

Deconstructor of Fun
Deconstructor of Fun
Deconstructor of Fun podcast is created by games professionals for games professionals. We explore the business side of the games industry with the goal of bringing listeners content that is relevant, insightful, and entertaining on a weekly basis.
Hosts:
Michail Katkoff @mkatkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress @ekress
www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Laura Taranto @laurataranto www.linkedin.com/in/laurataranto/
Phillip Black @econosopher www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe @Jen_Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdonahoe
Hosts:
Michail Katkoff @mkatkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress @ekress
www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Laura Taranto @laurataranto www.linkedin.com/in/laurataranto/
Phillip Black @econosopher www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe @Jen_Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdonahoe
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 3, 2021 • 59min
TWIG #122: PUBG New State, Genshin Impact Dev Costs, Google Stadia Problem?, & Spotify Remote Work
Welcome to TWIG #122!
Today we cover:
#1. PUBG: New State is a futuristic new battle royale game for Android and iOS
#2. Genshin Impact Dev Costs
#3. Google Stadia Problem? A Video Game Unit That’s Not Googley Enough
#4. Spotify says it's letting employees work from anywhere, while still paying San Francisco and New York salaries
Hosts:
- Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
- Joe Kim (@jokim1)
- Eric Kress (@ekress)
- Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!

Mar 1, 2021 • 41min
How to Market Mobile Games in 2021 with Kieran O’Leary, VP Marketing at Rovio
ATT will handicap ad platforms’ abilities to target specific users throwing a wrench in the growth strategies of most top mobile game publishers. The three key changes will be:
Resurrection of Product Marketing
The Role of an IP in performance marketing
The Broadening of Media Mix
In this episode I'm joined by Kieran O'Leary, VP of Marketing at Rovio, to discuss mobile games marketing in 2021. We focus on the topics above and discuss what's the best way for the game and marketing team to work together.

Feb 24, 2021 • 58min
TWIG #121: BlizzCon, Zynga accelerates, Rovio's financials and VALHEIM!
Welcome to TWIG #120!
Today we cover:
#1. Zynga’s plan to accelerate growth in 2021
#2. BlizzCon Online 2021
#3. Valheim: How a 5-Person Team Created the Most Popular Game on Steam
#4. Rovio 2020 Financial Statement
Hosts:
- Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
- Joe Kim (@jokim1)
- Eric Kress (@ekress)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!

Feb 22, 2021 • 47min
Growth Triggers #5 Why AppLovin and Zynga are Building Content Fortresses
Growth Triggers is a segment focusing on all matters of growth. In this episode, we discuss AppLovin's acquisition of an attribution platform Adjust, and Zynga's intention to invest in ad tech.
Your hosts
Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert

Feb 19, 2021 • 56min
Embracer Group: Strategy, Outlook, and Focus on the Long-term | Kenshi Arasaki (ATA), Ken Go (DECA), and Randy Pitchford (Gearbox), Lars Wingefors (Embracer),
We get a comprehensive and in-depth discussion talking about industry consolidation/consolidators and more specifically about the Embracer Group. In a unique discussion, we get a very holistic perspective on Embracer speaking to:
- Kenshi Arasaki, CEO, A Thinking Ape, One of the best in the industry at long-tail and forever franchise games with titles from the early days of IOS like Kingdoms at War.
- Ken Go, CEO, DECA Games, Who specialize in live operations having taken over and successfully managed live titles such as former gree titles like Knights & Dragons and Modern War.
- Randy Pitchford, President and Co-founder Gearbox, I think everyone knows Gearbox games most notably Borderlands.
- Lars Wingefors, Co-founder and Group CEO, Embracer Group, Quickly becoming famous for a lot of the recent industry acquisitions they have been making.
Host:
- Joe Kim, CEO LILA Games

Feb 18, 2021 • 1h 1min
TWIG #120: Supercell on 2nd Decade, Zynga Ad Network, Bad Robot Entering Games, Microsoft on Future of Games
Welcome to TWIG #120!
Today we cover:
#1. Zynga Is Building Its Own Ad Network, Mulling M&A
#2. Bad Robot looking to be the rare Hollywood-and-games success story
#3. Microsoft's Head of Cloud Gaming James Gwertzman Talks Past, Present, and Future of Gaming Tech
#4. MY TAKE ON SUPERCELL IN 2020 AS WE BEGIN OUR SECOND DECADE
Hosts:
- Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
- Joe Kim (@jokim1)
- Eric Kress (@ekress)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!
CLUBHOUSE EVENT
This Friday 2/19/2021 at 12PM PST
https://www.joinclubhouse.com/event/xob8aNOK
Sponsors
Square ENIX Montreal. Check out their open job positions here: semmtl.com/dof

Feb 15, 2021 • 1h 8min
Learnings from Building My Dream Team with Sophie Vo, Studio Lead at Voodoo
How do you build a dream team from scratch?
In this episode Sophie Vo, Studio Lead at Voodoo, details her journey of building a game team. We discuss how to craft a team culture, hire according to set values and lead through lockdowns.
Sophie has a true passion towards leadership. Her approach is very methodical and constantly improving as she analyses, plans, executes and recalibrates based on learnings.
Don't miss Sophie's original article "A Dream Team is All You Need".

Feb 12, 2021 • 1h 21min
Future of PC Games | David Brevik (OG!), Sean Haran (Gearbox), Tim Morten (Frost Giant)
Today we will be speaking about the future of PC Gaming.
Here with us to talk about this are 3 incredible speakers
- David Brevik, Famous of course for founding Blizzard North and for Diablo but then also founding other game studios including Gazillion and now as President of Skystone Games
- Sean Haran who’s held senior executive roles at 20th Century Fox, Marvel, Riot, and now as Chief Business Officer at Gearbox
- Tim Morten who was at Activision, was CEO of Savage Entertainment, held exec positions at EA, Santa Monica and Blizzard before starting Frost Giant as CEO.
Host:
- Joseph Kim, CEO of LILA Games

Feb 10, 2021 • 58min
TWIG #119: EA Buys Glu, AppLovin Buys Adjust, Embracer Buys Gearbox, and Predictions (Shooters, Marketing)
Welcome to TWIG #119!
Today we cover:
#1. Why Did AL Buy Adjust
#2. EA buys GLU
#3. Embracer Group acquires Borderlands maker Gearbox Entertainment for $1.3B
Predictions: Shooters and Marketing
Hosts:
- Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff)
- Joe Kim (@jokim1)
- Eric Kress (@ekress)
- Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)
As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!
Check out TWIG on the GameMakers YouTube Channel!

Feb 9, 2021 • 44min
Seriosly Unconventional Growth with Philp Hickey, EVP of Brand & Marketing
Originally Seriosly's first game was launched in mid-2014. Since then the game has grown quarter after quarter with the latest growth spurs coming after the acquisition by Playtika.
In this episode I'm joined by Phil Hickey, EVP of Brand & Marketing at Seriosly, to discuss:
How has Best Fiends been able to continue to grow ever since the game was launched?
Why did they take this unconventional/methodical approach of building a brand first.
How much pressure has there been to follow the latest performance marketing trends from shockvertaising to extremely misleading ads?
How to build and run an effective and lean marketing team in games that is sitting far away from the game team?
What's the best way for the game and marketing team to work together?