Venture Games

In Episode 55 of Venture Games, my guest Adam Arrigo, CEO and Co-Founder at Wave, discusses his 15+ year career at the intersection of gaming and music; his experience working with major artists like Justin Bieber and emerging artists; and the future of virtual concerts and VR.

In Episode 54 of Venture Games, my guest Gordon Bellamy discusses his 30+ year career in gaming; his experience as a game designer at Electronic Arts in the 90s, including on the Madden franchise; and the evolution of the gaming industry and innovation over the past several decades.

In Episode 53 of Venture Games, my guest Ilia Eremeev, Founder at The Games Fund discusses his fund's focus on emerging markets including Eastern Europe and MENA; some of the opportunities and challenges to consider when investing in emerging regions; his optimistic view on the growth of the games industry; and advice for founders navigating the current macroeconomic environment.

In Episode 52 of Venture Games, my guest Eden Chen, Founder & CEO at Pragma discusses the growing trend of game studios outsourcing their backend tech; why choosing the right approach to backend tech is crucial to a game studio's success; his thoughts on AA studios given recent challenges in the space; and fundraising advice for founders building infrastructure companies in the gaming space.

In Episode 51 of Venture Games, my guest Sarah Fuchs, Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Muus Collective discusses her 20+ year career in gaming; her studio's recently soft launched fashion game Bellemint; Muus' unique partnership with the next-gen fashion retailer REVOLVE; and her approach to building a healthy, supportive culture at Muus.

In Episode 50 of Venture Games, my guest Dennis Fong, Founder & CEO at GGWP discusses becoming the world's first professional gamer; his 25+ year career in gaming, tech, and entrepreneurship; and how his latest company GGWP is using AI to address gaming's moderation challenges.

In Episode 49 of Venture Games, my guest Sean Ryan, CEO at Zoot, discusses his 25+ year career in gaming, tech, and entrepreneurship; founding the early metaverse company Meez, and the evolution of the metaverse; his 10+ years working in gaming and platform partnerships at Facebook; and his latest venture Zoot, a next generation social gaming platform with sweepstakes prizing options.

In Episode 48 of Venture Games, my guest Tim Bender, CEO at Hooded Horse discusses the indie game publisher model; publishing the medieval-themed breakout hit Manor Lords; factors to consider when selecting a publishing partner; and how to appropriately gauge success for early access titles.

In Episode 47 of Venture Games, my guest Phil Sanderson, Co-Founder and Senior Partner at Griffin Gaming Partners discusses his updated views on the gaming industry and the venture landscape; the continued convergence of large IPs and gaming; and AI's potential impact on the gaming industry.

In Episode 46 of Venture Games, my guest Matt Ball, CEO at Epyllion, discusses the current state of the gaming industry, with “black hole games” capturing a large share of players’ time and spend; how advancements in AI could potentially help disrupt the status quo in the industry; and his current views on the metaverse, ahead of the highly-anticipated July 23rd release of the updated edition to h...

In Episode 45 of Venture Games, my guest Anton Bernstein, co-founder and CEO at Pocket Worlds discusses his company's avatar-focused virtual world, Highrise; the evolution of metaverses and virtual worlds over the past decade; the roles that User-generated content, commerce, and AI play in the metaverse and on Highrise today; and some thoughts on the future of the metaverse.

In Episode 44 of Venture Games, my guest Kristian Segerstrale, CEO at Super Evil Megacorp discusses his decades-long career in gaming; co-founding Glu Mobile and Playfish; leading the seed investment round in Supercell; and the learnings from Vainglory.

In Episode 43 of Venture Games, my guest Tim Train, GM of Marvel Snap at Second Dinner discusses his decades-long career in gaming; founding multiple companies, including Big Huge Games; leveraging popular IPs as a user acquisition strategy in today's competitive mobile gaming environment; and how Marvel Snap has innovated to achieve breakthrough success in the Collectible Card Game genre.

In Episode 42 of Venture Games, my guest Trip Hawkins discusses founding Electronic Arts, 3DO, and Digital Chocolate; collaborating with legendary sports figures such as Dr. J, Larry Bird, and John Madden; stories and lessons learned throughout his decades-long career in tech and gaming; and advice for entrepreneurs building companies today.

In Episode 41 of Venture Games, my guest Uri Marchand, CEO & Co-Founder at Overwolf discusses the evolution of modding and User-Generated Content (UGC) in games; how large IP owners could benefit from embracing creator platforms; how GenAI might impact UGC; and advice for founders building in the UGC space today.

In Episode 40 of Venture Games, my guest John Fazio, CEO & Founder at Nerd Street, discusses why in-person esports venues and events are still necessary in the post-COVID world; his vision for the future of the esports industry; and his candid advice for founders navigating the ups and downs of building a venture-backed business.

In Episode 39 of Venture Games, my guest Mark Otero, CEO & Founder at Azra Games, discusses his 15-year career building and leading RPG games, including Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes; the process he uses to bring deep, captivating RPG universes to life; and some advice for founders building and fundraising in today’s more challenging environment

In Episode 38 of Venture Games, my guest Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat, discusses his 25+ year career as a gaming journalist; his infamous Cuphead video; and some of the many trends he has covered throughout his career.

In Episode 37 of Venture Games, my guest Austin Woolridge, CEO at Players' Lounge, discusses raising capital from leading institutional investors and individual investors like Strauss Zelnick, Drake, & Marissa Mayer; why skill-based gaming is a massive opportunity today; and why Players' Lounge's new product, which allows players to bet against the house, is a game changer in skill-based gaming.

In Episode 36 of Venture Games, my guest Tim Morten, Production Director & CEO at Frost Giant Studios, discusses Stormgate, the company's upcoming RTS game; building a new IP universe; why the RTS genre is ripe for innovation; and some thoughts on the fundraising environment for startups building PC and console games today.

In Episode 35 of Venture Games, my guest Joe Schaeppi, CEO and Co-Founder at Solsten, discusses the battle for player attention, the power of player psychology in game development, and the future of personalization.

In Episode 34 of Venture Games, my guest Christian Facey, CEO & Co-Founder at Audiomob, discusses the current and future audio advertising landscape in gaming; the benefits of audio ads compared to alternatives; and why audio advertising is particularly attractive in emerging markets like Africa and India.

In Episode 33 of Venture Games, my guest Shawn Foust, COO & Co-Founder at Fortis Games, discusses his career as a serial entrepreneur; his company's focus on design advancement; why he's still optimistic about innovation in the gaming industry; and his thoughts on major tech trends impacting the gaming landscape.

In Episode 32 of Venture Games, my guest Arseny Lebedev, CEO at Original Games, discusses his company's flagship merge game, Merge Inn; navigating the challenges he and his team faced due to the war in Eastern Europe; maintaining good mental health as a startup founder; and raising VC funding in a challenging macroeconomic environment

In Episode 31 of Venture Games, my guest Denis Dyack, CEO at Apocalypse Studios, discusses his 30-year career in gaming, including founding Silicon Knights in the 90s; working with gaming industry legends including Hideo Kojima and Shigeru Miyamoto; and Apocalypse's upcoming narrative-driven Action RPG game, Deadhaus Sonata.