The Gaming Playbook w/ Harry Phokou

Why do most good games still fail today, even with great gameplay? Markus Wilding – former marketing leader at Take-Two, 2K, and Private Division – joins me to reveal why visibility is now more critical than quality... and how developers and publishers must adapt to survive. We unpack how outdated marketing playbooks are killing games, why community building is non-negotiable, and the practical st...

In this episode of The Gaming Playbook, I sit down with Peter Fodor, founder and CEO of AppAgent, a top-tier mobile marketing agency behind games from Supercell, Netflix, and Scopely. Peter shares the unfiltered truth about why most mobile games fail to scale, the critical mistakes studios make, and how to win in today's privacy-first, saturated market. Expect deep dives into:- How to test game id...

Ever feel like your writing isn’t landing the way you want? Whether you’re posting on LinkedIn, crafting a sales page, or trying to grow an audience, better writing leads to better results. In this episode, I sit down with Matt Barker, a copywriter who’s helped businesses generate over $3M through content. We talk about what really makes writing work - without the fluff, fake authority, or overhyp...

Today’s guest is Lara Acosta, a personal branding expert, content strategist, and founder of Literally Academy. Lara went from being unemployed in 2022 to becoming the #1 female creator on LinkedIn, amassing over 300,000 followers and generating millions through her personal brand. She now teaches others how to build a standout online presence, create engaging content, and turn their audience into...

Today's guest is Hendrik Lesser, president of the European Game Developer Federation and CEO of Remote Control Productions (RCP). Hendrik started out selling and writing about games before spending nearly five years at Take-Two Interactive. In 2005, he founded Remote Control Productions (RCP), which has grown from a small startup into a global network of 16 studios, shipping over 400 projects....

Today’s guest is Ali Farha, a Senior Technical Producer at Star Stable Entertainment. Ali has helped studios build scalable technology, optimize tools, and even port a 12+-year-old game to platforms like Metal, iOS, and Android. With a background in QA and a passion for tech leadership, he’s all about creating high-performing teams and future-proofing game development. In this episode, Ali breaks...

Today’s guest is Alexander Brazie, a veteran game designer with over 20 years of experience and co-founder of Game Design Skills. Alexander has worked on some of the biggest titles in gaming, including World of Warcraft at Blizzard, League of Legends at Riot, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps at Moon Studios. With a track record of building and mentoring design teams, he’s helped ship over 32 proj...

Today’s guest is Jacob Pegs, a solopreneur, mentor, friend, and founder of Modern Maker, a coaching community. After years of web development and running a marketing agency, Jacob went solo and built a business that’s served 250+ clients, 2000+ customers, and $3.4M in client sales. He helps people craft offers that sell and create content that actually works. In this episode, Jacob shares how he b...

The Gaming Playbook's first-ever studio panel discussion features three LinkedIn powerhouses: Lara Acosta, Jacob Pegs, and Matt Barker. Episode Sponsor: Aware The LinkedIn Engagement & Analytics Tool Use code "HARRY" for 20% off at: ⁠ https://useaware.co/?fpr=harry ⁠ Lara Acosta - #1 UK Female Creator, runs Literally Academy Jacob Pegs - Founder of Modern Maker, a coaching community. Matt Bark...

Today’s guests are Lara Acosta, Luke Matthews, Matt Barker, Sam G. Winsbury, and Jacob Pegs. Lara is a personal branding expert and founder of Literally Academy, boasting 20M+ impressions and a #1 LinkedIn creator title. Luke is an AI-driven ghostwriter with 175,000 followers, known for teaching how to craft posts with precision in just 7 days. Matt is a solopreneur copywriter who left a corporate...

Today’s guests are three LinkedIn powerhouses: Nausheen I. Chen, Ryan R. Sullivan, and Danny DelVecchio. Nausheen is a 3-time TEDx speaker and public speaking coach helping leaders communicate with confidence. Ryan is a podcast strategist who’s launched 100+ successful shows for B2B companies. Danny is a video marketing expert helping founders turn LinkedIn videos into lead-generating machines. An...

Today’s guest is Kseniia Maiboroda, CEO and Co-founder of Elevatix, an AI-powered LiveOps platform built to help mobile games reach their revenue potential. With a strong high-tech and mobile gaming background, Kseniia previously led technical product management for social casino games at Playtika. Over her seven-year career, she’s delivered innovative solutions for top-grossing games, helping cli...

Today’s guest is Alexis Gresoviac, Founder of Ace Consulting Group and former Managing Director at Blizzard, Gameloft, and Huuuge Games. Alexis has been in the industry for 25 years, growing Gameloft Japan from 1 to 150 people and managing $100M dollars in budgets at Blizzard Korea. In this episode, Alexis reveals the 10 crucial things you need to get right to build a thriving gaming studio. From...

Today’s guest is Johan Tjäder, the CEO and founder of RankOne, the top platform for gamers and creators to share their passion for games. Johan has grown RankOne into a platform trusted by gamers and developers alike, with over 1.5 million games analyzed thanks to player-driven insights. His platform helps game companies understand their audiences better by offering authentic, cross-platform data...

Today’s guest is Pontus Mahler, co-founder of Agora Gaming Partners, a global investment bank and advisory firm focused on video gaming. With over a decade of experience in creating, managing, and driving projects within gaming & esports, he's now focused on creating business opportunities in the video game industry and aiding talented gaming startups in reaching the next levels with guidance,...

Today's guest is Callum Godfrey, the Head of Third Party Publishing at nDreams. With over 20 years in the gaming industry, Callum has worked with major players like Activision, EA, King, and Wargaming. He’s been involved in everything from AAA titles to mobile games and now focuses on the fast-evolving world of VR. These days, he’s back to being hands-on with game teams, leading third-party publis...

Today's guest is Chris O'Connell, a renowned recruitment mentor and host of  The Purpose-Led Leadership Podcast . Chris is a former global top biller at SThree and the founder of a £25M recruitment business, which he successfully scaled and sold. With over 75,000 LinkedIn followers and a track record of mentoring over 50 businesses, Chris now helps recruitment leaders build purpose-driven, high-pe...

Today’s guest is Christina-Marie Drake, a leading recruiter at Ghostpunch Games and founder of Moms in Gaming. With nearly a decade of experience in HR and recruitment, including five years in the gaming industry, Christina-Marie has helped connect top talent to game studios through her expertise in social networking, leadership, and strategic initiatives. A former recruiter at Naughty Dog, she tr...

Today's guest is Simran Whitham, founder and CEO of FORMAT, the award-winning events production and creative agency. With over 8 years of experience in marketing and production across the events, video games, and digital creative industries, Simran has co-founded and worked as Head of Marketing at Tri-Heart Interactive, Head of Player Engagement at Milky Tea, Lead Social Media Manager at The Lowry...

Today's guest is Tarak Ford, Head of Development at Kwalee, a leading mobile game publisher and developer that also creates games for PC and consoles. With over 12 years in the industry, Tarak started in external QA and quickly moved into leadership roles at studios like Lionhead and Crytek. At Kwalee, he’s been key in growing the team from just 20 people to over 400, opening offices around the wo...

Today’s guest is… me, Harry Phokou. I was invited to join Andrew Pappas on the Indie Game Movement podcast to discuss business development. In this episode, I shared my journey of launching a ghostwriting business back in April and offered practical tips on leveraging LinkedIn for growth in the gaming industry. We covered personal branding, optimizing LinkedIn profiles, starting meaningful convers...

Today’s guest is Raphael Colantonio, President and Creative Director at Wolf Eye Studios. Raphael Colantonio has been a prominent figure in the game industry since 1993. He founded Arkane Studios in 1999 and brought us classics like Arx Fatalis, Dark Messiah, Bioshock 2 (co-development), and the Dishonored series. With hundreds of awards to his name, Raphael co-founded WolfEye Studios in 2019, rel...

Today's guest is Kshiraj Telang, a seasoned artist and Art Director at Moon Active. With over 20 years in the entertainment industry, including over a decade in mobile games, Kshiraj has worked at 11 gaming studios worldwide, gaining a unique perspective on diverse environments. He began his career as a cartoonist, evolving into roles as an animator, web artist, and flash game designer. Now, Kshir...

Today’s guest is Selim Ozturk, founder and director of The Pixel Movement a global gaming recruitment agency. Over the last 12 years, he transitioned from sales to recruitment, excelling not only in finding the right candidates but also in building long-term partnerships. In the last four years, he focused on gaming recruitment and founded 2 agencies having placed 100s of candidates. The Pixel Mov...

Today’s guest is Ferran Punti García, The Breach Studios co-founder and CEO. With extensive experience in the gaming industry and beyond, he was a pioneer in organizing eSports championships for Starcraft and Counter-Strike1.6. He created a successful franchise of PC cafés in Spain and then pivoted to game development, working on Java and early Unity games. Later, he co-founded Kerad Games with fa...