Deconstructor of Fun

Eric Kress, known for his profane humor, joins the hosts to discuss the future of AAA game studios, Fallout TV show, and binge-watching series. They delve into revenue strategies, gaming trends, web store impact, venture capital updates, game performance metrics, and Disney's investment in gaming. The conversation also explores tipping practices and cultural differences in the gaming industry.

Görkem Türk from Laton Ventures discusses investment strategies prioritizing founding teams' quality, evolving role of culture in startups, and future trends in gaming like AI and socialization-focused experiences. They cover the success of Laton in the Turkish gaming ecosystem, investing in non-IP games, team dynamics in startup ventures, and the importance of efficiency, creativity, and company culture in achieving success.

Google's Ross Brockman and Kwalee's John Wright discuss adapting to privacy updates, leveraging first-party data for user experiences, and the balance between challenges and optimism in ad monetization. They explore real-time bidding, ARPU reduction impact, user consent in Google Publisher Products, and insights for future growth in the ad landscape.

Topics discussed include Brawl Stars' Baby Shark collaboration, state of gaming market, inflation, interest rates, toy lines, and latest layoffs news. Kress is missing, Phil geeks out on inflation, Jen talks about toy lines, and Laura covers layoffs news.

Matt Wyble, COO of Second Dinner, talks about Marvel Snap and the future of the studio with $100M in the bank. They discuss the state of Blizzard, industry trends, balancing gameplay and systems in games, marketing strategies, company building, and AI impact in game development. The conversation also touches on the state of the gaming industry, tech gadgets, and future possibilities in the gaming world.

Topics discussed include Lilith's decision to skip soft launch, Embracer's sale of Gear Box, New York Times entry into gaming, and Discord's ad business. The crew also covers legal issues, mobile game performance, Embracer's acquisition of Gearbox, and insights on DataAI and Heroic Labs. Country focus, game launch tactics, and marketing evolution in the gaming industry are also explored.

Experts Rafael Cordoba and Chris Molozian discuss the decision-making process between custom back ends and back ends as a service in game development. They explore the evolution of game back ends, insights on Sensor Tower acquisition, infrastructure building challenges, cost estimation, collaboration between teams and service providers, scaling challenges, and navigating backend challenges towards success.

The podcast covers GDC reflections, challenges in game development, blockchain gaming, venture capital in Turkey, industry trends, mobile shooter games, success of Travel Town, and strategic game acquisition for growth.

Pixonic's CMO talks about building a game franchise, balancing organic growth and planning, challenges in transition to a franchise, and the importance of passion in brand-building. Insights on evolving marketing strategies, competitor analysis, user research, and game design trends.

Mihai Gheza, CEO of Machinations, discusses game economy simulations, AI balance, data-driven decision-making, blockchain in gaming, advanced AI technology for game balancing, Unity-Machinations relationship, and the evolution of modern game economies with examples from popular games like League of Legends and mobile games.