We sit down Benchmark’s legendary gaming investors Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins (now also of the excellent Gamecraft podcast fame) to discuss the history and future of gaming business models. This episode is the perfect bookend to our Nintendo/Sega gaming series this season on Acquired — no one is more qualified than Mitch and Blake to breakdown how the business side of the industry has evolved so radically from the Periscope quarter-drop days to the forever games and platform based publishers of today.Regardless if you’re a gamer, understanding the incredible innovation that’s taken place over the past two decades in gaming and what it portends for other industries is critical for any founder and investor to understand. Tune in!LinksThe Gamecraft PodcastMitch and Blake on TwitterThe Genius of the SystemMitch’s old “Investing in Content” blog postThat Game Company and SkyRiot and the League of Legends dota-allstars.com growth hackSponsors:ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acqsnaiagentsHuntress: https://bit.ly/acqhuntressVanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvantaMore Acquired!:Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2024 ACQ, LLCNote: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

My guest today is Blake Robbins, a partner at Ludlow Ventures. We talk about all things video games, including the major companies in the industry, how games monetize, how in-game economies work, how e-sports has evolved, and much more. This is a fast-growing segment of consumer attention and interest, I believe we are in the very early days of gaming going mainstream. I also have a favor to ask. My team and I have built a small survey for Invest Like the Best listeners and if you’ve enjoyed the podcast, I’d deeply appreciate it if you took 5 minutes to fill it out at investorfieldguide.com/survey. It will help shape the future direction of the show, which I intend to keep improving in the years to come. Thank you, and now please enjoy my conversation with Blake Robbins. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag   Show Notes (1:35) – (First question) –  Overview of the gaming industry and how folks may get involved as an investor (3:46) – Some of the biggest players in the space (5:30) – The monetization methods of these gams (9:22) – How do these games respond to real currencies (14:49) – The landscape of e-sports/e-gaming as a whole (19:57) – His involvement with 100 Thieves (25:52) – The media landscape and the role of influencers (29:05) – When he invests and what the opportunities are out there (33:07) – The engines behind a lot of this; Unity and Unreal (34:58) – Other investors that get this trend (37:43) – Other interesting areas of investment for him, including the creator economy (41:25) – Opportunities to build out and invest in the infrastructure of the creator economy (45:37) – Infrastructure opportunities that need to be built (48:08) – Advice for younger professionals (49:04) – Investment allocation he is most proud of (50:08) – A unique skill he couldn’t teach or train in others (52:27) – Something in gaming he doesn’t understand or wants to learn more about (54:08) – The kindest thing anyone has done for Blake   Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club and new email newsletter called “Inside the Episode” at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag