The Future of Game Publishing Is Player Ownership

In this episode, host Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, sits down with Robert van Hoesel, co-founder and CEO of First Look, now part of Pragma, to explore how studios can own and scale their player relationships. Robert’s journey from founding a SaaS company to building First Look began with one simple insight: game studios are some of the most passionate users a software builder could serve, and the games industry desperately needs the dream stack for connected distribution, player communications, and analytics. 

First Look acts as a CRM for games, helping studios streamline playtesting, gather player feedback, and grow grassroots communities. The pair discusses why these capabilities have become essential as publishers pull back, competition increases, and self-publishing becomes the norm. Robert shares how First Look enables small teams to punch above their weight by automating data capture across platforms like Steam and Discord, transforming scattered playtest feedback into actionable insights, and shares the full suite of offerings First Look provides for studios today.

They also unpack First Look’s acquisition by Pragma and what it means to unify the backend and frontend of game development. The episode closes with practical advice for studios: start community-building early, close the feedback loop with players, and reward engagement to create sustainable, loyal audiences.

We’d also like to thank Levellr — the Discord community intelligence platform — for making this episode possible. Learn more about unlocking real-time community insights at levellr.com.

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Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe