Deconstructor of Fun

This was a BIG week for console and PC games. We talk about Diablo 4, Modern Warfare 2, Overwatch 2, Stormgate... We got our first take on all of them. We also discuss Summer Game Fest, Saudi Arabia's $1B investment into Embracer, and how to optimally spend a massive stack of cash in Diablo Immortal. As always, we kick off the episode with corrections. Keep the (anonymous) feedback coming and we'l...

A couple of months ago we covered BANDAI NAMCO’s new studio in Barcelona assessing their 4-day work weeks, lack of hierarchy, and deadlines (you can read our analysis here ). We concluded that it all sounded almost too good to succeed. Well, Massimo Caporale, who heads mobile publishing at the BANDAI NAMCO Mobile, heard our analysis and wanted to come on the podcast to elaborate more and share wha...

Adam does a light dive on Diabo Immortal after playing it intensively since launch. Eric Kress breaks down the decline of the mobile games market by looking at the performance of top genres and titles. Eric Seufert analyzes Apple's update to SKAd Network. The crew also talks E3, Pokemon Go passing $6 billion in lifetime revenue, and Summer Game Fest with Geoff Keighlye.  Links: Questions and...

Though veteran game designer spacedog chooses to remain anonymous, trust us, you've played some of the hit free-to-play games she has contributed to. As one of the developers behind the upcoming blockchain game Void Runners , spacedog recently authored the whitepaper for the game and iterated on it in public with her discord community .  In this interview, we discuss Void Runners, the conside...

The most comprehensive breakdown of the Battle Pass system in games. This analysis discusses best practices, biggest fumbles, and optimal ways to price and balance Battle Pass in your game.  Host and Guest: Mishka Katkoff & Javier Barnes Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google , ironSource , Xsolla , Recur

This episode is all about headwinds. The crew discusses the global mobile gaming market, which is according to Data.ai set to hit $222 billion this year. Eric Kress dissects Sony’s investor day. The crew also predicts Apex Mobile’s success, marvels Diablo Immortal, and discusses Catalyst Black as an example of why MOBAs just don’t work in the West. Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google ,...

Lately, there's been a lot of talk about Xbox building an advertising program and the implications this program may have on both business and players. We're joined by Dave Madden, President of PlayerWON, to discuss the best practices for in-game ads within PC and console games. Dave has plenty of insights to share as his company, PlayerWON, is the pioneer of in-game ads in the free-to-play console...

Eric Kress dismantles the rumors of EA being for sale. Eric Seufert analyzes Snap's multiple lowered guidances. Laura Taranto looks into TikTok's push into gaming. Team also discusses recent two big mobile launches: APEX Legends from EA and Dislyte from Lilith. And what would be a TWIG episode without hearing the latest of Kress' son's basketball life... Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Goo...

Before he joined L1 solution WAX as their Chief Gaming Officer, Michael Rubinelli had a long and accomplished career in gaming. Spanning companies including EA, THQ, Midway, Take Two, Disney, and Kixeye, Michael’s career has taken him across many gaming platforms and business model transitions. In this interview, we talk about how WAX is the L1 solution purpose-built for gaming, the challenges of...

The $600M GAMES FUND ONE, a16z’s inaugural fund dedicated to building the future of the games industry. A16Z has been investing in games for over a decade being the investor of the likes of Zynga and Oculus.  We're joined by Jonathan Lai, General Partner at A16Z to discuss what makes GAMES FUND ONE stand out from the rest of the gaming and interactive media funds.  Jonathan also breaks d...

We discuss why Ubisoft shifts attention to mobile amidst declining sales. Kress provides a breakdown of the AppLovin quarterly review, where the company put on a show of the ages and got rewarded with a 35% growth in their stock price. We talk about Bethesda's delayed games and the implication of this. Adam breaks down why brain trust, which sounds so amazing on paper, rarely if ever works in real...

If you’ve been following crypto news over the past few weeks, you’ve undoubtedly seen plenty about the dramatic collapse of the Terra ecosystem against the backdrop of the onset of crypto winter. 30 days ago, $LUNA was at $81.45 and is now under $0.0002. $UST was at $1.00. and is now $0.09. Today we are joined by special guest Kenrick Drijkoningen , General Partner at Play Ventures and an early in...

Patrick Carney (aka. Chief Pat) is the founder and CEO of Tribe Gaming, an esports and influencer company for mobile games with over 100M monthly views on YouTube. Together with Pat, we talk about how to be successful with influencer marketing on YouTube. We discuss finding the right influencer for your game and how to get these influencers to talk about your game in an authentic way. Pat also ana...

We discuss the crash of crypto and how it affects blockchain gaming. Dive deep into Space Ape's development process and compare it to the one Wooga used to unsuccessfully follow before the Playtika acquisition. Kress explains why FIFA is the one to lose out after the breakup with EA. Links: Questions and Feedback The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff , Eric Kress , Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric...

The recent launch of Moonbirds is shaping up to be the best NFT drop of 2022 yielding up to $280M. In this episode, we dive into why it worked so well, as well as the lessons learned and actionable takeaways for gaming.  The premium of Utility NFTs is growing rapidly, and we’re witnessing the growth in real-time with innovative projects like Moonbirds that build upon previous successful proje...

We discuss the mixed reviews of APEX Mobile. Congratulate Bernard Kim on his latest baller move. Doom Warcraft mobile. In this episode Kress also ponders why NewZoo keeps triggering him. Seufert updates us on the latest anti-trust charges Apple is facing.   Links: Questions and Feedback The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff , Eric Kress , Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert Sponsors: Goo...

Shahaf started a company called ominously Web3 back in 2006. Since then he has been at the forefront of the adaptation of blockchain technology first within finance and now within games as the President of UnCaged Studios . In this episode, we discuss the reasons why blockchain and crypto broke into the mainstream last year. Why do investors remain bullish about blockchain gaming despite massive s...

Kress gets triggered by Newzoo's new report about the state of esports and live streaming. The team discusses ex-Riot and ex-Blizzard founding teams. Recap of why advertising in console games is not a good idea. Our take on Diablo Immportal coming to mobile and PC and analysis of why private equities are eying Ubisoft.  Links: Questions and Feedback The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff , Eri...

Chris Heatherly ’s long and accomplished career in the games industry spans toys, MMOs, mobile, free-to-play, and VR and includes work on some of the biggest brands in the world. He spent over 14 years at Disney where he worked on everything from leading smash-hit kid’s MMO Club Penguin, to leading their mobile initiative, to leading their toys business. After Disney, he joined NBCU to launch thei...

Heated take on the mobile market downturn. Discussion about Microsoft's move into the in-game ads business. What does a co-CEO mean for Huuuge games and why does the newest World of Warcraft expansion matters.  Links: Questions and Feedback The Newsletter The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff , Eric Kress , Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert Sponsors: Google , ironSource , Appsflyer , X...

News: Meta’s Horizon worlds monetization Sensor Tower: Q1 2022 mobile games spending dropped 7.1% to $21 billion Metaverse Articles (NFT Avatars, DOgs, and Epic + LEGO Metaverse) Check out: Avatar Platform for Cross-App Metaverse with Timmu Tõke, CEO of Ready Player Me , and Javier Barne's exquisite talk on game economies Links: Questions and Feedback The Newsletter The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka K...

I'll be honest. Before sitting down with Uri Marchand the most I knew about Overwolf is the ridiculous story that the company is going full remote and setting up their offices in the metaverse of Roblox. Based on that Roblox story I knew we'd hit it off. After all, I too love pranking Web3 fanatics. I'm happy I got to talk to Uri and Lee McNeil . There are simply no better people to discuss user-g...

News: With E3 2022 Canceled, Is It Time to Cancel E3 for Good? Gaming agency Loaded raises $20M in funding Why Netflix Should Sell Ads Links: The Istanbul Event Questions and Feedback The Newsletter The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff , Eric Kress , Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert Sponsors: Google , ironSource , Appsflyer , PlayerWon HELP UKRAINIANS: For refugees fleeing to Poland: Poli...

It’s the biggest hack in crypto history. As reported in The Verge et all, a hacker stole $625 million from the blockchain behind NFT game Axie Infinity . In this episode, we wanted to really dig into the mechanics of the Ronin sidechain, the Ronin bridge, and the likely form the attack took in order to explain the hack in simple, easy to understand terms. We end up referencing Ocean’s 11… a lot. W...

Many of us know how to develop a game. Many of us are experienced in running live operations. Yet only a few of us truly know how to successfully navigate through a soft launch and ship a modern mobile game. In this episode,  Annelie Biernat  (Game Director at Wooga) and  Aaron Hiscox  (Business Development Manager at Google Play) shared their insights and learnings on how to s...