The role of community management in gaming has never been more critical. In this episode, our host Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, joins Andrew Beegle, founder of Beegle Productions and Gravity Gang, and Tim Smith, co-founder of Cohezion AI, to discuss the evolving discipline of community management.

Together, they explore the transformation of community roles over the past decade, from the decline of forums to the rise of Discord and influencer-driven strategies. The discussion highlights best practices for engaging communities early in development, balancing transparency with managing expectations, and leveraging tools like AI to scale engagement. They also address the nuanced dynamics of working with influencers and measuring community health pre and post-launch.

If you’re navigating the challenges of building a loyal player base in a saturated market, this conversation provides actionable insights and strategies to thrive in 2025, including the groups must-have software tools for community development and predictions for headwinds community organizations will face heading into a content saturated market.

We’d also like to thank Overwolf for making this episode possible! Whether you're a gamer, creator, or game studio, Overwolf is the ultimate destination for integrating UGC in games! You can check out all Overwolf has to offer at https://www.overwolf.com/.

If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co.

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Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.