Deconstructor of Fun: Recent Episodes
Deconstructor of Fun
Deconstructor of Fun podcast is created by games professionals for games professionals. We explore the business side of the games industry with the goal of bringing listeners content that is relevant, insightful, and entertaining.
Hosts: Michail Katkoff @m_katkoff Eric Seufert @eric_seufert Eric Kress @ekress Adam Telfer @adamwtelfer Ethan Levy @FamousAspect Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
The Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter:
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Klang Games out of Berlin has raised 77M over 6 funding rounds from reputable investors like Supercell, LVP, North Zone, and Makers Fund.
The company was established in 2013, 11 years ago. They haven’t shipped the game they have been raising against. So they can’t have any scalable objective data to show they are heading in the right direction.
And despite all of this, they are somehow able to raise consecutive rounds of tens of millions. Year after year!
In this episode, we got Klang co-founders talking about their journey thus far and me trying to figure out how in the hell they are able to get funded for their never-ending story.
Huge thanks to co-founders Mundi Vondi and Odder Magnusson for coming on the podcast. I wish their game, when or if it eventually comes out, much success.
Trigger warning: if you’re a founder struggling to raise funding despite doing every little thing that VCs requested and showing promising early KPIs, this podcast may enrage you.
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In this week's show, the crew dives into Voodoo's acquisition of BeReal and the Sandbox's 20M convertible note. With all the events taking place the crew discusses Xbox Showcase, Ubisoft Forward, and the Summer Game Fest.
With Phil out and Miska in Spain, this is the first Nordic-free episode in a year.
hosts: Jennifer Donahoe, Laura Taranto, Erick Kress, and Mishka Katkoff
sponsors: Xsolla, Heroic Labs, AppsFlyer and Sensor Tower
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Gerard Miles (www.linkedin.com/in/gerard-miles) is a veteran executive headhunter, who shares his extensive 15-year journey with a special focus on the gaming industry over the past decade.
We explore Gerard’s founding of Mission One (www.missionone.io), a company dedicated to sourcing top-tier executives globally, and delve into the significance of executive search in a rapidly expanding industry.
Gain valuable insights into the complexities of hiring gaming executives, cultural integration, and the exclusive value of knowing both the industry and its people.
Discover the challenges of headhunting for key roles, the importance of leadership, communication, and strategic understanding, and how to build long-term relationships in this high-stakes world.
We also tackle diversity, cultural fit, and common hiring pitfalls, offering practical advice for professionals aiming to navigate executive careers in the dynamic gaming sector.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview
02:31 Gerard's Journey into Gaming Recruitment
06:16 Executive Search Process
13:52 Challenges in Attracting Top Talent
29:50 Qualities of Exceptional Executives
45:31 Understanding Client Culture
46:39 Soft Signals in Candidate Assessment
51:13 The Importance of Diversity in Hiring
58:16 Common Mistakes Executives Make
01:02:07 Community Questions: Industry Insights
01:07:17 How to Get Noticed by Headhunters
01:10:07 Red Flags in Executive Hires
01:13:24 Big vs. Small Companies: Executive Hiring
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Join the industry's spiciest newsletter:https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/subscribeWith Mishka gobbling birthday whey cakes, the crew looks at Squad Busters’ week 1 returns, and it’s not pretty. The specter of Boom Beach is starting to cast its shadow.Meanwhile, Phil talks about Destiny 2 stumbling in its last hoorah, while Laura talks about Stumble Guys standing straight. Jen gives the 411 on new EU app stores, and Eric thinks Star Wars Hunters breaks the MOBA curse. Or not.
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Join us for an insider tour of Voodoo’s HQ and uncover the journey to hybrid casual success with Voodoo’s Gabriel Rivaud, VP of Gaming.
Gabriel Rivaud:https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-rivaud-21210744/Michail Katkoffhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/Sign up for our weekly newsletter. You won't regret it!https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/subscribe
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Squad Busters is released and we have more thoughts about it. Ubisoft's XDefiant hits 1M unique users, bringing Phil immense joy. Crew debates who does Fall Guys better than Fall Guys? Stumble Guys...? We'll also warm you up for the upcoming Summer Games Fest on June 7.
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The hosts: Jen Donahoe, Eric Kress, Laura Taranto, and Phillip Black
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Phillip Black, Michail Katkoff, and guest analyst Matthew Emery deconstruct Supercell's 6th billion Dollar franchise just before it is launched to the global audience.To read the full deconstruction, go to:https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/blog/2024/5/26/squad-busters-supercell-hits-the-apex-or-spins-off-track
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Anime corrections, baseless speculation about Applovin, Take-Two earnings, and the GTA 6 launch date window. We speculate on the reason for Squad Busters’ massive 40M pre-registrations. Phil can’t wait to talk xDefiant. Mishka cosplays Jen and covers ad creative. All that and more on today’s TWIG
your hosts: Jen Donahoe, Eric Kress, Phillip Black and Michail Katkoff
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Join seasoned UA and marketing consultant Matej Lančaric as he shares his decade-long journey from being an employee to running a global user acquisition consulting business. Discover his transition to solopreneurship, client management tips, and leveraging AI tools. Gain insights on balancing work, creativity, and family life alongside the importance of genuine passion and unique goal-setting approaches.
This episode is packed with valuable advice for both aspiring and veteran consultants, including tips on growing professionally, networking, and content creation. Perfect for anyone looking to master the solopreneur path with hard work, persistence, and enjoyment.
Matej’s solopreneur journey in his own words
https://lancaric.me/matej-lancaric-the-story-of-a-solopreneur/
The state of ad creatives in-app marketing report:
https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/reports/gated/state-of-creative/?formsent=true
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The big topic of the episode is Netflix which struck a partnership with Roblox. What does this mean to Netflix Games? Hear our hypothesis. The crew has BIG debates about Eurovision, and Tencent's role is Supercell's turnaround as well as anime. Your hosts:Jen Donahoe, Michail Katkoff, Phillip Black, and Eric Kress
Segments:
00.00 Shill & Banter
09:20 News & HOT takes44:23 Netflix Games is in trouble?61:30 Xbox PR disaster
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In this episode of the Deconstructor of Fun podcast, host Mishka Katkoff engages with Ben Porter, NewZoo's Director of Consulting, to delve into the profound shifts within the gaming industry reflected in NewZoo's latest report. They explore a variety of pressing topics such as the industry trends post-COVID-19, console market dynamics, opportunities for game developers, the impact of AI and technological advancements, and the shifting dynamics of player engagement. Additionally, they address the economic aspects influencing the industry, including inflation and the increase in demand for profitability over growth. A key discussion revolves around the challenges and strategies for future growth, touching on the importance of breaking through market concentration with innovation and versatility in game development. Ben provides insights into the role Chapters:00:00 Welcome to the Deconstructor of Fun Podcast01:39 Introducing Ben Porter and NewZoo04:29 The Pulse of the Gaming Market in 202313:30 The Challenges and Opportunities in PC and Console Gaming30:31 Navigating the Mobile Expansion for PC and Console Publishers38:05 PS5 Exclusives and Market Diversification39:18 The Shift from Mobile to AAA: Challenges and Changes40:01 Xsolla: Empowering Game Developers for Global Success40:34 Analyzing Market Concentration in PC and Console Gaming42:04 The Secret Sauce Behind Top PC and Console Titles44:20 Navigating the Competitive Landscape of New Game Titles52:16 The Impact of Remakes and Remasters in the Gaming Industry58:02 The Role of Transmedia in Engaging and Expanding Game Audiences01:03:38 Understanding Playtime Trends and the Future of Gaming01:12:52 High-Level Predictions and Closing Thoughts
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Players prevail with Helldivers 2 vs Sony PSN, Nintendo announces Switch 2 is coming before the end of Q125, Unity gets a new boss, Squadbusters racks up the pre-registrations, and Turkish Spyke Games goes to the Moon (Active).
Hosts: Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Laura Taranto & Phillip Black
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Listen and watch (there are visuals!) as industry veterans Jen Donahoe, Laura Taranto and special guest Ken Landen deep dive into 'Legend of Mushroom,' the idle action mobile game that's taken players (and revenue) by storm. We'll break down the game's mechanics, exploring what made this game into the success it is today.Whether you're a seasoned player or new to the realm, there's something here for everyone.
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Recently hitting the milestone of 30 years working in game design, Spry Fox Chief Creative Officer Daniel Cook has long been a leading voice in the game industry. To celebrate his long and distinguished career-spanning games like Realm of the Mad God, Triple Town, Alphabear, and Cozy Grove.
MIA host Ethan Levy returns to the mic to talk to Dan about his many lessons and accomplishments. Most importantly, Dan talks about how as a team, Spry Fox found their shared, authentic voice, and how this has led to efficiency in production and success in the marketplace as they consciously chose to specialize in cozy games.
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The prodigal son, Ethan Levy, makes his return to the podcast as the team discusses Newzoo’s latest PC and Console data as well as Liftoff’s 2024 Casual Gaming Apps Report. Hold tight for your weekly dose of news!
Hosts: Jen Donahoe, Laura Taranto, Phillip Black & Ethan Levy
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Andrew Rose, the Chief Product Officer of Voldex, shares his journey and experiences in the Roblox game development space. Voldex, a company that acquires and scales Roblox games, has seen success by applying traditional free-to-play game development strategies in the unique ecosystem of Roblox.
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Game industry professional? Join our Slack channel: https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/slack
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Get ready for your weekly dose of unfiltered game industry news. In this episode, the crew discusses Supercell's and Dream's latest titles. We also talk about the history and future of celebrity collaborations within games.
Your hosts: Jen Donahoe, Eric Kress, Laura Taranto & Phillip Black
our partners: AppsFlyer, Xsolla, Heroic Labs & Data.ai
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Product Deep Dives looks at Playrix's Township to deconstruct how this game went from a farming sim to a multi-billion dollar success. Join Laura Taranto and Jen Donahoe as they reap what this game has to offer!
Make sure to watch with video, as we have data and insights you won't want to miss.
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In today’s mature mobile gaming market, the importance of building a brand, storytelling, and creating distinct brand identities is crucial for success.
This podcast delves into the journey of revitalizing Futureplay’s Merge Gardens through an emphasis on strategic IP creation, branding improvements, and effective storytelling.
Guest: Martin Mohr, CCO @ Bond Creative Agency
Links:
The case of Merge Garden
Martin Mohr
Bond Creative Agency
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Who are BIG gaming funds good for? Are the AAA game studios going to extinct? And why is Fallout such a damn good show? This and many more questions were mulled by the TWIG crew.
Oh, and Eric Kress is back. That means that the profanities are flying once again.
Your hosts: Eric Kress, Michail Katkoff, Jen Donahoe, and Phillip Black.
Our partners: Xsolla, AppsFlyer, Heroic Labs, and Sensor Tower.
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Dive into the world of Istanbul's venture capital scene with Laton Venture's Görkem Türk.
Together we explore essential topics like investment strategies prioritizing founding teams' quality, the evolving role of culture in startups, and future trends in gaming such as AI and socialization-focused experiences.
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What is the impact of privacy updates on ad revenue and user acquisition strategies?
In this episode, Google’s Ross Brockman and Kwalee’s John Wright discuss the need for adaptation, innovation, and the importance of leveraging first-party data for customized user experiences.
The conversation reflects a balance between acknowledging challenges and maintaining optimism for growth and evolution in the ad monetization landscape.
Thanks to our sponsors: Xsolla, Heroic Labs, AppsFlyer & Data.ai
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Buckle up kids because this episode has barely any profanity. Kress is MIA while the team talks about Brawl Stars' Baby Shark collaboration and the state of the gaming market. Phil geeks out on inflation, Mishka talks about interest rates, Jen discusses toy lines and Laura is put on the spot to cover the latest layoffs news.
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Eric Kress sits down with Matt Wyble, COO of Second Dinner, to talk about Marvel Snap and what's next for Second Dinner. What does a studio do with $100M in the bank? The two spend some time talking about the state of Blizzard and the state of the industry.
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The rowdy crew is back at it talking about Lilith's decision to skip soft launch, Embracer's selling of Gear Box, and the New York Times move into gaming. We also talk about Discord's ad business. Because when in doubt do advertising. Hosts: Michail Katkoff, Jen Donahoe, Eric Kress and Phillip Black--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/deconstructoroffun/messageSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/deconstructoroffun/support
This podcast serves as a valuable resource for non-technical executives seeking to enhance their understanding of backend services and make informed decisions to support the success of their games.
The discussion focuses on the critical role of informed decision-making in selecting between proprietary builds and third-party solutions, navigating transitions between backend services, and maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of backend operations in game development.
Thanks for the expert guests:
Rafael Cordoba (Bandai Namco Mobile)
Chris Molozian (Heroic Labs)
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The team shares their GDC reflections, unveils how bankers work in gaming, and ravels in the Web3 bonanza. We also dive knee-deep into two titles: Activision's Call of Duty Warzone which launched last week to challenge Call of Duty Mobile. Moon Active's Travel Town, seems to be scaling without any breaks.
Hosts: Laura Taranto, Erick Kress, Phillip Black, and Michail Katkoff
continue the conversation: www.deconstructoroffun.com
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Sola Saulenko, CMO of Pixonic, a MY.GAMES studio joins Mishka Katkoff to discuss the intricacies of building a successful game franchise.
Together they explore topics such as the balance between organic growth and strategic planning, the evolution of games into franchises, the challenges of transitioning from a hit game to a franchise, and the importance of passion and creativity in brand building.
The podcast offers valuable insights into the process of developing and sustaining a game franchise in a competitive market landscape.
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Mihai Gheza is the CEO of Machinations, an economy simulation software. Recorded at Slush, we cover economy simulations, AI balance, and whether data scientists should become economy designers
Machinations: https://machinations.io/
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The whole crew got together for a fun on-site recording. The trash talk reaches Market Street levels as we discuss how bad San Francisco is, what in the hell is going on with Netflix Games, Turkish subsidies for game companies, and Supercell's latest PR salvo.
Team: Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Mishka Katkoff, Phillip Black and Laura Taranto
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Get on board with one of the best newsletters in the business:https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/subscribeJoakim is a seasoned entrepreneur (Next Games) turned venture capitalist (F4 Fund). In this conversation Joakim provides valuable insights into the intricacies of venture capital investments, emphasizing the importance of innovation, adaptability, and strategic planning for startups aiming to thrive in the competitive gaming industry.F4 Fundhttps://f4.fundJoakim’s book, Long Term Game: How To Build A Video Games Companyhttps://www.amazon.com/Long-Term-Game-Build-Company/dp/952942874X
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The cast recaps the 3rd annual Think Games Istanbul Summit hosted by Google and Deconstructor of Fun. See the link below to register and watch the recorded sessions. The team tackles new news from Epic being allowed on iOS in the EU to Discord's new game SDK to the state of startups in Finland. Also, the cast appears on a data.ai state of mobile webinar. Check it out here https://go.data.ai/state-of-mobile-gaming-webinar-2024/
Apply to join the Slack Community and get the DoF weekly newsletter.
https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/slack
Event links
Think Games Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
Jen's GDC roundtable
https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/lgbtq-executive-and-entrepreneurship-and-allies-roundtable/903078
Hosts:
Michail Katkoff @mkatkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress @ekress www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Laura Taranto @laurataranto www.linkedin.com/in/laurataranto/
Phillip Black @econosopher www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe @Jen_Donahoe https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdonahoe/
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DoF Newsletter:https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/subscribeHemal Thakerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/thakerhemal/Moritz Baier-Lentzhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/moritzbaierlentz/In this eye-opening podcast, industry insiders Hemal and Moritz provide candid insights into the current state of the gaming industry, discussing market challenges, the impact of layoffs, the dynamics of venture capital and publisher models, the potential of Web 3, the role of AI, and predictions for the future. From navigating downturns to seizing emerging opportunities, this conversation offers valuable advice for founders and executives alike, shedding light on the realities of the gaming landscape while inspiring optimism for the road ahead.
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Andy Duthie, Executive Producer of a soaring title HAWKED, joins the podcast to peel back the curtain on remote team management and offer his playbook on how to make remote work work and projects of all sizes and scopes.
Andy Duthie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyduthie/
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Jen, Kress, Laura, and Phil continue with the food puns analogies and decide if Apple Arcade is rotting after a mobilegamer.biz article. Also, the cast praises Unity for its newfound transparency, hits some of the Nintendo Direct Highlights (which aren't that high), keeps taking layoffs, and uncovers Playtika’s new strategy.
Apply to join the Slack Community.
https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/slack
Event links to apply or register:
Think Games Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
GDC Beta Hat & DoF Pre-Game Party March 17 - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSceighlzx-X0Khv2NMmJom29dtWhAsEpros-1xhBCNQfIqqAA/viewform
Xsolla, DoF, Mattel Party March 19: https://events.xsolla.com/gamenightgdc2024
DoF, AppsFlyer, Data.ai Brunch March 19: http://dataai-gdc-brunch.splashthat.com/DoF
Hosts:
Michail Katkoff @mkatkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress @ekress www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Laura Taranto @laurataranto www.linkedin.com/in/laurataranto/
Phillip Black @econosopher www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe @Jen_Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferd
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Join us in Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
Paul Gouge is one of the best founders in the industry. He has built three companies over the past two decades. These companies have not only made fantastic games but have also been acquired four times, with Playdemic, being bought first by Warner Brothers and then by EA under Paul’s leadership.
In this episode, Paul talks about his fourth company, Fourth Star. And how that is the culmination of all his learnings to date.
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The TWIG crew breaks down the Xbox news. The egg puns fly as the crew debates who wins the Eggy Party, Stumble Guys, Fall Guys battle. We feature our first-ever TWIG junior segment with a friend of the pod Henry Lowenfels and his sons Mickey (8) and Rocky (10), who don't mind ads in Roblox but call people who make ads in console games F*wads. Any cursing was 100% supervised and approved by parental consent. Don't cancel the hosts, please!
Event links to apply or register:
Think Games Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
GDC Beta Hat & DoF Pre-Game Party March 17 - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSceighlzx-X0Khv2NMmJom29dtWhAsEpros-1xhBCNQfIqqAA/viewform
Xsolla, DoF, Mattel Party March 19: https://events.xsolla.com/gamenightgdc2024
DoF, AppsFlyer, Data.ai Brunch March 19: http://dataai-gdc-brunch.splashthat.com/DoF
Hosts:
Michail Katkoff @mkatkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress @ekress www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Laura Taranto @laurataranto www.linkedin.com/in/laurataranto/
Phillip Black @econosopher www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe @Jen_Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferd
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Join Jen Donahoe TWIG co-host and Strategic Marketing Consultant at Beta Hat and JadeInferno and Gordon Bellemy, CEO of GGP (Gay Gaming Professionals), to hear how GGP supports underrepresented or, better phrased, under-estimated groups in the game industry.
GDC2024 features a number of events that everyone can benefit from. Come join us!
Find all the event information at GGPs LinkedIn page events section
March 20, 3:30pm GDC - LGBTQ+ Executive and Entrepreneurship and Allies Roundtable moderated by Jen Donahoe
March 20, 7:30 GGP Networking Event at DNA lounge right next foor to the Zero Proof board game night at Buzzworks
March 21, 5:40 PM GDC Breaking Boundaries Roundtable
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Join us in Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
John Wright, VP of publishing at Kwalee joins the podcast to discuss publishing in 2024. The thing is, publishing on mobile is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. This is due to all the ever-restricting privacy changes and the decrease in available capital smaller companies were using to scale their games.
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event links: GDC Marketing Brunch /GDC Tech Brunch
When Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen drops his annual blog post, the gaming folks around the world rush to read it. The TWIG crew is no different. Though we might be a tad mod critical…
In this episode, we also discuss Disney’s investment in Epic. What are the implications of this deal? Why does Epic need this money? And what is Epic's future?
This episode is brought to you by Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Philip Black and Mishka Katkoff.
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Join Jen Donahoe and Laura Taranto in a cozy yet banter-filled deconstruction of Century Games' Whiteout Survival. You'll feel like you’re stepping into a meeting with product and marketing, figuring out how to make and market the next great game as we deconstruct winners.Have a game you want to see on Product Deep Dives? Contact us at info@deconstructoroffun.comIntro 00:00 - 05:08Century Games Key Takeaways 05:08 - 06:57Key Takeaway 1 06:57Key Takeaway 2 09:19Key Takeaway 3 11:08Key Takeaway 4 14:38Key Takeaway 5 17:12Data.ai Review 21:49Century Games Company Review 25:50Whiteout Survival Predecessors 27:10Whiteout Survival Decon 33:46Summary 58:00
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Think Games Istanbul talks announced:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
No matter how you look at it, we’re witnessing the inevitable demise of Xbox. All signs (read: leaks) are pointing to the fact that Microsoft’s foray into gaming is coming to an end. The crew analyses why this happened and what it will mean for both the ecosystem and the people involved.
In this episode, we also deconstruct Matthew Ball’s essay “The Tremendous Yet Troubled State of Gaming”. The piece was too long even for ChatGPT, so you can thank us later for going through the insightful yet painful read. Matt, we love you. Please write more often and shorter articles…
The doom and gloom of this episode is brought to you by Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Philip Black and Mishka Katkoff.
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Join us in Istanbul!
www.deconstructoroffun.com/istanbul
“Never trust experts nor believe in business friendships. Never allow others to change your vision. And never underpay yourself.” Those are the 4 critical nevers that Anton Krasnyy once wrote on LinkedIn.
Anton is a former founder, CEO, and Chairman of Murka, a social casino company originally from Ukraine acquired by Blackstone in 2019.
Despite the strong words, I’ve always found Anton to be very empathetic. That’s why I wanted him to come on the podcast and talk in detail about the four critical never and show his real personality, which may come off the wrong way in a written form.
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While it's not as crazy as the Unity Runtime fee fiasco, it's a close second as the cast reviews Apple's plans to address the EU's DMA rules. Kress eats it and admits that Zynga might have potential this year, with Match Factory showing promise. Blizzard picks a new president, and the cast weighs in on her resume, making recommendations and predictions for her future. Riot and Blizzard called cults, in a good way.
Think Istanbul Game Summit (March 7)
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
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Newzoo's Lead Analyst, Tom Wijman, returns on the podcast to discuss gaming market predictions for consoles and PCs.
You can access the full Newzoo report here:
https://newzoo.com/games-market-reports-forecasts
And check our previous episode here:
www.deconstructoroffun.com/blog/2023/11/2/console-gamings-triple-threat
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Sign up to Istanbul Gaming Summit
By deciding not to hear the appeal of the Epic v. Apple case, the injection against Apple's anti-steering rules stands. This means that developers are now free to push US iOS players into web shops. But what doest that mean for the industry? And if this conversation doesn’t tickle your toes, the crew talks Palworld. A real Pokemon killer.
The doom and gloom of this episode is brought to you by Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Philip Black and Laura Taranto.
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Josh Wilson, CEO of Sciplay returns to the podcast to tell the story behind the company’s evolution over the last two years. SciPlay has grown every quarter despite the economic and privacy headwinds thanks to strategic initiatives discussed in this episode. We also talk about the accusations the company has made and why it has been itself acquired.
Istanbul Gaming Summit
https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-i-google-x-deconstructor-of-fun
segments:
Last two years at SciPlay: (0:00)
Why SciPlay keeps growing: (26:20)
Why SciPlay was acquired: (40:50)
Outro: (51:50)
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Istanbul Gaming Summit pre-signup:
https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-i-google-x-deconstructor-of-fun
The squad dips their spoons into the Monopoly Go drama by giving their take on the profitability of Scopely’s blockbuster. We discuss the real reason why NetEase and Activision have suddenly kissed and made up. Scratch our heads as to why Tencent is launching yet another mobile MOBA and dive deep into the state of mobile.
The doom and gloom of this episode is brought to you by Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Philip Black, and Michail Katkoff.
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stanbul Gaming Summithttps://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-i-google-x-deconstructor-of-funElena Grigorian joins the podcast after recently taking over as the CEO of MyGames. In this podcast, we cover both business and personal topics starting with what a new CEO should accomplish in their first 100 days in the position and ending with the challenges of balancing work and life in leadership positions. segments:Intro: (0:00)The role of a CEO role: (5:25)Work-life Balance: (11:56)MyGames SWOT: (16:52)Leadership Team: (21:54)Intercompany Knowledge Sharing: (24:05)Portfolio Strategy: (28:53)Organization Structure: (33:21)Expansion: (41:59)Market Predictions: (47:52)
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2024 starts where 2023 ended - and that means layoffs. Unity slashes 1,800 jobs while Twitch fires every third person in the latest layoff rounds at these companies.
In this episode, we announce the Golden Twig "winners", discuss Clash Mini, and continue to scratch our heads about Netflix Games.
Thanks to the show's sponsors: Xsolla, AppsFlyer, Data.ai, and Heroic Labs!
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Eric Seufert is a one-of-a-kind marketing expert. He has headed marketing at Rovio, Wooga, and N3TWORK. He has built Mobile Dev Memo into the leading site for marketing professionals. He became a venture capitalist after founding Heracles Capital.
In this podcast, Eric Seufert returns back to the podcast to discuss predictions for mobile marketing. A must-listen for all of us!
sign-up to our PGC event: https://event.appsflyer.com/appsflyerandheroiclabs
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Happy New Year, and welcome to the first podcast of 2024! After checking in on the holiday activities, the cast digs into the big news hitting the Chinese game industy. Kress makes predictions about how companies around the world will react to the proposed China game regulations (limiting daily spend, removing loot boxes, etc).
Phil pulled out key insights from the Insomniac leak, and the cast discussed how Sony should approach live service across its console business.
The Survey: https://forms.gle/W1Cy2dRcvsaZhyiW9
Connect with the TWIG cast on LinkedIn
Philip Black, Jen Donahoe, Eric Kress, Laura Taranto
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Which company took the most damage in 2023? What was the most disappointing game of the year? Who had the worst layoffs what were some of our most inaccurate takes?
Tune in to the realest awards show in the industry and hear our picks for each category on many more!
Join us at PGC London >>> VIP Roundtables
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In-app ads are either important or crucial depending on the genre of games you’re making. In this episode, I’m joined by Felix Braberg, a true ad monetization expert. Together we discuss the effect of privacy changes on ad monetization, practical ways for games to double their ad revenue, the efficacy of different ad formats, and the changes onset by Apple, Amazon, and Google to the whole ad monetization ecosystem. connect with Felix (www.felixbraberg.com)
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Host Jen Donahoe sits down with Xsolla's Interim CEO and President, Chris Hewish, to get the juicy facts from Xsolla's State of Play Report. The insights apply to all platforms and regions, so be sure to listen in.
They cover 4 key topics:
-
The rise of real-time payments
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Alternative Payments
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Web shops with new data from the top 100 companies
-
The upcoming EU DMA and side-loading in iOS 17.2 beta
For more information about the State of Play report visit the Xsolla Blog here
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With Miska downing soju faster than meat off a KBBQ grill, Eric and Jen lay down the law on Monopoly Go's UA numbers. Laura celebrates Apple's end-of-year awards, while Phil tells developers to hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife; Fortnite is coming for your genre. The crew talks about Epic's court victory that produced Tim Sweney's only natural smile to date.
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Want to catch your Data.ai 2024 predictions in a TWIG-like format? We got you covered! Jen Donahoe, Michail Katkoff, Brett Nowak and Eric Kress hosted by Lexi Sydow, deconstructed the gaming market while planting several jabs at each others' predictions.Topics discussed:
- Are we seeing gaming bottom out, or is the market on the up?
- Which areas in gaming are growing and why?
- What are today’s top engagement and monetization features?
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How do you acquire your very first players without a marketing budget? What guerrilla marketing tactics work for games, and how can you execute them creatively?
Host, Jen Donahoe asks Julie Bonnecarrère and Pavel Afanasiev, co-founders of Northern Lights Entertainment (NLE), about their journey to soft launching on mobile under extreme budget constraints.
NLE is developing Nebulae (https://nebulae.world/) - a 4x strategy MMO for mobile & PC, where politics is a core gameplay component, and where players collectively control numerous political regimes - in space!
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The not-so-Fabulous Five are right back at it discussing GTA 6 trailer that broke the internet. We recap Slush, the latest boondoggle with Mishka and Phil. Predict what the console gaming market will be in 2024 and get our engines revved up by the latest Forza Customs and Chrome Valley Customs.
Connect with the TWIG Cast to give feedback and keep the conversation going!
Philip Black, Jen Donahoe, Eric Kress, Laura Taranto & Mishka Katkoff
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Ethan's back, and so is Kress telling him to "Get the F Out of here!" Laura breaks down June's Journey $1B revenue milestone with Ethan chiming in with a history lesson on Hidden Object games. Jen covers the nominees for the gam3.gg Web 3 awards. Kress gives a state of mobile games industry update and the team talks about the state SKAN4 and the upcoming SKAN5.
Connect with the TWIG Cast to give feedback and keep the conversation going (in alphabetical order)
Philip Black, Jen Donahoe, Eric Kress, Ethan Levy, Laura Taranto
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What is the role of Product Marketing Managers (PMMs) in gaming?The discussion emphasizes two key aspects that PMMs enable: Firstly, facilitating the identification of product-market fit early in the development phase, thereby preventing costly pivots after the game's launchSecondly, they allow Product Managers and Game Directors to concentrate on enhancing key performance indicators (KPIs) and team efficiency by serving as the primary liaison between the game team and internal/external marketing and user research teams. The episode delves into questions about what to expect from a PMM, how to identify a good one, the evolving nature of their role post-privacy changes, and optimal placement within a company's organizational structure. Jesse Lempiäinen, the CEO and Founder of Geeklab, a platform for efficiently testing product/market fit, provides insights and answers to these inquiries.
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We have a full house and lots of topics to cover! The talk of the week is Scopely's Monopoly Go crossing $1B in revenue in just 7 months. We have a Esports smackdown and we also talk a bit about Web3 to keep things spicy.
Kudos to our sponsors: Heroic Labs, Xsolla, AppsFlyer, and Data.ai
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In the heyday of 2022, there was an unprecedented surge in investment in Web3 games, capturing nearly half of all investment in both dollars and raw numbers. However, the excitement and speculation didn't translate into quality games, resulting in numerous failures within the industry.Warren Woodward, CCO and co-founder of Upptic, a leading growth agency for games, joins the podcast to explain what happened to the Web3 gaming dream and what the future entails.
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Kress embraces grouchiness and brings the fire to today's podcast. Phil gets triggered by behavioural economics delivering an epic rant. Mishka weakly defends his “China” point and Jen talks about the latest Call of Duty that got drowned by the worst score in the history of the franchise.
The crew discusses why console developers are backtracking from the Games-as-a-Service model and announces the Deconstructor of Fun Gaming Awards. The episode is capped by Zynga’s Match Factory breakdown.
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In the latest podcast, Mishka delves into an all-encompassing discussion with Chris Hewish, President and interim CEO of Xsolla. Chris boasts an impressive gaming career that spans iconic companies like Skydance, Survios, DreamWorks, and includes a substantial 13-year stint at Activision.
Topics discussed:
- Macroeconomics vs. Game Investments
- Console Gaming: Challenges & Opportunities
- Behavioral Economics
- Unity’s Odyssey
- Transmedia
- Generative AI and Creative Workflows
- Bonus…
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With Miska resuming his jet-set life, Jen reviews hygiene at Blizzcon, while Kress tells us his opinion on the unexpected departure of PlayStation CEO and reminds us of the difference between Trekkies and fans. Laura and Phil go deep on Brawl Stars' new announcement - it's due or die. Phil can't understand The Finals, and neither can Eric. Omega Strikers is dead, and the team performs an autopsy.
BIG ups to our sponsors AppsFlyer, Heroic Labs, Data.ai and Xsolla!
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Are you ready for the Merger & Acquisition Masterclass? Learn from Chris Petrovic, former Zynga Head of Corporate Strategy, why game companies venture into M&A, what are the biggest challenges and reasons leading to failed deals, current M&A trends, and more.
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As Microsoft reorgs Xbox leadership, we debate who could be the perfect person to replace Bobby Kotick as the CEO of Activision. We also discuss why our industry has all the layoffs in the middle of breaking sales records. And we also talk about games: Mario Wonder, Supercell's Mo.Co and Wonder Blast from Good Game Studios.
shoutout to our world-class spornsors: AppsFlyer, Xsolla, Heroic Labs, and Data.ai
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In this episode, we explore the unique challenges and successes of a remarkable woman CEO in the gaming industry.
Our guest, Carol Miu, has shattered glass ceilings and achieved incredible milestones throughout her career. We'll dive deep into her journey, discussing gender disparities in the CEO role, her most memorable achievements in maintaining work-life balance, industry evolution, and her reflections on her career. Y
ou won't want to miss this inspiring conversation with a trailblazing leader in the gaming world. Stay tuned for valuable insights and advice!
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How do game companies get press for their new games, big company moments, or new hires? We ask Neil Long, founder and editor of Mobilegamer.biz, for tips and tricks on how to approach game media to get press.
Neil Long is the founder and editor of mobilegamer.biz, a new site for the mobile games business. He started out in games industry journalism almost 20 years ago, and before launching mobilegamer.biz he spent seven years at Apple as an App Store games editor, working out of the London office.
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The non-sick trifecta of Kress, Phil, and Jen hold down the fort. Kress pushed back on the India opportunity, arguing it's only for the top-of-the-top games. The gang revisits the Unity runtime fee news with new insights and quotes reported by Mobilegamer.biz. Shameless speculation ensues about Microsoft's declining success with Game Pass, meaning they might want to cancel it. What happened to Payday3? Trading was canceled in Rocket League.
