#50 - Joe Hills: Why Most Game Launches Fail and What Studios Miss

Today's guest is Joe Hills, an expert game marketer, ex-Blizzard, Supercell, Meta, Riot, and now Head of Gaming & Partnerships at Once Upon a Time. Also newly joined the Advisory Board for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

We break down why studios obsess over launch day, how long you should actually market a game, why gut instinct vs data is misunderstood, and what indie devs consistently get wrong. Joe explains how to find your audience, build long-term hype, create content players genuinely care about, and avoid the traps that kill campaigns before launch.

If you’re an indie or AA studio trying to stand out in a brutal market, this episode is for you.

Connect with Joe:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-hills/
Website: https://www.onceuponatime.agency/

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
02:40 Why Studios Obsess Over Launch Day
03:35 What Studios Misunderstand About Marketing
05:00 What Every Indie Developer Should Know
07:14 Launch Timing, GTA6, and Market Windows
09:16 Joe's Gaming Preferences
12:46 Social Games, Roguelikes & Replayability
15:42 What Joe’s Agency Actually Does
17:35 How Devs Should Think About Clippable Moments
19:20 Tools That Help Identify Your Audience
22:59 How to Brief an Agency Properly
25:44 How to Choose (and Evaluate) a Marketing Agency
29:49 When Marketing Fails: Is It You or the Agency?
33:12 Leadership, Hiring, and Hard Lessons
36:33 Surviving Layoffs & Career Advice
41:12 The Biggest Mistake Studios Make in Marketing
43:52 Mojang, Dev Diaries & The Power of Human Stories
46:41 How to Reach Joe & Closing Thoughts