Naavik Gaming Podcast

"Naavik Gaming Podcast" features Joe Schaeppi, CEO of Solsten, and Kishen Patel, author of 'The Infinite Power of Play'. They discuss the use cases of AI in games, understanding player behavior and psychographics, the impact of AI NPCs, cost-effectiveness of GAN and diffusion models, and gaming companies' moral obligation to players' well-being. They also explore curiosity, human behavior, traits of gamers, and the benefits of play. A fascinating conversation on AI and player psychology in gaming!

Starfield launch and its impact on Game Pass. Discussion on the writers and actors strike and its potential impact on the games industry. Exploring Humble Bundle's expansion strategies.

The podcast explores the impact of AI in the gaming industry and discusses whether it will bring incremental improvements or fundamentally change the industry. It also delves into the debate between open source and closed source models in the AI and gaming industries. The guests share their experiences with fundraising and leadership, emphasizing the importance of finding the right investors and staying focused on their core mission.

The podcast discusses Supercell's cancellation of Floodrush and highlights from Gamescom 2023. They also examine Sony's acquisition of Audeze and unpack the advantages of Epic's new First Run exclusivity program. The podcast explores Embracer's struggles and the challenges of expanding in the gaming industry. They also delve into the revenue potential in Africa and the MENA region and speculate on future investments.

Just about every game that integrates blockchain technology in some way is either on Ethereum, most likely via a Layer 2 solution such as Polygon or Immutable X, or is building on a more scalable but less decentralized Layer 1 chain such as Solana or Binance Smart Chain. Bitcoin, the granddaddy of blockchains, has not attracted much attention from game developers, and for good reason — on-chain transactions on Bitcoin are very, very slow. This is where the Bitcoin Lightning Network comes in. Originally conceived in 2015, the Lightning Network is designed to overcome the scalability issues inherent with Bitcoin by opening up a series of bidirectional payment channels without delegating custody of funds. In this episode, host Niko Vuori talks with Ben Cousens, the chief strategy officer at Bitcoin Lightning Network payment solutions provider Zebedee, about what the technology can offer game developers. To learn more, make sure to visit https://lightning.network/ and https://zebedee.io. You can find Ben Cousens on LinkedIn.We’d also like to thank Gamesight for making this episode possible! Gamesight provides full-service campaign management, taking charge of consulting, influencer discovery, relationship management, billing, and reporting, leaving you free to focus on your core business. To learn more, simply visit https://gamesight.io/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. Watch the episode: YouTube ChannelFor more episodes and details: Podcast WebsiteFree newsletter: Naavik DigestFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Cabe

The House of Blueberry is creating its own line of digital fashion, addressing a market that is expected to grow to $2.5 billion by 2028. It began via character customization in RPGs, took center stage in design and life simulation games like The Sims, and exploded with the onset of the pandemic and UGC platforms like Roblox and Zepeto. TLDR: Drip is going digital. House of Blueberry Chief Creative Officer Ashley Hopkins and Head of Business Development Emily Eitches join us to discuss the trends of self-expression, the importance of brands and communities, and lifestyle and fashion in digital worlds — as well as how the House of Blueberry plays a role in this space, its recent partnership with the Clueless IP, and how they support platforms like Roblox, Zepeto, and Second Life.This episode is brought to you by ZEBEDEE, which provides a plug-and-play API and SDK for seamless integration of instant, borderless, and low-fee payments using the Bitcoin Lightning Network. You too can unlock the potential of borderless transactions to better engage and monetize your global user base. Start for free at zebedee.io.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. Watch the episode: YouTube ChannelFor more episodes and details: Podcast WebsiteFree newsletter: Naavik DigestFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.

Topics covered include Baldur’s Gate 3's success, Free Fire's struggles, cloud streaming updates, Microsoft handing streaming rights to Ubisoft, and NetEase's expansion strategy in Western markets.

100 Thieves is a premier lifestyle brand and gaming organization that’s building a highly unique ecosystem of products and services. This now includes esports, content creators, apparel, premium keyboards and peripherals (via Higround), energy drinks (via Juvee), and even game development (on UEFN and with Project X).In this episode, Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush is joined by John Robinson, 100 Thieves’ President and COO, to discuss why the organization’s aspirations are so wide and how they manage this “business of businesses.” They dive into how esports will become more sustainable, how the company is uniquely positioned for game development, the broader branding strategy, and lessons learned from running so many unique business lines.This episode is brought to you by Overwolf. 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 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. Watch the episode: YouTube ChannelFor more episodes and details: Podcast WebsiteFree newsletter: Naavik DigestFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad discusses Play Ventures raising at least $78 million for its third venture fund and Savvy Games Group as the financier behind the $2 billion Embracer deal that fell apart. We dive into the early international reception for the new Gran Turismo movie and where it falls under Sony's ongoing transmedia strategy. We dissect the information Zynga released about its new web3 gaming ecosystem, Sugartown, and whether Zynga is really a good fit. Finally, we dig into Netflix’s newest gaming test, which uses a phone as a virtual controller. Join us for all the latest games business news with Jonathan Anastas, Dave Elton, and host Devin Becker.This episode is brought to you by Lightspeed Venture Partners. With its dedicated gaming practice, "Lightspeed Gaming," the firm is investing from over $7B in early- and growth-stage capital — the by far largest fund focused on gaming and interactive technology. If you’re interested in learning more, go to gaming.lsvp.com.Also, a big thanks to data.ai for supporting all of Naavik's mobile data needs. If your team requires a market and competitive intelligence tool for tracking the mobile games industry, monitoring KPIs, and spotting opportunities across games, check out data.ai's robust platform.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. Watch the episode: YouTube ChannelFor more episodes and details: Podcast WebsiteFree newsletter: Naavik DigestFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.

Together with Dive, one of our Open Gaming Research Initiative partners, we’re exploring the topic of data and games through a limited podcast series called "The Data Corner." Today’s episode covers the topic of “the data nightmare that the gaming industry faces." Games, in general, generate tons of player data every day, and within that data exists a ton of harvestable insight that can be used to drive better decision-making so as to drive more revenue and eventually drive better game-making. But such large data pools also require time, money, and people to analyze and harvest from it, and that keeps many game developers from spending their resources on data analysis to help them make better games. This tension is at the heart of the data nightmare the gaming industry faces today, and this conversation with Elad Levy, founder and CEO of Dive, is focused on unpacking that tension a bit more. It is a wide-ranging conversation that covers what the nightmare is all about, why the gaming industry is unique in facing it versus other industries, how game developers should navigate the problem, what developers are leaving on the table if they don’t navigate the problem and more.So hope you enjoy episode #1 of the Data Corner, and do send me, host Abhimanyu Kumar, your thoughts, feedback, and questions so that I can address it all as I continue to build out this limited series.This episode is brought to you by Nexus. Nexus’s creator program in-a-box makes it easy for game devs to build and manage a world-class creator program, driving significant growth in conversion, ARPPU, retention, and LTV. To learn more, go to nexus.gg/naavikAnd as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review!Watch the episode: YouTube videoRead more: Naavik DigestLearn more: Naavik’s Open Gaming Research InitiativeWork with us: Naavik ConsultingFollow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | WebsiteSound design by Gavin Mc Gabe