
GameMakers
The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.
Latest episodes

Apr 20, 2024 • 1h 19min
Embracer vs. Ubisoft: A Deep Dive into Two Struggling Gaming Giants (Pixels & Profits)
Comparison between Embracer and Ubisoft in terms of business performance, valuation, and future outlook. Analysis of Embracer's financials, debt situation, tabletop gaming business, and potential growth. Discussion on Ubisoft's financials, upcoming titles, revenue per employee issues, and mobile gaming efforts. Explore concerns and investment potential for both companies, highlighting their strategies and challenges in the gaming industry.

Mar 30, 2024 • 1h 17min
Game Developer Conference (GDC) 2024 Recap: Themes, GDC Talks, Takeaways, and Rumors
The podcast discusses key themes and trends from GDC 2024, including decreased VC investments and a focus on live ops development. They cover insights on marketing importance, AI, and industry rationalization. Talks from Supercell, King, and Epic are highlighted, along with key takeaways and GDC rumors.

Mar 21, 2024 • 48min
Atomic Scaling with Ludovic Bodin | Lessons From the Games Industry to the World!
Ludovic Bodin is an entrepreneur, investor, and now author of the book Atomic Scaling. Ludovic has learned lessons from the titans of the games industry and created a framework he believes can be applied to any other industry.
Learn more about the lessons from Supercell, Valve, Zynga, and others and how they can apply to your games studio or company outside of games.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:20 How Ilkka Paananen, CEO of Supercell inspired Atomic Scaling - Keeping teams small for as long as possible
7:08 How Gabe Newell, CEO of Valve, further inspired Atomic Scaling - Lessons from the games industry are widely applicable
9:35 Ludovic’s great book endorsements, learning from game industry experts, and the sharing culture in gaming
12:21 Motivation to write Atomic Scaling
14:10 3Ps 3Rs framework explanation- People, Prediction, Playbook and Revenue, Reach, Retention
14:52 People principle
22:00 Prediction principle: prediction vs. prophecy - hypothesis, measurement, then change
34:22 Playbook principle - getting the team on the same page
42:13 Revenue, Reach, and Retention
44:05 LiveOps and the LOVE framework - Live product development, Organized event calendar, Very special sales & offers, Engagement and re-engagement
47:10 What should readers take away?

Mar 20, 2024 • 27min
Liveops Lessons from Temple Run & Bejeweled Blitz ft. Eve Chang
Eve Chang shares her invaluable experiences and lessons from working on iconic mobile games like Temple Run and Bejeweled Blitz. Get ready for a session full of actionable insights and strategies that could redefine your approach to game development and live operations.
Outline:
[00:00] Introduction to Eve Chang and Overview
[01:10] Eve Chang's Journey in Game Development
[02:10] Eve's Approach to LiveOps
[06:55] Designing and Product Decisions for Live Games
[13:45] Biggest Lessons Learned from LiveOps
[22:55] Eve's Take on the Current Market Environment
[26:35] Final Thoughts and Where to Find Eve Online
Key Highlights:
🔑 Eve reveals her strategic framework for LiveOps, emphasizing market analysis, player desires, and aligning game objectives.
🔑 Insights on making design and product decisions that resonate with players while enhancing game longevity.
🔑 Eve shares candid lessons from her extensive career, including successes and missteps that have shaped her approach to LiveOps.
🔑 A look into the current state of the mobile gaming market and advice for developers navigating these challenging times.
Links:
Eve Chang LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evechang/
Subscribe to our channel for more insights from industry leaders and game development veterans. Don't forget to like, share, and comment below with your thoughts or questions for Eve!

Mar 15, 2024 • 53min
Nvidia - On the way to becoming the world's most valuable company | Pixels & Profits #9
Discussion on Nvidia's business overview, future growth drivers, valuation, competitive landscape, and future outlook. Exploring Nvidia's evolution from gaming GPUs to data center dominance and its strategic position in AI development. Delving into its growth, valuation analysis, challenges in the semiconductor industry, and future growth potential in technological advancements like AI.

Mar 5, 2024 • 50min
The Measurement Crisis (in mobile UA) | #1 of 5 in State of Measurement Series
We are seeing severe impacts around privacy and the ability to measure any post-device ID kind of fingerprinting world. So, we wanted to put together a five-part series helping advertisers understand the measurement crisis and the different tools and measurement signals available.
#1. The first podcast in the series will be the overview of the measurement crisis.
#2. The second podcast will be the actual state of last touch and the real value that last touch is bringing you.
#3. The third podcast will educate on incrementality testing and how it can be leveraged in a privacy-first world.
#4. The fourth one will be the promise of MTA 2. 0 and data clean rooms. So you understand some of the more fringe benefits of tools coming to you that may impact last touch.
#5. The last podcast is a summary roadmap to measurement success, helping you, the advertiser, take everything you've been educated on, turn it into action and succeed.
OUTLINE:
0:00 New series: State of Measurement in a Privacy-first World introduction
2:24 Intro to the Measurement Crisis in mobile user acquisition (UA)
4:30 Recap on why we have problems attributing installs today
8:17 How incentives exacerbate the measurement problem
11:42 What is the actual impact of IDFA deprecation to UA?
16:43 Andrew believes that incrementality shows that the impact of IDFA may be a perceived rather than actual problem
22:12 Warren's dynamic polling approach, how to make goal based buying work, and overview of IDFA workarounds
31:16 What does Kwalee and other game studios do for UA now?
33:30 How to react to loss of fingerprinting
40:00 What are limitations of MMM or incrementality?
46:35 Who will be impacted most by loss of fingerprinting?
47:40 What does the future state of measurement look like?
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.com/

Feb 27, 2024 • 15min
Philosophy: Escaping the doom loop
Doom loops are a cycle of self reinforcing negative decisions and behaviors that lead to bad outcomes.
In this episode I talk about my own experience trying to break my doom loop impacting both my professional and personal life.

Feb 20, 2024 • 22min
Philosophy: Doing the hard thing
Exploring the significance of addressing uncomfortable issues in business, why employees and leaders avoid difficult situations, overcoming fear to tackle challenges, fostering a positive work environment, and navigating fault and inaction in project and company settings.

Feb 12, 2024 • 35min
Gaming x AI: How Atlas makes models for 3D worlds 200X faster! (ft. CEO Ben James)
Dive into the future of game development with Joseph Kim as he interviews Ben James, CEO of Atlas, a groundbreaking company at the forefront of integrating AI into the creative process of game design. In this exclusive interview, discover how Atlas's cutting-edge technology is transforming 2D reference images into fully-realized 3D models, propelling the development of immersive 3D MMO worlds into new realms of efficiency and creativity.
What You'll Learn:
✔️ The innovative AI technology behind Atlas and its ability to revolutionize the creation of 3D assets.
✔️ How Atlas's platform is making the game development process faster, more efficient, and boundlessly creative.
✔️ The practical applications of Atlas technology in early game concept testing and beyond.
✔️ Ben James's insights on the potential for AI to augment rather than replace human creativity in game development.
✔️ The future of game design and how Atlas is positioning itself to empower developers with new tools for creative expression.
Key Takeaways:
🔑 Understand the capabilities and advantages of using AI in game design and asset creation.
🔑 Discover how Atlas is enhancing the workflow of game developers and artists with its AI-driven platform.
🔑 Explore the ethical and practical considerations of AI in creative industries, with a focus on collaboration between human creativity and artificial intelligence.
Whether you're a game developer, artist, or enthusiast excited about the future of game creation, this interview offers valuable insights into how AI technology is set to redefine the landscape of game development. Join us as we explore the cutting edge of gaming innovation with Joseph Kim and Ben James.
🎮 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Atlas's Mission and Technology
05:00 Transforming 2D Images into 3D Worlds
10:00 The Impact on Game Development Workflows
15:00 AI's Role in Creative Processes
20:00 Future Possibilities and Ethical Considerations
25:00 Q&A with Viewers
Subscribe to our channel for more insights into game development, interviews with industry leaders, and the latest trends in game technology. Don't forget to hit the like button and share this video with fellow gaming aficionados. Your support helps us bring more exciting content your way!
#GameDevelopment #AIInGaming #AtlasTech #3DModeling #GameDesignInnovation

Feb 6, 2024 • 1h 7min
How Brawl Stars 6X'ed daily revenue ft. 2.5 Gamers + Ken Landen
GameMakers features Matej Lancaric and Jakub Reimar from 2.5 Gamers and Ken Landen, former PM at Kongregate, Scopely, Blizzard, and Hit Factor. They discuss the rise in downloads and daily revenue of Supercell's Brawl Stars, highlighting the influence of influencers, the difference between micro and macro in gaming, Brawl Stars progression and gameplay, incentivizing engagement and spending, event structure and quest cadence, advertising channels, low user acquisition efforts, and the future of Brawl Stars.
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