Deconstructor of Fun

Are you ready for the Merger & Acquisition Masterclass? Learn from Chris Petrovic, former Zynga Head of Corporate Strategy, why game companies venture into M&A, what are the biggest challenges and reasons leading to failed deals, current M&A trends, and more.

As Microsoft reorgs Xbox leadership, we debate who could be the perfect person to replace Bobby Kotick as the CEO of Activision. We also discuss why our industry has all the layoffs in the middle of breaking sales records. And we also talk about games: Mario Wonder, Supercell's Mo. Co and Wonder Blast from Good Game Studios. shoutout to our world-class spornsors: AppsFlyer, Xsolla, Heroic Labs...

In this episode, we explore the unique challenges and successes of a remarkable woman CEO in the gaming industry. Our guest, Carol Miu, has shattered glass ceilings and achieved incredible milestones throughout her career. We'll dive deep into her journey, discussing gender disparities in the CEO role, her most memorable achievements in maintaining work-life balance, industry evolution, and he...

How do game companies get press for their new games, big company moments, or new hires? We ask Neil Long, founder and editor of Mobilegamer.biz , for tips and tricks on how to approach game media to get press. Neil Long is the founder and editor of mobilegamer.biz, a new site for the mobile games business. He started out in games industry journalism almost 20 years ago, and before launching mobile...

The non-sick trifecta of Kress, Phil, and Jen hold down the fort. Kress pushed back on the India opportunity, arguing it's only for the top-of-the-top games. The gang revisits the Unity runtime fee news with new insights and quotes reported by Mobilegamer.biz . Shameless speculation ensues about Microsoft's declining success with Game Pass, meaning they might want to cancel it. What happen...

How to deal with negative feedback? And the importance of self-esteem, self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-evaluation.  In today’s Episode joined by my friend and former colleague, Sophie Vo. Sophie comes with 15 years of experience in the games industry working at companies like Gameloft, Wooga, Rovio, Voodoo, and Savage Game Studios. Sophie is perhaps best known for her Rise & Play pod...

According to Niko Partners , the India games market is projected to generate almost $900M in 2023 with almost ½ a billion players.  That's growth of 21% YOY from 2022 for revenue and 12% for the number of players. Probably the most interesting stat is that 97% of India’s gamers play on smartphones. To dig in, we got the platform experts to come and highlight the various opportunities, from ove...

Laura and Phil deep dive into Monster Hunter's early positive numbers in Japan before arguing over Warcraft Rumble's design and art choice. Jen and Kress put the Activision and Microsoft merger to rest while setting up their fantasy drafts for new CEOs of Activision, post-Bobby Kotick's departure at the end of 2023, and Unity, post-John Riccitiello's departures. Finally, the team r...

Is there an opportunity for AR gaming on mobile after all the attention coming to AR from the Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro? Here to unpack that topic is Asad J Malik, CEO of Jaru AR. Asad is an augmented reality pioneer whose critically acclaimed narrative storytelling projects positioned him as a visionary in the space before completing his undergraduate degree. He has directed next-generati...

Mishka takes a break from his Chatty Cat Euro Tour and joins the podcast with the fabulous, Jen Donahoe, Laura Taranto, Phillip Black, and Eric Kress. The crew discusses the legacy of John Riccitiello's, who stepped down as the CEO of Unity. We also talk about how EA is doing after getting rid of FIFA and deconstruct TakeTwo's latest mobile game, Top Troops. Donate to those impacted by the war: ht...

Needless to say, the games industry is going through a rough patch after a decade of booming growth. That is why this episode, with a16z’s Jordan Mazer, is very relevant both for companies and individuals.  Jordan has unrivaled experience scaling high-performing teams at Amazon, Scopely, and Riot. He has interviewed thousands, if not tens of thousands professionals, Jordan shares invaluable insigh...

Join us in Tel Aviv > LINK The fabulous four discuss Epic's massive layoffs, Netflix's Love is Blind, Fortnite's price increases, and Unity CEO, John Riccotello's Hosts: Jen Donahue, Laura Taranto, Eric Kress and Philip Black Thanks to our world-class sponsors: AppsFlyer, Heroic Labs, Data.ai and Xsolla

Co-host of TWIG, Jen Donahoe, kicks off her one-on-one deep dive series of podcasts designed to give listeners actionable tips from experts in the game industry across marketing, publishing, media, and more. First up, Robin Gray from Gray Media, founder of Gayming Magazine, the world's only LGBTQ video game magazine, and creator of the Gayming Awards, coming April 2024. They discuss the benefi...

