#42 – John Wright: From Accountant to CEO, Breaking Into the Gaming Industry & Scaling Mobile Games

Dreaming of breaking into the games industry or scaling your studio?

In this episode, John Wright (CEO of Turborilla) shares his journey from leaving accountancy to leading a studio with 200M+ downloads, plus hard-earned lessons on leadership, mobile publishing, and scaling games in today’s competitive market.

We cover everything from transferable skills and breaking into gaming, to user acquisition strategies, playable ads, retention metrics, and building a motivated team.

This is a raw, practical guide for anyone serious about games, leadership, and publishing.

- Learn how to transition careers into gaming with no direct experience
- Discover how CEOs manage change, culture, and accountability
- Understand why retention and CPI make or break mobile games
- Hear real-world lessons from $2B in user acquisition spend
- Insider tips on networking, scaling, and sustaining success in gaming

Connect with John:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwright1987/
Website: https://www.turborilla.com/
Mad Skills Motocross 3: https://apps.apple.com/ua/app/mad-skills-motocross-3/id1508275130?l=en, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.turborilla.bike.racing.madskillsmotocross3&hl=uk

Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:40 Episode roadmap: leadership, publishing, and game economics
02:53 John’s background: identity crisis at 25 & leaving accountancy
08:50 Advice for newcomers to the games industry
17:40 What being CEO at Turborilla looks like
23:16 How to manage change as a CEO
26:43 Aligning people with business goals & accountability
31:14 Structuring company goals and roadmaps
35:15 The “happiness index” and motivating teams
40:31 The rise of playable ads and lessons learned
45:13 CPI, IPM, and industry metrics explained
49:53 Zynga, Rollic, acquisitions & scaling user bases
52:52 Profitability vs exits in gaming businesses
58:46 What separates a “good” game from a scalable hit
01:02:10 Retention, MVPs, and testing strategies
01:06:01 Ads vs retention: which comes first?
01:09:41 Strategies for new studios in a competitive market
01:11:43 Understanding VC theses and their impact on funding
01:17:23 Giving back to the gaming community
01:21:53 The future of AI in game development
01:25:31 Closing thoughts and ways to connect