
IndieGameBusiness®
Candid conversations with veterans of all aspects of the business side of games. We firmly believe that great games from all developers need the support they deserve to succeed. This podcast exists to provide that support.
IndieGameBusiness® is produced by The Powell Group, a video game consulting firm specializing in business development, marketing, and licensing. Our CEO has been in the industry for 20 years and closed countless publishing and licensing deals. The Powell Group monitors over 3,500 game developers and 750+ publishers.
Latest episodes

Mar 22, 2023 • 58min
Social Media Is Your Game's Best Friend
Game discoverability has been the Holy Grail for the indie games community for ages. How do you approach different channels, does more mean better and which channels are worth it long term versus short term gains? Do you need to be everywhere all at once?
Best practices from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram - lessons learned both in the independent and AA ranges of the games market.
#SocialMediaForGames
#GameMarketing
#SocialMediaStrategy
#SocialMediaBenefits
#SocialMediaAdvertising
#GamingCommunity
#GamePromotion
#SocialMediaPlatforms
#SocialMediaSuccess
#SocialMediaTips

Mar 22, 2023 • 1h 1min
Steam Next Fest - Prepping for the Marathon
Steam Next Fest is a great opportunity to promote your game to some of the ~120 million people on Steam. We recently participated in a Next Fest…and although we crossed the finish line and came out better for it, we were not as prepared as we could have been. The goal of this session is to give you some idea of what to expect when participating in Steam’s Next Fest and how to best prepare your mind, body, and game for what can be a VERY long week full of awesome opportunities.
#SteamNextFest
#GamePromotion
#GameMarketing
#GameExposure
#IndieGameDevelopment
#GamingEvents
#GameLaunch
#GameSuccess
#GameDemo
#GameInsights

Mar 21, 2023 • 1h 1min
Stop collaborate and listen. How NOT to put your community on ice
You’ve heard a lot about the value of community. What you haven’t heard is how your collaboration as a developer can either facilitate a thriving community or ruin your chances for successful marketing.
Jenesee walks you through the ideal relationship between communications, production, marketing and QA. Whether you’re running a self-funded project or working with a publisher, this session will help improve your community engagement, show you how to contribute to your success, and most importantly, what NOT to do.
#DeveloperCollaboration
#CommunityValue
#GamingCommunity
#CommunityCollaboration
#CommunityEngagement
#SuccessfulMarketing
#CommunityBuilding
#GamingSuccess
#CommunityInsights
#GamingTips

Mar 21, 2023 • 1h 23min
Structured for Success
The first few weeks of every indie game's development are critical. That's when the key questions of Who's on the team, What are we building, What do we build first, When do we have to ship, How do we build the game (and even Why we're committed to doing so) get answered.
This session will cover a list of key best practices that veteran teams use to set themselves up for success, as seen by a veteran game dev with over 100 games of experience.
#GamingBestPractices
#GamingSuccess
#GamingTips
#GamingInsights
#GameDevelopment
#GameDesign
#VeteranTeams
#GameDevelopmentInsights
#GamingLessons
#GameDevelopmentTips

Mar 20, 2023 • 1h 4min
Top 10 Pitfalls in Publishing Agreements and How Devs can Avoid Them
Felix will walkthrough 10 common pitfalls in publishing agreements that developers fall into, how to watch out for them and how to avoid. This will be a practical session focussing on key commercial issues that draws on Felix's rich experience working in-house as a senior lawyer for publishers and developers on both sides of the table.
#GamePublishing
#GameDevelopment
#PublishingAgreements
#ContractNegotiation
#GameDevelopmentInsights
#GameDevelopmentTips
#GamingContracts
#PublishingPitfalls
#DeveloperAdvice
#GameLaw

Mar 20, 2023 • 1h 5min
What's the one word that can help you to hire better?!
Companies don’t think their current recruiting process is a problem as there seems to be an endless lineup of talent. But employee turnover costs are a real and an expensive problem. Replacement costs are 1.5 – 2 x an annual salary and these costs come off your bottom line. And times have changed; people are demanding more from their employers. Kaaren, founder of happy hive, will share a new way to fast track your hiring process, create happier employees, decrease turnover, increase diversity and create a healthier and more inclusive company.
#BetterHiring
#OneWordHiring
#HiringProcessImprovement
#EmployeeRetention
#HappyEmployees
#HiringForSuccess
#TurnoverReduction
#RecruitmentStrategies
#StreamlinedHiring
#HumanResources

Mar 19, 2023 • 1h 3min
Navigating Layoffs - A Fireside Chat
<div id="textbox" slot="input" class="style-scope ytcp-social-suggestions-textbox" aria-required="false" aria-label="Tell viewers more about your stream (type @ to mention a channel)" aria-invalid="false" contenteditable="true">Join Tina Merry and Heather Chandler as they explore some of the best practices for navigating layoffs, no matter which side of the fence you are on. We need to support each other through these challenging times! So, whether you are the manager involved planning and conducting layoffs, or the individual who has been laid off, a team mate struggling with the aftermath of layoffs, or you simply want to support impacted colleagues, then this session is for you!
#LayoffNavigations
#NavigatingLayoffs
#EmployeeTermination
#LayoffBestPractices
#TerminationStrategies
#EmployeeRelations
#WorkforceManagement
#CareerTransition
#Downsizing
#HumanResources</div>

Mar 19, 2023 • 58min
Gaming for Growth: Driving Economic Development in the Global South
By leveraging the power of gaming and emerging technologies, we can unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation in the Global South. We will discuss how gaming can create jobs, promote entrepreneurship, and drive investment in infrastructure and education. We will also examine case studies from the region that highlight successful gaming-based economic development initiatives. Join us for an engaging conversation on how gaming can be a powerful tool for economic progress in the Global South.
#GamingForEconomicProgress
#GlobalSouthGaming
#EconomicEmpowermentThroughGaming
#GamingInnovation
#GameChanger
#GamingForDevelopment
#EconomicGaming
#GamingTheFuture
#GamingIndustry
#GamingInsights

Mar 19, 2023 • 1h 2min
Automate Your Way to Audience Happiness
This talk is for the indies! Hello you wonderful tiny teams! You've found yourself with an audience, but now what? How can you keep them happy? This is how to cut down on customer response so you can get back to development. This talk should leave self-publishing devs with the knowledge of how to maintain and grow a player base throughout development (and not end up hating your fans).
#IndieGameDevelopment
#SelfPublishing
#GameCommunity
#GameMarketing
#GamingInsights
#GamingTips
#CustomerResponse
#PlayerBase
#GameDevelopment
#GameAudience

Mar 18, 2023 • 1h 10min
Prepping for GDC
Welcome to IndieGameBusiness, where we help indie game developers
succeed in the gaming industry. In this episode, Jay talks with Yug
Blomberg about prepping for the Game Developers Conference (GDC)
Yug shares his insights and tips on how to make the most out of GDC,
from networking strategies to planning your schedule and making a great
impression. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a seasoned veteran,
you'll find valuable advice in this episode.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's top
experts.
Follow Yug Blomberg on social media for more insights and updates:
Twitter: twitter.com/yugstar
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/guyblomberg
Facebook: facebook.com/guyblomberg
Instagram: instagram.com/yugstar
#IndieGameBusiness #GDC #GameDevelopersConference #GameDevelopment
#IndieGameDev #IndieGames #GameIndustry #Networking #GameMarketing
#YugBlomberb