
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

Jun 1, 2023 • 5min
Where is the games industry today? Less risk, higher cost of capital, bifurcation of winners & losers
Excerpt from GameMakers full interview: Pixels & Profits #1.
Watch the full discussion here: https://youtu.be/2G539NGHfVI
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

May 31, 2023 • 4min
The Rise of China: Dominant western game developers may fall to Asian competitors like HoYoverse
Excerpt from GameMakers full interview: Pixels & Profits #1.
Watch the full discussion here: • Where is the Game...
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney • Economy of the Me...
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies • Building the Amaz...
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 • Mobile Gaming Tre...
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming • Future of PC Gami...
🔴 Games Industry M&A • Games Industry M&...
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games • Netcode for Multi...
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact • Apple IDFA Deprec...
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score • Trip Hawkins | Th...
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices • LiveOps - F2P Sal...

May 30, 2023 • 10min
Why Nvidia (NVDA) stock jumped and the impact of AI to gaming | AI X Gaming!
Excerpt from GameMakers full interview: Pixels & Profits #1.
Watch the full discussion here: https://youtu.be/2G539NGHfVI
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

May 29, 2023 • 1h 27min
Where is the Game Industry Today? - M&A and Public Game Companies | Pixels & Profits #1
Like the rest of the world, the games industry has undergone many changes!
The impact of the end of ZIRP, global macro trends, and the end of the age of excess leads to many changes.
We discuss where we are today, the M&A outlook, and the outlook for major public game companies.
M&A discussion
- Scopely/Savvy
- Rovio/SEGA
- Activision/Microsoft
Public Companies:
- AI + @NVIDIA (NVDA)
- Embracer (EMBRAC-B)
- Ubisoft (UBSFF)
- Take Two (TTWO)
- EA (EA)
- Unity (U)
- Applovin (APP)
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
3:19 Where are we as a games industry?
7:20 Are games recession-proof?
8:53 JK take on rise of Asia, age of efficiency
13:48 State of M&A
23:06 Rovio + @SEGA
29:08 Scopely + Savvy
32:32 Outlook on Activision acquisition by Microsoft
37:33 AI x Nvidia
47:35 Large vector to small vector game development
50:59 Embracer
52:50 Speculation on lost $2B deal by Embracer
54:50 Ubisoft
59:43 Take-Two
1:06:49 Unity
1:13:25EA
1:16:48 Applovin
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Matthew Kanterman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-k...
- Joseph Kim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
- Brian Peganoff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-peg...
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

May 23, 2023 • 49min
Mobile Growth: IDFA Deprecation Scapegoat or Reality?
Let's be real. Everyone is blaming IDFA! Listen to the top 3 reasons why any game failed over the past 6 months; it's always IDFA. How real is this?
There is a narrative today that IDFA deprecation has destroyed mobile marketing growth and made new game launches dramatically more difficult to even impossible.
The counter-narrative more often whispered in private conversations, is that the scapegoating of IDFA is false. Bad games, bad forecasts, and fundamental team problems are more to blame than IDFA.
What's the truth? Find out now by tuning into this podcast!
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:05 The real impact of IDFA deprecation
8:47 Approaches to solving IDFA deprecation
16:18 Quantifying impact of IDFA deprecation by genre
21:48 Aren't we just all back to normal?
25:08 Has IDFA deprecation driven M&A activity?
29:08 Impact on UA teams from IDFA deprecation: big losses
36:13 Apple iOS vs. Google Play for UA
39:15 Operational changes to UA
41:01 The biggest future trends to watch for
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Eran Friedman, CTO at Singular: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eranfried...
- Levi Matkins, CEO at LifeStreet: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lmatkins/
- Warren Woodward, CGO at Upptic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warrendwo...
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney • Economy of the Me...
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies • Building the Amaz...
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 • Mobile Gaming Tre...
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming • Future of PC Gami...
🔴 Games Industry M&A • Games Industry M&...
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games • Netcode for Multi...
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact • Apple IDFA Deprec...
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score • Trip Hawkins | Th...
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices • LiveOps - F2P Sal... Chapters

May 15, 2023 • 1h 7min
Diversity in a Changing World | Sarah Thomson Shares Her Experience
Sarah Thomson is a long-time games industry veteran, having had an extremely successful career in business development at companies like IUGO, Gree, Sony (PlayStation), Google, and most recently at Bad Robot Games.
We discuss her experience and thoughts on female diversity in the gaming industry. Get ready for a real discussion where we try to address topics more meaningfully.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:30 How should women be treated in the workplace, if differently from men?
6:45 JK's experience with diversity in India
9:41 Male-to-male vs. male-to-female engagement
14:50 Importance of being open on both sides | Focus on intent, understand emotions
27:30 How to give feedback when bias occurs?
31:17 Risks of giving feedback and retaliation?
36:50 Why is the games industry so male-dominated?
41:14 Benefits of different perspectives and female diversity
48:45 How to encourage diversity?
53:23 Diversity in startups vs. large organizations | Is JK copping out on diversity?
59:37 Is diversity vs. efficiency a false trade-off? The impact of macroeconomy on diversity
1:05:36 Contacting Sarah/final message from Sarah
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
• Sarah Thomson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahthomson/
• Iron Galaxy Studios: https://irongalaxystudios.com/
• Bad Robot Games: https://www.badrobotgames.com/
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Apr 2, 2023 • 7min
JK Vlog #7: Adversity, Focus on Can Do!
I'm back after a few months. Here are some recent thoughts on dealing with adversity that has come up this year. I really thought 2023 was gonna be easy! Lol. FORTUNATELY, I'm still struggling with challenges which is making me a better person. As my wife recently told me: "Don't focus on what we can't do or can't have, let's focus on what we can do." LFG everybody. Hope you're all killing it!

Mar 27, 2023 • 46min
Hypernova: Facing Adversity and Building the GTA for India!
Mayur Bhimjiyani is the CEO and co-founder of Hypernova, an India-based F2P games studio building a GTA-like game focusing on the Indian market. Mayur speaks about his background, the history behind Hypernova, and why they are building Mayanagari, a game Mayur hopes to become as successful as GTA.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:02 Why do so many Indian game devs call Hypernova the most exciting game studio in India?
4:45 Why build Mayanagari - the GTA for India?
16:33 The history behind Hypernova
22:07 Mayanagari stage and launch plans
26:10 Mayanagari monetization model
33:30 The evolution of the India games industry- RPGs
35:38 New game dev vs. liveops in India (Zynga vs. Hypernova)
40:07 Positive areas and areas of improvement for new game dev in India
44:30 What do you look forward to from India game dev market?
45:20 How to contact Mayur or find out more about Mayanagari?

Mar 21, 2023 • 25min
Sequoia Capital India on Investing in Indian Gaming Market
OUTLINE:
0:00 Sequoia Capital India introduction
0:49 Intro to Shailesh Lakhani and Prachi Pawar
3:29 Type of investments and founders they seek
4:36 Surge pre-Series A program
5:30 Specific opportunities and trends in India
9:04 Gaming opportunity in India
13:51 Specific gaming investment opportunities they seek
14:59 Why did Sequoia India invest in Lila Games?
16:30 Current investment environment, macro factors
19:19 Advice to founders based on current trends
21:10 Outlook on Web3
22:51 Advice to founders who would pitch Sequoia India
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: / gamemakersstudio
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Sequoia Capital India Website: https://www.sequoiacap.com/india/
- Shailesh Lakhani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shailesh-...
- Prachi Pawar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prachi-pa...

Mar 17, 2023 • 44min
F2P Game Startups: Keep Going or Tap Out? ft. Michael Martinez (CEO of FunCraft)
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
0:33 The "brutal" game dev environment
2:11 Current market environment vs. before
3:50 More about Funcraft and the business situation
8:15 Funcraft's biggest challenge
9:40 How do you determine what game to make?
11:52 Biggest lessons and challenges of startups vs. big companies to achieve success
14:54 Challenge of new game dev from big companies
17:20 Lessons for mobile gaming startups in current market environment
19:50 Focus vs. "don't bet the farm"
22:12 Keep going or do you tap out? When to pivot or quit?
26:55 The benefit of just being alive
28:20 Current primary challenges
31:45 Thoughts around selling your company
34:10 Advice to new entrepreneurs in F2P gaming
36:30 Thoughts on current marketing challenges
39:40 Future trends and opportunities
41:50 Final thoughts on state of market and overall market outlook
43:05 How to reach Michael
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Michael Martinez, CEO of Funcraft: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinezmichaelj/
- FunCraft: https://www.funcraft.com/
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio