The Business of Video Games Podcast

XCOM designer and Sid Meier protege Jake Solomon is embarking on a new mission: CEO of his own studio. Jake gives Shams and Fernando a window into his extraordinary career, telling stories from his days at Firaxis and talking about his journey to found Midsummer Studios. Follow Jake's progress at https://www.midsummerstudios.com/

Fourty two is the answer to life - but it's also the number of points of wisdom justly dispensed by games industry veteran Paul Kilduff-Taylor - mastermind behind Developer/Publisher/Operator - Mode 7 Games. Paul wrote the list of "42 Essential Game Dev Tips That Are Immutably Correct and Must Never Be Disputed by Anyone Ever At Any Time!"  and we unpack some of these and try to figure out why Paul is a very wise man. Because he is. (sorry about Shams audio - its fixed in the next episode!) Check out the original blog post here https://modecollapse.substack.com/p/42-essential-game-dev-tips-that-are And more info on Mode 7 Games: https://www.mode7.games/

Season 3 finally continues with a truly unique indie business auteur! Xalavier Nelson Jr. runs Strange Scaffold, a game studio that defies convention—achieving repeated success while staying boldly artistic. Listen in to hear Xalavier and Strange Scaffold manage what so few others do.   

As we're in a festive mood we decided to try something new and unpack what life is like at a service provider in the games industry. Some describe it as the hardest biz dev job in the industry and they wouldn't be wrong. Serial entrepreneur Alexander Bergendahl shares how Lootlocker helps developers and publishers level up and get closer to their players.    https://lootlocker.com/

This episode, we're diving into the wild world of user-generated content (UGC) with Scott Reismanis, CEO of Mod.io. Ever wondered WHY mods go from hobby projects to gaming game-changers such as DOTA or CS? Scott's here to spill the beans on Mod.io's mission, the challenges of getting studios on board, and why UGC is still the future (spoiler: it's awesome). We'll chat about big decisions, big trends, and big dreams for modding.  Mods, memes, and major insights—don't miss it!

In this episode we sit down with two true operators in the biz dev space - Callum Underwood and Alex Nicholson. By night they're up to shenanigans - by day - more shenanigans - but also they run Uwu Biz a one stop shop for your business development or really - any needs you might have as a successful developer. Callum and Alex regale us with how they operate in tough times.   https://www.uwu.biz/  

Welcome to a new season of the Business of Video Games Podcast! Your host finally cut his hair, grew up and got himself a job (more on in a future episode)! Meaning that this season we'll be bringing on a new co-host - Fernando Rizo - business developer extraordinaire - familiar to regular listeners. Expect monthly episodes this season and more behind the scenes materials for patreons - otherwise our format stays the same - the hardest hitting business interviews in the games industry. In this episode we interview Soren Lundgard - CEO of Ghostship Games - developers of smash hit Deep Rock Galactic. We uncover the secrets of their success and how they are re-invest in the Danish games industry.

Finally we arrive at the season finale! In this episode your's truly shares the story of trying, and failing, at starting a game studio. Why start a studio in this day and age? How did Shams go about doing and why did the studio endeavour end in shambles (but with a lot of learnings)? If you want to see some screenshots of some of the prototypes have a look here:   https://shorturl.at/4BWAS   See you next season!

We arrive finally in the fifth and final episode in the series where we talk to Kim Nordström - games industry meganerd, veteran and author of "Up, Down, Up - why some game companies succeed while others fail. This episode delves into the final phase that companies go through before throwing in the towel - namely the "Decline Phase". We unpack why companies end up here and how you navigate out of these dreaded waters. You can find more info about the book here: https://updownupbook.com/

After a short (!) hiatus we're back with Kim Nordström and "Up, Down, Up" - the ultimate book about why some game companies fail and others succeed. This time about the "Mature" phase. Sounds more risqué than it sounds - but still worth a listen - if you dare. You can find more info about the book here: https://updownupbook.com/

We return yet again to our home base this season - Indie publisher Hooded Horse. They recently release Manor Lords and it was a roaring success selling over 2M copies in less than 3 weeks. We talk to their CEO Tim Bender and Chief Marketing Officer Abhishek Chaudhry to understand what went right, wrong and what the team would do differently.   Find Manor Lords here https://store.steampowered.com/app/1363080/Manor_Lords/ And follow Hooded Horse here: https://x.com/HoodedHorseInc    

Times are grim in the games industry - at least they are if you're running a business looking for money. But there's light at the end of the tunnel! We think. The trick is just to survive until Gandalf comes riding back with backup. To discuss how to survive until 2025 when things might look better we invited Robert Bäckström - ex Fatshark, Raw Fury and much more to talk about survival strategies for game developers.   Visit Aurora Punks here: https://www.aurorapunks.com/ And Robert here: https://twitter.com/aurora_punker

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

In this episode we had a chat with Astrid Refstrup - CEO of Tripletopping and now in charge of Developer Relation & Business Development at the games fund WINGS who invest in gender marginalized teams. Astrid shares war stories and we talk about WINGS modus operandi. We try to figure out how one balances business excellence with idealistic goals. You can find Wings and their application process here:  Wings:  https://wingsfund.me/ https://wingsfund.me/apply/ And Astrid can be reached here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/astrid-mie-refstrup-344969136/ https://twitter.com/Astridmrefstrup

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

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

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

How do you make the most out of a trip to the annual Game Developers Conference if you're starting out in the industry or generally want to up your game? In this episode we invited Fernando Rizo back to the show to talk about how to get the most out of a GDC (Game Developers Conference) show attendance. If you're Phil Spencer this episode isn't for you - but you might still enjoy it Phil. GDC is one of the business development highlights of the year and it's hard to navigate if you haven't been there before - we demystify the whole process and save you a buck or two. Visit Caboodle here https://www.caboodle.games/ Fernando can be pestered on twitter: https://twitter.com/choomsky 

This is the first episode of a multipart series where we talk to Kim Nordström, alumni of Sony, King, Paradox Interactive and other companies who's written an exciting book called Up, Down, Up - The Journey of a Successful Game Company.  It's a must read for anyone interested in the business side of things in the industry. So no surprise then that we will cover the book over a number of episodes this season. Kim has gone through the herculean effort of interviewing hundreds of business leaders in the games industry to understand why some game companies succeed while others fail.   You can find more info on it here: https://updownupbook.com/

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

Crowdfunding first made a huge impact on the business side of our industry about a decade ago. There was even talk of it rendering publishers irrelevant. Things didn't play out exactly that way. Well, they did for Chris Roberts and Star Citizen - but not for the rest of us.  We decided catch up with the eminent expert in the field - Anya Combs and learn how Crowdfunding is doing today as an option for games companies.  If you want to get hold of Anya here's her contact info. Don't miss the spotify links! She's a mean sax player! Anya Combs, anya.combs@gmail.com Twitter: @anyayna Everything else: @anyacombsherhair  Social Media Links   Spotify: Funkrust Brass Band Barbicide

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

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

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

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

In this episode we delve into the topic of strategy publisher Hooded Horse's portfolio - we've visited again by their CEO Tim Bender - but also their Director of Marketing Abhishek Chaudhry. Listen in on how they pick new games to sign, how they manage their games portfolio and give us a few handy tips for what they look for in a pitch and build.   For an overview of the Hooded Horse portfolio visit: https://hoodedhorse.com/games/

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

In the second episode of this season we sit down with Tim Bender - the CEO of one the fastest growing new publishers on the planet - Hooded Horse. What is a Hooded Horse and how come they are succeeding when others are having a tough time? This is the first episode with Hooded Horse this season - we'll be returning as a home base throughout the season and really dig into their business.   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trailer for the upcoming 6th episode - featuring Tanya X Short - co-founder of Kitfox Games. 

New year, new season! In this episode we dive into the topic of culture. What is it, why is it important, and what are some examples of it done right - and wrong - in our beloved industry. Happy listening!

Daniel and Shams are joined by Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, CEO and Creative Director at Nine Dots Studio, who has a radically different view of developer/publisher relationships than Shams does. Looking for an unfiltered view of what developers and publishers ACTUALLY think about each other? We've got you covered. 

Trailer for the upcoming 4th episode - featuring Guillaume Boucher-Vidal - CEO of Nine-dots studio.

We're joined by old friend (and former boss!) Susana Meza Graham, ex-COO at Paradox, nowadays games industry investor, advisor and board professional. You know all those things you've been too afraid to ask about video games fundraising and investing? Susana's here to give answers. 

Trailer for episode 3 of the Business of Video Games Podcast. Our guest this week: Susana Meza Graham. 

We're joined by none other than the master of PC games Dean Hall - CEO and designer at Rocketwerkz.  

Trailer for the upcoming 2nd episode of the podcast. This time joined by none other than the master of PC games Dean Hall - CEO and designer at Rocketwerkz

In this first episode, we talk to industry legend Daniel Kaplan, ex-biz dev at Coffee Stain Publishing and Mojang, now CEO and co-founder at Keepsake Games, about the secret sauce of indie publishing.   As always - tweet at us https://twitter.com/bizofvideogames and @https://twitter.com/shamsjorjani and https://twitter.com/danielg0ldberg for comments, questions and suggestions.   Support us on Patreon at : https://www.patreon.com/BusinessOfVideoGames where every $ is put right back into the podcast.

Premiere episode coming up - episode guest Daniel Kaplan - trailer 2  

Premiere episode coming up - episode guest Daniel Kaplan.