All this and the top game industry news of the week.
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How to deal with negative feedback? And the importance of self-esteem, self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-evaluation.
In today’s Episode joined by my friend and former colleague, Sophie Vo. Sophie comes with 15 years of experience in the games industry working at companies like Gameloft, Wooga, Rovio, Voodoo, and Savage Game Studios.
Sophie is perhaps best known for her Rise & Play podcast and newsletter, which focuses on leadership challenges in the gaming industry.
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According to Niko Partners, the India games market is projected to generate almost $900M in 2023 with almost ½ a billion players. That's growth of 21% YOY from 2022 for revenue and 12% for the number of players. Probably the most interesting stat is that 97% of India’s gamers play on smartphones.
To dig in, we got the platform experts to come and highlight the various opportunities, from overall revenue to implementing new payment methods, sub-dollar price point IAP, exclusive products, and marketing tips.
We welcome Vinay Charaniya and Ash Dixit from the Google Play Partnerships team focused on India and SEA. Both of them consult gaming developers, helping them grow their games on the Google Play Platform.
For developers who want to reach out to get more info on scaling their games for India (or other emerging markets), we have this simple form to fill out, and the Google Play Partnership team will reach out. Or, need India localization tips? Check out Ash's Medium article.
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Laura and Phil deep dive into Monster Hunter's early positive numbers in Japan before arguing over Warcraft Rumble's design and art choice. Jen and Kress put the Activision and Microsoft merger to rest while setting up their fantasy drafts for new CEOs of Activision, post-Bobby Kotick's departure at the end of 2023, and Unity, post-John Riccitiello's departures. Finally, the team reviews all the reasons why Disney shouldn't, can't, and won't buy EA.
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Is there an opportunity for AR gaming on mobile after all the attention coming to AR from the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro?
Here to unpack that topic is Asad J Malik, CEO of Jaru AR.
Asad is an augmented reality pioneer whose critically acclaimed narrative storytelling projects positioned him as a visionary in the space before completing his undergraduate degree. He has directed next-generation AR experiences featuring icons like Serena Williams and Lil Nas X and runs the AR company Jadu, launching a first-of-its-kind multiplayer augmented reality fighting game for mobile.
Check our Jadu Fight in AR
Available on iOS and Android
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Mishka takes a break from his Chatty Cat Euro Tour and joins the podcast with the fabulous, Jen Donahoe, Laura Taranto, Phillip Black, and Eric Kress. The crew discusses the legacy of John Riccitiello's, who stepped down as the CEO of Unity. We also talk about how EA is doing after getting rid of FIFA and deconstruct TakeTwo's latest mobile game, Top Troops. Donate to those impacted by the war: https://linktr.ee/SUPPORT.ISRAEL?utm_source=linktree_profile_share--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/deconstructoroffun/messageSupport this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/deconstructoroffun/support
Needless to say, the games industry is going through a rough patch after a decade of booming growth. That is why this episode, with a16z’s Jordan Mazer, is very relevant both for companies and individuals.
Jordan has unrivaled experience scaling high-performing teams at Amazon, Scopely, and Riot. He has interviewed thousands, if not tens of thousands professionals, Jordan shares invaluable insights and best practices for companies and individuals.
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Join us in Tel Aviv > LINK
The fabulous four discuss Epic's massive layoffs, Netflix's Love is Blind, Fortnite's price increases, and Unity CEO, John Riccotello's
Hosts: Jen Donahue, Laura Taranto, Eric Kress and Philip Black
Thanks to our world-class sponsors: AppsFlyer, Heroic Labs, Data.ai and Xsolla
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Co-host of TWIG, Jen Donahoe, kicks off her one-on-one deep dive series of podcasts designed to give listeners actionable tips from experts in the game industry across marketing, publishing, media, and more.
First up, Robin Gray from Gray Media, founder of Gayming Magazine, the world's only LGBTQ video game magazine, and creator of the Gayming Awards, coming April 2024.
They discuss the benefits of and tips for authentically showcasing representation in your games.
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Join us in Tel Aviv > SIGNUP
We have the full crew back in the house Together we analyze the latest turns in the Unity saga and most importantly (or least importantly) tell what we'd do should we be running the company. We also debate the role of Big Tech in the game industry's future.
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SPEEDRUN >>> application link
Do you have 15 minutes, a strong core team, and an idea you dream about pursuing? If you said yes three times, you're in for an opportunity of a lifetime, also known as SPEEDRUN.
SPEEDRUN is a program for game startups, unlike anything you've seen before:
- All teams accepted to the program receive 500k funding from a16z. That’s one of the best venture capital in the world.
- Your team will be welcomed to San Francisco for ten weeks to work on a demo that you'll showcase to over 300 top investors during the upcoming GDC.
- You'll get the best of the best mentors to make sure your demo will blow everyone's mind. And by mentors, we're talking about the likes of founders of Discord, Zynga, Supercell, King..
You have till the end of September to apply, so act fast!
ps: use the code DOF for extra goodwill ;)
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Tel Aviv Game Executive Brunch > SIGN UP
With Mishka multiple Spritz's deep in Italy and Laura somewhere in a Turkish Hot Air Ballon, Jen, Eric, and Phil get to the meat and potatoes: Go-DOT or GOD-oh? Unity’s proposed runtime response is public, while Eric uncovers buried AppLovin news… You can’t hide from the Kress! Jen reminds us that Privacy Manifest is here, and it’s coming for your fingerprints. Phil can’t get over the Microsoft leaks, and Eric is on the ground floor for Roblox’s developer conference.
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Tune in for a captivating exploration of AI's impact on the gaming industry with Pieter Kooyman, CEO and Founder of Half Moon Studios. We discuss the role of AI from the perspectives of new and established organizations, C-level executives, individual contributors, and the ethical and emotional dimensions of this transformative technology. Don't miss out on this discussion!
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Let's not mess around. You're here to hate listen as we dissect the PR firestorm coming out of Unity this week. We know it. You know it. Let's get into it!
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We dive deep into the ever-evolving world of gaming, exploring the latest trends, successes, and challenges in the global gaming market.
We start by dissecting the landscape of mobile, PC, and console gaming. Tackle the question of what's working in the gaming industry, dissecting the impact of AI, the rise of handheld consoles, the promise of transmedia experiences, and the growth of cloud gaming services.
We also examine what's not working. Delving into Web3, the slow adoption of VR and AR, and the intricacies of the esports scene.
This episode provides valuable insights into key trends that we in the industry should keep an eye on. This includes geographic shifts in gaming popularity, macroeconomic influences on the industry, and the ever-evolving technology landscape, which continues to shape the future of gaming.
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This week, Ethan sits down with Kayla Kinnunen, Executive Producer for the Minecraft Creator Platform. She explains how the platform empowers Minecraft creators to craft amazing content and share it with millions of players around the world. To date, Minecraft Creators have earned payouts of over $500 million crafting content for the worldwide sensation's still massive audience of over 140 MAU. We also learn some expert tips on managing expectations for such a devoted community, and how the Creator Platform team uses long periods of early access and developer participation to ensure new features deliver delight.
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In this podcast episode, we dive into the remarkable success of the Nintendo Switch and what lies ahead for Nintendo. The Switch has surpassed Wii's total US sales and is closely trailing the Xbox 360 and PS2 in worldwide sales. We explore why it has thrived, including its handheld/console hybrid design, an impressive lineup of first-party games, broad demographic appeal, and Nintendo's strong brand loyalty.
However, the Switch does have its limitations, such as its outdated hardware, lackluster performance with third-party games, underwhelming online features, and a disorganized store interface.
Looking to the future, there's speculation about the next Nintendo Switch, expected sometime in 2024.
It's anticipated to follow an incremental upgrade model, offering processor power, storage, screen quality, and connectivity improvements. Despite its potential, it may still fall short compared to current-gen consoles.
Join us as we dissect the past, present, and future of Nintendo's beloved gaming platform.
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In this power-packed episode, Joe Schaeppi shares his secrets of success for business leaders, founders, and innovators. From mastering board meetings to becoming the ultimate hub for innovators, building cultural diversity, nurturing empathy, and cracking the code on tricky interviews, this episode is a goldmine of invaluable insights to sharpen your entrepreneurial skills and propel your company to greater heights.
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned founder, tune in to level up your game!
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We have a full house! Phil and Mishka are back from Gamescom reminiscing their flourishing bromance causing Kress to gag (he’s just jealous). We talk about the recently announced slate of games. Jen and Laura debate Netflix Stories. And we summarize the latest market insight report from Data.ai.
Link > Helsinki VIP Happy Hour
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A $55M seed round for a mobile gaming company sounds like a mistake until you talk to Rina Onar, the CEO of the company that raised it.
Rina is the co-founder of Peak Games, which sold to Zynga for nearly 2 billion Dollars. But instead of taking it easy after 13 grueling years growing Turkey's first unicorn games company, Rina hopped back on the grind mobile with her ex-Peak co-founders and is now steering Spyke Games as a CEO.
In this episode, we talk about the unique characteristics of Turkish gaming companies, how to enter mature categories successfully, what it takes to build a winning culture, and of course - how to raise monster seed rounds.
thanks to our sponsors: Hereic Labs, Xsolla, AppsFlyer, Data.ai
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With Mishka and Phil living it up with all our lovely listeners at Gamescom, and Ethan to busy building to play pundit this week, it's everyone's three favorite hosts - Kress, Jen and Laura - holding down the fort without any deadweight dragging them down :) This week the crew goes deep on cozy games following the successful beta for cozy MMO Palia as well as discussing Gossip Harbor and the latest trends in the Merge game genre.
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Brett Nowak, founder of insights platform Liquid & Grit joins the podcast to answer and ask three questions with Mishka Katkoff.
The fellas talk about Brett’s grind from bootstrapping his company to where is today, a team of 45. They chat about Mishka’s immigrant mentality and debate about remote work.
In this episode, Mishka also talks about his favorite and least favorite job from his 14-year-long games career. And of course, the two share their insights about the mobile games market and the future of the game industry as a whole.
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Join the Deconstructor of Fun Talent Collective! > for Talent > for Companies
After two weeks of no correction, Mr. Kress returns back to the show to correct us all. The crew deconstructs the cannibalization of Genshin Impact by the publisher’s newest title Honkai. Talks about Roblox’s burning business and what the company should do about it. Analyzes Netflix’s foray into streaming. Talks about the subscription as a business model for games and debates whether the Venture Capital model of today is sustainable or not.
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The crew debates Netflix’s Games strategy after the company announces its new controller to play games on TV. Jen goes into a full on Kress mode after Assasin’s Creed beta test rejection. Phil shares his praises to Baldur’s Gate and the team discusses the importance of community when gearing up for the launch. The crew also discusses Nintendo’s mobile plans. To cap it off, Mishka is back from his ultra-long vacation and is in his prime shilling mode.
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In this episode, Mishka Katkoff hosts a conversation with Tim Bennison, COO of Hot Head Games and a leader with over 25 years of experience in game development, creative product development, and more.
They discuss the nuances of moving into work-for-hire projects, client engagement, and strategies for success for a co-development studio in a rapid games industry. Tim provides essential qualities for co-development studios as well as strategies to exceed client expectations.
The two also discuss the importance of being honest, transparent, communicative, and understanding client needs. You’ll also learn why time zone alignment can be a key factor in successful co-development, and hear valuable advice regarding pitching and re-pitching projects.
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Jen covers the hottest brand reveal of 2023 while Phil checks in on Tim Sweeney’s chess board. Laura designs a roadmap for Epic Games; you’ll never guess what lands first. The crew tries to match up Match Master’s $200M success and marvels Pikimin 4’s monster success. Eric and Mishka DM pictures of their vacation and promise to return soon.
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Web Shops for free-to-play mobile games are a topic we bring up regularly on This Week in Games. The ability to monetize your most engaged players outside of Apple and Google's walled garden's is an invaluable tool in maximizing a successful game's potential and one the TWiG crew doesn't have enough first hand knowledge of.
In the spirit of learning, Ethan is very excited to be joined by Ben Tsacoyianis and Dave Hague from Tilting Point, along with Chris Hewish from Xsolla, to educate the DoF community on how we can use web shops to help retain and bring delight to our most devoted players. Tilting Point has long been leveraging Xsolla's web shop on their hit game Star Trek Timelines, and in this interview they drop knowledge bombs on how you can use Web Shops to improve revenue, player delight and even open up new marketing paths.
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With Eric and Miska cruisin’, Ethan makes a return to host an Eggy Party. Shells are broken as Phil and Ethan debate the cost of Roblox and mobile “reskins”, but it’s unclear if everything is scrambled or sunny-side up. Jen revisits the 10th anniversary of Dota 2’s battle pass while Laura spills the deets on King’s new pass. Phil does his best Eric impression for Exoprimal’s Premium Plus launch.Listen to Phil’s Tavern Talk appearance on Youtube or Spotify.
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Thanks to our amazing partners: Heroic Labs, AppsFlyer, Xsolla, Data.ai
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In an era of AAA company consolidation, as independent studios and mega-publishers alike are gobbled up in a war for exclusive content, storied British game developer Rebellion remains stridently independent. Thanks to 25 years of hard work, and the success of franchises Sniper Elite and Nazi Zombie Army, the company now fully controls its fate as it funds and publishes its own games, comics and more. In this interview, Ethan sits down with Rebellion Co-Founder and CEO Jason Kingsley to discuss his new book Leading the Rebellion and learn more about Rebellion's past, present and future.
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Discover the intriguing dynamics of remote work at Playrix, one of the industry’s leading gaming companies. Did remote work help them become a top mobile publisher, or are there hidden pitfalls that should be taken into account? Tune in as Maxim Kirilenko, Chief Business Development Officer at Playrix, divulges their strategies, challenges, and triumphs in navigating their large-scale remote and hybrid work setup.
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Google announced huge play store web3 changes but with extraordinary strings attached. Is it enough sunshine in crypto winter? Jen issues a red card to FIFA rebrand doubters while Phil laments a FIFA Platform. Eric ponders Microsoft’s next moves as Laura preps impression material.
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Is there a better way for Mishka Katkoff to return to the podcast than a no bull talk with the one and only, Joseph Kim?
In this episode, the current and former founders talk about the hard knocks and the greatest highlight of a startup life. They also discuss dealing with haters, lessons learned, work-life balance, and of course love of JK's life, Elon Musk.
Shoutout to our fantastic partners: Heroic Labs, Xsolla, AppsFlyer, and Data.ai
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The prodigal son, Mishka Katkoff, makes his return to TWiG. And boy, did he bring the hot takes with him. Laura tells us of DC’s latest mobile attempt while the Lasso of Truth wrangles Eric for a failed bet. Jen seemingly tattoos “Deliver on the Core IP Fantasy” live on-air, while Phil inks a lower-back one, “F2P Forever”, in the wake of Naraka: Bladepoint’s defection. The cast delineates throwing their personal money to venture capital’s new wonderchild studio.
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You know Clifford "CliffyB" Blezinski as the Lead Designer and face of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament. But in his life after Epic Games he has been a CEO, an angel investor, a restauranteur, a Tony-winning broadway investor and producer, a memoirist and now, a comic book author. He is so much more than just the dude weilding the life-sized chainsaw gun. In this incredible interview, Cliff talks with Ethan about Control Freak, his memoir about a life in the games industry, his brand new comic Scrapper and everything in between.
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Barbie movie anticipation reaches all-time highs, but it’s not clear who paid who for brand integration into Stumble Guys. Marvel Snap escaped our H1 review, but not before dropping a doubling cube; we review its performance to a somber reality. Niantic doubles down on a confusing strategy while Xbox Trial leaks continue to bring home the insider bacon.
We're running an anonymous games industry job satisfaction survey. Findings will be shared next week. Consider adding your voice here (https://forms.gle/RFVWVZZz5bG3awDE9), it only takes a couple of seconds to complete.
This podcast was brought to you in part by Xsolla Pay Station. You can see it in action at xsolla.pro/payments-dof
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With privacy changes affecting the front-end of the funnel across the entire mobile games industry, the importance of metagame driven long-term retention of your players has never been higher. Heroic Labs is one of the leading providers of gaming backend-as-a-service to help you run your game backend, live operations and social metagame with their services Nakama, Satori and Hiro. In this week's interview, Ethan sits down with CEO and Co-Founder Chris Molozian to talk about their services help small teams focus on the fun while building a deep, retentive metagame, social structures and world class live operations.
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Can you believe we're already halfway through 2023? Neither can we. As teased last week, the TWiG crew checks in on some of the biggest mobile, free-to-play releases of the year so far. Laura invests in Baltic Avenue as she breaks down Monopoly Go. Phil brings up Fanlight 84 which Kress quickly deems mice nuts. Ethan illuminates the power of anime thirst in character collectors by highlighting Nikke: Goddess of Victory's jaw dropping revenue-per-download. Jen takes us to the Hell with Diablo Immortal. Plus, we celebrate Kress's birthday and learn all about his third mid-life crisis. All this and so much more this week in games.
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Gamefam founder and CEO - Joe Ferencz - was early among professional game developers to spot and chase the Roblox opportunity. Now he runs the top publisher on the platform with hits including Sonic Speed Simulator, Twilight Daycare and Military Tycoon, as well as games on other UGC platforms like Deadpines on Fortnite Creative. Joe sits down with Ethan to talk about UGC gaming, if the Metaverse ever even existed, and what it takes to run a venture scaled business inside of another company's UGC platform.
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We are tackling LiveOps from both sides of the equation this week with Laura deconstructing the latest and greatest in puzzle LiveOps from Candy Crush and Royal Match, and Jen prompting a lively debate on if celebrity marketing is ROI positive for mobile free-to-play. Ethan thirsts for the Jonas Brothers (despite the seemingly mid performance of their Candy Crush event) and also talks about PUBG Mobile's incredible $10b in lifetime revenue. That's right, TEN BILLION DOLLARS!$!$! Phil highlights the new crush in every Steam gamer's heart, the chart topping BattleBit Remastered. As an added bonus, we learn that while Jen is blasting through Champion League levels in Toon Blast, she is also blasting Metallica on her airpods. It's another action-packed week in the games industry and this episode is not to be missed!
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An increasingly hot topic amongst the TWiG crew, and the industry at large, is mobile, F2P veterans looking to additional platforms for blue or purple oceans. Between the maturity of the mobile market, the challenges of breaking through as a new game or IP, rising CPIs, diminished targeting capabilities or the limited power of platform-level featuring, it feels like every company with live-service expertise is asking themselves where else they can ply their trade. That's why Ethan invited Adam Smart - Director of Product at Appsflyer and host of "In the Sandbox with..." - onto the podcast. In this wide ranging conversation, they discuss the forces driving the push to console, PC and cross-platform development and how free-to-play developers can bring their mobile platform playbook to these platforms. Given Appsflyer's recent launch of their measurement suite for console and PC, things are getting a lot easier for traditionally mobile developers interested in using performance marketing to scale their games on these platforms.
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With Ethan out, the crew runs amok with more shocking regulatory news from the MSFT and ATVI merger. Will it ever end? Eric gives Embracer a much-needed reality check while Jen checks in the plethora of Summer Games Fest announcements. Laura reveals some surprising match-3 data while the crew debates the prospects of Space Ape’s Chrome Valley. Phil isn’t excited about FOMO rotating stores, despite the huge news of Diablo’s historic revenue week.
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The games industry is not taking any time off for summer vacation as we're seeing another absolutely monster week of news. The Vision Pro is here, is Kress impressed by Apple's attempt at changing the world of computing again? Diablo IV is live and Phill breaks down their record setting launch. Jen explains everything you need to know about the latest change to ad tech - Apple's Privacy Manifests. Ethan demands that Kress bow down to MihoYo's global dominance as Honkai Star Rail is crowned the King of May Revenue. Laura analyzes if there are any up and coming puzzle games that can put a dent in the dominance of Candy Crush, Royal Match and Gardenscapes. Line your stomach with a glass of milk and give us a listen, because this is a spicy one!
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Halo, Destiny, Hearthstone, Warcraft, Fable, Mass Effect, Shadowrun. What do all these classic series have in common? They've all been improved thanks to the UX research and tactics by John Hopson and the talented teams he has worked on. When Deconstructor of Fun Slack member Hopson shared the release of his book - The Secret Science of Fun - I loaded it up on audible and was blown away. It is filled with pragmatic, no nonsense, hands on advice on how to use the art of user experience research to improve you games with budgets ranging from monumental to microscopic. Ethan and John go deep on what UX research is, how it is best integrated into your game's development, and how the true art of UX research is when to be scientific, and when to be science-ish.
If you enjoy this podcast, you'll love the audiobook of The Secret Science of Fun which you can get on Audible.
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Over 500m Tik Tok users watch gaming content every month, according to Jen's recent trips on the conference circuit, and this audience is one that the crew things you should be building your game thesis around from day one! Detective Ethan is on the case making wild conjecture on who may have been the counter-party that suddenly pulled out of Embracer's $2b deal last week. Laura unpacks Voodoo's latest strategic shift from hypercasual to hybridcasual. Is there more to this rebranding than wordplay? Phil uses the recent announcement of Bungie's Marathon extraction shooter to explain his oft cited Game Thesis framework. The full crew dissects Flood Rush and Squad Busters, the two latest Supercell soft launch games aiming for that $1b+ a year brass ring. And Kress goes deep on Sony's Playstation Showcase event that featured Marathon, Spiderman 2, Assassin's Creed, Metal Gear, Alan Wake, Final Fantasy, the non-Vita Project Q handheld streaming device and of course, some VR games. This week was filled to the brim with news and, as ever, your loyal TWiG crew is here to digest it for you.
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First, join us all in welcoming Jen Donahoe as the new, full time member of the TWiG crew! This week, Kress talks about the Embracer implosion, Phil falls for Fall Guys' new creator mode, Jen explains PUBGs reenlistment in India, Ethan unpacks the critical production blunder that was the root cause behind Overwatch 2's PvE cancellation, and Laura takes the MC microphone for a drive.
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This week the tables are turned as Ethan is the one being interviewed by Savage Games Studio GM and friend of the pod Sophie Vo. Ethan appeared on Sophie's conscious leadership podcast - Rise and Play - to talk about how your life has to be bigger than just your career. After 20 years of hard work, dedication and sacrifices Ethan reflects on his many regrets, the importance of living a balanced life, setting boundaries between your work and your personal life, modeling these values and behaviors for your employees and more. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check out Rise and Play where Sophie has a wealth of podcasts and educational material to improve your skills as a conscious leader in the games industry.
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New week, new guest host. This week, Director of Product Tiffany Keller gets behind the mic to talk about Omega Striker's cross-platform strategy. Laura talks about the "games for good" trend and if it can help Peridot or Longleaf Valley stand out from the pack. Kress explains why Superman is a terrible IP for gaming, and is bewildered by EA Mobile's seeming lack of support for their big Lord of the Rings launch. Despite the revelation that he is, in fact, a good 'ol Carolina boy, Phil loves talking about Eurovision for some reason. Ethan explains what superheroes he most wants to use to punch countless baddies in open world AAA games. And, we eventually get around to talking about Diablo IV's inevitable sales dominance and live ops plans.
Also, we almost make it a week without talking about Microsoft Cloud Gaming, but Ethan just can't let it lay. Until next week, Twiggies!
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With their mysterious, high drama, high production value advertisements featuring soap opera worthy twists and turns, Metacore's creative game for Merge Mansion has always been top notch. But last March, the chart topping merge game made waves when it released a series of live action advertisements staring The Mandalorian himself, Pedro Pascal. How did Metacore land one of Hollywood's hottest stars at the absolute peek of his fame? How have these ads performed? And just what is Granny Ursula hiding in that mansion? To answer these burning questions, Tapio Tuomola and Mika Tammenkoski join Ethan in conversation to reveal everything. Everything, that is, except for Granny Ursula's master plan.
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The crew is dropping heat with another action packed week of news. Guest host extraordinaire Jen Donahoe returns to the podcast to educate us on how to be a better ally in the wake of the Activision and Riot gender discrimination settlements. Phil breaks down the incredible admission of defeat on the part of Xbox's Phil Spencer as he, in Kress's words, says the quite part out loud. Laura defends the honor and integrity of free-to-play games and Ethan explains how Apple Arcade and Netflix aren't competing against each other, but against the hundreds of free, ad supported games launched on mobile every day. As every Twiggy knows, it's tough to beat with free!
Plus we cover the Call of Duty: Warzone delay, the big DOtA 2 update, Nintendo Live 2023 and the absolute dominance of Hogwarts' Legacy.
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As every Twiggy knows, successful marketing tactics are the cornerstone of any top grossing free-to-play game. So Ethan was delighted to be joined this week by Brian Murphy, the Head of Gaming at Appsflyer, to discuss their recently released report on the state of game app marketing in 2023. And he was especially delighted because, as you'll hear, Ethan is extremely lazy and does not have time to read and digest an 80 slide report chock full of information about marketing your gaming app. So he perused the key findings page and then spent the following hour grilling Brian about it, as though he read the whole report. The sheer gall! So join in on this conversation, and you too can pretend you've deeply studied Appsflyer's state of game marketing report for 2023.
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Hold on to your hats, Twiggies! This week and for the first time ever, we have a female host majority on TWIG! We welcome Jen Donahoe to the guest host hot seat to break down the pros and cons of working with Netflix as a publisher, with special insight into the brand and marketing aspects, and debate Laura on the best use cases for the Subway Surfers IP. Nintendo’s move to join Gamescom this year is a surprise to all and Kress supposes that a big announcement is coming. All this and more in the latest episode of This Week in Games from Deconstructor of Fun.
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Get your spray paint ready, Twiggies, because this week Jayne Peressini returns to the guest host chair to break down Sybo's latest - Subway Surfer's Blast - alongside the reigning puzzle queen, Laura. Can you believe Laura commented on this game without first beating level 100, as is her custom?
Spurred by the latest, dramatic twist in the Microsoft/Activision "will they, won't they" merger, Kress and Phil get into a heated debate about the console business and cloud gaming (again). With Ethan missing in action due to an internet outage, there is no one to defend the honor of Eastern Gacha games as Kress foolishly doubts the prospects of impending blockbuster Honkai: Star Rail, dragging the latest juggernaut from miHoYo despite it's #1 spot on the US Top Downloads chart.
Don't forget to check out the latest MGVC Game Drive business accelerator program where DoF's very own Phillip Black will be sharing key insights shaping the games industry.
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12 years ago, Andrei van Roon was working in transportation modeling and analysis in New Zealand. But ever since seeing a job posting on the Riot Games forums, he has been on a meteoric ascent through the ranks of the League of Legends maker. Beginning as a Champion Designer, Andrei has worked his way up to his current post as a SVP and Head of the League Studio. In this wide ranger interview, Ethan and Andrei cover topics ranging from just how one runs a 700+ plus organization, the many considerations that go into creating and tuning Champions on one of the world's most popular live service games, the impact of the hit show Arcane on the League ecosystem, the lessons learned bringing LoL to mobile with Wild Rift and what Riot has learned about cross-platform development and play between LoL/Wild Rift and Teamfight Tactics. This insider look at what Andrei has learned from 12 years contributing to some of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world is one for the history books.
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Sega buying Rovio for $775mm is just the tip of the iceberg in a jam packed episode. Phil explains how CoD's latest kerfluffle breaks the social contract with its players. Kress pull out the classic "two drunks holding each other up" catchphrase to describe the Rovio acquisition. Ethan implores you to remember Phantasy Star Online 2, and declares that Monster Hunter Go will be a surefire hit for Niantic. Laura cracks the code on both Makeover Match and Monopoly Go. And special guest Jayne Peressini makes her TWiG debut to break down what record breaking CS:GO skin sales do and do not say about the viability of marketplace royalties for web3 gaming. Just like the global box office dominating Super Mario Bros movie, this one is not to be missed!
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This week Ethan is gushing with fanboy love for a hometown hero of his, Alex Seropian, founder of Bungie. Few people can claim the same amazing entrepreneurial accomplishments as Alex, having founded and "exited" three different game companies (Bungie, Wideload, Industrial Toys) to three very different, public, Fortune 500 companies (Microsoft, Disney, EA). But after some deep history on the origins of Bungie and their pre-Halo hits like Marathon and Myth, Alex explains how misleading the label "exit" is. Because when you sell your studio to another company, you haven't exited, you've only taken the next step on the entrepreneurial journey. This one is chock full of firsthand wisdom from an absolute legend of the games industry, so buckle up.
And if you enjoy this episode, check out Alex's new podcast The Fourth Curtain! Alex and co-host Aaron Marroquin talk with industry luminaries about the making of some of the biggest games of all time. If you like this interview, you'll love The Fourth Curtain.
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Greetings, Twiggies! The crew is back to discuss all the latest and greatest in games industry news. Hot on the heels of the big Scopely acquisition, Laura gives us a deep look at all of Saudi Arabia's recent moves into the games industry. Phil talks Super Mario Bros. box office domination, Kress compliments New Zoo, and as always, Ethan is here for the quips. We also talk the impending LoTR game from EA Capitol Games, Resident Evil 4's terrifyingly good sales numbers and most excitingly, Laura's new couch. All that and more on the latest This Week in Games.
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Kress gives his quick take on Savvy's $4.9B acquisition of Scopely. He reviews the pros and cons on this first major acquisition by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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This week, one of the Erics says goodbye to TWiG, but which one? In the news, Kress mourns the end of E3 and regales us with a story of when PS4 was announced; Laura is already at the end of content of Dream Games’s new title Royal Kingdom and discusses their new social approach; an Economist article on “moviemaking and gamemaking are converging” triggers Phillip and Eric. Until next week, Twiggies!
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Joining Ethan in conversation this week is long time games industry executive Chris Heatherly to discuss Chris's recent essay on LinkedIn about the death of the games-as-app era and the ascent of games-as-service. Chris argues that, fueled by "metaverse" hobbies such as Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft, we are entering an era of reduced content creation cost where the next land rush in the industry is going to be creating hit games within other experiences, as opposed to standalone apps. In this thought provoking and wide ranging conversation, Chris avoids the hype and talks specifics about what this games-as-content transition means, and why we should all be installing Unreal Engine for Fortnite.
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Eric, Ethan, Laura and Phil are back from GDC and are eager to share all that they learned during the week long celebration of all things game development. They talk the biggest news of the show, including Unreal Engine for Fortnite + Creator Economy 2.0, the surprise announcement of Counterstrike 2, CCP's massive raise for a AAA Web3 game and more. And most surprisingly, vests! Kress hates vests y'all! Mind your drip or else face Kress's wrath :)
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The crew is back from Istanbul and what an event! Eric and Laura give Ethan and Phil major fomo about all the amazing people and sessions they missed at the gaming event of the year! We preview all the amazing Deconstructor of Fun content coming next week to GDC then get into the news. We talk about the further democratization of the Epic Games Store, Redemption Games' spin out of AppLovin', the total meltdown of Silicon Valley Bank and its effects on the gaming startup ecosystem, and the monster $55 million raise for the newly minted Believer Games.
Remember, if you see a member of the DoF family at GDC, make sure to say Mice Nuts 😂
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Kress sits down with Moritz Baier to talk about if fundamentals matter in VC investing and whether we will return to the speculative investments that were made during the mania of the past few years. And asked what exactly is investable in the gaming space for early stage investors?
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Most of the team (and the audience) is off at the Istanbul Gaming Summit, leaving Ethan and Phil to hold down the fort. Today is LiveOps, LiveOps, LiveOps. We talk about the Apex Legends Mobile shutdown and the incredibly difficult challenge of feeding a live service content treadmill. We talk Knockout City's shutdown and the incredibly difficult challenge of profitably running a cosmetics forward monetization strategy. We talk Angry Birds Classic and the incredibly hard problem of getting organic traffic to your profitable games they are not #1 in the search results. And we talk Niantic's next game and the incredibly difficult challenge of finding a second, globe spanning phenomenon.
Headed to GDC later this month? Don't forget to show up for Ethan's Sunday night casual meetup at Standard Deviant Brewing company to meet your fellow Fundies. Or the Xsolla Game Night we are co-hosting with Mattel and Xsolla on Tuesday. And if you see a member of the DoF team, don't forget to tell them "Mice Nuts!"
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The crew discusses Neil Long's App Store exposé in The Guardian, Rovio pulling the classic Angry Birds from distribution, Playtika suspending new game development, Street Fighter: Duel's launch and the explosive success of Hogwarts Legacy. Join Laura, Eric, Eric and Ethan and help us settle which Eric is the grumpy one.
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Mr. Kress sits down with an executive coach and an investor Niklas Herriger to chat about what it takes for Founders, CEOs, and CTOs to grow their companies from 5 to 100 people. Niklas Herriger is a former founder, whose company Gondola.io, was acquired by Tilting Point in 2019.
LINKS:
http://niklasherriger.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/niklasherriger/
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The crew assembles to cover all the latest and greatest games industry news, including the latest annual letter from Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen, Blizzard's return-to-office policy, the PSVR2 launch and more. Also, we've got a couple of exciting events coming up:
Istanbul Gaming Summit on Thursday, March 9th: https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/istanbul
Xsolla Game Night at GDC on Tuesday, March 21st: https://events.xsolla.com/gdcgamenight
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We got a spicy episode for you. Someone is either getting fired or assassinated as a result of this week's episode.
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This week, Eric Kress updates us on the latest on Microsoft’s acquisition and Playtika’s bear hug of Rovio as well as a summary of earnings. Eric Seufert talks (rants?) about Alex Shea’s PCG talk on Hypercasual’s demise. Phillip discusses Knockout City’s sunsetting and joins Laura in covering Supercell’s beta game, Squad Busters.
Türkiye was hit with magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected. Join us in helping by following this LINK.
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It's a newspacked and unfortunately negative news cycle this week for the games industry. This week opens (as always) with a non apology apology from Kress. Laura talks about the let down of the promising looking Forspoken. Phil reads Supercell's offloading of Everdale to Metacore as a bad portent and Ethan defends the strategy. We lament the death of E3, the death of Apex Mobile, the death of Battlefield Mobile and rumored lackluster PSVR2 pre-orders. We discuss Embracer and the Amazon acquisition of Tomb Raider, and round it out discussing the recent piece of investigative journalism into Valve's work culture.
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Before he took the entrepreneurial leap to found Phoenix Labs, CEO Jesse Houston had an enviable collection of gamedev experiences across Ubisoft (Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six), BioWare (Mass Effect) and Riot (League of Legends). With such a depth of experience, the success of breakout hit Dauntless feels almost inevitable. In this week's spotlight interview, Jesse sits down with Ethan to talk about building Phoenix and how a well designed culture has been its secret superpower. With Phoenix, Jesse and co set out to build a forever company. And you can see that ethos in action with their amazing growth following an exit to Garena. It was the power of cultural values, for example, that led to the birth of upcoming Switch release (and guaranteed cozy game hit) Fae Farm. This interview is a masterclass in the power of a game company's culture and values to creating success.
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In a week chock full of games industry news, we've got a full house as Ethan returns from paternity leave and new face Phillip Black makes his second appearance on the pod. We discuss Playtika's unsolicited offer to acquire Rovio and how we expect they'll respond. We discuss the many gaming SPACs of 2021 and 2022 and learn that Ethan bought into many of them and why they've been so disastrous for his retirement savings (wamp wamp). We cover the frayed NetEase/Blizzard relationship, the new spin off studio from the founders of Jam City and more. So put on your headphone and join Kress, Seufert, Laura, Ethan and Phil as we go deep on all the latest news.
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TWIG has a special guest: Phillip Black! Phillip joins the usual mötley crew of Eric Kress, Eric Seufert, and Laura Taranto, to cover: Marvel Snap’s performance, roughly 3 months post-launch; Ubisoft CEO’s email to employees; Voodoo’s $3m privacy slip-up; Apex Legend’s Matchmaking as well as a few other smaller updates.
REMINDER: The Deconstructor of Fun x Google Istanbul conference is coming up on March 8-10th, 2023, mark your calendars! Signups liver January 25th!
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If you've triggered a rewarded video ad anytime in the past few years, you have most likely seen a captivating, easy to understand advertisement for Lightheart Entertainment's hit game Mr. Autofire. With over $40m in lifetime revenue and still growing, Mr. Autofire is an understated and indisputable success story. In today's interview, Ethan sits down with Lightheart Co-Founder Miikka Ahonen about the founding of the company and the birth of Mr. Autofire. Most importantly, Miikka reveals the 5 Key Questions the Lightheart team used when assessing the concept behind the game and deciding whether this was or was not the right first game for Lightheart to bring to market.
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TWIG’s 2023 Predictions. This week, the fearsome trio Eric K, Eric S, and Laura go through their 2023 Predictions: Eric K makes a call on the mobile & console markets, blockchain, China, and AppLovin; Eric S on content, M&A’s, brand advertising, and a few “too hot for TV” surprises; Laura on Apple & VR, monetization and innovation in mechanics. Until next week.
thanks to our sponsors:
www.xsolla.com > www.applsflyer.com > www.data.io
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In a recent episode, Yevgeny Peres, the EVP of Product Strategy at Appsflyer, returned to the podcast to reveal and cure Ethan of his ignorance of many critical parts of the user acquisition side of game development. One of the big takeaways from this interview was the importance of a measurement framework that provides a unified, single source of truth for your marketing team.
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Happy New Year! Erik, Eric, and Laura kick off 2023 by reviewing the TWIG 2022 Awards. The team discusses how last year fared with respect to web3 games and investors, talks about a host of acquisitions, gives thoughts on big moves from the biggest players, and, of course, debates about the best and most disappointing games launched. Until next week!
thanks to our sponsors:
www.xsolla.com > www.applsflyer.com > www.data.io
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With privacy becoming more important to mobile players and the prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) in-app advertising inventories, the quality of your creatives has never been more critical to the success of your games. This was one of the key takeaways from our recent discussion with Sandro Gelashvili, Head of Creative Works at Google, and Rau Dosymbetov, Creative Producer at Nexters, on the Deconstructor of Fun podcast.
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This is the last TWIG of 2022! Closing out the year, Seufert, Kress, and Laura discuss the 2022 Game Awards and what game launches to look forward to in 2023, Apple’s concessions on outside the app store payments, a brief FTC vs MSFT update, Playtika’s layoffs and Brawl Stars removing Loot Boxes. Have a great end of the year and we look forward to delivering all your game-related news in January.
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James Marr has been a Technical Director at studios including DeNA, Zynga and N3TWORK Studios. His work includes Eliminate, which was not only the first 3D, competitive shooter on the App Store, but its first free-to-play game as well, as well as top-grossing hit Legendary: Game of Heroes. In this wide ranging discussion, he goes deep on the qualities which separate Good vs Great when it comes to Game Engineering. He blows Ethan's mind talking about why it's not the hard skills like math and language proficiency as much as the soft skills - Empathy, Listening & Communication - which are the necessary ingredients of a truly great game engineer. This is hands down Ethan's favorite interview of 2022 and is simply not to be missed!
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Eric Kress, Ethan and Laura gather this week to tackle Nintendo’s mobile strategy, the importance of taxonomy and game classification (part 2 to “Hybridcasual”), an Apple update on pricing and NFTs and Rovio’s newest character to their long successful Angry Birds franchise. Eric also shares his short but sweet second career as a basketball coach. Until next week.
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Eric sits down with Rachit Moti at Layer Licensing to discuss how to discover and manage licenses and how his technology works.
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Sarah Fuchs's background and success in game development is formidable to say the least. With a career spanning James Bond, The Godfather, Spore, We Rule, serving as the Head of Production for The Sims Mobile and the GM for Covet Fashion, Sarah's experience leading top-grossing mobile games is hard to match. Now, she has red-pilled on Web3 and teamed up with Amber Bezahler to bring fashion gamers to Web3. With $5m in funding from Griffin Gaming Partners and an all-star team, Muus Collective is poised to take the world of Web3 gaming by storm.
In this wide ranging interview, Ethan and Sarah go deep on Sarah's experience developing games, how you go about building team and company culture, the importance of building a people first game studio and how Muus Collective is going to bring Web3 gaming to fashion gamers.
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Eric Seufert, Kress and Laura cover 2 major headlines this week: an update to Loot Box legislation down under and looking back at the effects of ATT on mobile gaming from Mobile Dev Memo. Smaller updates include the ATVI & MSFT deal, Boom Beach Frontlines’ sunset, a PocketGamer sponsored piece wanting to coin a new genre, Wildlife Studios layoffs and Supercell’s first hire in Austin. Until next week.
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Guest host trio Javier Barnes, Philip Black, and Matej Lancaric discuss Marvel Snap's present and future. The crew dives into the launch, marketing strategy, gameplay, and systems of the hit title. They also discuss what we can expect from developer Second Dinner in the future.
Shoutout to our sponsors: AppsFlyer, Data.ai, and Xsolla
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Eric, Eric and Laura are joined by guest David Nelson, former head of the experimentation group at King, to discuss the last 10 years of Candy Crush Saga and the Blizzard and NetEase divorce. Seufert shares his experience at Slush last week in Helsinki and Kress blames the switch hardware for the lackluster performance of the otherwise interesting new Pokemon game, Scarlet and Violet. And lastly, it wouldn’t be an TWIG episode without at least 1 mention of Netflix. Until next week.
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In Esports giant 100 Thieves, Nadeshot, John Robinson, Valkyrae and their army of competitors, streamers and content creators have built one of the most impressive lifestyle brands and marketing superpowers in all of gaming. Now, they've brought on industry legend Pete Hawley to run their brand new game studio. Just a few weeks into development and they've already released the initial footage and play test of Project X. In this week's spotlight, John and Pete sit down with Ethan to tell us about the history of 100 Thieves, where it sits on the spectrum of streamer, competitor and lifestyle brand, why they decided to build out their own game studio and game, and how they are embracing open, collaborative, community driven development with their very first game. With a marketing reach over 150 gamers strong, and despite John and Pete's humbleness in the matter, it is clear that 100T has an absolute monster on its hands.
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Eric and Laura cover their respective trips and dig into a few positive updates on Landmark’s funding and new game. The two rehash Nintendo’s partnership with DeNA, discuss releasing games in China, and rant on Newzoo’s mobile market update. Kress offers an update on Microsoft and Activision Blizzard acquisition.
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It's big #20! In this latest episode of Tokenomics, Ethan sits down with Koh Kim, Head of Ecosystem at Sui maker MystenLabs. The company, formed by ex-Meta veterans, has raised a $300m treasure trove to build a new and better Layer1 blockchain purpose built for Web3 gaming. Koh tells us about her history in gaming, how she red-pilled on Web3 and why she joined up with Mysten, and how the Sui blockchain is the Layer1 that will allow gamedevs like you and me to build better Web3 game experiences.
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Ethan and Eric S are in the house to talk about all the dramatic news this week! We're talking about massive layoffs across the tech industry and gaming in particular, new mobile game studios from NetEase and Nintendo, Playtika's latest earnings report, the dramatic and sudden collapse of FTX and the ongoing creator royalty debate going on in the world of NFTs.
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Kress’s Corner - I sat down with Jason Chapman at Konvoy to discuss how VC’s really work.. How they invest, why they invest and most importantly how much money they make… We also explore how VCs navigate the booms and busts in the business cycle
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Laura, Seufert, and Kress discuss TikTok's standalone gaming channel and evaluate whether the Xbox pass is profitable. The team also discusses Modern Warfare II topping $800M in sales, Rovio's new Barcelona studio, and Netflix's acquisition of SpryFox. TWIG wouldn't be what it is without a public apology. In this episode, Eric Seufert walks back his statements on Marvel Snap after being bombarded by product managers and designers around the world. Kress hit a D 365 of not drinking. Send him a congrats message on LinkedIn or via Slack, if you've gained access to the community...
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Kress sits down with Robin Astrom at Wehype to discuss how influencer marketing can be an alternative/supplement to traditional marketing and how it can help products and brands find audiences in a hostile user acquisition market. And how is it working with these Gen Z influencers…
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This week, the team talks about Microsoft Xbox' plan on having their store on mobile, Snapchat's parent company's uphill battle after IDFA depreciation and the upcoming launch of Age of Empires Mobile. Your hosts Eric Kress, Laura Taranto and Eric Seufert also discuss the launch of Marvel Snap by Second Dinner and dive into the implications of Apple's SKAdNetwork 4.0.
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Animoca Brands owned Sandbox is an undisputed pioneer and leader in the blockchain gaming space. That's why we are beyond excited to have Sandbox COO Sebastien Borget speaking with Ethan on the podcast this episode. Sebastien tells takes us through the history of Sandbox, which started as a mobile, free-to-play game, and explains how the Sandbox team saw the early potential in blockchain gaming lightyears ahead of most other established players in the space. From the token, to the land sales, to the brand partnerships to the creator tools, you will exit this episode with a much deeper understanding and appreciation for The Sandbox than when you started it.
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This week, the crew goes back to the metaverse to talk about the many stories coming out of Meta's Horizon Worlds. From lower than forecast engagement numbers to stability issues to low team morale to doctored footage of legs, it seems like Horizon just can't catch a break. Your hosts Eric Kress, Laura Taranto and Ethan Levy also discuss Take Two's shutdown of Playdots studio and why you should expect more as Zynga gets integrated into its new parent company, player response to Overwatch 2's Battlepass and what it's tuning implies about decision making inside the studio, the second death of G4TV and more.
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Today we have a true legend of game production on the podcast! There are few in the game whose CV even comes close to Rod Fergusson, who currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Diablo franchise. With credits including Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, Shadow Complex, Infinity Blade, Bulletstorm, BioShock Infinite, Microsoft Train Simulator and now Diablo, few producers have had a lead role in as many big name franchises as Rod. In this spotlight interview from Ethan, Rod drops some knowledge on us as we talk about how to be a world-class game producer. Whether you've been making games for 2 years or 20, there is plenty to learn in enlightening episode.
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This week, the crew does their first ever book club on Matthew Ball’s headline making book “The Metaverse.” What is the Metaverse? Do we believe in it? Can Ball’s vision for the Metaverse ever be achieved and adopted in our lifetime? Or will the laws of nature prevent this Metaverse dream from ever becoming a reality. Your hosts Eric Kress, Eric Seufurt, Laura Taranto and Ethan Levy discuss. We also talk Overwatch 2’s launch, Meta’s expensive new headset, and Playstation studio Haven’s mandate to reinvent game development.
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Sean Ryan has a deep history in gaming, from his highly innovative involvement in Sega's early online plays to a decade long stint overseeing gaming partnerships at Facebook. But as this is Tokenomics, of course he's here because he's red pilled on Web3 gaming as the CEO of NFT Marketplace AQUA. In this episode, Ethan talks to Sean about his history in gaming, how Ethan is a verified Sega Boi, and the opportunity he sees that brought him to AQUA to build a new, gaming focused NFT marketplace.
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The Two Erics and Laura discuss the end of cloud gaming with the shutdown of Stadia and an update on CD Projekts’ PR shenanigans. Eric Seufert discusses the new world order of user acquisition in mobile.
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As games progress through their lifecycle, many games experience increased costs and stalls in growth over time. An excellent way to unlock growth is to find new pockets of players outside of English-centric countries.
But what’s the optimal way to find these markets? How do you decide whether to make that investment decision? How much should you localize versus culturalize? What is the potential of these emerging markets?
To answer these questions and more, Nancy Huang and Ludovic Thevelin joined us for an informative discussion.
Nancy is the Head of User Acquisition and Growth Strategy at East Side Games, a publisher known for IP-driven hit games such as “The Office,” “Trailer Park Boys,” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Ludovic is an International Growth Consultant at Google who focuses on advising mobile gaming clients on their international expansion strategies.
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This week, we get a peak behind the curtains of how videogames are covered in the enthusiast press, thanks to IGN VP & Publisher John Davison. A veteran of games media, game development and entrepreneurship, there is no one better positioned than John to explain how games are covered in the current multimedia era. We use John's recent piece explaining how Squanch Games' High on Life unexpectedly won the Gamescom coverage competition thanks to easily digestible humor and the power of Tik Tok. This episode is chock full of lessons about how to make your game stand out in a crowded field, getting the attention of games journalists, and the importance of easily digestible messaging to helping your game cut through the noise.
This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy.
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A packed house for this week's TWiG as we delve into some juicy topics. Quick updates on Netflix Games latest hires (of course), Cyberpunk 2077, Apple's platform ruling on NFTs, the GTA VI hacker and more. For our headline topics, we discuss The Battle for Twitch's Soul following their announcement of deprecating the 70/30 revenue split for top streamers. We also go deep on ex-Machine Zone CEO Gabe Leydon's newest company, Web3 outfit Limit Break games, and how they're making waves with their "free-to-own" business model for NFT games.
This week’s episode is hosted by Eric Kress, Eric Seufert, Laura Taranto and Ethan Levy.
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Born from the ashes of a studio closure, Mighty Bear Games was founded by an experienced team of F2P veterans whose work crossed browser and mobile games. Having built up their studio and tech stack with Butter Royale and Disney Melee Mayhem, the studio's pivot to Web3 has seen it secure a $10m investment to build games for the blockchain. With Mighty Action Heroes nearing its initial mint, Ethan speaks with Might Bear CEO Simon Davis about his studio, his experience in F2P and his transition to Web3 gaming. In addition to Web3, they talk about learning from the pain of crunch and the lessons learned leading games and studios that have led to Mighty Bears culture and focus on the people who make the games.
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Laura gives off strong American Psycho vibes with her choice of recording venue. Eric makes us all jealous with his recap of the BITKRAFT conference. Ethan makes mood boards. But more seriously, we talk the latest Call of Duty reveal, Sims 4 going F2P, the big Grand Theft Auto 6 leak and how it will have no negative impact on the product’s eventual sales dominance. We go deep on Nintendo direct and Laura amazes us with her commitment to completing lengthy JRPGs. Ethan tells the story of ex-Rocksteady dev Kim MacAskill, who sets an amazing example in living her values after removing herself from consideration from a Women In Games Lifetime Achievement Award because Rockstead, her former employer and a company she stood up against due to the misogyny experienced therein, was a sponsor of the event.
This week’s episode is hosted by Eric Kress, Laura Taranto and Ethan Levy.
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Tokenomics is back and what an absolute treat of an episode. This week, we're joined by two of the top VCs in the Web3 gaming space, Anton Backman of Play Ventures and Nico Vereecke of BITKRAFT, who are here to give us an inside look of how VCs are approaching investing during the latest Crypto Winter. Good news for all the gaming entrepreneurs out there, we learn that the VCs are still investing in worthy projects. In fact, they have an obligation to keep seeking out and investing in the best projects on behalf of their funds. Our host, Ethan Levy, asks all the questions a prospective gaming entrepreneur could want to ask from two of the top VC firms in the game.
All ideas expressed here are the opinions of the guests and host, and do not represent the official position of their respective firms. Nothing contained within is financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making any personal investments.
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After 16 months in soft launch, Supercell’s Clash Quest has reached the end of its run. The game has not achieved the business objectives set by Supercell and the game will shut down. Following an excellent postmortem by Laura Taranto, Javier Barnes and Anette Staloy, host Ethan Levy sits down with the writers to discuss what went right and what areas of improvement for Clash Quest. We discuss the writer’s experience playing and interacting with the Clash Quest community over the past year and a half, what they enjoyed about the game, and why they think the game was not able to meet its retention and monetization targets.
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Eric Kress and Laura Taranto celebrate the 200th Episode of TWIG with a special guest, Joe Kim. In this episode, we take a walk down memory lane remembering the start of TWIG, how and when the hosts joined, discuss Scopely’s acquisition of Stumble Guys, and a recap of Ubisoft’s most recent announcement on mobile games and Netflix, and complete with a rant from Eric. Our headline covers Microsoft and Sony and the battle of exclusivity on platforms… or not.
Oh, and here's the episode Joe Kim DOESN'T WANT YOU TO HEAR > Working With BIG Entertainment IPs on Mobile
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Eric Kress, Laura Taranto, and Eric Seufert discuss Apple’s growing ambitions with its advertising business, the latest wave of layoffs that hit companies like Snap and Bytedance as well as Tencent's investment into Ubisoft's parent company. Most importantly, in this episode you'll hear about Seufert's latest Uber debacle, an update on Kress' son's thriving basketball career, and find out which continent Laura is recording the podcast this week.
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Whether you know it for its role as a hub of the Flash game development scene or in its later incarnation as a F2P mobile publisher, you are likely familiar with Kongregate. They have been making a lot of moves in the blockchain space recently, between their extension of The Bitverse into Web3, the announcement of NFT-powered game Blood Vessels, and the announcement of their $40m Web3 developer fund in partnership with Immutable. In this week’s episode, Ethan talks to Kongregate CTO Max Murphy and CBOO Michelle Shaw about their Web3 ambitions, the partners they’re looking for from their $40m fund, and just why Kongregate is so excited about the applications of Web3 in gaming.
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Despite the goodbyes, as both Mishka and Adam exit TWiG, this episode is filled with laughter and good times. Or maybe it is because the two fellas from the North are taking a hike?
hosts: Eric Kress, Ethan Levy, Laura Taranto, Eric Seufert
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Right before heading out for our party at Gamescom, our very own Eric Kress sat down with Mishka Katkoff to talk about his long career in games, his biggest regrets, where his independency stems from, and why you can't really cancel him.
Show Eric some love by sending him a DM on Linkedin.
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While Kress, Laura, and Mishka were hosting a banging party at Gamescom, Ethan and Seufert carried the TWiG torch. The guys discussed 4 -day work weeks, flexible hours, and culture building for early-stage start-ups. They also talked about Embracer rolling up Lord of the Ring and The Hobbit into their vast portfolio. And they made sure to cover Diablo 4 live service plans, which were detailed in the quarterly report.
hosts: Ethan Levy & Eric Kress
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This one is a treat! This week our stalwart host Ethan Levy interviews Graeme Devine, a true game design legend. From his groundbreaking work on 7th Guest and 11th Hour to Doom 3, to Age of Empires III and Halo Wars, to Magic Leap, Graeme has found success across many different platforms. Now, as a co-founder of QXR Studios, Graeme has added another notch to his belt with WAX-powered blockchain CCG Metropolis Origins. In this episode, we cover some of the highlights of Graeme’s illustrious career, how he found himself working on XR at Magic Leap and what attracted him to Web3. Most importantly, we discuss what he’s learned through the launch and operations of QXR’s first blockchain game in Metropolis Origins.
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The crew starts off by recapping Unity's rejection of AppLovin and why it went the way it did. Adam does an update on Supercell's games in soft launch now that Clash Quest became yet another could-be-hit in the company's soft launch graveyard. Finally, the guys debate what’s the right role of market research in early game development.
Hosts: Laura Taranto, Adam Telfer, Eric Seufert
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This one is a treat, y'all! Our stalwart host Ethan Levy interviews Graeme Devine, a true game design legend. From his groundbreaking work on 7th Guest and 11th Hour to Doom 3, to Age of Empires III and Halo Wars, to Magic Leap, Graeme has found success across many different platforms. Now, as a co-founder of QXR Studios, Graeme has added another notch to his belt with WAX-powered blockchain CCG Metropolis Origins. In this episode, we cover some of the highlights of Graeme’s illustrious career, how he found himself working on XR at Magic Leap and what attracted him to Web3. Most importantly, we discuss what he’s learned through the launch and operations of QXR’s first blockchain game in Metropolis Origins.
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Seufert is back from Europe and has a couple of words regarding last week’s analysis of the Hypercasual games' economy following Google’s ad changes. We’ll deep dive into AppLovin’s gangster move. JamCity’s massive layoffs and Roblox’s bookings miss. The gang also discusses why Blizzard and NetEase scrapped Warcraft Mobile and PlayStation Mobile’s hiring spree.
hosts: Eric Seufert, Ethan Levy, Adam Telfer
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Art outsourcing can become a game changer or a hopeless money sink. To discuss how to outsource art in the smartest and most effective way, the Deconstructor of Fun podcast was joined by Silver Saaremäel, co-founder and Art Director of a boutique art outsourcing studio Fantastic Vagabonds (ex-Wooga & Crytek), and Kshiraj Telang, Art Director from Moon Active (ex-King and Rovio).
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Special guest star, Matej Lancaric, a household name in the user acquisition circles and a podcaster extraordinaire (Two and a Half Gamers) joins the TWiG crew to give his view on Google’s latest Play Store policies and Apple’s new ad placements for advertisers. We also discuss whether Rockstar can get their culture less toxic and whether that will impact their super violent franchises. And we discuss if you really can make a great free-to-play game with just three steps...
the Gamescom event (link)
hosts: Eric Kress, Laura Taranto, Mishka Katkoff, and Matej Lancaric
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You know her from TV (That 70’s Show, Family Guy), Film (Book of Eli, Black Swan), and have probably even heard of her hit NFT collections (Stone Cats, The Gimmicks). But did you know that Hollywood star Mila Kunis is a closet World of Warcraft addict? And that her love of WoW has led directly to the creation of a brand new, Web3-powered gaming IP in the Armored Kingdom? Along with her raid party turned production and design team, she is working to build a new fantasy universe on the Near protocol. In this episode, Ethan Levy talks to Producer Lisa Sterbakov, Emmy nominated writer/designer Hugh Sterbakov and writer/designer Brian Turner about the inspiration behind the Armored Kingdom, their choice to go Web3 and partner with the Near protocol, and what it's like to go undercover raiding with a famous Hollywood star.
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As you may guess from his dadtastic body, the host Ethan Levy is a big fan of Peloton’s bike and fitness platform. That’s why he literally jumped at the chance to speak with Jim Green of Peloton Interactive about the present and future of gamified fitness on the Peloton platform.
The two discuss Jim’s background in Facebook and mobile free-to-play, his transition to a Product role within a non-gaming org, the testing, launch, and reception of Peloton’s first game, the Guitar Hero-inspired Lane Break, and the future of gamified fitness for Peloton. Ethan also puts his wishes for a Vin Diesel-inspired bicep blow-out game to be designed for Peloton’s upcoming Guide product. It’s literally the only thing standing between Ethan and the fabled EA exec-approved body-mass index.
links: careers at Peloton
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Ethan Levy is back to talk about the crypto Winter giving us an update from his blockchain snow castle. In addition to the latest high-school basketball news, Eric Kress analyzes Snap’s shares plunge. Mishka Katkoff discusses the pros and cons of having a transparent salary structure in a gaming company. And we discuss Netflix Games once again after receiving some insights on what the future portfolio might look like…
Signup for DoF x Phoenix Games x Naavik Gamescom party in Cologne on 25th of August! >>> LINK
Hosts: Erick Kress, Ethan Levy, Mishka Katkoff
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The crew returns back to Unity’s merger with ironSource as Eric Seufert offers his view of the deal. There’s a conversation about the latest government ruling not to regulate loot boxes. Talk about Tesla’s new gaming initiative and Netflix’s latest batch of gaming veteran hires. We also talk about E3’s return to in-person events and what we can expect from it.
Hosts: Eric Kress, Eric Seufert, Laura Taranto
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UnCaged Studios is pioneering AAA-quality Web3 gaming. Co-founded by seasoned Web3 and gaming experts, the studio has over a hundred years of combined experience designing and developing high production value, immersive gaming experiences with sustainable economies. Through its own platform, Game OS, the studio’s first release is an esports franchise called MonkeyLeague. In addition, UnCaged leverages Game OS to co-develop with and support game studios by providing core technical functionality, infrastructure, and live operations services.
links:
UnCaged Studios
Guests: Shahaf Bar-Geffen, Raz Friedman
Host: Mishka Katkoff
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With so many new games delayed the crew has their long-awaited debate on what is the optimal way of working for game studios. On-site, hybrid, or fully remote. Eric Kress whales on GameStop, which went full “crypto bro” in the middle of the crypto Winter. And gives his hyperbolic analysis of Unity’s merger with ironSource.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
Hosts:
Laura Taranto, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Mishka Katkoff
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In this episode, Laura talks about why games are being delayed and whether mobile games suffer from it as much as PC and console games. We also discuss what the metaverse is. Analyze the impact of Samsung Gaming Hub coming to Xbox. And Eric Kress does doom and gloom updates on the mobile market.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
Hosts:
Laura Taranto, Eric Kress and Eric Seufert
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Consolidation, IDFA, metverse, Web3 and now a recession…
During just the last couple of years, we’ve seen some wild phenomena affect the games industry: First, lockdowns caused engagement spikes. Second, we saw a streak of consolidations with record-breaking deals. Third, the impact of the privacy changes started taking effect, all the while as the crypto boom turned into crypto winter...
Today, the industry is influenced by some very interesting trends and headwinds: We are facing a global recession. There’s fierce competition for talent. And the costs of customer acquisition are going up. At the same time, we see the formation of walled gardens that threaten smaller companies that don't have unique content.
To dive deep into the issues above, we were joined byHemal Thaker, the Global Head of Gaming & Interactive Entertainment at Goldman Sachs, and Kartik Prabhakara, the Founding Partner of Aream, an independent investment bank providing M&A and financing advice to technology companies.
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Hold on to your AirPods because we have more than a full house on this episode. There’s no more doom and gloom. Mishka and Seufert drop teasers for two upcoming parties. We analyze if Blizzard is “back”. Talk Stumbel Guys, Fall Guys, Sybo and Clash Quest. And take the episode home by talking about the master plan behind creating standards for open metaverse interoperability.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Adam Telfer, Laura Taranto, Eric Kress and Eric Seufert
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The team discusses Riot joining Microsoft’s GamePass. Talks about the $24M made by Diablo Immortal after the first two weeks. Reviews the abysmal number of downloads Netflix games has racked up to date. Dives deep into how to survive the mobile marketing winter. And with Ethan back on the podcast, covers your most essential crypto updates, as the wheels are coming off the first iteration of blockchain games.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
Hosts:
Ethan Levy, Adam Telfer, and Eric Seufert
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Every successful mobile games story is different and offers something unique for the industry to learn from, and the story of SuperPlay and Dice Dreams is no different. In this episode, I had the privilege of sitting down with Noam Banon, the CMO of Superplay, to talk about how their game Dice Dreams was able to find success in the highly competitive mobile games market. I was also lucky enough to get Sumit Chandel from Google to join the conversation and provide insights on how he’s seen game developers like Superplay unlock growth with Firebase’s wide range of tools.
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Against the backdrop of a crypto winter that has many a team re-evaluating their go-to-market plan, Illuvium pressed ahead with their land NFT sale, taking in over $72m in a well-organized, well run, low-gas fee land sale. In today’s episode, we go deep inside Illuvium with System and Economy Designer Khalid Alroumi. In this wide-ranging talk, we get an inside look at Illuvium and the many challenges the team faces as it works to forge a long-term sustainable, multi-game, token-based economy that balances the needs of multi different player types. This was an eye-opening conversation about what it is like working as an economy designer in this new frontier of architecting ownership-based digital economies.
This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK, and Anton Backman, Principal at Play Ventures.
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This was a BIG week for console and PC games. We talk about Diablo 4, Modern Warfare 2, Overwatch 2, Stormgate... We got our first take on all of them. We also discuss Summer Game Fest, Saudi Arabia's $1B investment into Embracer, and how to optimally spend a massive stack of cash in Diablo Immortal. As always, we kick off the episode with corrections. Keep the (anonymous) feedback coming and we'll keep correcting ourselves.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
Hosts:
Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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A couple of months ago we covered BANDAI NAMCO’s new studio in Barcelona assessing their 4-day work weeks, lack of hierarchy, and deadlines (you can read our analysis here). We concluded that it all sounded almost too good to succeed. Well, Massimo Caporale, who heads mobile publishing at the BANDAI NAMCO Mobile, heard our analysis and wanted to come on the podcast to elaborate more and share what they've learned thus far from building what many call the Supercell under the Barcelona sun. Kudos to Massimo for being open and taking the time to address our initial analysis.
Host and Guest: Mishka Katkoff & Massimo Caporale
Links:
Careers at BANDAI NAMCO Mobile
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
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Adam does a light dive on Diabo Immortal after playing it intensively since launch. Eric Kress breaks down the decline of the mobile games market by looking at the performance of top genres and titles. Eric Seufert analyzes Apple's update to SKAd Network. The crew also talks E3, Pokemon Go passing $6 billion in lifetime revenue, and Summer Game Fest with Geoff Keighlye.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
Hosts:
Eric Kress, Adam Telfer, Eric Seufert and Laura Taranto
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Though veteran game designer spacedog chooses to remain anonymous, trust us, you've played some of the hit free-to-play games she has contributed to. As one of the developers behind the upcoming blockchain game Void Runners, spacedog recently authored the whitepaper for the game and iterated on it in public with her discord community. In this interview, we discuss Void Runners, the considerations behind writing a whitepaper for your game, and what it's like to work on your game’s design in public.
This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, who currently serves as Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK.
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The most comprehensive breakdown of the Battle Pass system in games. This analysis discusses best practices, biggest fumbles, and optimal ways to price and balance Battle Pass in your game.
Host and Guest: Mishka Katkoff & Javier Barnes
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
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This episode is all about headwinds. The crew discusses the global mobile gaming market, which is according to Data.ai set to hit $222 billion this year. Eric Kress dissects Sony’s investor day. The crew also predicts Apex Mobile’s success, marvels Diablo Immortal, and discusses Catalyst Black as an example of why MOBAs just don’t work in the West.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
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Lately, there's been a lot of talk about Xbox building an advertising program and the implications this program may have on both business and players. We're joined by Dave Madden, President of PlayerWON, to discuss the best practices for in-game ads within PC and console games. Dave has plenty of insights to share as his company, PlayerWON, is the pioneer of in-game ads in the free-to-play console and PC games.
Links: Dave Madden, PlayerWON, Deconstructor of Fun
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Eric Kress dismantles the rumors of EA being for sale. Eric Seufert analyzes Snap's multiple lowered guidances. Laura Taranto looks into TikTok's push into gaming. Team also discusses recent two big mobile launches: APEX Legends from EA and Dislyte from Lilith. And what would be a TWIG episode without hearing the latest of Kress' son's basketball life...
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla, Recur
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Before he joined L1 solution WAX as their Chief Gaming Officer, Michael Rubinelli had a long and accomplished career in gaming. Spanning companies including EA, THQ, Midway, Take Two, Disney, and Kixeye, Michael’s career has taken him across many gaming platforms and business model transitions. In this interview, we talk about how WAX is the L1 solution purpose-built for gaming, the challenges of transitioning to blockchain gaming, the success WAX Studios has seen with Blockchain Brawlers as well as its role in game development and publishing.
This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, who currently serves as Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK.
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The $600M GAMES FUND ONE, a16z’s inaugural fund dedicated to building the future of the games industry. A16Z has been investing in games for over a decade being the investor of the likes of Zynga and Oculus.
We're joined by Jonathan Lai, General Partner at A16Z to discuss what makes GAMES FUND ONE stand out from the rest of the gaming and interactive media funds.
Jonathan also breaks down what verticals the new fund is going after and how the fund evaluates founders. We also discuss the effect of the bear market on the games industry and the future of blockchain games.
links:
Jon Lai (@Tocelot)
Deconstructor of Fun (email)
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We discuss why Ubisoft shifts attention to mobile amidst declining sales. Kress provides a breakdown of the AppLovin quarterly review, where the company put on a show of the ages and got rewarded with a 35% growth in their stock price. We talk about Bethesda's delayed games and the implication of this. Adam breaks down why brain trust, which sounds so amazing on paper, rarely if ever works in real life.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla, Recur
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If you’ve been following crypto news over the past few weeks, you’ve undoubtedly seen plenty about the dramatic collapse of the Terra ecosystem against the backdrop of the onset of crypto winter. 30 days ago, $LUNA was at $81.45 and is now under $0.0002. $UST was at $1.00. and is now $0.09. Today we are joined by special guest Kenrick Drijkoningen, General Partner at Play Ventures and an early investor in Terra to explain the collapse of Terra, and how this collapse should influence the choice of chain for your web3 game project.
Kenrick is joined in conversation by your regular hosts Ethan and Anton.
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Patrick Carney (aka. Chief Pat) is the founder and CEO of Tribe Gaming, an esports and influencer company for mobile games with over 100M monthly views on YouTube.
Together with Pat, we talk about how to be successful with influencer marketing on YouTube. We discuss finding the right influencer for your game and how to get these influencers to talk about your game in an authentic way. Pat also analyzes the impact of IDFA on the demand for influencer marketing.
Tribe Gaming works with the likes of Activision, Tencent, and Supercell. This episode is guaranteed to be full of tangible insights for publishers and developers of all sizes.
ps: check out the Tribe Mobile (https://imgur.com/a/DDrKjT2)
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We discuss the crash of crypto and how it affects blockchain gaming. Dive deep into Space Ape's development process and compare it to the one Wooga used to unsuccessfully follow before the Playtika acquisition. Kress explains why FIFA is the one to lose out after the breakup with EA.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
The Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla
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The recent launch of Moonbirds is shaping up to be the best NFT drop of 2022 yielding up to $280M. In this episode, we dive into why it worked so well, as well as the lessons learned and actionable takeaways for gaming.
The premium of Utility NFTs is growing rapidly, and we’re witnessing the growth in real-time with innovative projects like Moonbirds that build upon previous successful projects. Aligning communities, creators, tokens, and value is how you onboard people to crypto and build tokenized communities.
Hosts:
N3TWORK Executive Producer Ethan Levy -
Play Ventures Principal Anton Backman -
Savage Games Studios CEO Michail Katkoff
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We discuss the mixed reviews of APEX Mobile. Congratulate Bernard Kim on his latest baller move. Doom Warcraft mobile. In this episode Kress also ponders why NewZoo keeps triggering him. Seufert updates us on the latest anti-trust charges Apple is facing.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
The Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla
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Shahaf started a company called ominously Web3 back in 2006. Since then he has been at the forefront of the adaptation of blockchain technology first within finance and now within games as the President of UnCaged Studios.
In this episode, we discuss the reasons why blockchain and crypto broke into the mainstream last year. Why do investors remain bullish about blockchain gaming despite massive security hacks and lack of audience growth? As well as what is the most important part when assessing and predicting the success of a blockchain games company.
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Kress gets triggered by Newzoo's new report about the state of esports and live streaming. The team discusses ex-Riot and ex-Blizzard founding teams. Recap of why advertising in console games is not a good idea. Our take on Diablo Immportal coming to mobile and PC and analysis of why private equities are eying Ubisoft.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
The Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla
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Chris Heatherly’s long and accomplished career in the games industry spans toys, MMOs, mobile, free-to-play, and VR and includes work on some of the biggest brands in the world. He spent over 14 years at Disney where he worked on everything from leading smash-hit kid’s MMO Club Penguin, to leading their mobile initiative, to leading their toys business. After Disney, he joined NBCU to launch their games business where he developed games using world-famous brands including Jurassic Park, followed by a tour of duty at mobile, free-to-play developer N3TWORK leading Funko Pop! Blitz.
Now, Chris has red-pilled on crypto and joined NFT collectibles startup Recur as their Head of Gaming & Engagement. Having already launched bespoke collecting experiences NFTU and Star Trek: Continuum, Recur is set to launch plenty more branded experiences as well as expand into play-to-earn gaming over the course of 2022. In this interview, learn why Chris red-pilled, what drew him to Recur, and how his experiences across toys, games, and kid’s MMOs influence his work building NFT experiences.
This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, who currently serves as Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK.
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Heated take on the mobile market downturn. Discussion about Microsoft's move into the in-game ads business. What does a co-CEO mean for Huuuge games and why does the newest World of Warcraft expansion matters.
Links:
Questions and Feedback
The Newsletter
The Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla
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News:
Meta’s Horizon worlds monetization
Sensor Tower: Q1 2022 mobile games spending dropped 7.1% to $21 billion
Metaverse Articles (NFT Avatars, DOgs, and Epic + LEGO Metaverse)
Check out:
Avatar Platform for Cross-App Metaverse with Timmu Tõke, CEO of Ready Player Me, and Javier Barne's exquisite talk on game economies
Links:
Questions and Feedback
The Newsletter
The Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
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I'll be honest. Before sitting down with Uri Marchand the most I knew about Overwolf is the ridiculous story that the company is going full remote and setting up their offices in the metaverse of Roblox.
Based on that Roblox story I knew we'd hit it off. After all, I too love pranking Web3 fanatics.
I'm happy I got to talk to Uri and Lee McNeil. There are simply no better people to discuss user-generated content. These two gentlemen have been a vital part of the modding industry that is now a thriving and rapidly evolving business.
If you don't know much about modding, this episode is for you. Overwolf is no joke. They've raised $150M over five rounds with the latest round being $75M led by A16Z
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News:
With E3 2022 Canceled, Is It Time to Cancel E3 for Good?
Gaming agency Loaded raises $20M in funding
Why Netflix Should Sell Ads
Links:
The Istanbul Event
Questions and Feedback
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon
HELP UKRAINIANS:
For refugees fleeing to Poland: Polish Humanitarian Action, or the Polish Center for International Aid. For medical assistance on the ground in Ukraine: Médecins Sans Frontières or the Ukrainian Red Cross.
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It’s the biggest hack in crypto history. As reported in The Verge et all, a hacker stole $625 million from the blockchain behind NFT game Axie Infinity. In this episode, we wanted to really dig into the mechanics of the Ronin sidechain, the Ronin bridge, and the likely form the attack took in order to explain the hack in simple, easy to understand terms. We end up referencing Ocean’s 11… a lot.
We also bring crypto-gaming news updates from the past two weeks, including fundraising rounds from Crypto Raiders and NFT marketplace Fractal, the latest crypto move from GameStop, and DeFi Kingdoms' partnership with Ramp.
Hosts: N3TWORK Executive Producer Ethan Levy and Play Ventures Principal Anton Backman. Unfortunately, Savage Games Studios CEO Michail Katkoff was too busy recovering from his Turkish Bath experience to join this one…
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This episode was recorded live at the end of the first Deconstructor of Fun event. Major thanks for Google for powering the event. All the videos from the event can be found here: (www.deconstructoroffun.com/blog/2022/4/3/deconstructor-of-funs-istanbul-event-highlights)
News:
Sony officially unveils its revamped three-tier PlayStation Plus subscription service
Apple struggles with Netherlands court could lead to a major shift
Links:
The Istanbul Event
Questions and Feedback
The Newsletter
The Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon
HELP UKRAINIANS:
For refugees fleeing to Poland: Polish Humanitarian Action, or the Polish Center for International Aid. For medical assistance on the ground in Ukraine: Médecins Sans Frontières or the Ukrainian Red Cross.
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Many of us know how to develop a game. Many of us are experienced in running live operations. Yet only a few of us truly know how to successfully navigate through a soft launch and ship a modern mobile game. In this episode, Annelie Biernat (Game Director at Wooga) and Aaron Hiscox (Business Development Manager at Google Play) shared their insights and learnings on how to successfully complete a soft launch in today's market.
Links:
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Mishka Katkoff
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If you’ve been following the blockchain space, the “blue chip” NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club is inescapable. And as BAYC owner Yugalabs has progressed, it is clear that gaming is central to their future ambitions. There’s been a flurry of news recently, from their partnership with Animoca Brands to P2E game Benji Bananas to the launch of ApeCoin and the leaked investor deck pitching their big metaverse play. In today’s episode, we go deep on the investor deck, look into our crystal balls, and make our prediction on if the Bored Apes will one day rule the metaverse.
We also bring some crypto-gaming news updates from the past two weeks, including FTX’s big gaming hire, Com2Us’s crypto game platform fundraise, and NFTU’s week 1 sellout.
Hosts: N3TWORK Executive Producer Ethan Levy, Play Ventures Principal Anton Backman, and Savage Games Studios CEO himself, Mr. Michail Katkoff.
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News:
Bored Ape Yacht Club creator raises $450 million to build an NFT metaverse
CD Projekt confirm The Witcher is coming back for a new game
Sony Interactive Entertainment To Acquire Haven Entertainment Studios Inc.
Links:
The Istanbul Event
Questions and Feedback
The Newsletter
The Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon
HELP UKRAINIANS:
For refugees fleeing to Poland: Polish Humanitarian Action, or the Polish Center for International Aid. For medical assistance on the ground in Ukraine: Médecins Sans Frontières or the Ukrainian Red Cross.
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Joshua Wilson is the CEO of SciPlay, a publicly-traded gaming company with a strong social casino portfolio. In this episode, we discuss the CEO's role in building a culture and how to successfully continue scaling an organization with hundreds of employees worldwide. We also get to talk about what's the best and the worst thing about being a CEO of a publicly-traded games company.
Links:
The Istanbul Event
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff
Sponsors:
ironSource, Appsflyer
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HELP UKRAINIANS:
For refugees fleeing to Poland: Polish Humanitarian Action, or the Polish Center for International Aid. For medical assistance on the ground in Ukraine: Médecins Sans Frontières or the Ukrainian Red Cross.
News:
NFT game sales hit $5.17B in 2021
FIFA Ultimate Team cards aren’t gambling, Dutch court says
Links:
The Istanbul Event
Questions and Feedback
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
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Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon
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Christian Ress is the CEO and co-founder of PlaytestCloud, a platform I’ve been using for 8 years. PlaytestCloid is an essential platform for any and all mobile game developers. It allows us to conclude all kinds of playtests easily, quickly, and with great targeting. In this podcast Christian shares valuable insights on how to use playtest on your trail to successful game launch and beyond.
Links:
The Istanbul Event
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff
Sponsors:
ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon
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It’s the 2.5-hour documentary railing on NFTs that everyone on your Twitter feed pretended to watch but merely skimmed. With over 6m views, Dan Olson’s Line Goes Up is a fantastic and wide-ranging video essay railing against NFTs, Web3, and all things crypto. The Tokenomics crew has watched the whole thing so you don’t have to, and in this episode we discuss Line Goes Up and where we agree and disagree with @FoldableHuman’s takedown of NFTs.
We also bring some crypto-gaming news updates from the past two weeks, including Void Runners’s playable, allowlist experiment, Jam City’s Champion’s Ascension Pre-Sale, Sandbox’s Alpha Season 2, and more.
Hosts: N3TWORK Executive Producer Ethan Levy, Play Ventures Principal Anton Backman, and Savage Games Studios CEO himself, Mr. Michail Katkoff.
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HELP UKRAINIANS:
For refugees fleeing to Poland: Polish Humanitarian Action, the Polish Association for Legal Intervention for refugee rights, the Polish Center for International Aid. For medical assistance on the ground in Ukraine, Médecins Sans Frontières or the Ukrainian Red Cross.
News:
Backbone raises $40 million to bring console and PC games to mobile
'loot boxes' in computer games are not a game of chance
Links:
The Istanbul Event
Questions and Feedback
The Newsletter
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon
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PLEASE HELP UKRAINIANS:
For refugees fleeing to Poland: Polish Humanitarian Action, the Polish Association for Legal Intervention for refugee rights, the Polish Center for International Aid. For medical assistance on the ground in Ukraine, Médecins Sans Frontières or the Ukrainian Red Cross.
News:
Games industry rallies behind Ukraine
Playtika Announces Exploration of Strategic Alternatives
Gabe Newell on the metaverse
Netflix Announced Plans to Acquire the Finnish Mobile Studio Next Games
Links:
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
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Free-to-Play and Play-to-Earn seem to be two contradicting business models. But what if you could make a game that takes the best of both worlds? A game with infinite upside while being scalable, never-ending, and generally fun to play. Enter Thetan Arena...
Links:
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Ethan Levy, Javier Barnes
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In this episode, we're joined by Andrew Green, co-founder, and Gabby Dizon, co-founder of Yield Guild Games. Hold on to your metaverse seats, because this is one high-flying conversation!
Strider, recently raised $3 million to enable creators to take control of their projects through blockchain-based decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
Yield Guild Games is a play-to-earn gaming guild, bringing players together to earn via blockchain-based economies.
host: Ethan Levy
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News:
IMX token tumbles as GameStop appears to dump $42 million from Immutable X grant
Activision to Delay Next Year’s Planned Call of Duty Game
Call of Duty: Mobile fires past $1.5 billion in consumer spending
Links:
The Istanbul Event
Questions and Feedback
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon,
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Can you raise capital without touting Web3 and blockchain? What's the difference between Angel Investor, a VC, and a strategic investor? When to choose a generalist fund over a gaming fund? What do investors look for in investees? Where do VCs look for investees? How to pitch over a video connection versus on-site? This and many more are answered in this podcast by the powerful Joakim Achren.
Who's Joakim? Most of you likely know him as the founder of the fantastic Elite Game Developers blog, podcast, and newsletter. But what you might not know is that he is a published author, a venture partner at Play Ventures, a very active angel investor, and a co-founder of the powerful Next Games.
I get to talk to Joakim regularly. This time around we decided to record our conversation - and add a bit more structure to it. Let us know how you liked it!
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News:
Matthew Wolf interview: Why Zynga is diving into blockchain games
Are Our Best Days Behind Us or Ahead of Us? × Supercell
Links:
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The Newsletter
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy
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Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon,
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Timmu Tõke is the CEO of Ready Player Me, a platform that creates cross-game avatars for the metaverse. In this podcast, we discuss the philosophy of the open metaverse, interoperability, cross-game services, the current state of NFTS among many other fascinating topics.
Links:
Timmu Tõke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmutoke/
Crypto Punks: https://punks.readyplayer.me/
Ready Player Me: https://wolf3d.io/
Deconstructor of Fun:
Questions and Feedback
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Host: Mishka Katkoff
The sponsors:
ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon,
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News:
Google reportedly aims to pivot Stadia into wider streaming market
The Unnerving Rise of Video Games that Spy on You
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Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Ethan Levy and Eric Seufert
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How do you kill a game without killing the team? Sophie Vo, Niklas Herriger, and Mishka Katkoff discuss their past experiences as well as the dos and don'ts of ending a project and starting a new one.
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News:
Sony bought Bungie for $3.6 billion
Newzoo: NFT companies will transform into luxury and lifestyle brands
EA Says It's'Not Driving Hard' in the Direction of NFTs
Links:
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Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Ethan Levy and Eric Seufert
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Tokenomics is a segment focusing on all aspects of blockchain gaming. In this episode we discuss how to make a pitch for your blockchain game, cover the latest blockchain headlines and answer fan questions.
Topics:
- Twitter launches NFT Profile Pic Verification
- Illuvium announces PvE closed beta
- Loop Games to invest $100 million to expand Petherium.io blockchain metaverse
- How to Build a Blockchain Gaming Studio from Scratch
Links:
Famous Aspects
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Host: Mishka Katkoff, Ethan Levy, Anton Backman
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NFT Pro’s‘Metaverse’ Rave Looks Boring, Dead
Respawn making 3 new Star Wars games for EA
The App Store has a ‘Too Big To Fail’ problem
Links:
Microsoft to Acquire Activision
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Joe Schaeppi, CEO of Solsten (ex-12Traits) is back on the podcast discussing how the top game companies in the industry use advanced audience understanding to acquire and engage their players.
Links:
Solsten
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Mishka Katkoff
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Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon, Xsolla
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Links:
Microsoft to Acquire Activision
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Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Image: pymnts.com
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Supercell seeks third brand extensions for its Clash franchise after the massive success of Clans and Royale. Clash Mini ventures into perhaps the most unattractive genre on mobile known as Autochess. The genre is plagued by low installs, poor monetization, and a graveyard of games from top publishers. Can Supercell breakthrough or was this just another good try? All above discussed by the powerful Hadrian Semroud and Javier Barnes
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Mishka Katkoff
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Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon, Xsolla
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Links:
Take-Two Interactive to acquire social game developer Zynga in $12.7 billion deal
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Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Tokenomics is a segment focusing on all aspects of blockchain gaming. In this episode we discuss how to make a pitch for your blockchain game, cover the latest blockchain headlines and answer fan questions.
Topics:
Crypto Raiders Explained, Splinterlands $SPS Roadmap
Crypto Hit Aurory Has Already Raised $100m.
Polygon is paying out a $2.2m bug bounty
Polygon Under Accidental Attack
Most People Won't Know Web3 Exists
Square Enix promises‘decentralized games’ in 2022
Why Gaming NFTs Are Not Oblivion Horse Armor 2.0
Links:
Famous Aspects
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Host: Mishka Katkoff, Ethan Levy, Anton Backman
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In this episode also: mobile publishers open up blockchain divisions, new SPAC from ex-Sony exec, Madden passes away and both Erics catch the COVID.
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Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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ironSource, Appsflyer, PlayerWon, Xsolla
Image: Newzoo
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Audio ads. It's not a new thing. In fact, audio ads is the oldest way to deliver an ad from one human to another. So in this podcast we discuss the thesis behind audio ads on mobile in the post IDFA era, go into the weeds on how audio ads work and of course discuss the monetization potential they offer.
Links:
AudioMob
Christian Facey
Wilfrid Obeng
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Hosts:
Michail Katkoff (twitter)
Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable
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In the final episode of the year the crew discusses most impactful news of the past year, biggest winners and losers as well as who made the most skeptical moves. Happy holidays y'all!
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Image: Epic
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Tokenomics is a segment focusing on all aspects of blockchain gaming. In this episode we discuss how to make a pitch for your blockchain game, cover the latest blockchain headlines and answer fan questions.
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
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Host: Mishka Katkoff, Ethan Levy, Anton Backman
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Articles discussed:
Ubisoft's NFT Announcement Has Been Intensely Disliked
Fortnite kicks off Chapter 3: Season 1 with Dwayne Johnson and Spider-Man
Tencent brings Spider-Man to PUBG Mobile
Links:
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat, Xsolla
Image: Epic
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None of us is a born leader. And while some of us become good leaders over time, it tends, in my experience, to happen after lots of trials and tribulation. But what if you had someone coaching you? Doubling your XP and making you level up twice as fast.
In this episode, Niklas Herriger, who founded Gondola (acquired by Tilting Point), coaches startup CEOs, CTOs, co-founders, tech leads, executives, and investors both in the US and Europe.
We discuss how a great leader can multiply their team. How to track progress as a leader. The fallacy of reverting to micromanagement. And the best way of leading games organizations as well as skills required to do so.
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Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Xsolla
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Articles:
Ubisoft Quartz, a Blockchain-Powered NFT Cosmetics System
Blockchain is only a game changer if players are stakeholders
How To Be A Great Games Company CEO!
Apple legal filing indicates it intends to collect commission regardless of whether developers use IAP or a competing payments platform
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat, Xsolla
Image: Ubisoft
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Mike Schmid, who today runs Business Development at Rec Room, used to head Business Development for Games at Apple. In this episode we discuss Epic Games, Privacy Marketing, Netflix foray into gaming and the state of mobile games. Enjoy!
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image: IGN
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Articles:
Executive behind Facebook-backed Novi crypto wallet to leave company
Star Citizen has now raised over $400M
Supercell sponsors Mr. Beast's Squid Game remake
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Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat, Xsolla
Image: Independent
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While there’s a well-defined path to make your organization more appealing to a more diverse group of applicants, there’s not that much information on how to make the diverse organization run smoothly. That’s why we decided to record this podcast. To talk openly and freely about women in games with women in games.
Empathy is the secret ingredient of an inclusive studio. And there’s no better way to build empathy than listening.
BIG thanks to Anette Staloy (CMO Dirtybit and Co-founder of Women in Games Norway), Tiffany Keller (Director of Product for Subway Surfers), and Juliette Dupré (former head of talent at Tilting Point, current VP of people and culture at PlayerWON) for joining the podcast.
Disclaimer: all views in this podcast are personal and not representing those of a guest's company.
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Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Xsolla
image: IGN
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Articles:
Moon Active valuation surges to $5 billion on back of $300 million Insight funding
Esports - a marketing investment?
Gaming Giant King Names Fernanda Romano as Chief Marketing Officer for Candy Crush
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Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat, Xsolla
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Pokemon Unite had a strong start. After initial Nintendo Switch launch, the game bursted onto mobile with 30M installs in the first week. Yet the installs quickly dwindled and the revenue dropped. It seems that after a roaring start the game quickly faded. This deconstruction explores the details why a game destined for success missed its mark.
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Hosts:
Hadrian SemroudJavier Barnes.
Mishka Katkoff
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Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Xsolla
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The best monthly blockchain report: Promo code: NAAVIKDOF
Articles:
Deconstructing Axie Infinity
Report: Activision Blizzard CEO knew about misconduct at the company for years
Roblox Analyst Day recap
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Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat, Xsolla
Image: Cointelegraph
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You have a decision to make: Jump on the blockchain gaming bandwagon or continue to roll your eyes from the sidelines.
To make your decision a more calculated one, Michail Katkoff from Deconstructor of Fun sat down with Ethan Levy aka. The Crypto Kid and recorded a Crypto Gaming for Dummies episode on the Deconstructor of Fun podcast and YouTube channel.
Some of the topics covered:
- What does blockchain mean in the context of gaming and how is it applied?
- Why do you need blockchain in games? Couldn’t existing tools and tech do the same?
- Why is there so much hype around something that has so few players?
- Why aren’t pay-to-earn developers being called out for misleading numbers?
- What are some of the leading blockchain platforms for games?
- Are crypto-enabled games with openly traded assets also affected by macro swings in the crypto markets?
- What tech stack is out there to build your own marketplace, tokens, and mint NFTs?
- Are there any best practices to follow when making a play-to-earn?
Links:
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Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Host:
Mishka Katkoff
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Xsolla
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Articles:
Baseless NFT hype hits a crescendo
Zynga hires a VP of blockchain gaming
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat, Xsolla
Image: Cointelegraph
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Hiring is the most difficult and crucial part of building up a studio. What makes it easier is having a great employer brand. With a big name like Supercell, Activision or EA you’re more likely to attract great employees and retain your current ones. Your job ads produce an abundance of applicants, which in turn reduce your recruitment costs. And as you get those great hires in, they will refer their coworkers allowing you to scale up faster.
But how do you build an employer brand that can compete for employees against the established talent magnets in the market?
I had the privilege to reconnect with Joe Nickolls, who recently founded Timbre Games in Vancouver. Setting up a AAA studio in one of the most talent hungry gaming clusters in the World is not something you do without carefully strategizing how will you be able to attract talent. In our conversation Joe discusses his very unique approach to building an employer brand that can stand out from the magnificent gaming companies in the city.
Links:
Joe Nickolls
Timbre Games
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Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
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Host:
Mishka Katkoff
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Xsolla
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Topics covered:
New World — Amazon’s Rollercoaster Hit
Social media company Snap falls as much as 23% after a blow to its Q3 earnings from Apple privacy changes and supply-chain disruption
5 Reasons Why I Became Bullish on Blockchain Gaming
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat, Xsolla
Image: AppLovin
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Topics covered:
New World — Amazon’s Rollercoaster Hit
Social media company Snap falls as much as 23% after a blow to its Q3 earnings from Apple privacy changes and supply-chain disruption
5 Reasons Why I Became Bullish on Blockchain Gaming
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat, Xsolla
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While we all know of Playrix, we also know very little about the company. There are almost no English-speaking articles on how they make games or what is their organizational structure. I don’t remember ever reading about their culture nor hearing about their future plans. The company prospers behind an iron curtain. And if you don’t speak Russian, you’d likely be clueless, until now…
I had the privilege to sit down with Maxim Kirilenko, Playrix’ Chief Business Development Officer, and ask all the questions that I wanted about the company. We talk about:
- Playrix 17 year journey to date and their aspirations to one day beat Tencent on mobile
- How the company is organized around clusters of excellence located far away from each other
- the infamous war between Homescapes and AppLovin’s Matchington Mansion
- Playrix’ M&A strategy saw investments in the likes of Nexters and Vizor, which both grew into unicorns
- a company culture that is transforming from purely Russian to more of a hybrid
Topics above and more in the first-ever English-speaking podcast with a member of the Playrix leadership team from the link below.
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Host:
Mishka Katkoff
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable,
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Topics covered:
Steam Bans and Epic Allows NFTs
Kixeye shareholders sue Stillfront for $30M over earnout dispute
AppLovin SDK Re-Routed Apple’s SKAdNetwork Postbacks To Itself
Ironsource will buy mobile ad and app monetization firm Tapjoy for $400M
Unity reveals Ad Mediation and Bidding coming to its Dashboard
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat
Image: makeuseof.com
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I think we can all agree that Deconstructor of Fun is pretty good at predicting the mobile games market. Well, here's another prediction: FunCraft is going to be one of the rising stars of 2022. I got to sit down with my good buddy Michael Martinez to talk about his company's path to finding early success and how they are planning to feed the fire and grow. If you're savvy, you'll join this fun rocket ship as soon as possible. Because its going to be a ride for the stars you'll regret on missing out.
Links: Michael Martinez FunCraft Get in Touch: Send us Questions and Feedback Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable
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Topics covered:
How to be a Great Product Manager (by Joe Kim and Brett Nowak)
EA promotes Laura Miele to COO, making her one of the most powerful women in gaming
NFTs, Ultima Online, and player-run game economies (by Eric Seufert)
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat
Image: paxful.com
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Audio ads. It's not a new thing. In fact, audio ads is the oldest way to deliver an ad from one human to another. So in this podcast we discuss the thesis behind audio ads on mobile in the post IDFA era, go into the weeds on how audio ads work and of course discuss the monetization potential they offer.
Links:
ODEOO
Case Study in Hypercasual games
Amit Monheit
Get in Touch:
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Hosts:
Michail Katkoff (twitter) & Eric Seufert (twitter)
Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable
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Seemingly every week a crypto gaming company raises a monstrous amount of capital for a game that not so many of us in the industry are even familiar with.
These are staggering numbers seem to make very little sense. So what better way to understand what's going on than asking an investor, who invests into blockchain gaming, and a founder who has just recently raised a massive investment rounds.
Whether you're tuning in to learn or to roll your skeptical hippo eyes, this podcast is for you!
Links:
Aleksander Leonard Larsen
Anton Backman
Get in Touch:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff
Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable
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Netflix entry in the games business has been rapid, methodical and diverse. In this episodes we'll discuss what has happened till date, review Netlix' strategy and offer predictions of what could happen next.
Links:
Chris Heatherly
Ethan Levy
Get in Touch:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff
Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable
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The way I think about instant games is different after recording this podcast with Justin Waldron.
As do you, I had certain perception of instant games that were based on what has been done before. You know, the HTML5 games, the Facebook Messenger games, and the iMessage games. Yet what Playco sees as an opportunity is quite different from what has been done before.
I think you'll enjoy this podcast since it's not about the post app store world or how to do instant games better. This podcast is about emerging social platforms an how games can be a vital part of those.
Links:
Playco Careers
Justin Waldron
Get in Touch:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff
Sponsors: Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable
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Topics covered:
When you‘Ask app not to track,’ some iPhone apps keep snooping anyway
New World is Already Steam's Most Played Game of 2021 Despite Server Struggles
Niantic Shutting down AR Catan Game
Zynga Announces FarmVille 3 for Mobile
UK Cracks Down On In-Game Ads And Microtransactions
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming, ironSource, Appsflyer, Beamable, Betahat
Image: idrop news
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During the past couple of years the market has been crazy about merge games. And it's easy to understand why. The core mechanic is simple and engaging leading to high rates of engagement.
Merge games are also very simple to soft launch as it takes about 8 weeks to get one of these games into the hands of players. The low entry barrier is also the reason for the market getting flooded by merge games that have not been able to scale.
My guest today is Antti Hattara, CEO of Starberry Games. As many start-ups, also his made a merge game. But what sets Starberry apart from competition is their vast experience in launching and scaling casual games.
Now year post launch, Starberry’s Merge Mayor is finally scaling up breaking revenue and download records every week. In this episode we discuss how to scale up a merge game. Because you all know that making one is not the real challenge.
Sponsors:
Facebook Gaming
ironSource
Appsflyer
Beamable
Get in Touch:
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Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff
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Topics covered:
Deep games for the masses
FIFA 22 is bringing back'preview packs,' but regular loot boxes are staying too
NBA Top Shot creator Dapper Labs raises another $250 million
Links:
The We Works book to read "We Works the Cult of We"
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Image: Dapper Labs
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The court has ruled that Apple must allow iOS apps to offer payment options besides the ones subject to App Store's 30% fees. Essentially, these payment methods link outside of the core app experience. We explore the best ways for game studios, large and small, to capitalize on this massive change.
Guests:
Chris Hewish
Eric Seufert
Links:
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Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
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Host:
Mishka Katkoff
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Topics covered:
- Can Supercell Boost Beatstar Into a Major Hit
- Apple must allow other forms of in-app purchase, rules judge in Epic v. Apple
- The App Store is the Games Store. Apple should recognize this.
Links:
- Send us Questions and Feedback
- Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
- Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Image: Apple
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1047 Games is the developer of Splitgate, a portal-like shooter in beta that has amassed 13 million installs. And now this fully remote team of 40 up-and-coming developers has been laced up with hundred million Dollars to take grow their first game into a household name.
In this episode we discuss how they achieved their amazing launch numbers after the first beta felt somewhat flat. We'll also chat how the company got started and how are they going to deploy their massive war chest to surpass the expectations set by the prominent investors.
Links:
1047 Games careers
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Host:
Mishka Katkoff
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Topics covered: 1) What’s really going on in the market at the moment? 2) Creative testing in iOS 14 3) How to produce creatives 4) Trends in creatives 5) Snap and TikTok
Links:
Miri Growth
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Host:
Mishka Katkoff
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Headlines:
Supercell's Everdale: a Genre Definer or a Pretty-Looking Social Appointment System?
Nifty Games adds $38M to its coffers for sports Clash mobile games
Axie Infinity’s $1.2 Billion Annualized Revenue Overtakes Candy Crush’s 2020 Total Revenue
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
Image: Supercell
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The sudden rise of the weight companies put on cross-promotion is of course due to the IDFA deprecation that has to some extent further accelerated consolidation in the industry. As large publishers grow larger and operate across all the key gaming genres they are looking for tools to increase the life-time values of their large and diverse player base.
Paytika is one of the main consolidators in the industry. They have in many ways been on the forefront of effective cross promotion growing games across multiple genres and audiences.
In this episode I'm joined by Playtika's Media Department Lead, Yuval Yosefi, who explains how to set up and operate cross promotion strategy.
Links:
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Host:
Mishka Katkoff
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Headlines:
Apple will let developers accept payment outside App Store, in major concession amid antitrust pressure — The Washington Post
Facebook Undercounted SKAdNetwork Conversions For iPhone 12 Users Since February
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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A great Art Director will make your game stand out. They will build a strong art team and inspire both the developers and the executives with their creative vision. A perfect art director is just as a important as your technical director - and one could argue that sometimes Art Director should be the first hire on the team.
In this podcast we discuss:
- Who's an AD?
- When to hire an AD?
- What kind of an AD will fit your game project
- Common pitfalls of an AD
Guests:
Kshiraj Telang, AD at Moonactive
Jack Gilson, AD at Scopely
Host:
Mishka Katkoff
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
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Headlines:
New Game Releases Madden, Call of Duty Vanguard, Marvel
Analyzing Riot Games’ move to mobile
Liftoff and Vungle agree to merge into one mobile growth company
LILA Games’ Values
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Headlines:
The Problem with VR
App Annie: Mobile games on track to surpass $120B in 2021
Is app store regulation too little, too late?