Join us in Tel Aviv > SIGNUP We have the full crew back in the house Together we analyze the latest turns in the Unity saga and most importantly (or least importantly) tell what we'd do should we be running the company. We also debate the role of Big Tech in the game industry's future.

SPEEDRUN >>> application link Do you have 15 minutes, a strong core team, and an idea you dream about pursuing? If you said yes three times, you're in for an opportunity of a lifetime, also known as SPEEDRUN . SPEEDRUN is a program for game startups, unlike anything you've seen before: All teams accepted to the program receive 500k funding from a16z. That’s one of the best venture...

Tel Aviv Game Executive Brunch > SIGN UP With Mishka multiple Spritz's deep in Italy and Laura somewhere in a Turkish Hot Air Ballon, Jen, Eric, and Phil get to the meat and potatoes: Go-DOT or GOD-oh? Unity’s proposed runtime response is public, while Eric uncovers buried AppLovin news… You can’t hide from the Kress! Jen reminds us that Privacy Manifest is here, and it’s coming for your fi...

Tune in for a captivating exploration of AI's impact on the gaming industry with Pieter Kooyman, CEO and Founder of Half Moon Studios. We discuss the role of AI from the perspectives of new and established organizations, C-level executives, individual contributors, and the ethical and emotional dimensions of this transformative technology. Don't miss out on this discussion!

Let's not mess around. You're here to hate listen as we dissect the PR firestorm coming out of Unity this week. We know it. You know it. Let's get into it!

We dive deep into the ever-evolving world of gaming, exploring the latest trends, successes, and challenges in the global gaming market. We start by dissecting the landscape of mobile, PC, and console gaming. Tackle the question of what's working in the gaming industry, dissecting the impact of AI, the rise of handheld consoles, the promise of transmedia experiences, and the growth of cloud ga...

This week, Ethan sits down with Kayla Kinnunen , Executive Producer for the Minecraft Creator Platform. She explains how the platform empowers Minecraft creators to craft amazing content and share it with millions of players around the world. To date, Minecraft Creators have earned payouts of over $500 million crafting content for the worldwide sensation's still massive audience of over 140 MA...

In this podcast episode, we dive into the remarkable success of the Nintendo Switch and what lies ahead for Nintendo. The Switch has surpassed Wii's total US sales and is closely trailing the Xbox 360 and PS2 in worldwide sales. We explore why it has thrived, including its handheld/console hybrid design, an impressive lineup of first-party games, broad demographic appeal, and Nintendo's st...

In this power-packed episode, Joe Schaeppi shares his secrets of success for business leaders, founders, and innovators. From mastering board meetings to becoming the ultimate hub for innovators, building cultural diversity, nurturing empathy, and cracking the code on tricky interviews, this episode is a goldmine of invaluable insights to sharpen your entrepreneurial skills and propel your company...

We have a full house! Phil and Mishka are back from Gamescom reminiscing their flourishing bromance causing Kress to gag (he’s just jealous). We talk about the recently announced slate of games. Jen and Laura debate Netflix Stories. And we summarize the latest market insight report from Data.ai. Link > Helsinki VIP Happy Hour

A $55M seed round for a mobile gaming company sounds like a mistake until you talk to Rina Onar, the CEO of the company that raised it. Rina is the co-founder of Peak Games, which sold to Zynga for nearly 2 billion Dollars. But instead of taking it easy after 13 grueling years growing Turkey's first unicorn games company, Rina hopped back on the grind mobile with her ex-Peak co-founders and is...

With Mishka and Phil living it up with all our lovely listeners at Gamescom, and Ethan to busy building to play pundit this week, it's everyone's three favorite hosts - Kress , Jen and Laura - holding down the fort without any deadweight dragging them down :) This week the crew goes deep on cozy games following the successful beta for cozy MMO Palia as well as discussing Gossip Harbor and...