The Business of Video Games Podcast

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!

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!