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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In this podcast we're going to discuss:
- From Disruptor Beam to Beamable
- Working with Big IPs and publishers
- Defining Metaverse
- Creator Economy and NFTs
- Investing into Metaverse
links:
Jon Radoff
Building the Metaverse blog
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Host:
Mishka Katkoff,
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Headlines:
Zynga’s Q2 2021 bookings of $712M are up 37% from a year ago
Zynga acquires StarLark studio and Golf Rival game for $525M
FIFA Ultimate Team's new Preview Packs actually boosted loot box sales, EA says
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Headlines:
Blizzard president out in wake of discrimination lawsuit and employee walkout
Tencent tanks after Chinese media calls online gaming‘opium’ as regulatory concerns mount
Riot Games' mobile titles generate over $100m
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Headlines:
Activision Blizzard Sued Over Frat Boy Culture, Harassment
Mark in the Metaverse
Tilting Point Raises $235 Million to Fuel Expansion and Acquisitions
Links:
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Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Headlines:
Netflix Hires Facebook Gaming Executive Mike Verdu
Peloton plans to launch an in-app video game
No IDFA. No Problem. Apple Can’t Kill Gaming
Links:
Send us Questions and Feedback
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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How Call of Duty Mobile went from concept to soft-launch. How the game broke all the records with 135M installs during launch month. What caused the turnaround in 2021 after revenues declined post-launch. What is the future of Call of Duty Mobile and Activision Mobile as a whole?
Guest:
Chris Plummer, Head of Mobile at Activision
Matt Lewis, VP of Mobile, GM of Call of Duty Mobile
Join Activision
Links:
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Host:
Mishka Katkoff
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Headlines:
- WoW Disappointment, Plus Twitch, Start Mass Exodus Into Final Fantasy XIV
- Google expands ad targeting in mobile games amid pandemic gaming boom
- NoPixel and Grand Theft Auto V
Links:
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Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
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Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Launching a mid-core game with high production values, competitive gameplay and strong multiplayer core requires a long and thorough soft launch.
I'm joined by Volkan Ediz, Chief Revenue Officer at Super Evil Megacorp, as we discuss how they've approached soft launch for their latest title Catalyst Black. What countries and platforms they chose, what has been their marketing budget, how do they improve marketability, what metrics they are looking at and how have the privacy changes affected the soft launch.
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
- Drake Star Partners: Game deals surpassed $60B in the first half of 2021
- Supercell's secret for growing Brawl Stars to a $1 billion success
- Ubisoft’s next Assassin’s Creed will be a live service game
Links:
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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According to the book No Rules Rules, Netflix's culture is ruthless - both in terms of execution and in the way they treat their employees.
In this episode, Sophie Vo, Joakim Achren, and Yours Truly discuss the merits and the challenges of the Netflix culture in a games company setting.
We also talk about the pitfalls many companies face as they attempt to introduce pieces of the Netflix culture into their vastly different organizations.
Links:
Deconstructor of Fun Newsletter
Deconstructor of Fun Slack Group
Elite Game Developers
Rise and Play
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1 Duolingo filed to go public
2 Self-publishing is key to attracting VC money for mobile gaming studios
3 EA continues to spend big on mobile games with $1.4 billion Playdemic acquisition
LINKS:
TWIG Newsletter
Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Arnd Benninghoff (EVP, Modern Times Group) and Shaun Rutland (CEO, Hutch) join the podcast to discuss MTG's corporate strategy. MTG is one of the top consolidators in the industry having acquired companies like Hutch, Inno Games, and ESL. MTG refers to their consolidation activities as "family building". Their growth strategy is founded around acquiring resilient game studios that have operated over years through the turmoil of the market. The acquired companies are usually mid to small size and without exception profitable. MTG doesn't offer any central resources - unlike Zynga, AppLovin, or Playtika. And the corporation wants founders to continue to not only head their companies but to also help to "grow the family".
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1 E3 Review
2 Disney's resurgence into video games is only just beginning
LINKS:
TWIG Newsletter
Slack Group
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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This episode discusses idle games from all angles. Together with Rimmy Spanjer, who is the Managing Director of Games at Hyper Hippo, we cover concept validation, the development process, best monetization practices, and live services strategies in idle games. We also discuss why you should or shouldn't make an idle game and predict the future of the genre.
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Welcome to This Week in Games!
We discuss NFTs in games with Ethan Levy, who also talks about his recent Deconstructor of Fun article - How Netflix could become the'Netflix of Gaming'.
LINKS:
Level Up 2021
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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In this episode, I'm joined by Chris Pruett, Director of Publishing at Oculus. We discuss the latest VR hardware and the overall adaptation rate of the platform. The Oculus ecosystem and the type of content that has reached financial success on it. As well as the future of virtual and augmented reality.
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1 Dark Horse Comics started a gaming division
2 Valorant is coming to phones and mobile platforms
3 WWDC
LINKS:
Level Up 2021
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1 Tim Cook faces harsh questions about the App store from Judge in Fortnite Trial
2 why Apple says Microsoft's xCloud game streaming isn't on the iPhone
3 EA Mobile
LINKS:
Level Up 2021
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1 Netflix Looking for Exec to Oversee a Push Into Gaming
2 Garena Free Fire - Q1 2021 Results
3 Jam City SPAC
LINKS:
Level Up 2021
Lilith's CEOs interview
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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Zynga, Playtika, Tencent, Stillfront, Embracer, and many more are achieving fantastic growth through M&A. In many ways, acquiring gaming studios has become the norm for growth for successful gaming companies.
Yet we tend to forget how volatile M&A tends to be. According to research and a recent Harvard Business Review report, the failure rate for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) sits between 70 percent and 90 percent when looking at all industries combined.
In this episode, I'm joined by Lou Fasulo, former CEO of Z2, which was acquired by King in 2015 and shut down in 2019. In many ways, the acquisition of Z2 represents the more common way acquisitions tend to play out. After a bloomy dating period comes the honeymoon, which is followed by the challenges of functioning effectively as a part of a larger corp. As the challenges mount, the result is often the dismantling of the acquired entity.
LINKS:
Secrets of Game Growth
Level Up 2021
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1 Ubisoft's free-to-play turn could be the new normal for big franchises
2 Xbox teams up with Tencent’s Honor of Kings maker Timi Studios
3 HOW SCOPELY TRIES TO DO GAME ACQUISITIONS THE RIGHT WAY
4 Zynga Quarterly Earnings Call
LINKS:
Secrets of Game Growth with Deconstructor of Fun, Mobile Dev Memo & Twitter
Level Up 2021
Hosts:
Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert
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the book: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
the author: Patrick Lencioni
the hosts: Joakim Achren, Sophie Vo and Michail Katkoff
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1 Metacore secures €150m credit line from Supercell
2 Ubisoft Reveals Free Tom Clancy’s The Division Game with Heartland
3 Zynga Buys chartboost to drive online ads, reports record quarterly revenue
LINKS:
Level Up 2021
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Newzoo is the world's most trusted source for games and esports analytics and market research. They have a fantastic team of experts providing insights and expertise that helps developers, publishers, and platforms around the World.
In this episode, we discuss Newzoo's services and dive deep into their latest cloud gaming and mobile gaming reports.
Kudos to Candice Mudrick and Tom Wijman for joining the podcast.
👉Newzoo's latest trend reports
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1. Respawn reveals details on Apex Legends Mobile
2. Fortnite made more than $9 billion in revenue in its first two years
3. Johanna Faries named new Call of Duty general manager
LINKS:
Level Up Academy
Modern Mobile Marketing at Scale
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2020 was a monumental year for mobile gaming. Facebook's Games Marketing Insights for 2021 report provides several new and unique insights that will help you plan for the year ahead. The report dives into changing player behavior, demographics, motivations, preferences, and spending habits.
To save you time, we recorded a podcast episode with Stephen Gray, Ph.D., Consumer Research Manager at Facebook, and went through the report in detail. Some of the fascinating takeaways from the podcast:
- Core gamers adopted mobile. The major new audience getting into mobile games are core gamers who flocked especially into shooter games.
- Familiarity is becoming vital. Three out of four games downloaded in the Western markets were familiar to the player in advance. In South Korea, a more mature mobile gaming market, 9 out of 10 games downloaded were familiar to the players in advance.
- The top is evolving. 42 new games entered the top 100 grossing charts. This is nearly double that in 2019. This changes the perception that the top is never changing but it also speaks of the diminished staying power of top-grossing games.
Download the report.
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In this episode, we discuss iOS 14, whether Android can provide safe havens, and the future of creatives post-ATT.
Check out the latest growth strategy course: ios14strategy.com code: DT50
Your hosts:
Michail Katkoff (twitter) and Eric Seufert (twitter)
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1. EA announced its new Battlefield game
2. Fortnite’s Mastermind Goes to Battle With Apple
3.New Leadership for Overwatch
LINKS:
-
LILA Games Job Opportunities: https://www.lilagames.com/jobs/
-
JK's New Investment Podcast: SUPER STONK BROS: APPLOVIN IPO BREAKDOWN
-
Get Notified of GameMakers Events!
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1. AppLovin Shares Fall 19% in Market Debut
#2. Sony wants to bring its top PlayStation franchises to mobile
#3. Multiple potential buyers interested in Square Enix reporting
JK's NEW INVESTMENT PODCAST:
- SUPER STONK BROS: APPLOVIN IPO BREAKDOWN
SPONSOR:
- Betahat: Reading the pulse of the consumer is at the heart of everything we do. With each engagement, we combine industry expertise with the research and analytical methodologies targeted to your specific needs. From research surveys to ethnographies, market segmentations to predictive modeling, we offer a full suite of services.
Your hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
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Which one is more important - to ship a good game or to grow a good game?
DECA Games founded by Ken Go is a truly unique gaming company. They became highly successful by reversing the steps to success. Instead of developing new games, the company started off by first growing live games. Only after proving successful in operating decade-old titles have they taken a step towards developing and one-day shipping games of their own.
I encourage all to listen to this episode whether you're interest in live services, company building, or both.
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Dirk Lueth Co-founder of Upland Explains Blockchain Basics and How It's Used in Games
SPONSOR:
- XSOLLA: Xsolla Funding Club is a complimentary matching service that puts video games like yours in front of multiple publishers and investors.
Join Xsolla Funding Club today at Xsolla.com/funding.
Your host:
- Joe Kim (@jokim1)
Speaker:
- Dirk Lueth, Co-founder Uplandme
UPLAND:
- Upland Website
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games!
News for today:
1. Epic will lose over $300M on Epic Games Store exclusives, is fine with that
2. EPIC Games raises $1B for long-term metaverse plans, with $200M from Sony
3. Could Apple and Google pull the plug on mobile game monetisation?
4. Wild Rift is League of Legends predictions
SPONSOR:
- XSOLLA: Xsolla Funding Club is a complimentary matching service that puts video games like yours in front of multiple publishers and investors.
Join Xsolla Funding Club today at Xsolla.com/funding.
Your hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
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War Robots is the largest tactical shooter on mobile having grossed $500M since launch. Despite the massive success, the beginning of the game's journey was very rough. The game launched as a barebone version boasting KPIs that were unimpressive at best. Yet with hard work, smart decisions, determination, and having their back against the wall the team at Pixonic was able to not only turn the game around but turn it into a massive success. Guest: Vladimir Krasilnikov Host: Mishka Katkoff
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Cross-platform makes all the sense on the paper. More platforms increase your games' reach and will limit your dependency on a single platform. Yet despite all the tools, cross-platform development remains extremely difficult and thus incredibly risky.
In this episode, we discuss the following questions: How do you approach cross-platform development? Do you focus on one platform? If so, which one? Do you start with the hardest or the easiest? Do you do it all internally or so use partners to make ports? Do you have a dedicated team to work on tools for cross-platform development? What happens when your game goes live. How do you make updates?
Shoutout to Maxwell Zierath for joining the podcast.
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games #127.
News for today:
1. Exclusive: Tencent's Timi gaming studio generated $10 billion in 2020, sources say
2. Manticore Games raises $100M for user-generated games in the‘multiverse’
3. Clash Of Clans Reveals Three New Games: Clash Quest, Mini, & Heroes
4. Wild Rift is League of Legends for everyone (We didn't really cover this)
SPONSOR:
- The Industry's Best Market Research Firm: Beta Hat
Your hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
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Growth Triggers is a segment focusing on all matters of growth.
In this episode, we discuss Digital Turbine's shopping spree, the latest in ATT, Warpath's launch trailer, and working with celebrities.
Your hosts:
Michail Katkoff (twitter) and Eric Seufert (twitter) + Christian Calderon
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Welcome everybody to This Week In Games #126.
News for today:
1. Rocket League Coming to Mobile
2. The'League of Legends: Wild Rift' Open Beta Is Out Now in the Americas on iOS and Android alongside Version 2.2
3. Tencent Stresses Regulatory Compliance as Profits From Gaming, Payments Surge
News that Triggered Eric:
1. Qualcomm is reportedly developing a Switch-like Android gaming device
2.EA developing new PGA Tour game, its first golf title in six years
3. The Global Cloud Gaming Market Is on Track to Generate Revenues of $3.2 Billion by 2023 | Newzoo
4. Nexon invests $874 million in Hasbro, Bandai Namco, Konami, and Sega Sammy
LINKS:
- Creators at Work Podcast & Brett Nowak's Liquid & Grit Gaming Market Research Company
Your hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
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The creator community on Roblox to date has consisted of many younger former players that have advanced from playing to building games on the platform. Many have wondered when and if the platform would start bringing in more professional developers and publishers. '
Here with us today to talk about Roblox’s development platform and opportunity space for devs is Joe Ferencz, CEO of GameFam. Gamefam is a recent venture backed startup specifically targeting Roblox and aiming to become the first big gaming company focused on the platform
The company was founded in 2019, currently lists 37 full time employees and 8 live games on Roblox including Ultimate Driving and Hot Wheels Open World.
Host:
Joe Kim, CEO LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
Guest:
Joe Ferencz, CEO Gamefam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-ferencz-ba76b78/
LINKS:
https://gamefam.com/
Interview on GameMakers Youtube: https://youtu.be/ym4Xluf6P4Y
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CEO & Co-Founder of Savage Game Studios, Michail Katkoff, joins Matthew Ellis for a chat in the latest episode of Scaling So Far 🎙
Having led and built teams at the like of Supercell, Rovio & Zynga in the past, Michail shares advice on hiring awesome studio talent, the impact of having leaders who listen, & keeping your culture alive & evolving 👾
... oh & he answers the question on everyone's lips - what being a "Savage" means to them 🤔
Listen in & follow Deconstructor of Fun for more #freetoplay insights from Michail 👌
Scaling So Far podcast: 🎧 https://lnkd.in/dYZsyXq 🎧
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Welcome to TWIG #125!
Today we cover:
1. MrBeast’s management company, Night Media, has a new venture fund that’s backed by creators
2 2k Sports Acqures HB Studios, signs PGA Tour 2k deal with Tiger Woods
3. Thoma Bravo SPAC Agrees to Take IronSource Public
4. Facing Post-Trump Slowdown, New York Times Eyes $100 Billion Games Market
5. Discord exploring sale that could be worth more than $10 billion
LINKS:
1. AdTech + Game Studios | The big DANGER from Applovin and Zynga
2. Consumer Insights In Gaming
Guest:
- Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer VentureBeat & GamesBeat
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!
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Recently Applovin a major ad network and games studio - announced the acquisition of Adjust which is a company known as an MMP or mobile measurement partner.
Zynga recently announced its intentions of acquiring an ad network including supply and demand side tech, mediation, and an MMP
We discuss the potential implications of these kinds of vertically integrated acquisitions with a games studio business pose a number of conflicts and dangers to potential customers of the ad networks.
Speakers:
- Josh Chandley - COO of WildCard Games and current customer of AL
- Josh Burns - Founder of DigitalDevConnect, A games industry veteran and neutral party
- Filippo De Rose - Head of Growth at Trap Light, also previously at Pixelberry and a former customer of AL
- Aviad Dadon - Chief Strategy Officer at Bidshake
Moderator:
- Joe Kim - CEO LILA Games
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Growth Triggers is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. In this episode, we discuss AppLovin's S1, the future of Clubhouse, and how China's tech giants are exploring ways to skirt Apple's privacy changes.
Your hosts:
Michail Katkoff (twitter) and Eric Seufert (twitter)
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Welcome to TWIG #124!
Today we cover:
1. From Star Wars to Marvel, licensed video games are becoming more ambitious. Here’s why.
2. AppLovin S1(our take on the MTM take)
3. Roblox: Dawn of the Metaverse
LINKS:
- AdTech + Game Studios: The BIG Danger
- Creators at Work Podcast (Liquid & Grit)
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
How do you design mobile games for a female audience? In this talk, we cover genres, motivations, mechanics, and much more!
Speakers:
- Maryna Iaremenko, Lead Game Designer, GameHouse
- Joana Marques, Sr. Product Manager
- Renata Caldani, Brand Manager, Square Enix Montreal
Moderator:
- Joseph Kim, CEO LILA Games
SPONSOR:
This podcast is sponsored by Square Enix Montreal.
Check out a ton of open listings right: HERE
Also, check out some of the open positions below:
Senior VFX Artist
Game Designer
Lead Game Designer
UA Marketing Artist
Data Analyst
Executive Producer
Development Director
Bi Developer
Software Development Manager
Release Management Supervisor
User Researcher
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Game Biz is a new segment discussing big game industry trends, strategy, and public company movements.
Catch us on Clubhouse this Friday for an after discussion on this topic:
- Clubhouse Friday 3/12/21 at 12PM PST
Your hosts:
- Joseph Kim
- Eric Kress
- Chris Petrovic
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Welcome to TWIG #123!
Today we cover:
1. Fortnite developer Epic buys Fall Guys studio Mediatonic
2. Gaming Giant Ubisoft Partners With Ethereum-based NFT Platform Sorare
3. Dream Games secures $50m Series A round
LINKS:
Join us on Clubhouse this Friday 3/12/2021 at 12PM PST to discuss the Future of Games Industry M&A
- https://www.joinclubhouse.com/event/MRQ1Z7pE
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!
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Let's be honest, leading a winning team is easy. Success breeds success and you're rolling from one victory to another with the momentum growing day-by-day.
What is hard is taking over a team that is failing and turning it around. What is even harder is turning around a declining public company, whose numbers are scrutinized every single quarter by shareholders and analysts.
I'm joined by Offer Yehudai, President of Fyber, who shares his experience in spearheading Fyber's 3-year turnaround.
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Growth Triggers is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. In this episode, we discuss:
- Whether to embed UA staff or not?
- Who do you count in a UA team
- What are the vital UA functions for a game team?
- Who/what do you need for the best chances of success in SL?
Your hosts
Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert
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Welcome to TWIG #122!
Today we cover:
1. PUBG: New State is a futuristic new battle royale game for Android and iOS
2. Genshin Impact Dev Costs
3. Google Stadia Problem? A Video Game Unit That’s Not Googley Enough
#4. Spotify says it's letting employees work from anywhere, while still paying San Francisco and New York salaries
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
- Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!
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ATT will handicap ad platforms’ abilities to target specific users throwing a wrench in the growth strategies of most top mobile game publishers. The three key changes will be:
- Resurrection of Product Marketing
- The Role of an IP in performance marketing
- The Broadening of Media Mix
In this episode I'm joined by Kieran O'Leary, VP of Marketing at Rovio, to discuss mobile games marketing in 2021. We focus on the topics above and discuss what's the best way for the game and marketing team to work together.
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Welcome to TWIG #120!
Today we cover:
1. Zynga’s plan to accelerate growth in 2021
2. BlizzCon Online 2021
3. Valheim: How a 5-Person Team Created the Most Popular Game on Steam
4. Rovio 2020 Financial Statement
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!
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Growth Triggers is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. In this episode, we discuss AppLovin's acquisition of an attribution platform Adjust, and Zynga's intention to invest in ad tech.
Your hosts
Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert
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We get a comprehensive and in-depth discussion talking about industry consolidation/consolidators and more specifically about the Embracer Group. In a unique discussion, we get a very holistic perspective on Embracer speaking to:
-
Kenshi Arasaki, CEO, A Thinking Ape, One of the best in the industry at long-tail and forever franchise games with titles from the early days of IOS like Kingdoms at War.
-
Ken Go, CEO, DECA Games, Who specialize in live operations having taken over and successfully managed live titles such as former gree titles like Knights & Dragons and Modern War.
-
Randy Pitchford, President and Co-founder Gearbox, I think everyone knows Gearbox games most notably Borderlands.
-
Lars Wingefors, Co-founder and Group CEO, Embracer Group, Quickly becoming famous for a lot of the recent industry acquisitions they have been making.
Host:
- Joe Kim, CEO LILA Games
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Welcome to TWIG #120!
Today we cover:
1. Zynga Is Building Its Own Ad Network, Mulling M&A
2. Bad Robot looking to be the rare Hollywood-and-games success story
3. Microsoft's Head of Cloud Gaming James Gwertzman Talks Past, Present, and Future of Gaming Tech
4. MY TAKE ON SUPERCELL IN 2020 AS WE BEGIN OUR SECOND DECADE
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!
CLUBHOUSE EVENT
- This Friday 2/19/2021 at 12PM PST
- https://www.joinclubhouse.com/event/xob8aNOK
Sponsors
Square ENIX Montreal. Check out their open job positions here: semmtl.com/dof
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How do you build a dream team from scratch?
In this episode Sophie Vo, Studio Lead at Voodoo, details her journey of building a game team. We discuss how to craft a team culture, hire according to set values and lead through lockdowns.
Sophie has a true passion towards leadership. Her approach is very methodical and constantly improving as she analyses, plans, executes and recalibrates based on learnings.
Don't miss Sophie's original article "A Dream Team is All You Need".
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Today we will be speaking about the future of PC Gaming.
Here with us to talk about this are 3 incredible speakers
- David Brevik, Famous of course for founding Blizzard North and for Diablo but then also founding other game studios including Gazillion and now as President of Skystone Games
- Sean Haran who’s held senior executive roles at 20th Century Fox, Marvel, Riot, and now as Chief Business Officer at Gearbox
- Tim Morten who was at Activision, was CEO of Savage Entertainment, held exec positions at EA, Santa Monica and Blizzard before starting Frost Giant as CEO.
Host:
- Joseph Kim, CEO of LILA Games
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Welcome to TWIG #119!
Today we cover:
1. Why Did AL Buy Adjust
2. EA buys GLU
3. Embracer Group acquires Borderlands maker Gearbox Entertainment for $1.3B
Predictions: Shooters and Marketing
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!
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Originally Seriosly's first game was launched in mid-2014. Since then the game has grown quarter after quarter with the latest growth spurs coming after the acquisition by Playtika.
In this episode I'm joined by Phil Hickey, EVP of Brand & Marketing at Seriosly, to discuss:
- How has Best Fiends been able to continue to grow ever since the game was launched?
- Why did they take this unconventional/methodical approach of building a brand first.
- How much pressure has there been to follow the latest performance marketing trends from shockvertaising to extremely misleading ads?
- How to build and run an effective and lean marketing team in games that is sitting far away from the game team?
- What's the best way for the game and marketing team to work together?
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Hear from real game developers on Roblox who have created hit games! What does it take to be successful? How is dev on Roblox different from other platforms? What is a day in the life like? What is their view on Roblox monetization? What is the future outlook for the platform?
Roblox developer speakers:
-
Andrew Bereza aka "Berezaa", Toybox Development - Vesteria, 2PGFT, Miner's Haven, Azure Mines, War Games, Build Island
-
Josh DeBoer, aka "Artemis" Summit Studios Games - Vehicle Simulator
-
Anne Shoemaker aka "Myzta", Fullflower Studio - Mermaid Life, My Droplets
-
Arthur Trusov aka "Trus" - Tropics Paradise, Tycoon Hospital
SPONSOR:
This podcast is sponsored by Square Enix Montreal! Check out open positions to work there at: semmtl.com/dof
Your host:
- Joe Kim aka "DJ Mac Daddy" CEO of LILA Games
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Welcome to TWIG #118!
Today we cover:
1. Gambling apps are coming to Google’s Play Store in the US and 14 other countries, The Verge
2. Reviewing Epic Games Store’s 2020, MasterTheMeta
3. Google Stadia Shuts Down Internal Studios, Changing Business Focus, Kotaku
Hosts:
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
Guest Host:
- Ninel (Gryuner) Anderson, Check out Devoted Studios Youtube Channel
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
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In this episode, I'm joined by Anton Gauffin, CEO of soon to be public Huuuge Games.
We discuss why Anton has decided to take his company public, dive deeper into their Build & Buy strategy, talk about their M&A approach, and what sets Huuuge different from the other consolidators in the market. We also discuss the effects of IDFA depreciation on the company's M&A strategy.
your host
Mishka Katkoff
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Today we are going to be discussing Playtika’s IPO and future prospects.
Playtika develops and publishes some of the world’s most popular social casino games such as Slotomania, Slots - House of Fun, Bingo Blitz, and card games like World Series of Poker
In our discussion today we’ll be talking about
-
1. IPO and current valuation
-
2. Current business and sources of revenue
-
3. Growth prospects
-
4. Key risks
-
5. Competition
-
6. Future Prospects
And with us today to talk about Playtika’s future prospects:
- Matthew Kanterman from Bloomberg Intelligence
- Eric Kress from Gossamer Consulting
Moderataor:
- Joe Kim aka DJ Limit from LILA Games
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Today we will be talking about how to most effectively utilize consumer insights in gaming.
A lot of research studies can go wrong due to various problems and errors that can lead to false conclusions.
What should studios watch out for? And how can we do this right?
So today we will be discussing consumer insights with arguably the best CI practitioners in the entire industry:
- Mark Allenbach, Founder of Well Played Research,
- Stan Kwon, Founder of Beta Hat
- Matt Penfield, VP of Consumer Insights from Zynga
- Mike Swiontkowski, Head of Global Research and CI from Blizzard
Host:
- Joe Kim, CEO of LILA Games
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Welcome to TWIG #117!
Today we cover:
#1. A new PUBG Mobile game is on the way
#2. Report: Tencent raising billions to buy EA, Take-Two, or others
#3. Vicarious Visions merged into Blizzard
#4. Deconstructor of Fun Strategy and Sports Predictions
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
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Today we will be talking about mobile ad revenue and monetization. More specifically we will discuss What will happen in 2021 including the potential impact of IDFA deprecation
To talk to us about these issues we have with us a good mix of ecosystem players in the industry.
- Josh Chandley, COO, WildCard Games an indie mobile games studio building classic card games
- Sofia Gilyazova, Head of Ad Monetization, Social Point, the mobile games division of Take Two
- Offer Yehudai, President, Fyber. Fyber builds monetization platforms for mobile publishers.
Your host:
- Joe Kim aka "DJ Limit" CEO of LILA Games
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Welcome to TWIG #116!
Today we cover:
1. Mobile game maker Playtika goes public at $11 billion valuation
2. 2020 year in review | Bayjinger
3. Star Wars Games to Be Branded Under Lucasfilm Games Banner
4. Hypercasual Prediction
5. RPG Prediction
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Is it possible for a mid-size studio with no prior hits to enter the most competitive genre on mobile and challenge publishers that outweigh it on all aspects from game development to marketing? On paper, never! In real-life, yes!
This episode explores the growth of Lily's Garden from an idea to a multi-hundred-million top-grossing title. And who better to talk about this than Gonzalo Fasanella, CMO of Tactile Games.
ps: as always, open roles in the company discussed towards the end of the episode.
In this episode we discuss the following topics:
- How has Lily's Garden been able to sustain the incredible quarter after quarter growth for soon two years?
- How to build and run an effective and lean marketing team in games?
- What's the best way for the game and marketing team to work together?
- What should CMOs / heads of performance marketing, who tend to be extremely data-driven? learn from the advertising industry?
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Welcome to TWIG #115!
Today we cover:
1. Roblox: $520 Million Funding And $29.5 Billion Valuation
2. What the hell is going on with Cyberpunk?
3. Diablo Immortals: More than a Meme
4. Puzzle Games Becomes the Top Grossing Genre on Mobile
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
LINKS:
Future of UA Mobile Marketing Conference (Free Signup): https://futureofua.splashthat.com/
Event will be held on 1/14/2021 (Thursday) at 10AM.
Everybody (PMs, Execs, and Marketers) sign up for this now!
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Triggered growth is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. This podcast is insightful, entertaining, and highly opinionated. We call it how we see it.
In this episode, we discuss the most common misinformation regarding IDFA deprecation, the battle for the ownership of conversion events, how product and marketing teams will work together as one.
In addition, we'll discuss trends in creatives, ad spend, and ad monetization. Talk about the role of app store testing and player research. And of course hypothesize what the big three (Apple, Google, and Facebook) will look like in 2021.
Your hosts:
Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert
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Welcome to TWIG #114!
Today we cover the best and worst of 2020 in the Games Industry!
Hosts:
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
LINKS:
Future of UA Mobile Marketing Conference (Free Signup): https://futureofua.splashthat.com/
Event will be held on 1/14/2021 (Thursday) at 10AM.
Everybody (PMs, Execs, and Marketers) sign up for this now!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
The topics covered in the episode are:
- What are the biggest differences in how the big companies and the indie ones build their games?
- How to decide what the project is going to be balancing between data and intuition
- How to choose the right monetization model for your game
- How to drive sustainability through updates, new player acquisition, and reactivating lapsed ones
- What are the main shifts in player behaviour post-2020:
Shoutout to the Googler Martin Svoboda who interviewed me
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Which genres gained the most and which trailed behind? What were the effects of the lockdowns? What are the trends for user acquisition, in-app purchases, and in-app adds going into 20201? Which countries were overlooked?
guests:
Randy Nelson - head of mobile insights
Brian Murphy - head of gaming
Tim O'Neil - strategic account executive
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Growth Triggers is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. In this episode, we focus on;
- How much info will I have about where the players are coming from post IDFA
- what happens to a/b testing and offers?
- What happens to soft-launching
- Ad monetization?
- LTV curve vs. LTV curves
- Are fake ads done?
- how can product teams help the marketing team?
Your hosts
Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert
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Chris Petrovic joined Zynga as SVP and Head of Corporate Strategy, M&A, and Business Development all the way back in March of 2016 when Zynga stock was $1.88.
Since Chris joined, basically ALL of Zynga's growth has come through mergers & acquisitions and helped drive increased share value to today's price of ~$8.70.
During his time at Zynga, Chris oversaw the acquisitions of: PuzzleSocial, Harpan, Gram Games, Small Giant, Peak Games and most recently Rollic Games.
Prior to Chris' involvement, Zynga had not been so successful at M&A.
-
What were the changes made at Zynga to help increase success?
-
What are key lessons learned and keys to success?
-
What should game companies look for when doing acquisitions?
Speakers:
-
Host: Joe Kim, CEO of LILA Games
-
Host: Eric Kress, Principal of Gossamer Consulting
-
Chris Petrovic, former SVP and Head of Corporate Strategy, M&A, and Business Development, Zynga
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Welcome to TWIG #113!
Today we cover:
1. MTG acquires Hutch – a leading developer and publisher of mobile racing games
2. League of Legends: Wild Rift expanded to Europe and other territories
3. Zynga-owned Rollic acquires Onnect from dev Chef Game Studio for $6 million
Hosts:
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
Guest Host:
- Eric Seufert (@eric_seufert)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
LINKS:
Check out Eric's Blog: https://mobiledevmemo.com/
YouTube Videos Referenced:
-
Multiplayer Netcode
-
Product Implications of IDFA
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However you want to slice it or dice it, Helsinki is the best city in the World for mobile games companies.
What makes it unique is the ecosystem that has developed organically over the years. Founders help each other. There’s a strong drive for collaboration and there's not much rivalry or competition. Founders inherently understand that success breeds more success.
I'm joined by two of the most qualified people to talk about the Helsinki gaming ecosystem:
Harri Manninen, founding partner of Play Ventures and a board member of every single prominent gaming startup in the city, and Joakim Achren, co-founder of Next Games and a person who has singlehandedly helped more gaming founders than anybody else in the business through the content on Elite Game Developers.
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Triggered growth is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. This podcast is insightful, entertaining, and highly opinionated. We call it how we see it.
Your hosts: Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert
Hit us up for topics you'd like us to cover and how to improve.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Welcome to TWIG #112!
Today we cover:
1. Sensor Tower: Genshin Impact brings in nearly $400 million in 2 months on mobile
2. EG7 acquires Daybreak
3. The promise and challenge of Roblox Future in China
LINKS:
Check out Joakim's Elite Game Developers website and podcast: https://elitegamedevelopers.com/
Check out Randy Nelson's Interview with Joseph Kim:
- Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead to 2021 (SensorTower's Randy Nelson Interviews JK)
Hosts:
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
Guest Host:
- Joakim Achren (@joakim_a)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Israel has always been a hub for tech startups. It's where companies such as Monday, Wix, Fiverr and Waze - just to mention a few - were born. Today the country is also known for a massive gaming sector worth tens of billions with companies such as Playtika, Moonactive, Plarium, Crazy Labs, ironSource, AppsFlyer and Fyber driving the growth.
Who better to deconstruct the evolotion of the Israel's gaming ecosystem that Gigi Levy-Weiss, the Founding Parner of NFX (leading Israeli and Silicon Valley VC fund) and an early investor in Plarium and Playtika - among numerous other startups.
The questions we cover are:
How did the gaming sector get started and evolved into what it is today? How are Israeli companies doing so well in social casino when gambling is illegal in Israel? How does the Israel's a gaming ecosystem compares to the one we have here in Helsinki? How do companies stack up with needed talent? What is the VC and Angle scene like in Israel?What has gone right with the evolution of the gaming ecosystem in Israel - and what could have been done better and what will the future look like?
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Growth Triggers is a new segment on Deconstructor of Fun podcast focusing on all matters growth. This podcast is definitely insightful, for sure entertaining and as always, highly opinionated. We call it how we see it.
Your hosts
Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Welcome to TWIG #111!
Today we cover:
1. Farlight 84 is an impressive and whacky looking battle royale that's heading for iOS, Android and PC next year
2. Will Fortnite's Subscription Work?
3. Supercell shutting down Hay Day Pop after less than a year
Check out JK and his co-founders from LILA Games break down the Farlight 84 trailer: Farlight 84 Reaction & Analysis
Hosts:
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Welcome to TWIG 110!
Today we cover:
1. Embracer Group acquires 13 studios: Here's everything you need to know
2. Apple will reduce App Store cut to 15 percent for most developers starting January
3. Roblox IPO & some financials($1.2b bookings in 9M 2020)
Further, we are joined by guest host:
-
Jon Jordan, founder of Steel Media whom you probably recognize from many gaming articles on PocketGamer.biz and elsewhere
-
You should also check out Jon's Youtube Channel: Blockchain Gaming World
Regular Hosts:
-
Joe Kim (@jokim1)
-
Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
-
Eric Kress (@ekress)
-
Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Three facts:
-
Marketability (CPIs) is the single most important metric of your business case
-
You can optimize marketability early on extremely cost-effectively
-
Most of the gaming studios fail to understand the first point until it is too late and thus refuse to concentrate on the second point.
Marketability is perhaps the single biggest element of your game that you have direct control of and that can make - or break - your business case. Yet despite this, countless gaming studios fail to understand early enough who are their making their game for, how big is the target audience and what is costs to reach those players.
In this episode I'm joined with Joe Schaeppi (CEO of 12traits) and Jesse Lempiäinen (CEO of Geeklab) as we discuss the following topics:
👉 Why marketability matters and when should you start optimizing for it?
👉 How will the IDFA depreciation affect optimization of marketability?
👉 What alternative ways should publishers look into to create audiences?
👉 How is the measurement of creative performance going to change?
👉 Is the role of marketability more or less important post IDFA?
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Welcome to TWIG 109.
Today we cover:
1. Apple is astonishingly confident in its new M1 Mac processors
2. Virtual Influencers Make Real Money While Covid Locks Down Human Stars
3. The argument for simpler games, in an industry obsessed with complexity
Further, we are joined by guest host Ernest Wong to discuss Bringing more franchises to mobile is Activision Blizzard's biggest opportunity, says COO (from TWIG 107)
Hosts:
- Joe Kim (@jokim1)
- Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
- Kenny Liu
- Ernest Wong (@ErnestWongBWM)
Hey people, LILA Games is hiring for a badass new F2P shooter game for mobile.
- We're hiring especially in Bengalaru, India: https://www.lilagames.com/job-openings/
- We need PMs, designers, artists, and engineers. We especially need an AD!
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The Chinese mobile market is expected to reach 21 billion Dollars in 2020 growing a staggering 17% year-over-year. In addition to having this massive - and from the Western perspective nearly impenetrable - home market, Chinese publishers have been having ever more success in the West.
Deconstructor of Fun podcast is joined by Daniel Ahmad, Yang Liu, and Eric Kress to discuss the characteristics of the Chinese mobile games market and how Western developers could better compete against their Chinese counterparts.
The topics covered are:
- Why are Chinese games are succeeding in the West when hit titles from Korea and Japan are struggling?
- Most Western hits haven’t become big in China. Why is that?
- Is there a moat that Western publishers can build against Chinese rivals in the West?
- What policies can be made to even out the competition?
- What is the market going to look like in 3 - 5 years?
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Valorant's Game Director, Joseph Ziegler, and Lead Producer, Paul Belezza join the Deconstructor of Fun podcast to spill the beans on Valorant's origin story - from an idea to a game played and streamed by millions of fans around the World.
We dive deep into Riot's creative process from the developer's perspective, talk team sizes, launch strategies, live services, community, and working with and for the passionate community.
The game is growing and the team has an awesome pipeline of new content. They're looking for folks to help them realize the full potential of the game. And rumor says that listening to this episode can get you a step closer to working on one of the best tactical shooter ever made...
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Ok people, this episode is just me (JK) and Miska. We lost some of our co-hosts when we very last minute audibled a change in news coverage.
Anyway, as always, we sometimes may say things for dramatic effect. Hopefully none of you take things too personally as we are, in the end, fans of all game companies.
Here are the specific news items we covered:
- Zynga’s acquisitions push it to record bookings of $628 million for Q3 2020
- Why Glu Mobile Stock Skyrocketed Today
- EA revenues fall 14% to $1.15 billion for Q3 2020
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What are the key challenges and issues with respect to hiring during pandemic?
While hiring has actually not slowed down in these crazy times despite coronavirus, we discuss challenges and issues due to current circumstances and best practices to help ensure great hires!
Host:
- Joe Kim, CEO LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
Guests:
-
Simone Heard, Talent Acquisition, Jam City: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simoneheard/
-
Moses Sison, Talent Acquisition, Unity: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosessison/
-
Neil Warlicht, Executive Recruitment, Stepping Stone: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilwarlicht/
Topics Covered:
- Biggest Changes
- Key Challenges
- Best Practices & Processes
- Best Indicator of Performance
- Impact of Remote Work
- Long-term Implications
Yo! Btw, Joe Kim here and my company LILA Games is hiring. We will be in Bangalore, India. Positions we're looking for right here:
- https://www.lilagames.com/job-openings/
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Today we’re here to talk about the biggest challenges and mistakes early stage companies have in order to scale their companies and achieve success.
To speak to these issues we have arguably 3 of the best people in the world to talk about this:
1. Travis Boatman: Travis has held senior leadership positions at a bunch of major gaming and mobile gaming companies including Mattel, JAMDAT, EA, and Zynga. And most recently Travis founded Carbonated Inc. a mobile and PC games studio located in Southern California. Carbonated also raised an $8.5M seed venture financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz. https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-boatman-3bb593/
2. Gigi Levy-Weiss: Gigi has been a founder, senior executive, and investor in like a billion companies.But some notable companies in particular includes Playtika and Plarium. And Gigi today is a general partner at one of the most exciting venture capital firms NFX (https://www.nfx.com/). https://www.linkedin.com/in/gigilevy/
3. Kristian Segerstrale: Kristian was a co-founder of Glu mobile, CEO of Playfish acquired by EA, was a seed investor in Supercell, was a senior exec at EA, and now is the CEO of Super Evil Megacorp which will soon release their new MOBA shooter called Catalyst Black (https://catalystblack.com/). https://www.linkedin.com/in/segerstrale/
Topics Covered:
- Biggest Mistakes to Avoid
- Creative vs. Data vs. Tech?
- Impact of Data in Games
- Hiring for Cultural Fit
- Initial Focus Post Funding
- You Need to Plan + Panic!
- How to Build Culture
- Individual Contributor vs. Manager vs. Leader
- How to Avoid Day 2
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Welcome to TWIG #107!
This week we cover:
1. If You Play Videogames, China May Be Spying on You
2. Mobile Games Company Scopely Boasts Of‘Significantly Profitable Business’ As It Raises $340M
3. "For Descenders, it has been immense. Sales across all platforms increased after we went into Game Pass" – What does Game Pass mean for indies? | Business News | MCV/DEVELOP
4. Bringing more franchises to mobile is Activision Blizzard's biggest opportunity, says COO
Hosts: (Twitter)
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
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In many (perhaps most) companies, so many corporate processes, policies, and work flows WASTE TIME!
Meetings are a huge culprit but in this discussion we talk about what are the biggest time wasters and how to stop wasting time.
Learn more about how to make your company more efficient RIGHT NOW!
With us to talk about all of this are the "Love Bros":
-
Filippo DeRose, Chief Growth Officer, Traplight: https://www.linkedin.com/in/filippoderose/
-
Matej Lancaric, UA/Marketing Consultant, Lancaric.me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matejlancaric/
-
Brett Nowak, CEO, Liquid & Grit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-nowak-8920675/
Host:
- Joseph Kim, CEO, LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
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Ron Ashtiani has spent a career in art and as an art director. Ron's had an over 25 year career in art and has served as an art director in multiple game studios including at Midway Games. He also co-founded Atomhawk in 2009 and currently starting a new adventure.
In today's discussion with Ron we discuss the role of an art director (AD), the different kinds of ADs, how to determine an art style for a game, documentation best practices, biggest lessons/mistakes, art differences for mobile vs. PC/console, and much more!
Find out more about Ron Ashtiani here:
- https://www.ronashtiani.com/
- https://www.artstation.com/ashtiani
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/cumronashtiani/
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Welcome to TWIG #106:
Today we cover:
1. The Problem With Tech Monopolies, From Both Sides of the Political Aisle
2. Stadia creative director says streamers should pay publishers
3. Facebook’s cloud-gaming offering focuses on free-to-play mobile games
Your hosts for today:
- Joe Kim
- Eric Kress
- Adam Telfer
- Kenny Liu
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Lot of talk about IDFA deprecation and impact to marketing/UA not so much on product and tools impact.
So for our discussion today we will focus on:
- #1. A summary of what IDFA deprecation means generally for the industry
- #2. Implications to the value chain
- #3. Product and tools impact
To talk about all of this we have:
- Andre Cohen - Head of Data Science Tilting Point: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrecohen/
- Niklas Herriger - Founder 8 Bit Coaching: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niklasherriger/
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What up people? Welcome to TWIG #105!
Today we cover:
1. Introducing the Game Growth program - Unity Technologies Blog
2. China-owned gaming firm Playtika files confidentially for U.S. IPO
3. Among Us isn’t just blowing up on Twitch — it’s dominating mobile gaming
4. How Discord Won
LINKS:
- Riz Virk: Here's how the Big Tech breakup should go down
- Riz Virk on GameMakers: Riz Virk on US vs. China App Wars, Simulation Hypothesis, Startup Myths & Lessons
Your Hosts:
- Joe Kim
- Eric Kress
- Miska Katkoff
- Adam Telfer
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How do you determine the content cadence and events (type and frequency) for your live operated game? How do you measure whether you are operating content and events successfully or not? Find out from some of the best guys in the industry how this is done! Drew leads PM on Words With Friends, Barak is leading a revenue growth tear at Murka, and Jeff 4x'ed revenue on Modern War with a single event!
This was a panel presentation originally recorded during a live GameMakers digital conference event.
Sign up to be notified of future events: https://gamemakers.com/digital-events/
Panel Host:
- Joe Kim, CEO LILA Games
Speakers:
- Barak David, COO, Murka
- Drew Levin, Lead PM Words with Friends, Zynga
- Jeff Witt, Co-founder, Storm8 and Funzio
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Welcome to TWIG #104!
This week we cover:
1. Amazon Wants to‘Win at Games.’ So Why Hasn’t It?
2. Genshin Impact Generates $60 Million in First Week as it Becomes World’s No. 2 Grossing Mobile Game
3. World of Warcraft next expansion delayed
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter/LI at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Kenny Liu: @kliuless
- Jeff Witt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwittsf/
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In this episode I'm joined by Christian Calderon as we cover it all: 1) How to make a great hypercasual game 2) What were the implication of COVID on hypercasual games 3) Hybridcasual and how to make it work 4) Effects of IDFA depreciation 5) IDFV and rising appetite for M&A
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Welcome to TWIG #103!
This week we cover:
1. U.S. gaming platform Roblox prepares to go public
2. Among Us drives record Discord installs
3. Cyberpunk 2077 Publisher Orders 6-Day Weeks Ahead of Launch
You can reach us on Twitter at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
- Eric Kress: @ekress
Guest Speakers:
- Kenny Liu: @kliuless
- Josh Burns, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshmburns/
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King's Head of Growth, Antoine Le Nel, and Head of Ad Monetization, Tom Mapham deconstruct company's three phases of growth and discuss key learning along the way.
Topics covered:
-
How has King’s marketing evolved over the years? From the early days of numerous puzzle game launches to the Activision era with a focus on franchises. What have been the biggest wins and the most important learnings overt the years?
-
Top of the funnel vs. User Acquisition. King has done some massive brand campaigns over the years. What were the goals of these campaigns, why do they fit in King's strategy and how does King measure the impact of these top-of-the-funnel campaigns. Will King doing more of these in the future?
-
Performance marketing trends and long-term approach. King didn’t jump on the somewhat absurd performance marketing trends of last years such as shockvertaising and fake-playables that are integrated into the game. Why did King choose not to run after the trends?
-
How is King preparing for IDFA depreciation?
-
IDFV. King has a massive portfolio of puzzle games. It seems that IDFA depreciation and the importance of IDFV will be a big advantage for the company that has previously mastered cross-promotionö
-
Ad monetization. King held out from implementing ads for a long-time. It has now been few years that King’s games had ads in them.
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Welcome to TWIG #102!
This week we cover:
1. Monday’s Hearing May Foreshadow Epic v. Apple Outcome
2. Blizzard cofounder Mike Morhaime launches new gaming endeavor Dreamhaven
3. PlayCo raises $100M at $1B Valuation for Instant Games
4. Luna, Amazon’s new Streaming Service
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Guest Speaker:
- David Hoppe, Partner from Gamma Law: https://gammalaw.com/
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Welcome to TWIG #101!
This week we cover:
1. 'Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile' Seemingly Leaked in Activision Job Post
2. Stillfront Group acquires Nanobit and expands the portfolio with narrative and lifestyle games
3. Welcoming the Talented Teams and Beloved Game Franchises of Bethesda to Xbox - Xbox Wire
4. Eric Talks: Sony vs. Microsoft next-gen strategy
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
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Today we are going to be discussing Unity’s IPO. I think we all know Unity’s business as a cross-platform game development engine… but in particular, we will discuss:
1. Current business and sources of revenue
2. Growth prospects
3. Key risks
4. Competition
5. Valuation
And with us today to speak to all of these issues and more are (Twitter):
- Jason Chapman from Konvoy Ventures (@konvoyventures)
- Aaron Bush from The Motley Fool and Master the Meta Newsletter (@aaronbush100)
- Matthew Kanterman from Bloomberg Intelligence (@theKantoarbot)
Host:
- Joe Kim from LILA Games (@jokim1)
LINKS:
- Unity Files for IPO (Konvoy Ventures)
- Analyzing First Game Engine IPO (Master the Meta)
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Did you know that nearly half of players say that genre is important when deciding which new mobile game to try, exceeding factors like friends or family recommendations and app store reviews?
This insight ☝️ is just one of numerous you'll find in Facebook's recent Genre and Great Games report. It's a fantastic deep dive into four key mobile genres (Strategy, RPG, Puzzle and Hypercasuas) focusing on four key countries (US, UK, Japan, Korea), What makes the report unique is not only all the Facebook data but also the way it is structured based on genre characteristics, community, IAP preferences and ad monetization.
In this episode we are joined by Kyle Ranally, Vertical Insights Marketing Strategist at Facebook IQ and Joel Julkunen, Head of Game analysis at Game Refinery. Both of the gentlemen we instrumental in crafting up the Genre and Great Games report.
Get the Full Report here: www.fb.gg/genre2020
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Welcome to our 100th episode retrospective episode!
In this podcast, we will look back on the origins of TWIG, talk about lessons learned, biggest news, future, and finally what are some of the best episodes you should definitely try to catch.
Hosts: Twitter, Insta
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
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Today we discuss how to do writing for games the right way!
And speaking with us on this topic is one of the most experienced writers in the industry Susan O'Connor.
Susan has worked on over 25 titles, from AAA to indie. Titles in her portfolio have sold over 30 million copies and generated over $500 million in sales.
Listen to find out more about the opportunity for writing in games, the process, key considerations, how to work with and hire a writer, how to write great characters, and more!
Find out more about Susan here: https://www.susanoconnorwriter.com/
Host:
- Joseph Kim, @jokim1
Guest:
- Susan O'Connor
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Mid-core game marketing is know for either massive marketing campaigns that flood the market or those incredibly divisive creatives that have usually nothing to do with the game itself. Either way, scaling a mid-core game is an expensive undertaking.
So how should you launch and scale if you have a great game but limited resources and no brand recognition?
In this episode we're joined by Riku Rakkola (CEO of Traplight Games) and Filippo De Rose (Chief Growth Officer of Traplight Games) who walk us through how they developed, launched and scaled Battle Legion. One of the most innovative mid-core games to hit the market in recent years.
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Welcome to TWIG #99!
This week we cover:
1. India bans PUBG in latest crackdown on Chinese apps
2. Epic’s Latest Apple Argument Hints At Plans For World Domination
3. Report: New Switch model with better graphics coming in 2021
4. PS5 won’t be backward-compatible with PS3, PS2, or PS1, Ubisoft says
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by Beta Hat (www.betahatMR.com)
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GenJoy, a studio from the leading Spanish mobile Group Genera, just launched Tuscany Villa a match-3 puzzle game on mobile. How will the Seville, Spain based mobile studio compete against giants such as King and Playrix?
More specifically we talk about:
1. Strategy & Product: What kind of strategy and what kind of product differentiation does Genera employ to compete against the big guys?
2. Marketing: We’ve heard stories about how the big guys have a huge marketing advantage… or do they? Let’s dive deeper and find out how Genera competes on a marketing basis
3. Technology Infrastructure: And finally technology infrastructure. There are lots of rumors and stories of a massive infrastructure technology investment by King especially around machine learning and AI applied to level creation, design, and balancing. What are the technology investments Genera will be making to compete?
To walk us through all of this and more are the three key leads from Genera:
-
Alejandro Moreno
-
Pablo Benitez
-
Jesus Bartus
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Antitrust Specialist Ryan Tisch from Crowell & Moring and Video Games Lawyer David Hoppe from Gamma Law explain Epic's lawsuit against Apple and Google.
- Topics Covered:
- Epic's Legal Suit Explained
- Google vs. Apple? Apple's Retaliation
- Apple's Legal Strategy
- Realistic Legal Scenarios
- Predicting Outcomes
- Expect an Epic Trick
Hosts:
- Joe Kim, @jokim1
- Eric Kress
Speakers:
- David Hoppe, https://gammalaw.com/
- Ryan Tisch, https://www.crowell.com/
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Welcome to TWIG #98!
This week we cover:
1. Facebook has abandoned the IDFA and may kill FAN for iOS. What’s next for mobile measurement?
2. Unity’s IPO numbers look pretty… Unreal
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War costs $69.99 for next-gen consoles
4. The risks of market research
LINKS:
- Best Practices Live Ops Digital Conference. More info: liveops.splashthat.com
- Eric Seufert blog post: Apocalypse Now: per WWDC, the IDFA is dead
Guest Host:
- Eric Seufert. Check out Eric's blog: MobileDevMemo. And his Twitter: @eric_seufert
Regular Hosts:
- Joe Kim. Any Ubisoft employees wanting help finding a new job DM me!
- Eric Kress
- Adam Telfer
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What are the biggest issues and annoyances in the games industry that trigger Eric Kress? Come to an uncensored broadcast discussing these issues moderated by Chris Hewish from Xsolla and also joined by Joe Kim who will egg on Eric for maximum entertainment!
Host: Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla
Speakers:
- Eric Kress, Deconstructor of Fun co-host
- Joe Kim, Deconstructor of Fun co-host
Notes:
- I (Joe Kim) have been corrected that probabilistic attribution actually doesn't require fingerprinting but instead can be executed by utilizing a technique called Mixed Media Modeling. Thanks Steve Palley for the correction!
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In this episode we sat down with three growth experts to discuss following questions:
- What companies are doing to prepare for the depreciation of IDFA
- How to figure out the best messaging to convince as many users as possible to give you permission to access their IDFA via AppTrackingTransparency
- How to optimize marketing campaigns post IDFA depreciation
- How to pick conversion value events going forward
- How to distinct between paid and organic users
- How to retarget high-value users
- What will happen to CPIs
Connect with our fantastic guests:
Tatyana Bogatyreva, Head of UA at Gram Games
Nebojsa Radovic, Growth Lead at Network’s
Yevgeny Peres, VP of Growth at ironSource
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Welcome to TWIG #97!
This week we cover:
1. Amazon is good at so many things. Why is it bad at games?
2. Take-Two Interactive acquires mobile studio Playdots for $192 million
3. Tencent takes minority stake in French casual games maker Voodoo
4. Video Game Creators Are Burned Out and Desperate for Change
SHOW LINKS:
Guest Host: Dan Bailey, Actor/Voice Actor and Video Game Producer
THE GREATEST LIVE OPS CONFERENCE EVER, SIGN UP NOW: https://liveops.splashthat.com/
FEEDBACK?:
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by Beta Hat (www.betahatMR.com)
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Host:
- Joe Kim, Deconstructor of Fun Podcast Host, Managing Partner of GameMakers, and CEO of LILA Games.
We are joined by the founders and CEOs of 3 recently funded game studios:
-
Antti Hattara, CEO of StarBerry ($1.3M led by Play Ventures)
-
Emily Greer, CEO of Double Loop ($2.5M led by London Venture Partners)
-
Travis Boatman, CEO of Carbonated ($8.5M led by Andreessen Horowitz)
Today we’ll be talking about what it takes to start a games studio and also how to get funding for your studio.
So more specifically we’ll talk about:
- What is the current environment for starting a games studio?
- What are the key opportunities to pursue?
- What does the funding environment look like?
- What are challenges?
- Advice for new founders?
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Welcome to TWIG #96!
This week we cover:
1. Next-Gen Gaming: State of the Industry, Unreal Engine Blog site
2. Opinion: The Apple/Epic battle has four possible outcomes, and Epic can’t lose, 9to5 mac
3. Wildlife Scores Vulcan-led $120M Series B Financing To Propel Mobile Game Platform, Crunchbase
SHOW LINKS:
- Guest Host: Kenny Liu from ggDigest, now DOF Digest!
- Is the US about to split the internet?
- US Govt "Clean Network" Proposal
FEEDBACK?:
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by Beta Hat (www.betahatMR.com)
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Game companies (with some exceptions like Nintendo) don't last! They are not long-term defensible. In tech, the FAANG companies are massively defensible. In fact, Amazon today is the most valuable and most defensible company in the world.
In the video games industry, we don’t see the same level of long-term defensibility that we see in those industries.
After lots of great feedback and discussion after posting a blog post about this issue, we decided to bring some smart folks to talk about this. Here's the written blog post
So the topic of our discussion today is as follows:
-
1. What are the current defensibility strategies of game companies today?
-
2. How defensible are gaming companies?
-
3. How can game companies build greater long-term defensibility?
-
4. How should management teams be thinking about building greater defensibility into their companies?
-
5. Which game company has the greatest defensibility in the market today?
And with us today to speak to all of these issues and more are:
-
1. Lloyd Melnick, GM of Chumba Casino at VGW
-
2. Kristian Segerstrale, CEO of Super Evil Megacorp
-
3. Mark Sottosanti, SVP at Riot Games
Your host/moderator:
- Joe Kim, CEO of LILA Games, YouTuber at GameMakers, and DOF Podcast Co-host/Producer, Twitter/Insta: @jokim1
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Welcome to TWIG #95!
This week we cover:
1. Apple blocking Project xCloud and Stadia because it can't review every game (gamesindustry.biz)
2. Zynga acquires hypercasual game maker Rollic for $168M (Mobile Marketer)
3. Why Indies are struggling to be seen on the Switch eshop (MCV/Develop)
SHOW LINKS:
Guest Host: Kenny Liu from ggDigest, now DOF Digest!
FEEDBACK?:
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by Beta Hat (www.betahatMR.com)
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Indie mobile game developer WildCard Games has been developing mobile card games for the past 7 years launching games like Ultimate Cribbage, Cribbage, and Backgammon. How does this 2 person studio get to the next level in growing their mobile game products?
Let's DIVE DEEP! We review mobile marketing strategy and discuss channels, campaigns, creative types.
Deep discussion on using Facebook's AEO and VO relative to other forms of marketing.
Great discussion with WildCard's Josh Chandley their Chief Operating Officer. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshchandley
Expert UA Advisors:
- Nebo Radovic, N3twork: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nebojsaradovic/
- Jon Lau, Weee!: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-y-lau/
TOPICS DISCUSSED:
- Intro to WildCard Studios
- Current Marketing Campaigns
- Initial Feedback
- Fluctuating ARPU Curve
- AEO and VO Considerations
- Creative Types
- Scale Considerations
- IDFA Considerations
- Facebook Algorithms
- Final Words of Advice
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Welcome to TWIG #94!
This week we cover:
1. Could Halo: Infinite be the last ever Halo title, as 343 calls it a“platform for the future”
2. EA Just had its best june quarter for Sales in 38 year history
3. Blizzard shows off new Diablo Immortal gameplay
SHOW LINKS:
Guest Host: Kenny Liu from ggDigest, now DOF Digest!
FEEDBACK?:
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
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In today’s episode, we ask a very important question - how to build a studio that can make genre-defining hit games. Even though game mechanics are powerful forces, what can truly drive massive and sustainable growth are culture, processes and teams that comprise high-performing studios - a perspective that I’m excited to dig into today. I’m truly thrilled to get Mishka’s insights distilled from hundreds of games from tens of studios in our interview today.
Key Highlights:
🤔 Why is it important to know and understand how to build a successful studio, versus, say how to make successful game mechanics?
🎮 The seven elements that make for a great studio.
✅ Why ‘right sized’ teams are important to a great studio.
👨🏻💻 Why Mishka values software and art over presentations.
🎨 Why Mishka considers an art director a key early hire.
❌ The one common characteristic of unsuccessful games.
📐 How engineers, designers and business people on teams look at problems from very different perspectives. 💭 Why a PM or businessperson-driven culture can find it hard to release anything genre-defining.
✌️ How to change the composition and leadership of studio teams as a game matures.
💯 How to think about being design driven vs. metrics driven.
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Welcome to TWIG #93!
This week we cover:
1. The 7 RPG player personas
2. Over half of US kids are playing Roblox, and it’s about to host Fortnite-esque virtual parties too
3. Microsoft Showcase
4. The Imminent Ragnarok of M&A in Mobile Gaming Space
SHOW LINKS:
Guest Host: Brett Nowak, CEO of Liquid & Grit
FEEDBACK?:
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
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If the Metaverse is the next frontier? How should the economy be designed to help support a healthy and vibrant ecosystem for all players?
Today we are joined by Tim Sweeney CEO of Epic Games
The focus of the discussion is how do we build an efficient and fair economy for this new platform.
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We’re here today to talk about the current state of M&A aka mergers & acquisitions in the games industry. There’s been a lot of recent activity and there seems to be an open question now of whether the current trend can continue as Zynga seems to indicate or whether we’re likely going to see a major slowdown.
Specifically we’ll speak to:
-
1. What has driven the recent spate of M&A in the games industry?
-
2. Why has Zynga historically sucked at M&A and suddenly seem like they are amazing at it more recently?
-
3. Who are the buyers in the market
-
4. Whoa are the acquisition targets including speculation on WB?
-
5 Predictions on M&A trends short term/long term?
And with us today to speak to all of these issues and more are:
-
1. Saad Choudri, Chief Commercial Officer, at Miniclip: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saad-choudri-4691384/
-
2. Jeff Cohen, Research Analyst at Stephens Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-cohen-29930455/
-
3. Michael Metzger, Partner at investment banking firm DrakeStar Partners: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmmetzger/
Originally aired on GameMakers.com YouTube channel HERE
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Welcome to TWIG #92!
This week we cover:
1. Microsoft to launch xCloud streaming free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in September (The Verge)
2. China removes Supercell’s Hay Day and 2500 other games from iOS app Store (Venture Beat)
3.Glu reloads its war chest for mobile game acquisitions(Venture Beat)
SHOW LINKS:
Watch the M&A YouTube video
FEEDBACK?:
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
This episode is sponsored by Beta Hat (www.betahatMR.com)
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Monumental changes are changes are coming to mobile games market.
First one to bear the hit is the performance marketing ecosystem. As Play Store follows suit, attribution platforms, ad networks and Facebook are struggling to adapt to the new reality. And as the shift happens, performance marketing teams will go through a rapid bottoms up change due to all the changes in the ecosystem.
In this episode we dive deeper into the implications of the changes to the marketing ecosystem. What happens to CPIs and CPMs? What is the role of cross-promotion going forward? Will IPs be a more important for games looking to grow? How about ad monetization?
We also discuss the future of various different type of mobile games companies from hypercasual publishers to mid-core developers, from startups to giants with large and diversified portfolios.
Our guests:
Eric Seufert
www.linkedin.com/in/ericseufert
Yevgeny Peres
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yevgenyperes/
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Welcome to TWIG #91!
This week we cover:
1. Sony invests $250m in Fortnite’s Epic Games (Financial Times)
2. Why Tencent is looking to buy Warframe parent company Leyou (Venture Beat)
3. App Annie: Mobile gamers broke app store records in Q2 2020 (Venture Beat)
4. Everything we learned on Ubisoft Event (Kotaku)
SHOW LINKS:
As per the News updates, check out the incredibly handsome Joe Kim's blog post on Why Epic Games $18B valuation may actually be too low
FEEDBACK?:
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
This episode is sponsored by Beta Hat (www.betahatMR.com)
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Which one is better: acquiring a new user or getting a lapsed user to re-engage?
Well, it depends. Most of us have been investing into getting new users while struggling at re-engaging our lapsed users. But our lack of success in re-engagement is likely more to do with how we go about it rather than the strategy of getting the lapsed players to return.
In this episode we discuss re-engagment both at strategic and practical level with Ludia's Taylor Lundgren and two powerful Googlers: William Planques and Guy Saig.
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Welcome to TWIG #90!
This week we cover:
1. PUBG Mobile Doubles Lifetime Revenue to $3 Billion in Just Seven Months (Sensor Tower)
2. Apple Cancels Some Arcade Games in Strategy Shift To Keep Subscribers (Bloomberg)
3. Amazon and Google are in games for the wrong reasons (GamesIndustry.biz)
SHOW LINKS:
Game Changers is a webinar series featuring exceptional women in the gaming industry. Our goal is to create a platform for female leaders to share their expertise and to create a strong and caring support network for women in our industry.
Isabel Ferreira, Stella Wang and Catalina Lou will join this Thursday, 9th July at 6pm BST to discuss and share their thoughts on Crossing the COVID-19 Bridge: Impact, Outlook and the Silver Lining.
There is a sign up link here - https://lnkd.in/gWZqJ7M
FEEDBACK?:
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Note to Apple: All hosts do not necessarily share the same opinions!
This episode is sponsored by Beta Hat (www.betahatMR.com)
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We’re here today to talk about the kinds of online, live services technology that are required for multiplayer PVP games.
More specifically we will cover online services (accounts, matchmaking, player stats, and store) rather than the multiplayer networking side. Speaking with us today is the founding team from Pragma.gg who have incredible backgrounds in online back-end services for massive PVP games like League of Legends and Eve Online.
Host:
- Joe Kim, @jokim1 (Twitter)
Guests:
- Eden Chen, CEO: @edenchen (Twitter)
- Chris Cobb, CTO
- Nick Tittley, Co-Founder
You can reach them by email as well: [first name]@pragma.gg
Topics covered:
- What are the key issues/challenges to pay attention to for scaled PVP games like Riot’s League of Legends or CCP’s Eve Online or Epic’s Fortnite when it comes to online services.
- What current tools exist and what are the biggest technical challenges tp solve?
- Cross-platform considerations, challenges, and trends
- Matchmaking challenges
- Reputation and Behavior
- Scaling challenges
This content originally aired on the GameMakers YouTube channel. You can watch the video there.
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Welcome to TWIG #89!
We are joined this episode by the legendary Emily Greer founder of Kongregate and her new game studio Double Loop. A must watch at GDC and one of the OGs of the F2P games industry.
This week we cover:
1. Abuse in the industry isn't down to a few"bad apples" | Opinion
2. iOS 14: IDFA is not dead yet, but it’s definitely on life support
3. Former PlayStation Boss Says AAA Game Development Is Unsustainable
4. Nintendo Chills Mobile Ambitions After Animal Crossing Success
5. Pokémon Unite could open competitive gaming to a whole new audience
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
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Today we’re going to be talking about 2 different perspectives on the future of performance marketing.
Positive View: The changes currently impacting UA will shift the role of a UA marketer but ultimately the changes will not be so dramatic and besides potentially adding some additional skills or shifting to be a bit more strategic and having leaner teams, and the changes will mean more of a shift rather than a fundamental change.
Negative View: The basic role of performance marketing and having a career as a UA marketer is basically dead. It won’t be the same and the role is fundamentally gone or will be nothing like what it is today.
And to provide our audience here with some context, I wrote a ggDigest newsletter and medium post titled “The Death of Performance Marketing: The Secret Interview”
In that post, I wrote about some of the big changes happening that will impact the UA marketing role. I interviewed both Matej who we have on here today as well as a confidential interviewee. We discussed both sides of the argument for what will happen to performance marketing based on the current and potentially even more upcoming changes
Joining us today to talk about all of this and more (Twitter):
Moderator:
- Joe Kim (@jokim1)
Speakers:
- Matej Lancaric (@matejlancaric)
- Filippo De Rose (@free2play_games)
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Welcome to TWIG #88!
This week we cover:
1. Microsoft is shutting down Mixer and partnering with Facebook Gaming
2. EA details game slate with'Star Wars,' Switch news
3. Epic Games and Match Group join Spotify in protesting Apple’s App Store fees
4. Apple Rejects Facebook’s Gaming App, for at Least the Fifth Time
5. Epic Offering 750M at 17B Valuation
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Huge changes are coming to the role of user acquisition (UA) and what it means to be a performance marketer in mobile.
1. What are the big changes coming and the trends that are driving the changes?
2. How big will brand marketing be in the future? Will it take over performance marketing?
3. What new skills will performance marketers need to build to prepare for the future?
Find out about these issues and more with:
- Joe Kim, DOF Host: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
- Nebo Radovic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nebojsaradovic/
- Jon Lau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-y-lau/
- Matej Lancaric: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matejlancaric/
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Welcome to TWIG #87!
This week we cover:
1.; Call of Duty Publisher Wins First Amendment Trademark Suit Against Humvee Manufacturer (Gamma Law)
2. Selena Gomez Sues Mobile Game Company for $10M for Stealing Likeness (Gamma Law)
3. This is the PlayStation 5 (The Verge)
4. Valorant is Performing Below Expectations According to Twitch Stats (GameLife)
5. How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies (ggdigest.com)
LINKS
This week we are joined by guest David Hoppe of Gamma Law: http://gammalaw.com/
- David Hoppe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbhoppe/ (LinkedIn)
GAMEMAKERS BATTLE PASS EVENT THIS THURSDAY!
- Sign up here: https://gamestalk-allaboutbattlepass.splashthat.com/
Joakim Achren's Elite Game Developer's Podcast with Kristian Segerstrale
- https://elitegamedevelopers.com/egd-062-kristian-segerstrale-super-evil-megacorp/
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
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Despite lots of talk about the use of data science in game studios, surprisingly, there's a lot of misunderstandings about how data science is actually used and how best to utilize data scientists.
Today we discuss the following with Andre Cohen who is Head of Data Science at our friends over at Tilting Point:
1. What is the role of data science within a games studio?
2. What are the primary applications data science is being used for?
3. What does a data science team look like in terms of structure and team size?
4. How to hire the data science team
5. Biggest mistakes made with data science teams
6. The future of data science in game studios
Originally aired on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/nKFGU2w8gE4
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Welcome to TWIG #86!
This week we cover:
1. Why Zynga bought Peak Games
2. Glu Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Stock
3. Game and UA Teams That Work Together, Grow Together
Hosts this Week:
Today we are joined by guest host Nebo Radovic from N3twork:
- Nebo Radovic: @eniac (Twitter)
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Join us for potentially the MOST IN DEPTH AND TACTICAL discussion on optimizing ad creatives for mobile marketing published ever in the world!
Joining us for that discussion is the former Head of UA for Superscale: Matej Lancaric. Matej was with Superscale at the time of the recording, but now independent.
Matej talks to us today discussing how to develop a framework for managing Ad Creatives.
Creatives have now become the #1 lever to drive profitable ad spend.
MATEJ CONTACT: https://lancaric.me/
Superscale has helped many games studios profitably spend millions of dollars in user acquisition. Clients include Electronic Arts, FingerSoft (Hill Race Climbing), Supercell's Frogmind, and many others.
Speakers:
- Joe Kim: @jokim1, Twitter/Insta
- Matej Lancaric: @matejlancaric, Twitter
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Welcome to TWIG #84! This week we cover:
1. Twitch gets a new channel for news, exclusives, and more (The Verge)
2. Sony Confirms PS5 Event for June 4 (Gamespot)
3. Mark van Ryswyk On Why The Pandemic Is A Unique Moment To Reach New Consumers (Alist Daily)
4. Interview: Why Scopely and PierPlay spent three years perfecting Scrabble GO (Pocketgamer)
Today we are joined by guest host Josh Burns from http://www.digitaldevconnect.com/
Do you have feedback or comments for us? You can reach us on Twitter at: Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta) Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkof
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The focus of our conversation today will be about how to think about user acquisition during times of crisis or more generally under situations of sudden change. When a change happens e.g., Real money gaming impacting social gaming, recession, a new game mode like Autochess cannibalizes other strategy games or game modes... What do you do? Just wait for data?
How can we think about a framework or systematized way of thinking to navigate and optimize UA spend?
Find out in our conversations with our hosts:
Joe Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/ (LinkedIn)
Matej Lancaric: @matejlancaric (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/in/matejlancaric/ (LinkedIn)
Jon Lau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-y-lau/ (LinkedIn)
For the video version of this discussion pls check out the GameMakers YouTube channel, and you can find the video HERE.
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Creatives are the talk of 2020, everyone claiming they are the last lever. But, what does that actually mean for a studio today? What do they need to do? What does the future studio look like? How does the UA teamwork with the creative team and the developer team? How can studios maximise the impact of creatives and identify the biggest opportunities?
Lots of questions. But luckily, Steven Chard, CEO of Luna Labs is here to answer them.
visit:
www.lunalabs.uk
www.appsflyer.com/customers/kabam-offline-campaign-QR-code/
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Welcome to TWIG #83!
This week we cover:
1. Ubisoft Sues Apple and Google Over Mobile Rainbow Six Siege Clone (IGN)
2. Ubisoft announces Ubisoft Forward on July 12 (GamesIndustry.biz)
3. Crucible is Amazon’s attempt at a shooter League of Legends (Polygon)
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
Eric Kress: @ekress
Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
In gaming, sandbox creator platforms to become the next ROBLOX have been the talk of investors over the past few years. The latest entry into the space is Manticore with their CORE platform led by ex-Zynga executives Frederic Descamps (CEO) and Jordan Maynard (CCO).
How will Manticore's CORE platform compete against ROBLOX? Who are they targeting? How will developers on CORE make money?
To get a better understanding of the offering and the big future opportunity they are chasing we spoke to Frederic and Jordan about: 1. Product Vision 2. Target Audience 3. Business Model 4. Key Challenges 5. Future Roadmap
HOSTS (Twitter):
-
Joe Kim, @jokim1
-
Adam Telfer, @adamwtelfer
GUESTS:
-
Frederic Descamps, Manticore
-
Jordan Maynard, Manticore
CORE Related Links:
Manticore website
Download CORE
Developer Demo (with Frederic and Jordan)
Core CPO Arash Nia on Road Ahead
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Welcome to TWIG #82!
This week we cover:
1. 10 LEARNINGS FROM 10 YEARS (Supercell Blog)
2. Game of War developer Machine Zone acquired by AppLovin (gamesindustry.biz)
3. Valorant and Twitch build symbiotic relationship of success (Venture Beat)
4. Ubisoft says 11 games sold over 10 million copies each in PS4/Xbox One era (Venture Beat)
KEY LINKS:
Joe Kim's AppLovin post: I am AppLovin! Behind the company acquiring MZ
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
Eric Kress: @ekress
Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Welcome to TWIG #81!
This week we cover:
1. Cloud Gaming: Why It Matters And The Games It Will Create
#2. Fortnite’s“Party Royale” mode ditches the guns, asks players to“chill”
3. 10 Years of Excellence - Deconstruction of Supercell
4. Design + Behavioral Economics = Apple
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
Eric Kress: @ekress
Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
We're joined by Joe Schaeppi who is the CEO of 12trait. 12traits is a different kind of tool to understand your players. It doesn't look that much at what they did. Instead 12traits focuses on understanding the players through deep psychological insights.
Why is understanding your players more intimately important? Well, it allows you to create experiences which optimize for healthy long-term engagement that in turn drives the LTV. After all, our players’s best interest is your company's best interest.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Welcome to TWIG #80!
This week we cover:
1. Xbox Game Pass now has over 10 million subscribers
2. SuperEvilMegaCorp Announces“Catalyst Black”
3. Xbox Series X still set to launch on schedule, but games could be delayed
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1
Eric Kress: @ekress
Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Two world class industry experts in mobile social casino talk to us today about the latest overview, updates, trends, and predictions for the market.
Our guests today include:
Brett Nowak, CEO of market research firm Liquid & Grit (www.liquidandgrit.com). Brett was formerly Lead PM on Zynga Poker at Zynga, and was a Director of Product at Blue Shell Games before starting Liquid & Grit. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-now...
Lloyd Melnick has an incredible background in social casino working at Merscom, Playdom, Disney, FiveOneNine Games, Spooky Cool Labs, Zynga, and The Stars Group.Lloyd is currently GM of Chumba Casino for VGW and a board member of MURKA. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lloydmeln...
The video version of this interview can be found here on the GameMakers YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/S2qIAYgr7Kw
Host:
- Joseph Kim @jokim1 (Insta, Twitter)
Guests:
- Lloyd Melnick @LloydMelnick (Twitter)
- Brett Nowak @bnowak15 (Twitter)
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Welcome to TWIG #79, apologies we were off last week.
This week we cover:
1. Clash of Clans: Bigger, Better Battle Pass
2. Three questions to ask to level up your Battle Pass monetization
3. Travis Scott's Fortnite Event Draws Record Audience
4. Epic gives in to Google and releases Fortnite on the Play Store
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1
Eric Kress: @ekress
Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Marvel Puzzle Quest was first launched back in 2013 and has been going strong for over 6 years now grossing over $100M in life of product revenue. Demiurge has had a bit of a roller coaster history and Al has successfully led the studio through both good and challenging times.
Find out more about the story behind it all including the most recent re-acquisition of the studio from SEGA and the future with founder Al Reed!
We cover:
-
1. The history of Demiurge, the origin story and how it all started
-
2. The story behind Marvel Puzzle Quest and what were the keys to the success of that title
-
3. Selling Demiurge to SEGA and now re-acquiring the studio
-
4. The biggest lessons learned over his career as an entrepreneur and head of a games studio
-
5. What’s next both for Demiurge, Marvel Puzzle Quest, and for Al
-
Host:
- Joseph Kim (@jokim1 - insta/Twitter)
Guest:
- Albert Reed (@almnop, Twitter)
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Welcome to TWIG #78, apologies we were off last week.
This week we cover:
1. Valve: More games are finding success on Steam than ever before
2. PS5 has limited release plans in 2020
3. Silicon Valley is racing to build the next version of the Internet. Fortnite might get there first.
4. Facebook to Introduce an App for Gaming
LINKS:
- Google Play Updated Developer Policy: "Deceptive Behavior"
- Facebook Updated Terms of Service "Data Use Terms for Advanced Mobile App Measurement"
Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1
Eric Kress: @ekress
Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Jori Pearsall now Chief Product Officer at mobile financial access firm Tala has had a stellar career in mobile gaming working at companies like GREE and then most recently leading Product at mobile giant Scopely.
What has Jori learned from his time working in mobile games and free to play? What can he apply from our industry to his new industry?
Listen to Jori speak on the biggest lessons he's learned and what's next for him in this fantastic discussion as he now transitions to his new industry.
Host:
- Joseph Kim (aka K1min8r aka jdiggity aka JK aka J Money aka Joe Kim), Insta or Twitter @jokim1
Guest:
- Jori Pearsall, Chief Product Officer at Tala, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joripearsall/
Hit me up if you have any requests, comments, or feedback. Thanks!
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Lots of coronavirus talk these days and especially about current impact to gaming, etc. We wanted to take a slightly different approach to this.
Let's talk deeper, let's talk long-term, let's talk about philosophical implications.
Today Niklas Herriger and I talk about:
1. Long-term economic impact
2. Dealmaking & psychology in crisis
3. What do you do to adjust to the new reality?
4. The dichotomy (societal and business model) exposed by coronavirus
5. How gaming will be impacted longer term
This will not be your typical discussion so watch now!
More about Niklas: Best known as the founding CEO of Gondola, the offer optimization platform for games, and now founder of 8 Bit Coaching for tech talent, joins us today.
Speakers Twitter Contact:
- Joe Kim: @jokim1
- Niklas Herriger: @NHerriger
This discussion initially appeared in video format on the GameMakers YouTube channel on April 2, 2020: HERE!
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At its core, improving marketability means the increase of IPM (installs per 1000 impressions), which in turn leads to decreased CPI (cost per install). In lame man terms: the better your ad and your App Store page performs, the cheaper it is to acquire players. But while the formula is straightforward, increase of marketability doesn't necessarily result in positive effects. In fact, incorrect use of the data may very well lead you astray creating a scenario where you're acquiring the wrong players more effectively. Companies like Geeklab and Splitmetrics provide a platform that allow developers and publishers to test the marketability of their games and game concepts early and often. They will help you to answer questions around your theme, your art style and your unique selling points before you lay a single line of code. They will also help you to continuously improve your marketing message and test creative ideas with the target audience.
Geeklab www.geeklab.app/dof/
Splitmetric www.splitmetrics.com www.twitter.com/SplitMetrics www.facebook.com/splitmetrics
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What do you know about the Latin America gaming market? Well find out about the key players, specifics of the market, and how to achieve success in LATAM with guest speakers from Jam City, Jairo Nieto and Alejandro Gonzalez, and with Lockwood Publishing's (Avakin Life) Carlos Estigarribia!
Hosts:
- Joseph Kim @jokim1
- Josh Burns
Youtube video of the podcast: GameMakers YouTube
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AppAnnie recently published a report on The Impact of Coronavirus on the Mobile Economy.
In this podcast, we speak to AppAnnie's Lexi Sydow and Amir Ghodrati (again!) to go over key takeaways from their report.
In particular we cover:
1. Download impact on games and other key verticals
2. Top games, types of games
3. Biggest winners and losers
4. Differences between China and the US
Host:
Joe Kim: @jokim1 Insta, Twitter
Eric Kress: @ekress Twitter
And we have special guests:
Amir Ghodrati, Director, Market Insights AppAnnie
Lexi Sydow, Data Analytics, Market Insights AppAnnie
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Welcome to TWIG 77!
This week we cover:
1. Riot Games’ Teamfight Tactics Surpasses 4.5 Million Downloads on Mobile
2. Amazon Pushes Into Making Video Games, Not Just Streaming Their Play
3. Microsoft: Staggered launch would hurt Xbox Series X
4. The Kick-Ass Founding Team
Do you want to come on the podcast with us? Do you have feedback or comments for us?
You can reach us on Twitter at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Roblox has grown like crazy since its launch in 2006. Today 10 Roblox games have been played over 1 billion times and Adopt Me! has surpassed 4 billion plays. Since the launch of the mobile app, Roblox is also regularly a top 10 grossing mobile game as well.
Today we cover:
- The history of Roblox and how it became successful
- How Roblox monetizes now and in the future
- What’s coming up for Roblox
- The Key Secrets to Roblox’s success
Join hosts:
- Joseph Kim, @jokim1
- Eric Kress, @ekress
Reach Matt Curtis here: devrelations@roblox.com
You can also view this interview on the GameMakers Youtube channel: HERE
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Welcome to TWIG 76!
This week we cover:
- Epic Games Publishing Announces Partnerships with gen DESIGN, Playdead, and Remedy Entertainment (Epic Games Website)
- Declining Cost-Per-Install Should Benefit Mobile Game Companies (Stephens Report)
- Forte recruits 5 more high-end game studios to make blockchain-based games (GamesBeat)
Links:
- Jeff Cohen of Stephens - hit him up to request access to his research report: Jeff Cohen LinkedIn
- Kristian Segerstrale CEO talking about Rogue Games stopping live ops of Vainglory
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
Joseph Kim: @jokim1 Eric Kress: @ekress Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
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Don’t be fooled: the mobile app economy will implode just like everything else. Question is, how should games companies operate through the recession or even depression? What should the UA strategies look like for the different types of game portfolios? And what will the market look like when it’s all said and done? I had lots of questions. Kudos to Eric Seufert and Brian Murphy for sharing their views and insights.
For more informations, please visit:
www.mobiledevmemo.com
www.appsflyer.com
www.ironsrc.com
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Interview with Damien Yvray, Lead Game Designer at Ubisoft Paris Mobile on Might & Magic Chess Royale!
Overview of Ubisoft’s strategy and efforts in mobile Might & Magic Chess Royale:
- Origin story
- What is it and how is it different?
- The current auto chess craze and Ubi's approach at attacking the market
You can also watch the video interview here: https://youtu.be/mgCGtiJvWu0
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Welcome to TWIG 75!
This week we cover:
- Mobile studio Scopely nets $200 million for more acquisitions
- Sony reveals full PS5 hardware specifications
- Mobile versions of Call of Duty and PUBG driving game revenue at Tencent
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Welcome to TWIG 74!
This week we cover:
1. Coronavirus impact on mobile games
- Even Virtual Goods From China Are Taking a Hit From Coronavirus (Bloomberg)
- Corona's impact on mobile ad spend (LI Post by Andre Kempe, who runs an app marketing agency)
- Coronavirus contributes to mobile game downloads climbing 39% (Business of Apps)
2. China approves 27 games including Brawl Stars
3. The exclusive as we know it is ending, and that’s a good thing
#4. Call of Duty: Warzone surpasses 6 million players in 24 hours
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Sign-up to the industry's best video games newsletter at: ggdigest.com!
- Industry news and editorial every week
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In this episode I'm joined by Joakim Achren, seasoned Finnish games entrepreneur, turned online coach and mentor for aspiring games entrepreneurs and business folks. You can find the content he provides at (www.elitegamedevelopers.com).
The content that EGD offers includes:
- The podcast where Joakim talks to founders, investors and other people who work closely with gaming startups. Here, have a listen.
- The book.. You can grab the first chapter from here.
- The blog, check it out here.
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Welcome to TWIG 73!
This week we cover:
1. Former Glu CEO Niccolo De Masi is on the prowl for mobile app acquisitions
2. iOS games in China to require a Publishing License - Why now, and what is the impact?
3. How will Valorant’s cosmetics and microtransactions work?
4. MZ's: Crystalborne Game Launch
Links for this episode:
- Tim Sweeney's Tweets supporting NVIDIA's GeForce NOW
- Super Evil Megacorp's: SHARING OUR REMOTE FIRST PROCESSES, TOOLS AND GUIDELINES FOR FELLOW CORONA-DODGERS
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
- Joseph Kim: @jokim1
- Eric Kress: @ekress
- Adam Telfer: @adamwtelfer
- Miska Katkoff: @m_katkoff
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Stillfront Group has been on a tear acquiring a number of marquee game studios. With the acquisition of Storm8, they have now grown their global gaming network to 13 total studios. Even further, the Swedish publicly listed company's stock has almost tripled in the past year.
Stillfront acquired Storm8 for $300M on January 21, 2020.
- Who is Stillfront?
- What is their overall strategy?
- What was the mergers & acquisition process like in the Storm8 deal?
- How did they think through their deal structure?
- What's the future strategy and what's in store for both Storm8 and Stillfront in the future?
Find out in our conversation with Stillfront Group's Group COO Alexis Bonte.
Hosts:
- Joseph Kim (@jokim1, insta/Twitter)
- Eric Kress (@ekress, Twitter)
Guest:
- Alexis Bonte (@alexisbonte, Twitter)
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Welcome to TWIG 72!
This week we cover:
1. GDC 2020 has been canceled
2. State of Word Games: Rising Revenue, Emerging Markets
3. EPIC Questions SuperData on Fortnite Figures
4. Roblox raises $150M Series G, led by Andreessen Horowitz, now valued at $4B
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
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Welcome to TWIG 71!
This week we cover:
1. Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2 is live: Everything you need to know
2. What the Facebook View-Through Attribution changes
3. Bethesda follows Activision in pulling games from Nvidia’s GeForce Now
4. Call of Duty to launch free‘Warzone’ battle royale
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
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Welcome to TWIG 70!
This week we cover:
1.
Unity Technologies Targeting 2020 IPO: Sources
2.
MY TAKE ON SUPERCELL IN 2019 AS WE ENTER OUR SECOND DECADE
3.
Tim Sweeney at DICE
4.
Rovio profits tumble as Hatch continues draining resources
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
LINKS:
- IronSource Developer Day at GDC 2020
- Making hit new games: The concept big studios are missing
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The #1 mobile game development platform is getting a huge upgrade.
Find out about the 3 HUGE changes that Unity will be introducing that are all potential game changers. In particular, we cover:
1. The DOTS Architecture
2. Scriptable Rendering Pipeline
3. Multiplayer Netcode
What are the key implications all mobile PMs and executives need to know? Will these changes enable Unity to finally take share from Unreal in the console space? What is the impact to performance? What else should we be aware of?
Host:
- Joe Kim, @jokim1 (Twitter, Insta)
Guest:
- Arvind Neelakantan: Head of Technology for India of Unity Technologies
You can also see this as a YouTube video on the GameMakers YouTube channel: HERE!
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How should video games and video game developers address kids safety?
Today we speak to Laura Higgens the Head of Digital Civility at Roblox to discuss how Roblox deals with kids safety.
In particular, we will focus on issues such as:
1. Current legal environment and requirements for game makers?
2. Policies for kids safety - what are options or alternatives?
3. How to weigh corporate and monetary objectives with user privacy and safety concerns?
To see the video version of this go to GameMakers YouTube channel: HERE
Any feedback feel free to ping me @jokim1 on Twitter or Insta.
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Welcome to our new mobile gaming markets series. In this series, we will talk to experts about different countries and geographies in the world. We will get an overview of the specific market - Japan in this case - and key games, publishers, and platforms for the market.
Further we'll talk about the specifics of each market and what it takes to be successful.
Hosts:
- Joseph Kim, @jokim1 (Insta, Twitter)
- Josh Burns, Founder @DigitalDevConnect
Guest:
- Dr. Serkan Toto, @serkantoto (Twitter)
You can also check out the video interview on the GameMakers YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/54neMInFMAA
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Welcome to TWIG 69!
This week we cover:
1. Elodie Games raises $5 million for crossplay co-op games
2. Phil Spencer:"We see Amazon and Google as the main competitors"
3. Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser leaving the company
4. Ubisoft’s Uplay revenue is up 73% compared to last year
5. Call of Duty Players Spend More In-Game After Season Pass and Loot Boxes Removed
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer
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Welcome to TWIG 68!
We've got the full crew today coming at you with a bunch of exciting news. Specifically:
1. ByteDance Takes Aim at Tencent's Core Gaming Business
2. Sensor Tower: Nintendo mobile games have earned $1 billion
3. Sea’s Garena acquires Dauntless game maker Phoenix Labs
4. EA Made Almost $1 Billion From Microtransactions Last Quarter
5. Ubisoft Acquires Mobile Game Studio Kolibri Games
Also, you should definitely check out the interview we did with Kolibri's CEO Daniel Stammler on GameMaker's Youtube as well as our Deconstructor of Fun podcast episode as well.
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Please leave us a rating!
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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AppAnnie released their State of Mobile 2020 Report.
In this podcast, we speak to AppAnnie to go over key takeaways from the report especially for mobile game developers. In particular:
1. High level overview of the main health of the mobile economy and or the mobile gaming sector
2. Key trends related to usage and monetization of mobile games and geo/country
3. A look at some of the top games from 2019
Host:
Joe Kim: @jokim1 Insta, Twitter
And we have special guests:
Amir Ghodrati, Director, Market Insights AppAnnie
Lexi Sydow, Data Analytics, Market Insights AppAnnie
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Welcome to TWIG 67 everybody!
Well the FoxNext transaction finally completed. As we've speculated on quite a bit with lots of different names and scenarios well we found out what finally happened in the end. In addition, the very interesting Stillfront Group acquired Storm8. And of course Funcom.
Catch up on our thoughts and analysis on the latest M&A news from this past week now!
This week we cover:
1. Scopely to Acquire FoxNext Games from The Walt Disney Company
2. Stillfront Group acquires Dragon Story dev Storm8 for as much as $400 million
3. Stillfront Press Conference
4. Tencent to grow gaming empire with $148M acquisition of Conan publisher Funcom in Norway
Hit us up on Twitter or Insta with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Please leave us a rating!
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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The focus of our conversation today is All About LTV.
Actually, when people talk about LTV they really mean pLTV (predictive Life Time Value). And increasingly pROAS (predictive Return on Ad Spend) especially for the self attributing networks like Facebook and Google.
- Why is pLTV (and pROAS) so important to mobile marketers and product people?
- How is it estimated?
- How does this tie to optimizing advertising campaigns?
Find out in our conversations with our usual hosts:
- Joe Kim: @jokim1 Insta, Twitter
- Nebo Radovic: @eniac, Twitter
- Jon Lau:
And we have special guest:
- Paul Bowen, Chief Revenue Officer, Algolift
For the video version of this discussion pls check out the GameMakers YouTube channel, and you can find the video HERE.
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Welcome to TWIG 66!
This week we cover:
1. GameStop’s woes deepen as revenues crash
2. Might & Magic: Chess Royale is an auto battle royale from Ubisoft
3. Epic Games Store tops $680 million in player spending
Plus a lot of game updates including Team Fight Tactics, Escape from Tarkov Twitch Stats, and more!
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
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Welcome to TWIG 65!
This week we cov er:
#1. Tencent-owned Miniclip purchases Ilyon Games for $100 million
2. Xbox won't kick off the Series X generation with next-gen exclusives
3. A former Microsoft exec is PlayStation's new head of global business operations
All About Steam: “Steam’s Shit Sandwich”
-
4A: Major slowdown of new releases on Steam last year
-
4B: Simplified Chinese is now the dominant language among Steam users
-
4C: Netease takes aim at Tencent with Fever Game store launch
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
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Happy New Year and Welcome to TWIG 64!
This week we cover:
1. Report: New Switch model launching in 2020
2. Respawn's Vince Zampella to lead EA DICE's LA studio
3. Google buys triple-A game dev Typhoon Studio to beef up Stadia
4. 49 top games in soft launch: From Marvel Super War and Disney Sorcerer’s Arena to Minecraft Earth and Tetris Royale
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Farmville 3 Soft Launch Analysis on GameMakers YouTube Channel
Disney Sorcerers Arena Soft Launch Analysis on GameMakers YouTube Channel
Please leave us a review!
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Welcome to TWIG #63 everybody.
This episode wraps Season 4 and is the last podcast episode for us for the year. Happy New Years and looking forward to 2020!
This week we cover:
1. What was the biggest game of the year? By revenue? By downloads?
2. What was the best game of 2019 (your personal preference)?
3. Who was the biggest winner/gained the most in 2019?
4. Who lost the most 2019 (Studio or Publisher)?
5. Most Impactful News/Trend of 2019
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Please leave us a rating!
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Welcome to TWIG #62 everybody.
This week we get a bit of a battle between Eric and Miska over Zynga growth prospects so stay tuned for that!
This week we cover:
1. Kongregate acquires browser and mobile 2D battle royale Surviv.io
2. Roblox’s 10 biggest games of all time — each with more than a billion plays
3. Riot Games Creates New Publishing Label
4. N3twork Acquires“Funko Pop Blitz” from NBCU’s ashes
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Welcome to the first episode of UA (user acquisition) coffee talk. This is a new series, recorded initially for the GameMakers YouTube channel where I (Joe Kim) sit down with a couple of industry experts from UA and talk about specific UA topics and issues.
In this podcast, I'm joined by two of the mobile industry's most well known experts in mobile growth: Nebo Radovic from N3twork and Jon Lau from Draft Kings. Both of these guys have been doing UA and mobile marketing in leadership roles for years now and have deep expertise in this area.
Why have creatives become the #1 source of competitive advantage in UA? What does the process to come up with creatives look like? How do you measure creative performance? What tools should you use to optimize and manage creatives? Find out about all of this and more in our discussion with Nebo and Jon.
You can also view the original YouTube video: HERE
Content Overview:
- 0:10 Intros to Nebo and Jon
- 1:20 Why are Creatives the #1 UA priority? What happened?
- 7:30 How to come up with creatives? What’s the process?
- 14:50 How to measure creatives performance? Specific front end vs. back-end metrics
- 27:05 What tools to use to manage and optimize creatives?
Btw, let us know if this type of content is what you want to continue to listen to on this podcast.
If you do enjoy this content, pls leave a review as well. Thanks!
Twitter links:
- Joe Kim: @jokim1
- Nebo Radovic: @eniac
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Wazzup DOF Nation!
On the pod this week we have myself Joe Kim, Eric Kress, and new daddy club member Adam Telfer.
We are also joined by the Nebo Radovic from N3twork. One of the very few handful of people in the world who has bought at massive UA scale for mobile having worked not only at N3twork, but also at MZ and Nordeus (Top Eleven). So we'll kick off with a couple of UA topics which is becoming increasingly important to know about for game executives, PMs, and designers! Don't ding our reviews for talking about marketing and pls do help support us with good reviews if you want us to keep going with this type of content.
Here are the articles we will cover:
1. why d7 ROAS may be the worst kpi to optimize towards since CPI (written by Nebo and we will talk to the man himself about this)
2. What comes next after Facebook’s VO campaign strategy?
3. Mobile game developers are buying into rivals instead of selling out
4. The Game Awards 2019: the 12 biggest announcements
5. The Xbox Series X is basically A PC
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @m_katkoff @adamwtelfer
Guest Twitter:
@eniac
Also be sure to check out JK's latest GameMakers YouTube channel series on mobile marketing/user acquisition: UA Coffee Talk on Creatives Optimization!
If you are interested in the D7 ROAS discussion you can also watch the in depth discussion on this topic that was part 2 of UA Coffee Talk here: Optimizing UA Budgets by D7 ROAS | UA Coffee Talk
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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TWIG #60 Here we go!
Today we have myself Joe Kim, Eric Kress, and Adam Telfer is back from paternity leave. Welcome back new dad!
We also have 2 special guests related to the first article we will cover: Selcuk Atli CEO at Bunch and the Greg Essig Head of BD at Bunch.
1. Bunch scores $3.8M to turn mobile games into video chat LAN parties
2. Wildlife, Brazilian mobile gaming unicorn, valued at $1.3 billion by Benchmark
3. CD Projekt Red ending Gwent console support to focus on PC and mobile Elder Scroll Legends is officially Dead
4. Microsoft is Still planning a cheaper, discless next-gen xbox
5. Minecraft Earth in Soft Launch
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @m_katkoff @adamwtelfer
Guest Twitter:
@Selcukatli @gregessig
Also be sure to check out JK's latest GameMakers YouTube channel series on mobile marketing/user acquisition: UA Coffee Talk on Creatives Optimization!
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Kolibri has found great success with its first two mobile game titles Idle Miner Tycoon and Idle Factory Tycoon. Both titles have now amassed about 100M downloads.
How did students coming from University achieve so much success at such a young age?
What were the processes and philosophies they used to develop Idle Miner Tycoon?
What were some of the biggest lessons learned and mistakes made by the team?
Found out all of this and more in this video with Kolibri Co-CEO and Co-Founder Daniel Stammler.
Content Overview:
- 0:20 Intro to Kolibri
- 0:50 Origin story of Kolibri
- 2:00 Daniel’s background
- 4:00 Process in Building the First Games
- 7:10 How did they come up with their development process/approach?
- 9:10 Most important factors in success of games - 11:00 Biggest mistakes made
- 11:50 Failed titles
- 12:50 Biggest lessons learned
- 14:20 Specific game dev process steps
- 16:40 Soft launch objectives
- 17:25 Team structure and roles
- 19:00 Biggest mistakes in new game dev
- 21:30 Why do big companies fail at new game dev?
- 24:00 How to come up with game ideas?
- 25:40 Data vs. intuition
- 27:00 What’s next for Kolibri?
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Welcome everybody to TWIG #59!
Today we have myself Joe Kim, Eric Kress, and Miska Katkoff joins in to defend himself on his Call of Duty prediction.
We are also joined by Consumer Insights expert Stan Kwon from research firm BETAHAT.
We discuss the following articles:
-
The top 1% of app store publishers drive 80% of new downloads
-
Valve’s Half-Life series continues with Half-Life: Alyx for VR
-
Microsoft's Xbox streaming app isn't official yet, but it's already way better than Google's new video game service
-
Where Net Promoter Score Goes Wrong
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Namaste everyone and welcome to TWIG #58!
Today we have just myself Joe Kim and Eric Kress.
Miska and Adam are out for the rest of the year.
The full news we discuss is as follows:
1. N3twork raises $40 million for platform to help mobile games gain traction
2. How a Chinese Developer at Tencent Is Shaping the Future of Gaming
3. Has the hypercasual game genre peaked?
4. We review some of the predictions and actuals for Call of Duty Mobile, Harry Potter, Mario Kart, and other predictions we've made
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Welcome to TWIG #57.
Today we have your usual hosts Joe Kim, Eric Kress, and Adam Telfer (Miska's out for the rest of the year). We do have a guest host Alex Collins though: a software engineer at Jam City and DOF blog contributor.
The full news we discuss is as follows:
1. Mixer + Shroud + Ninja
2. Everything Announced at X019’s Inside Xbox Conference
3. Fortnite’s Android installer is now a launcher for Epic mobile games
4. The world is waiting for Google Stadia to flop
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Welcome to TWIG #56 everybody. This week we focus on live ops companies like DECA and now Rogue Games who will live operate Vainglory for Super Evil Megacorp.
Today we have your usual hosts Joe Kim, Eric Kress, and Adam Telfer (Miska's out today). Joining us however is Ken Go CEO of DECA who will talk about DECA's business and the business of live ops specialists.
The full news we discuss is as follows:
1. Deca Games plays F2P’s long tail, buying 4 one-time hits from GREE
2. Super Evil Megacorp raises $10.5 million, moves on to new game, and hands Vainglory off to Rogue Games
3. Supercell cans Rush Wars
4. BlizzCon 2019’s biggest announcements: Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, and an apology
Watch the Ironsource Gamefest video on GameMakers: HERE
Watch the video interview with Mike DeLaet CEO of Rogue Games on GameMakers: HERE
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Welcome to TWIG #55 everybody.
This week we get a bit of a battle between Eric and Miska over Zynga growth prospects so stay tuned for that!
