Deconstructor of Fun

Kayla Kinnunen, Executive Producer for the Minecraft Creator Platform, shares expert tips on managing expectations for Minecraft's devoted community and how early access and developer participation ensure new features deliver delight. The conversation also touches on the importance of building a positive community, creating an inclusive workplace, and diversifying organizations in the gaming industry.

Explore the success of the Nintendo Switch, its hybrid design, first-party games, and demographic appeal. Discuss limitations like outdated hardware and underwhelming online features. Speculate on the future Nintendo Switch expected in 2024. Delve into challenges faced by game journalism and the importance of supporting press. Dive into rumors and speculation about Nintendo's future hardware design. Explore the cancellation of Floodrush and insights gained from its development.

Joe Schaeppi, CEO & Co-Founder of Solsten, shares secrets of success for entrepreneurs. Topics include mastering board meetings, building cultural diversity, cracking the code on tricky interviews, and nurturing empathy. Tune in to level up your game!

We have a full house! Phil and Mishka are back from Gamescom reminiscing their flourishing bromance causing Kress to gag (he’s just jealous). We talk about the recently announced slate of games. Jen and Laura debate Netflix Stories. And we summarize the latest market insight report from Data.ai. Link > Helsinki VIP Happy Hour

Rina Onur, CEO of Spyke Games/co-Founder of Peak Games, shares insights on Turkish gaming companies, entering mature categories successfully, building a winning culture, and raising monster seed rounds.

The podcast discusses cozy games and the successful beta for cozy MMO Palia. They also delve into Gossip Harbor and the latest trends in the Merge game genre. Other topics include apprehension towards scary games, excitement for the game Starfield, Nintendo's potential entry into mobile gaming, and LGBTQ characters in games.

Brett Nowak, founder of insights platform Liquid & Grit joins the podcast to answer and ask three questions with Mishka Katkoff. The fellas talk about Brett’s grind from bootstrapping his company to where is today, a team of 45. They chat about Mishka’s immigrant mentality and debate about remote work. In this episode, Mishka also talks about his favorite and least favorite job from his 14-year-long games career. And of course, the two share their insights about the mobile games market and the future of the game industry as a whole.

The podcast discusses the cannibalization of Genshin Impact by Honkai, Roblox's burning business, Netflix's foray into streaming, the subscription business model for games, and the sustainability of the Venture Capital model.

The crew debates Netflix's gaming strategy, Jen's reaction to Assasin's Creed beta test rejection, praises to Baldur's Gate, the importance of community for game launches, and Nintendo's declining mobile revenue.

In this episode, Mishka Katkoff hosts a conversation with Tim Bennison, COO of Hot Head Games and a leader with over 25 years of experience in game development, creative product development, and more. They discuss the nuances of moving into work-for-hire projects, client engagement, and strategies for success for a co-development studio in a rapid games industry. Tim provides essential qualities for co-development studios as well as strategies to exceed client expectations. The two also discuss the importance of being honest, transparent, communicative, and understanding client needs. You’ll also learn why time zone alignment can be a key factor in successful co-development, and hear valuable advice regarding pitching and re-pitching projects.