaster/remake (mouthful). We dig into this particular nostalgic slice of the industry and try to understand this old/new part of the business. Check out Nightdives games here: https://www.nightdivestudios.com/ and Larry can be found on social media!

We return again to Hooded Horse (our home base for this season) and a favorite topic on the podcast - The timeless art of Negotiation! What's Hooded Horse's approach, what to do? What not to do? Tim Bender dispenses with some some tricks of the trade and it makes us a bit smarter. Hopefully. Here's a link to the infographic mentioned in the episode: https://imgur.com/x5D02Be

How is the Swedish Games Industry doing? We catch up with Johanna Nylander Head of Analysis at the Swedish Games industry and talk about the recent report about the state of the Swedish games industry. What do we have in the water that makes Swedes good at making games? Because it sure ain’t tax breaks.

In this episode we delve into the topic of Hooded Horse’s portfolio - we’ve visited again by their CEO Tim CEO - but also their director of marketing Abhishek Chaudhry. Listen in on how they pick new games to sign, how they manage their games portfolio and give us a few handy tips for what they look for in a pitch and build.

Esports! that's right - e-sports??! It was the hottest thing on the planet 10 years ago - but where is it at today? We invited Andjela Kusmuk from TheAlliance.GG to talk about the team and where this competitive part of the industry is at today.

In the second episode of this season we sit down with Tim Bender - the CEO of one the fastest growing new publishers on the planet - Hooded Horse.

Welcome back to a new season of the Business of Video Games podcast! In this episode we recap the state of the industry, talk about what's new for this season and talk about a little thing called marketing momentum - which Baldur's Gate 3 seems to have in spades.

It's time for the season finale before we go on a summer break. We're joined by Raw Fury's Chief Sales and Business Development Officer - Fernando Rizo. He talks about one of their latest releases that might have gone very differently had it not been for some major decisions behind the scenes late in the game. 

We invited Tanya Short back to the podcast to unpack how the Dwarf Fortress release actually fared. If you didn’t catch episode 6 please give that a listen first to get insights into Kitfox’s strategy heading into one of indie gaming’s biggest releases.

In this episode we talk about Early Access! we're visited my Aron Pietron from Eremite Games - developers of early access smash hit Against the Storm. A roguelike fantasy city builder. You'll be an early access mastermind after this episode. Let us know what you think! 

We return with a deep dive episode on a topic requested by one of our Patrons - the mega success of Valheim! What drove its success, how was the follow-up, what are the learnings.

For this episode we're welcoming industry veteran Oskar Burman to the studio. After a long career in the mobile and AAA spaces, he founded VR developer and publisher Fast Travel Games back in 2016. Oskar shares an unfiltered look at what life is like as a VR developer, and what he believes is on the horizon for VR. Enjoy! 

We return with a deep dive episode on a topic requested by one of our Patrons - what does a typical life cycle of a (premium) game look like?

Shams and Daniel are joined in the studio by Tanya X Short, founder and creative director at Kitfox Games. This recording took place just a few short weeks before the release of legendary cult classic Dwarf Fortress on Steam, published by Kitfox. Ever wondered what life is like for a publishing captain in the days leading up to the release of a lifetime? Well, here's your answer.