
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

Jan 5, 2022 • 47min
Blockchain For Gaming: Are We Too Early?
Are we trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist yet in gaming? This session will elaborate on where the blockchain fits in with current modern gaming and talk about both the positive and negative impact it can potentially have on the future of gaming as we know it.
Thomas Shiva
CEO, Founder
Digital Realm Entertainment & Enter Africa Org Rw
Natively Rwandese 29, Futurist Visionary Entrepreneur, Game Designer/Dev, Engr, Tech Expert. Founder and CEO of Digital Realm Entertainment Inc. /Co-founder of GIT (Geniuses In Technology), founder and owner of NEO-TRONIKS SYSTEMS INC
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Jan 4, 2022 • 59min
A Post-Mortem to Pivoting and Launching an Indie Xbox Game During the Pandemic
In this session, I'll go over the entire roller-coaster of our development journey of launching our Xbox game during a pandemic including:
- dealing with mental stress and personal battles during a Pandemic
- pivoting our game design to work during lockdown
- integrating platform-specific features for Xbox
- working with ID@Xbox on approval and launch
- getting our community involved through live streams
- planning our roadmap and keeping up with our game as a service
- our spin on marketing and the uphill battle that it is
In the end, you will walk away learning from what we believe we did right and what we definitely did wrong during our development process, the approach we took to get to launch, and how we continue to improve our game post-launch.
Miranda Lowry
Co-Founder & Sofware Engineer
Black Hive Media
Mandy has been in the game industry for over a decade, self-publishing multiple titles across an array of platforms under her and her husband's indie game studio, Black Hive Media. She is a Microsoft GameStack Ambassador and has worked as a software engineer for various game companies over the course of her career.
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Jan 3, 2022 • 1h 1min
Shaking Up Publishing For Living Games
This talk will explore game publishing, from Fundamentally Games' perspective of their journey to shake up what it means to be a publisher. What do developers actually need and want from a publisher, how has the industry's transition to games as a service affected this, and how can publishers add value in today's market?
Ella Romanos
Fundamentally Games
Since 2008 Ella has been helping build and manage games development teams and projects, having started out as a programmer and co-founding game development studio Remode as a graduate. Prior to Fundamentally Games, Ella spent 6 years consulting with game developers, investment funds, and games-related organizations and has a deep understanding of the resources, funding methods, processes, and commercial considerations of taking games to market. She has been directly responsible for releasing over 50 games and has acted as head of the studio, executive producer and advisor, for many organizations, most notably, Pinewood Film Advisors, Agatha Christie Ltd, and Altara Games Fund. Ella also acts as a mentor and has provided input into academia including undergraduate and master's courses across the UK, and writing content and exams for AQA exam board’s games courses. She has been twice mentioned as MCV’s UK Top 100 Women in Games, named in Develop’s ‘Top 30 under 30’, and has sat on the board of directors of UKIE, the UK trade body for games, for 5 years.
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Dec 20, 2021 • 59min
Same Oars, Bigger Ship: Navigating AA(A) Live Ops with Indie XP
How can you successfully drive live operations for a massive project with experience limited to small indie studios and startups? In this talk, join PUBG Madison Producer Sarah Spiers to learn how to leverage diverse backgrounds and development fundamentals to effectively navigate maintaining and improving a live project.
Sarah Spiers
Producer
PUBG Corporation
Sarah Spiers is an award-winning game producer from Madison, WI, currently working with PUBG Corporation. Her ambitions focus on growing small and mid-size studios to support robust production and operational processes. Sarah also serves as the interim executive director of the IGDA Foundation, where she oversees sponsorships and internal programming focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Recently, Sarah was named as part of the inaugural #QueerinGames list and inducted into the Women in Game’s Hall of Fame for her leadership in the gaming industry.
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Dec 17, 2021 • 1h 4min
Pitch Deck Review Session: LIVE!
Each and every week, Kimberly reviews pitch decks from teams on the IndieGameBusiness Discord. In this session, she'll be giving the feedback live for you to see. The decks have been submitted in advance to make sure the event flows smoothly but we encourage you to tune in and listen. Hopefully, you'll attend one of these workshops on the Discord with your own pitch deck in the future!
Kimberly Rodatos
Founder and President
Digital Owl
Founder and President of Digital Owl, Kimberly works closely with Epic Games and the Epic Games store. She sees more pitch decks than you can possibly imagine. Kimberly hosts weekly pitch deck reviews on the IndieGameBusiness Discord server and she's looking forward to sharing that experience with a live session during the conference.
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Dec 16, 2021 • 54min
Kickstarter AMA: with Anya Combs!
Kickstarter's Director of Games returns for another AMA about all things Kickstarter for video games. Join us and learn a little something or get your questions answered!
Director of Games
Kickstarter
Anya Combs is the Director of Games at Kickstarter. She has been in the digital games space for over a decade, overseeing multiple mobile and online titles launched for Nickelodeon & AddictingGames, and has worked with countless game creators launching successful projects on Kickstarter. She is excited to continue supporting game devs as they bring their creative projects to life.
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Dec 15, 2021 • 60min
Keeping the cash flowing in an Indie Studio
How to keep a handle on your cash, spot upcoming problems, and deal with them before they become critical.
Too many businesses fail because they are unrealistic about how their cash flow will work. This talk will give attendees some simple tools that help them to know where they are, spot any upcoming problems and give them tools with which to deal with them.
Stephen Swan
CEO
Leapfrog Digital Limited
Lawyer and Accountant turned game developer and business consultant. CEO of Leapfrog Digital Ltd
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Dec 13, 2021 • 1h 1min
Successfully Working With Investors: Discussion Panel and AMA
This is a roundtable discussion (including a Q&A) with representatives of several major investment companies in the industry. We will cover how to successfully manage a relationship with investors after you have their interest and investment.
Elena Lobova
Founder
Achievers Hub
Elena Lobova is a founder of ACHIEVERS HUB, a platform that unites indie developers with investors, publishers, services, and mentors from all around the world. During her 10 years of experience in game development, Elena has managed a game development outsourcing company iLogos as COO and then CEO, founded and organized a game developers conference Get IT in Ukraine, consulted and advised various companies on business development, strategy, negotiations, and pitching. Elena enjoys traveling, networking, sharing, and connecting people with great ideas.

Dec 10, 2021 • 1h 10min
Why Are You Making Games Anyway? Special Guest - Oscar Clark from Fundamentally Games
Today we talk with Oscar Clark from the publisher, Fundamentally Games, and ask the question, "why are you making games anyway?"
What is the reason you are making games? Is it for the fame? The fortune? The pleasure? We want to know!
Fundamentally Games: www.fundamentally.games/
Oscar Clark: www..twitter.com/Athanateus
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Nov 19, 2021 • 46min
How To Be FULLY Prepared For Your Next Publisher Meeting - Part 2
Are you thinking about meeting with a publisher or have you met with one already? Jay has some tips and tricks for you and a list of things YOU SHOULD KNOW.
Get your questions about publishers ANSWERED TODAY!
To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business
Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com
Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness
Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE
Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness
The Twitters to follow -
Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie
Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp
Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay
INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie
Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness
Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness