Game Economist Cast

The entire theory of games is underpinned by this one theory, but how far can it's explanitory power be pushed?  Phillip Black ,  Christopher Kaczmarczyk-Smith , and  Eric Guan  talk cozy Pokemon habitats, merge-game economics multipliers, AI labor-market irony, and Edward Castronova's foundational work on virtual worlds. We talk: Pokopia as the Pokemon cozy game: short production chains daily-que...

Takes so hot that they were recorded late at night after a long day on the GDC floor, and couple whiskeys. Phil, Eric, and Chris crew unpack what actually mattered at GDC 2026, and what didn’t. We discuss: A sharper critique of industry thinking Too many taxonomy talks, not enough opinions Why game talks should behave more like economics seminars AI’s role on the show floor and conference Shift fr...

If the majority of mobile casuals' target audience takes Ozempic, what effect does that have on games? No one's asking these questions, so welcome to the Game Economist Cast. Weight loss drugs, AI copilots, and gambling apps dominated the most expensive media real estate on earth, and games were barely in the frame. In this episode, we unpack what that signal means for interactive entertainment, E...

Chuck E. Cheese is still alive, and so is the analytics-to-product pipeline. @Amanda Cesario analytics lead turned product leader, joins @Phillip Black, Eric, and @Christopher Kaczmarczyk-Smith argue for embedded analytics, sharper language, and game systems that actually produce cooperation instead of a cosplay community. We discuss: • The missing vocabulary for economy design in live service, an...

Is fair matchmaking actually bad design? And how exactly did gaming companies fumble the bag when it came to the army of PhD psychologists they employ? We talk: • Sweepstakes, social casino, velocity, and why most players never cash out • Why Wordle feels flat to some designers and why elegance is not the same as progression • Surveys as UX, not truth machines, and how to extract signal without ly...

What happens when autobattlers fail to monetize? We pull Arto Huhta into the cast and chat about Telegram’s pseudo-WeChat ambitions. Eric releases a distrack on Game Designer's obsessed social spaces, and Phil wants more blood from psychologists' nonsensical F2P "choice overload." Chris enleashes a model-meets-UGC experiment: a three-algorithm simulation that shows how recommendation systems disto...

UGC is about to change forever. In the same way all technologies govern and enable the creative, MTX will do the same for Fortnite. Or will it? Alex Seropian ( Look World North , The Forth Curtain ) joins the cast to discuss UEFN's ability to enable creators to monetize islands directly.  We discuss: What new games will emerge with MTX? Is UGC IP defensible?  What exactly is the endgame for UGC st...

Eric Seufert  joins to dissect AI hype, marginal ROAS, Jeremy Bentham's legacy, and managing a multi-million-dollar marketing budget that falls empirically short. WE discuss: How do you evaluate an “AI startup” in 90 seconds without being duped? Can LLM-driven hypothesis testing replace the Monday creative meeting and outperform it? If marginal ROAS is the real constraint, why do teams still optim...

Forget the endless autopsies on why Web3 gaming flatlined, @Chris gets past the clichés and gets into the real pathology: a misdiagnosis of what “play-to-earn” was ever good for.  @Eric & @Phil on vertical progression is the most important retention driver for several specific reasons The “market for lemons” problem in developer <> publisher relations: why developers can banbooze publish...

Eric covers the economy and the system’s design of Ukraine’s Drone squadron. What does economy balancing look like in the face of war? Phil can’t stop gushing about Heroes of History, but there's one economy design piece holding it up. The crew descends into a John Maynard Keynes debate as a 4* or 5* character. Chris covers the economic impact of the UK’s new obligation for internet providers, pot...

Yat Siu , Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands, steps cast to defend Web3 against @Eric and @Phil’s vigorous skepticism. @Chris just want to know why gamers don’t get it. Is Web2 fundamentally incapable of grasping the promise of open markets? What is and should be promised to token holders?  We discuss: Laying down Web3’s steelman case Why the West still doesn't get Web3 like the E...

Pokémon's patent of spherical objects throwing of cartoon creatures threatens Palword's lifeblood, while Tim Sweeney has lifted, at least a percentage point, in total gaming GDP with its injunction success. How does Apple's rent-seeking rate change in the face of this ruling? Should Apple lower its rate to 15%, like it did in subscriptions? Remember, it faced competition primarily from "webstores"...

What is the GDP-maximizing set of copyright protections? 10 years? 5 years? None at all? Chris, Eric, and I debate the relevance of patents and copyright protections and the gains to network effects of knowledge. Does the "gentlemen's agreement" to avoid patent protections on game design help or hurt the industry?  Chris talks about Monster Hunter's lineage and woeful service, while Eric introduce...

Phillip & Eric navigate the strangely subdued landscape of GDC 2025, pondering if there really is such a thing as a free lunch. Chris dials in, wondering if his absence is secretly the key to Eric's roundtable success.  They dissect the talks, the conference economics, the rise of mobile's respectability, and a guest in economy designer, Charlie Hsu. In this episode: Is the game industry actua...

The best tech firm experimentation seems to offer thousands of button color experiments. Dr. Runge has a better approach, which changes at every game development stage. We debate gaming's broken relationship with science, the proper experimentation framework, and how much you'd bet on yourself to complete Cousera assignments. Read Dr. Runge's new paper NOW! Showlinks: Julian Runge Gaming Companies...

Pokémon TCG Pocket is one of a handful of games to implement P2P trading on mobile. Yet it sucks. On purpose. As @Eric explains, their game economy needs high sinks to combat hourly sourcing of card packs. Without the nearly 80% trading tax, prices would tend toward $0. However, that's secondary to a UX that is so gimped it makes Friend Codes look seamless by comparison. We deconstruct Matthew Bal...

Loot boxes have all the markings of a moral panic. Dr. McCaffrey reviewed the emerging literature, and like the research on video game violence, it's destined for methodological malfunction. We discuss why everything isn't a loot box, the apathetic interest of economists in games, what George R.R. Martin's economic equilibrium teaches us, and how to get more people interested in economics. Follow...

Is game balance bullshit?  The crew goes toe-to-toe debating Sirland’s Don't Use Math in Balancing Games . Chris emerges from his Roblox hibernation, Eric tells us Street Fighter is more accessible than platform fighters, and Phil goes bonanza for All in Hole. 

Anti-cheat economics, web3 property rights, Deirdre McCloskey, institutional incentives, Halo UGC, and the if single player games have a natural advantage outside the West. Oh my. Dr. Jason Arentz finally guest stars, and he's bringing the econ juice, finally striking a 50/50 web3 split on the case.  Zynga Car Price Experiment: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/zynga-apologizes-for-random-dlc-pricing-...

Economist Dr. Peter G. Klein joins the cast to discuss Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company . We debate Valve's organizational structure, the evidence for manager economic impact, and Sweden's success.  Read more about Dr. Klein here and find his book below: https://hankamer.baylor.edu/person/peter-g-klein-0 https://www.amazon.com/Why-Managers-Matter-Bossless-Company/dp/15417510...

Phil and Chris return from Asia, and it's gachupon from here in-out. Eric talks vertical progression in single player games, while Chris actually agree on the future of web 2.5. The economics of unions weigh heavily: within or between professions? The crew finally makes it to THE KING PAPER; Eric and Chris make surprising revalation. Quantity discounts on a virtual good: The results of a massive p...

Eric develops an economic model to explore or exploit game development decisions, while Phil wants a block-grant style gate process to align incentives. Chris is back at Marvel Snap, and boogies with some new social casino mechanics. The team reviews a new Call of Duty matchmaking paper with some surprising and revealing data...

Can a stick of butter keep you sober during high-stakes diplomatic meetings? Eric is sure to tell us. Chris provides a compelling theory for the death of mods, while Phil undergoes a Supercell detox after analyzing Squad Buster's launch. The crew gets back in touch with their microeconomic selves and looks at one of the most interesting explanations for the gender pay gap. ONE COHORT AT A TIME: A...

Play to earn hits Steam, and the crew is here to dissect the phenomenon. Why now, and why bananas?  Phil is back into the economics of social casinos, while Chris develops a progression model for Darts. Eric and Phil debate the externalities of bots, while Chris solves for equilibrium. 

The crew convenes to square off on....what counts as a store of value? Is Match3 the best game economy of all time? Is progression a wage rate? Will Chris buy digital Gloomhaven? Was Eric among the five people who watched Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire? Will Phil get the crew on a regular posting schedule? E27 IS HERE!