This week we cover:
1. EA games are coming back to Steam
2. Mobile game firm Scopely raises $200 million
3. One Million players now subscribe to PlayStation Now
4. Zynga posts record-setting revenues, net bookings in Q3
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
@jokim1 @ekress @adamwtelfer @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Apple Arcade launched on September 19 earlier this year and has been praised by many in the media and significantly backed by Apple. Having said that:
1. What are the future prospects for this service?
2. Who is the audience?
3. What are key strengths/weaknesses of the service?
4. Finally, how well do we think Apple Arcade will do in the long-term?
Find out in our discussion today with myself Joseph Kim, Eric Kress (Principal, Gossamer Consulting), and Steve Palley (Head of Business Development & Strategy, Pixelberry Studios). Comments? Questions? Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1 (JK Kim), @ekress (Eric Kress), @spall03 (Steve Palley)
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Welcome to TWIG 54! This week we cover:
1. Ghost Recon Breakpoint’s spectacular bomb blows up Ubisoft’s plans for 2019
2. Google is making a "spectrum of bets" on Stadia content
3. Fallout 76 Now Has a $100-a-year subscription service, Fallout 1st
4. Why have hyper-casual games replaced gacha in Japan?
Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve. Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Welcome to TWIG 53.
This week we cover:
1. Everything Riot announced for League of Legends’ 10th anniversary
2. The 4 Features that matter on PS5 - and 5 that don’t
3. Call of Duty is the biggest mobile game launch ever, with 100 million downloads
4. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE POST-LAUNCH APPROACH TO NEW CONTENT
We are joined by Paul Bellezza who actually works on Project A at Riot Games!
Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff, @pabro
Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve.
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Riot Games got hit with a tsunami in the form of the infamous Kotaku article Inside The Culture Of Sexism At Riot Games. The article was followed by several people writing publicly about their own experience with the company that underlined the same story and signalled a clear message - Riot’s culture needed healing.
The person who took the ownership for leading the healing process was Angela Roseboro who joined the company as a Chief Diversity Officer & Talent Acquisition Lead little less than a year ago. And in such a relatively short time Angela and her team have had a massive impact showing not only the work they put in but also Riot’s willingness to accept and transform. You can (and should) read about all the initiatives and actions Angela has put into motion in this incredibly insightful blog post she wrote Riot Games One Year Later: My Reflections.
In this interview with Angela we talk about a sensitive but critical topics, which include Company Culture & Diversity in gaming companies today. And just to be clear we want to not just focus on the Diversity & Inclusion topic, which many folks in the media tend to focus on. Thus during this interview we will also talk about Culture more generally and the profound impact of culture on an organisation.
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Welcome to TWIG 52. 1 Year of TWIGS!
This week we cover:
1. Fortnite US July revenues down 52% year-over-year
2. App revenue climbs 23% year-over-year to $21.9B in Q3
3. Blizzard's President On Making Sure Nothing Changes
4. Playable Worlds has a different mindset on engagement
Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff
Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve.
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Today we are joined by guest host Eric Seufert who writes the really great marketing & UA focused blog: https://mobiledevmemo.com/
Also check out Eric's F2P Marketing/UA site: https://quantmar.com/
This week we cover:
1. The future of mobile growth teams
2, Acquisition and conversion costs threaten a mobile bust | Opinion
3. Call of Duty: Mobile is live after a troubled launch
4. Transparent Loot Boxes: CSGO in France + Rocket League Blueprints
5. Facebook announces Horizon, a VR massive-multiplayer world
Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff, and @eric_seufert
Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve.
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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In this week's TWIG we are joined by Damian Kim who is Director, Head of Gaming China for Facebook.
The topics we cover today include:
1. PUBG becomes first mobile battle royale to surpass $1bn revenue
2. Expectations are‘sky high’ for Nintendo’s latest Mario mobile game, analyst says
3. Mario Kart Tour’s $4.99 monthly subscription fee is out of touch with reality
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare expected to be US best-selling title of 2019
5. How Garena’s Free Fire competes with Fortnite and PUBG Mobile
6. Tencent will become Funcom’s largest shareholder
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1, @adamwtelfer, & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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Today we are joined by guest host Lloyd Melnick who is EVP Casino at VGW and writes the fantastic blog The Business of Social Games and Casino.
This week we cover:
- Subscriptions: The new weapon in the game monetization arsenal
- Rockstar Games Is The Latest Company To Put Out Its Own PC Game Launcher
- Zynga Climbs on'Best Idea in Video Games' Nod from Stephens
- Google says'Play Pass' subscription service is coming soon
- NBCUniversal will shut down its game publishing business
Hit us up on Twitter with any feedback or suggestions for news to cover. You can reach us at:
- @LloydMelnick
- @jokim1
- @ekress
- @adamwtelfer
- @m_katkoff
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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Today we’re going to be talking about a little bit of a sensitive topic which is what you as an employee can and should do to protect yourself against companies that are facing layoffs or some form of restructuring.
Also, how should you deal with work situations that you may not be happy with and how and when should you best optimize leaving your company if you are unhappy.
We all know the video games industry can be tough and one that lacks transparency which can put employees in a tough spot.
Over the past 6 months or so, I’ve been hearing a lot of unfortunate rumors and news coming out about a number of game companies who seem to be running into trouble. I can foresee a lot of folks in our industry that will need to figure out what their next opportunities are.
Given that, we’ve got 2 pros in the executive search space: first Sam Wallace from Carmichael Fisher Search and Jeffrey Lujan from The Game Group to talk about these very important topics.
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In this latest TWIG episode we discuss:
1. THINKING ABOUT DAILY ACTIVE USERS (AND THE LIMITATIONS OF THIS METRIC), from AlexandreMacmillan.com
2. A Learning Journey: Announcing EA’s Cloud Gaming Technical Trial, from Medium
3. How Zynga looks for the right game companies to acquire, from VentureBeat
4. Disney reportedly planning sale of gaming division FoxNext, from Gamesindustry.biz
5. Are the glory days of social casino over? Probably!, from The Business of Social Games and Casino
Hit us up on Twitter: @jokim1, @ekress, @adamwtelfer, @m_katkoff
Let us know which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to let us know how we can improve.
Also hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games!
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In this week's TWIG we discuss:
- The RetroBeat: World of Warcraft: Classic shows what MMOs have lost
- New Leaked Screenshots And Videos For League Of Legends Mobile Game
- Telltale Games employees speak out about the studio’s controversial revival
- AppLovin Announces Strategic Investment in Belka Games, Creator of Clockmaker and Funky Bay
- Sensor Tower: Pokémon Masters makes $26 million in first week
Hit us up on Twitter:
- @jokim1
- @ekress
- @adamwtelfer
- @m_katkoff
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In this week's TWIG we discuss:
- How Archero Shot to the Top, and How You Can Do Better (Deconstructor of Fun)
- Supercell’s new mobile strategy game Rush Wars soft-launches in Canada, New Zealand and Australia (PocketGamer.biz)
- Pokemon Masters launches globally on iOS and Android (PocketGamer.biz)
- Playtika acquires Best Fiends mobile game publisher Seriously (VentureBeat)
Welcome to guest host Kenny Liu from Riot Games and author of the really great industry newsletter Kliuless: https://tinyletter.com/kliuless
Hosts Today (Twitter):
- Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
- Eric Kress (@ekress)
- Kenny Liu (@kliuless)
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Newcomer Habby shot up out of nowhere with Archero which made over $35M in net IAP revenue over its first 3 months.
Find out how Archero was able to achieve big success and how it could have been designed even stronger in this episode's podcast.
Also, check out the original Deconstructor of Fun blog post covering the game by Manyu and Eva.
Many thanks to the co-hosts on this podcast. Ping us on Twitter:
- Joe Kim = @jokim1;
- Abhimanyu Kumar = @k_abhimanyu11;
- Eva Grillova = @evei
Listen now!
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In the latest TWIG we discuss:
- Apple Arcade: $4.99 per month is likely for family access to 100 games
- Respawn CEO apologizes for devs who insulted Apex Legends fans
- GameStop lays off 120, 14% of total staff
- Sony Agrees to Acquire Spider-Man Video-Game Developer Insomniac
Hit us up on Twitter (@@jokim1, @adamwtelfer, & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
Shout-out to Ironsource for sponsoring GPM Forum in Vancouver! https://gpmforum-vancouver.splashthat.com/
Montreal up next!
Also, be sure to check out JK's GameMakers YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
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Welcome to the final episode of our Mobile Publisher Series. In each of the episode we sat down with the CEO of top mobile publisher and discussed how they approach publishing, what is their company’s strategy, how do they work with developers and how do they see the future of publishing on mobile.
In case you missed the previous episode:
Mobile Publishing #1: Deconstructing Scopely's path to $1B with Scopely’s Javier Ferreira (Co-CEO)
Mobile Publishing #2: Behind Tilting Point's $132M War Chest with President Samir El Agili
Mobile Publishing #3: Former Publishing CEO Spills the Beans with Klaas Kersting
Shout out to our awesome partners:
AppAnnie
Play Ventures
ironSource
GameRefinery
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In this episode of This Week in Games we discuss: #1. Tencent doubling down on Season Pass, #2. Ninja quickly getting 1M subs on Mixer, #3. Roblox Surpassing Minecraft with 100 MAU, #4. Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, require loot box disclosure, and #5. Apex Legends Forums Furious as Devs Call Players "Ass-Hats" and "Freeloaders"
Today we're joined by guest host, Josh Burns from Digital Dev Connect!
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1, @adamwtelfer, @ekress)!
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Welcome to the third episode of our Mobile Publisher Series. In each of the episode we sat down with the CEO of top mobile publisher and discussed how they approach publishing, what is their company’s strategy, how do they work with developers and how do they see the future of publishing on mobile.
In case you missed the previous episode:
Mobile Publishing #1: Deconstructing Scopely's path to $1B with Scopely’s Javier Ferreira (Co-CEO)
Mobile Publishing #2: Behind Tilting Point's $132M War Chest with President Samir El Agili
----
Shout out to our awesome partners:
AppAnnie
Play Ventures
ironSource
GameRefinery
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support
Welcome to the second episode of our Mobile Publisher Series. In each of the episode we sat down with the CEO of top mobile publisher and discussed how they approach publishing, what is their company’s strategy, how do they work with developers and how do they see the future of publishing on mobile.
If you missed our last episode with Scopley’s Co-CEO Javier Ferreira, I encourage you listen to it after this episode.
In this episode we had a pleasure to talk to Tilting Point’s President and CPO, Samir El Agili. We talked about the company’s unique progressive model to free-to-play games publishing, discussed how Tilting Point is organised, how Samir sees the future of mobile publishing and - shed some light on that massive $132M user acquisition war chest the company has been flashing around.
Shoutout to our awesome supporters:
AppAnnie
Play Ventures
ironSource
LevelUP a podcast series by ironSource
GameRefinery
Get in touch:
Contact Deconstructor of Fun
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Welcome to the first episode of our Mobile Publisher Series. In each of the episode we sat down with the CEO of top mobile publisher and discussed how they approach publishing, what is their company’s strategy, how do they work with developers and how do they see the future of publishing on mobile.
In this episode Scopely's Co-CEO, Javier Ferreira, dives deep into the company's product strategy, organisation and team structure as well as talks about the company's technology platform. We also discuss Scopley's mindset to launching new games and their attitude towards both original and IP-games.
kudos to our Sponsors:
AppAnnie (www.appannie.com)
Play Ventures (www.playventures.vc)
Spotify (www.spotify.com)
GameRefinery (www.gamerefinery.com)
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This week "J Money" Kim, Eric Kress, and Jeff Cohen from Stephens break down the latest info from earnings calls from public companies EA, Ubisoft, Zynga, and Glu.
What happened? What did we learn? And what is the outlook for these companies?
You can also listen to Eric gloat about his call on Glu.
We'll be doing these podcasts quarterly after every earnings period.
Have feedback give us a shout on Twitter!
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In this episode of This Week In Games we discuss:
1 What Video Game Company Should Disney Buy(That Isn’t Activision Blizzard)?
2 Pokémon Masters hands-on
3 Facebook migrating Instant Games away from Messenger
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1. @adamwtelfer & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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In this episode of This Week In Games we discuss:
1 Ubisoft reveals over 100 games for its Uplay+ subscription gaming service for September
2 How to spot an exploitative mobile game publishing deal-- fro a former publishing CEO
3 Tinder is now bypassing the Play Store on Android to avoid Google’s 30 percent cut
4 PUBG Officially Becomes The World’s Most Popular And Highest Grossing Mobile Game
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1. @adamwtelfer & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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In this episode of This Week In Games we discuss:
1 Subscriptions are the future of app monetization
2 Mike Morhaime's highlights and lessons of nearly three decades at Blizzard
3 Glu Mobile: Highly Likely To Beat Estimates For Q2 2019
4 HQ Trivia Lays off ~20% as It Preps Subscriptions
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1. @adamwtelfer & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Google Stadia’s only exclusive game, Gylt, is not so exclusive
2 Chess Rush, Tencent's take on Auto Chess, launches tomorrow
3 Pass Royale Season 1 | Clash Royale
4 Tencent’s answer to Diablo Immortal bombed in China
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1. @adamwtelfer & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 N3twork announces a new game
2 Apex Legends season 2 battle pass
3 Call Of Duty: Mobile Has Launched in Australia
4 Electronic Arts Needs Mobile Gaming Help
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 @adamwtelfer & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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Also, our projections on how Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will succeed In the latest TWIG we discuss: #1 Shady Numbers And Bad Business: Inside The Esports Bubble (Kotaku) #2 Teamfight Tactics Could Be Bigger Than League of Legends #3 Dr. Mario World hits Android and iOS in July, here’s how it plays #4 Harry Potter: Wizards Unite worldwide launch begins on June 21st Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1. @adamwtelfer & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve. Hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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The full E3 recap for you from us.
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1. @adamwtelfer & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Microsoft and Sony form cloud gaming partnership
2 Minecraft Earth Wants to be the Next Pokemon Go
3 Pokémon Masters: Everything we know so far
4 Riccardo Zacconi to step down as CEO of King
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1. @adamwtelfer & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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Most of us go through this at least once during our careers. Several of us have to go through this multiple times during their careers. Yet it is something we tend not to talk about.
Losing a job gets bundled with feelings of disappointment, failure, shame and even anger. Yet we seldom see it as what it can be. It's a push to take the next step. A nudge to evolve. An opportunity to self-assess. A chance to take a break and reset.
In this episode, Joseph Kim, goes through his experience after his gig ended abruptly and offers his take on how to take the next step in your career.
Please do give Joe a shoutout (it takes courage to talk about this) and give his YouTube channel " Game Makers" the love it deserves.
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In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Playtika Doubles down with new casual games division
2 Mario Kart Tour’s beta has arrived
3 Mobile version of League of Legends
4 Blizzard Entertainment President Interview On Priorities
5 Microsoft and Sony form partnership
6 Call of Duty 2020 In Upheaval
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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Epic is continuing to make big boi moves while Sony grows its subscriber base.
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Epic’s store continues to absorb PC gaming exclusives
2 Epic Games acquires Rocket League studio Psyonix
3 Zero’ chance it passes: Game analysts break down senator’s anti-loot box bill
4 Playstation Now has 700,000 users, use contributed to Sony’s Increase in Sales
5 Sony releases its'God of War' making-of documentary on YouTube
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Zynga Inc.(ZNGA)CEO Frank Gibeau on Q1 2019 Results
2 Activision Blizzard's stock rally from earnings-fuelled price collapse?
3 Glu Mobile Earnings: Gluu stock plummeted as Q1 sales gain 18%
- EA recap
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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Apart from the truth we will also talk about crunch in the gaming industry and give our personal view on it.
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 The truth about hypercasual games
2 Apex Legends will avoid crunch
3 Google Is Banning A Play Store Developer With More Than Half A Billion App Installs
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
*please keep in mind that all opinions expressed in the podcast are strictly personal and do not reflect those of our employers
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Traditional wisdom in product management dictates the use of AB testing for product optimisation. In this episode, our very own Joseph Kim sits down with Niklas Herriger (CEO, Gondola.io) and Andre Cohen (CTO, Gondola.io) to challenge this traditional wisdom and offer alternatives to achieve even better results.
Generally speaking most PMs in our industry follow the formulas for statistical significance and apply AB testing procedures without always having a full understanding of how to properly apply the testing or contemplating whether it is the best approach for the given challenge.
In this episode we discuss the pitfalls of using AB testing methodology, a better approach to product optimisation called Multi-Armed Bandit, and how to fix AB tests when you run into problems.
Listen up and get better at product management and optimization.
www.gondola.io
Niklas Herriger CEO of Gondola.io:
www.linkedin.com/in/niklasherriger
Andre Cohen CTO of Gondola.io
www.linkedin.com/in/andrecohen
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In this episode we also discuss whether Stadia has the content to match its infrastructure.
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 PlayStation 5: Sony outlines next-gen console plans
2 Xbox: Stadia has the infrastructure, but doesn't have the content
3 20 mobile games that have made more than $1 billion
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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Also, what Zynga's CEO believes is the next big catalyst for mobile games and why Ninja paid $1M to Ninja for steaming APEX Legends
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Apple’s $500MM bet on the future of mobile gaming
2 Zynga CEO: this is the next big catalyst for mobile gaming
3 EA Paid Ninja $1 Million To Stream Apex Legends
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games
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Also, we talk about what (all) went wrong with BioWare's Anthem and why APEX Legends won't dethrone Fortnite
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Snapchat Invests in Mobile Gaming With Launch of‘Snap Games’
2 APEX Legends Won't Dethrone Fortnite, but there's still nothing like it
3 How Kolibri went from minimum viable product to 70 million installs
4 How BioWare's Anthem Went Wrong
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
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The platforms are pushing their subscription services that don't seem to be quite ready for the market nor serve a particular market need.
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 The Google Stadia Backlash Has Begun
2 Top 7 trends in mobile gaming from GDC 2019
3 Epic announces $100 million Epic MegaGrants fund for game developers
4 Apple unveils premium games subscription service Apple Arcade
5 First Look at‘Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
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Today we talk with the famous Eric Seufert who also publishes the popular blog Mobiledevmemo and heads platformfor N3twork. Together we cover the following topics:
1. The problem with the 30% platform fee on mobile in three charts
2. High growth, low growth, no growth: systematic growth with DAU replacement
3. Using machine learning to automate mobile marketing budgets
4. What will the next generation of app stores look like?
Hit us up on Twitter(@m_katkoff,@jokim1, @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
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Will Nintendo's honeymoon on mobile continue if they take their foot off the pedal?
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Apex Legends tops 50M players in first month
2 Microsoft wants Xbox Game Pass on PS4
3 Nintendo is asking its mobile gaming partners to tone down the microtransactions
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1, @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
Deconstructor of Fun @ GDC 2019
**1. Deconstructor of Fun: Breaking Down Top Mobile Games
Location:** Room 210, South Hall
Date: Wednesday, March 20
Time: 3:30pm - 4:30pm
- Deconstructor of Fun Mixer with ironSource
https://retroactive.splashthat.com/
- Exclusive Game Leads' Dinner
Request your spot (Click here)
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In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 BioWare spreads out Anthem’s 90-day roadmap
2 Why'ApexLegends' Is Obviously Not The Next'Fortnite'
3 Electronic Arts: How To Destroy Shareholder Value
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1, @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
Deconstructor of Fun's Game Leads' Dinner during GDC will feature:
-
Drusilla Hollanda a Game Lead at Supercell
-
Tim Lonnqvist Head of Design of Empires & Puzzles (Small Giant)
-
Danielle Levitas Executive VP at App Annie
-
Måns Wide the Game Lead of Angry Birds 2 (Rovio)
Dinner is sponsored by AppAnnie and Universal. This is an exclusive event for invites only.
Request your spot at: Click here
image courtesy of: gamespot
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Supercell CEOs first ever blog post was, righteously so, extremely well received. But many of you may have missed major course changes communicated between the line...
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Activision's Plan to Cut Hundreds of Jobs
2 EEDAR 2018 Q4 Round Up
3 My most valuable retention KPIs
4 MY TAKE ON SUPERCELL’S 2018
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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Zynga Inc. ended 2018 with faster-growing sales and bookings, and expects that trend to increase in 2019, but profit could be a problem.In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 GameStop's future in question after failing to secure buyout
2 A Free-To-Play Titanfall Battle Royale Game Will Be Out Soon
3 Zynga proclaims‘turnaround is now complete’ as earnings show strong bookings trend
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1 @ekress) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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Also, Apple's new gaming subscription service.
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Destiny developer Bungie is ditching Activision after 8 years
2 Metro Exodus will only release on the Epic Store
3 Influencer plans say a lot about Epic Games Store’s vision of itself
4Apple could be working on gaming subscription service
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, please do subscribe, rate and enjoy the podcast.
Links:
VP of Business Development @ Game Refinery
www.gamerefinery.com/jobs/vp-director-business-development
Deconstructor of Fun blog
www.deconstructoroffun.com
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Also, what can be expected from Epic's Android store
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Jam City announces $145m in strategic finance
2 Epic Games store planned for launch on Android this year
3 Why Activision and EA have dropped over 40 percent
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, please do subscribe, rate and enjoy the podcast.
Links:
VP of Business Development @ Game Refinery
www.gamerefinery.com/jobs/vp-director-business-development
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-01-16-jam-city-announces-usd145m-in-strategic-finance-just-weeks-after-layoffs?fbclid=IwAR3KjiR0hJbCv5FQDbQC1NuO_BUQd24yY9_WcEjNNfC8aWiqJpSO65P9EJk
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-01-10-epic-games-store-planned-for-launch-on-android-this-year
https://lloydmelnick.com/2019/01/19/why-activision-and-ea-have-dropped-over-40-percent/
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Experts and analysts are throwing their predictions for this year. Who is using sound analysis for their predictions and who’s just winging it? Let us tell you...
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Here's what 2019 will be like for the game biz
2 Mobile game insiders predict the biggest trends of 2019
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, please do subscribe and rate, if you enjoy the podcast.
Links to the articles:
https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/blog/2018/1/31/prediction-for-2018-mid-core-games
https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/blog/2018/1/9/prediction-for-2018-casual-games
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/333675/Opinion_Heres_what_2019_will_be_like_for_the_game_biz.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20GamasutraNews%20(Gamasutra%20News)&fbclid=IwAR0OyI1M8lNXAO5A0UqzG__bo_8AgjCHUi36d_wz1DyfIDFqvNUi394NIjY
https://blog.applovin.com/mobile-gaming-trends-2019/
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In this episode, I'm joined by Nadav Ashkenazy, who is the VP of Global Partnerships & Biz Dev at ironSource, a leading ad mediation and user acquisition platform with the largest in-app video network in the industry.
Nadav schools me on the differences of Ad Units as well as discusses the hottest monetization trends from user level data to programmatic mediation.
Most importantly though, Nadav will share the best practices on how to get the most out of your ad monetization.
——
Nadav Ashkenazy:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadav-ashkenazy-34083aba
ironSource:
www.ironsrc.com
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Epic has been making moves powered by the unheard success of Fortnite. They skipped the Google's Play Store and are now planning to outplay Valve's Steam as well.
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Jam City lays off a large number of developers
2 Epic Games launching Steam competitor
3 Zynga CEO presents strategy to investors
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, please do subscribe and rate, if you enjoy the podcast.
Links to the articles:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4226523-zynga-inc-znga-ceo-frank-gibeau-presents-39th-nasdaq-investors-conference-transcript?part=single&fbclid=IwAR0wORdnOCex16A9BGRBp_oBkdftvfHZbn0zHTtdFwPqI0SoTWTF-yBgASo
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/332124/Epic_Games_launching_Steam_competitor_with_88_revenue_share_for_devs.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraNews+%28Gamasutra+News%29
https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/69576/jam-city-laid-off-a-large-number-of-developers-on-friday/
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Google, Microsoft, EA, Sony or Valve, Nintendo are all gearing up their streaming services. Who will emerge as the winner when the big players collide?
In the latest TWIG we discuss:
1 Best game subscription services of 2018
2 PlayStation Now Rakes In $143 Million for Sony Q3 2018
3 Microsoft unveils Project xCloud system to stream games to everything from a phone to a desktop PC - without having to buy a console
4 Pushing the limits of streaming technology
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, please do subscribe and rate, if you enjoy the podcast.
Links to the articles:
https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/buying-advice/game/best-game-subscription-services-of-2018-3671842/
https://www.dualshockers.com/playstation-now-revenue-q3-2018/?fbclid=IwAR3aYQvIC7pCFPgRGtFQcH1vCqmYl0QNTBpVZs-qEwZFBdB4Mm7LnCDWhYI
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/8/17950878/microsoft-xcloud-game-streaming-xbox-games-features
https://www.blog.google/technology/developers/pushing-limits-streaming-technology/
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Will Jam City and Disney be a Hollywood love story?
In the lates TWIG we discuss:
1 Jam City signs a deal with Disney
2 Blizzard working on mobile games for all IP
4 Flaregames restructure leads to 45 layoffs
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, please do subscribe and rate, if you enjoy the podcast.
Links to the articles:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/14/jam-city-disney/
https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/blizzard-has-some-of-its-best-developers-working-on-mobile-games-for-all-ip/
https://www.pocketgamer.biz/job-news/69441/flaregames-restructure-leads-to-45-layoffs-as-ceo-klaas-kersting-steps-down/
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Also, the fall of Next Games and the surging "Call of Duty Royale"
In the lates TWIG we discuss:
1 Next Games Q3 Business Review
2 Blizzard Wasn't Expecting Fans To Be This Angry
3 Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 could be a Fortnite killer
In this episode, Joseph and I are joined by Eric Kress, Principal at Gossamer Consulting Group.
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, if you enjoy this podcast, subscribe and rate.
Links to the articles:
https://www.nextgames.com/wp-site/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Next-Games-Business-Review-Q3-2018.pdf
https://kotaku.com/blizzard-says-it-wasnt-expecting-fans-to-be-this-angry-1830204721
https://media.thinknum.com/articles/battle-royale-blackout-fortnite/?fbclid=IwAR2V9tV8rdk68VVGUYo1paO1GymIiKLxiwBMlo2R78MUA5yGiz2XK_EbLe8
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How does 2019 look for Glu?
In the lates TWIG we discuss:
1 Glu Mobile redesigns its headquarters and its strategy
2 Why Glu Mobile Inc. Stock Plunged Today
In this episode, Joseph and I are joined by Eric Kress, Principal at Gossamer Consulting Group. Together we aim to answer whether Glu is set for success with its new strategy or not.
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1 &) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, if you enjoy this podcast, subscribe and rate.
Links to the articles:
https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/25/glu-mobile-redesigns-its-headquarters-and-its-strategy/view-all/?fbclid=IwAR2eWbf2baS4qLMSYUhAkbtyASSC3UXc_HXxd4O8-bdTpuV86N39detmMtY
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/10/08/why-glu-mobile-inc-stock-plunged-today.aspx
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Could Ubisoft be the one for Zynga?
In the lates TWIG we discuss:
1 Ubisoft Could Unlock a Game Changer With Zynga
We also have a returning guest, Mr. Eric Kress, Principal at Gossamer Consulting Group. Eric has held high roles in corporate strategy, capital markets research, business development, investment banking and marketing.
Eric has and is helping companies like Google, FunPlus. Sega, Kabam and EA when it comes to M&As and corporate development.
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Report: Zynga attracts takeover interest
In this episode, Joseph and I are joined by Eric Kress, Principal at Gossamer Consulting Group. Together we aim to answer who could be Zynga's potential new dancing partner and why.
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1 &) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
And finally, if you enjoy this podcast, please do give us a review!
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Will the Zynga's steady incline beat Nintendo's sporadic growth in the long term?
News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 42% of Gamers Now Use Mobile as Their Main Gaming Platform
2 Zynga Is Well Positioned In The Favorable Video Game Market
3 Nintendo Bets on Dragons in First Built-From-Scratch Mobile Game
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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The four reasons why Telltale Games shut down.
News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 Telltale hit with devastating layoffs
2 How do you evaluate a mobile game's profit potential?
3 From the world's top Clash of Clans player to game dev
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @heinider) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
Enjoy and hit us with feedback on Twitter!
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Everything you need to know about esports as of today.
News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 Teen influencers are making thousands from gaming
2 Activision Blizzard Management Talks Esports
3 Overwatch League Can Bring in $480M for Activision
4 Is the future of esports in your pocket?
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @heinider) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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Everything you need to know about esports as of today.
News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 Teen influencers are making thousands from gaming
2 Activision Blizzard Management Talks Esports
3 Overwatch League Can Bring in $480M for Activision
4 Is the future of esports in your pocket?
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff, @jokim1 & @heinider) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
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This Week In Games:
1 Super Mario Creator Warns Gaming Industry: Don’t Be Too Greedy
2 Influencers and Community Revolt Against Marvel Strike Force
3 Epic Games named the World’s top Mobile Games Company
4 Fortnite’s Day in the Sun May Be Over
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
Enjoy and hit us with feedback on Twitter!
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News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 Zynga Partners With Disney For New Star Wars Games
2 How does Legend of Solgard engage, retain and monetise?
3 Supercell's Brawl Stars Grew Revenue by 616% in July
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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This topic was probably the most difficult and definitely most sensitive we've tackled on Deconstructor of Fun podcast.
Huge thanks to the powerful ladies from Supercell who didn't shy away from discussing this sensitive topic shaping our industry and who are on the forefront of not only game development but also improving the industry as a whole.
Hope you get out as much out of this episode as we did.
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News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 Strained relationships of Riot and Tencent
2 Clash Royale’s New Pro League
3 Revenue Potential of Battle Royale Modes
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 Chinese Games Raked in More Than $600M in the US
2 Why Arena of Valor is Struggling in America
3 Discord Sets Sights on Steam, Launches Online Store
4 Knights of Fury is the Latest Game from King, but it’s Not What You’d Expect
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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Welcome to This Week In Games, a podcast series from the fine people at Deconstructor of Fun.
News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 Confirmed: Fortnite on Android will drive its bus past Google’s 30% cut
2 Google and Unity Partner for Mobile Game Ads
3 Activision to Adapt More IPs as Mobile Games
4 Activision and Tencent Bringing New ‘Call of Duty’ Mobile Game To China
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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Welcome to This Week In Games, a podcast series from the fine people at Deconstructor of Fun.
News Deconstructed in this Episode:
1 Supercell’s Clash Royale plunders $2 billion in revenues in two years
2 Konami announces Super Smash Bros inspired Shonen Jump
3 Apple features Super Evil’s Vainglory in ‘Unleash’ video
4 Fortnite may bypass Google Play for Android release
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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Welcome to This Week In Games, a podcast series from the fine people at Deconstructor of Fun.
News Deconstructed in this Episode: 1. AppLovin enters publishing 2. Jam City's potential IPO 3. Nexon's upcoming Marvel: Battle Lines
Hit us up on Twitter (@m_katkoff & @jokim1) to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more in-depth. Or to just let us know how we can improve.
Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
Enjoy!
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Welcome to This Week In Games, a podcast series from the fine people at Deconstructor of Fun.
The concept is simple: - Your hosts are Joseph Kim (@jokim1) and myself, Mishka Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
-
We highlight and deconstruct few of the most relevant latest news in games
-
Most importantly, we keep it (relatively) short
Hit us up on twitter to let us know, which news topics you want us to talk about next or more. Also, hit the subscribe button to get notified when we deconstruct the latest news in games.
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What are the pros and cons when working with a big IP? What are the common challenges and pitfalls when working with an IP holder? And most importantly, how to avoid those pitfalls while reaping all the benefits that an IP provides. In this episode, I'm joined by Joseph Kim (SVP Games and Digital Platforms @ NBC Universal), who will answer the questions above and help you to navigate the promising yet challenging waters of big IPs. Hope you enjoy the podcast! Stay in touch with me, your host, and Joseph Kim: @jokim1 joe.kim@nbcuni.com @deconfun @m_katkoff
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During the past few months, Battle Royale games have taken the mobile market by a storm racking up a whopping 190M installs and $110M in little less than 4 months (source: Sensor Tower)! Not to mention streaming, where Fortnite reached over 2.4 billion views in February alone.
In this podcast, Anil and I look at the staggering numbers. We talk about the game and core loops of Battle Royale games, we analyze the monetization of these games and we discuss the future of the genre.
This podcast was brought to you by Matchmade, an amazing platform that connects games with YouTubers and vice versa. Visit www.matchmade.tv to learn more about how you can leverage influencers to grow your games.
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As we all know, influencer marketing is about as hot of a buzzword as eSports. And just like with eSports, the key questions revolve around ROI, targeting and scaling. But what makes a good influencer campaign and what are the trends in the world of streaming? This podcast answers those two and many more questions.
I'm joined by Jiri Kupiainen, CEO of Matchmade. Jiri is an old skool game developer who dropped out of high school to make games and ended up building a game company which he sold to Disney. After working as a VP at Disney, Jiri got back to making indie games, where he faced the issue of discovery. This issue got him pivoting his company from building games to helping other game companies to get their games discovered - through influencers.
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What makes game designers tick? What are the different designer types? How to overcome typical designer pitfalls? These questions and more are discussed in this podcast with Florian Ziegler, lead designer at EA's super successful Firemonkeys studio in Melbourne.
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In this episode, I discuss mobile publishing with Anil Das-Gupta who is a Product Lead at Wargaming and a frequent blogger on Deconstructor of Fun.
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