Naavik Gaming Podcast

AI is all the rage right now, but unless you’re in the thick of it, it can be hard to make perfect sense of what’s possible today and where we’re headed. Will AI be a sustaining or disruptive innovation for the gaming industry? Why is the "open source vs. closed source" conversation so important? How will business models change as technology evolves? What role will humans play as AI takes over mor...

In this week's Roundtable, the squad delves into Supercell's cancellation of Floodrush and highlights from Gamescom 2023, including NetEase’s Project Mugen and Ubisoft’s Assassin's Creed Jade. We examine Sony's rationale for acquiring Audeze alongside a notable PlayStation Plus price hike. Then we unpack the advantages and target audience of Epic's new First Run exclusivity program for revenue enh...

Just about every game that integrates blockchain technology in some way is either on Ethereum, most likely via a Layer 2 solution such as Polygon or Immutable X, or is building on a more scalable but less decentralized Layer 1 chain such as Solana or Binance Smart Chain. Bitcoin, the granddaddy of blockchains, has not attracted much attention from game developers, and for good reason — on-chain tr...

The House of Blueberry is creating its own line of digital fashion, addressing a market that is expected to grow to $2.5 billion by 2028 . It began via character customization in RPGs, took center stage in design and life simulation games like The Sims, and exploded with the onset of the pandemic and UGC platforms like Roblox and Zepeto. TLDR: Drip is going digital. House of Blueberry Chief Creati...

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad gives an update on Baldur’s Gate 3's success metrics and Dark and Darker’s continuing renegade journey. We explore the seeming free fall of Free Fire through Sea Limited’s expansion struggles. We dig into cloud streaming, with an update on the PlayStation Portal and Microsoft handing streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games over to Ubisoft to appease regu...

100 Thieves is a premier lifestyle brand and gaming organization that’s building a highly unique ecosystem of products and services. This now includes esports, content creators, apparel, premium keyboards and peripherals (via Higround), energy drinks (via Juvee), and even game development (on UEFN and with Project X). In this episode, Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush is joined by John Robinson , 100 T...

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad discusses Play Ventures raising at least $78 million for its third venture fund and Savvy Games Group as the financier behind the $2 billion Embracer deal that fell apart. We dive into the early international reception for the new Gran Turismo movie and where it falls under Sony's ongoing transmedia strategy. We dissect the information Zynga released about its...

Together with Dive , one of our Open Gaming Research Initiative partners, we’re exploring the topic of data and games through a limited podcast series called "The Data Corner." Today’s episode covers the topic of “the data nightmare that the gaming industry faces." Games, in general, generate tons of player data every day, and within that data exists a ton of harvestable insight that can be used t...

There are more than 3 billion gamers in the world, but the number of gaming professionals interested in business and development content pales in comparison, with approximately 300,000 people employed in the U.S. games business, according to market researcher IBIS World. Niche content curation and content creation companies like Deconstructor of Fun, GameMakers, Elite Game Developers, Naavik, and...

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad discusses the massively successful launch of Baldur’s Gate 3. Sebastian shares a story around monetizing Dota 2 Arcade mods under the nose of Valve’s lawyers in light of the recent Arcade shutdown. We also have an earnings discussion covering Playstudios and Playtika that leads to a deep exploration of the future of the social casino genre on mobile. Finally, w...

As virtual worlds become more immersive and widespread, how we all represent ourselves — via avatars — becomes all the more important. That’s why Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush sat down with Genies founder and CEO Akash Nig am to discuss the future of avatars and Genies’ rising role in it. The two of them discuss Genies’ history and focus, why XR will unleash a new wave of avatar use cases, what ava...

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad discusses Inworld AI raising $50+ million for AI NPCs in games, plus Playtika's acquisition of Youda Games. Then after a short discussion on EA’s earnings report, we discuss the demise of physical games and retail outlets like GameStop. Finally, we peel apart the success of BattleBit Remastered to figure out what other game developers can learn from this surpri...

Mythical Games is one of the busiest operators in the web3 ecosystem, with a finger in many pies. The company is the creator of the licensed mobile football game NFL Rivals, which crossed 1 million downloads just a couple of months after its launch earlier this year, and Blankos Block Party, a ​​multiplayer universe available on the Epic Games Store. In addition, Mythical operates the Mythos Found...

Influencer houses, influencer agencies, and influencer campaigns — these are some of the most important forces in gaming distribution. Nadia Bubennikova , Head of Agency at Famesters , walks us through two campaigns on a Rust Expansion Pack in Dying Light and an Eastern European user acquisition play in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.  We learn how a campaign comes together, what types of games qualify...

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad discusses Tencent becoming a majority shareholder of Techland and what Blizzard bringing some of its games to Steam could mean for the company pre and post-acquisition. Then we explore how CD Projekt making workforce cuts could affect its plans going forward for franchises like The Witcher and Cyberpunk. We dig into how big brand changes can affect future succe...

Chris Bell and Stephen Bell have been involved in several defining games like Journey, Sky: Children of the Light, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Blaseball. However, their new project is tackling a whole new level of ambition. In this episode, Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush joins the Bell brothers to discuss their new company Gardens , its unique game in development, and how this project both buil...

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad discusses the latest news on how mobile platforms are enacting blockchain policies. In particular, we hit on Google Play’s new blockchain policy, how it differs from Apple’s App Store policy, how these rules affect mobile game design, and the overall current blockchain game development sentiment. Then we discuss how AI game development studios are gaining fundi...

Zach Dixon is the co-founder and COO of Player’s Lounge , an app and service that allows players to bet on themselves across games like FIFA, Madden, NBA2k, Apex, and Valorant. Many of us know the story of Skillz, the real-money gaming and esports company that was building betting rails for casual mobile games, and may be dubious of how player betting fits into the gaming ecosystem. However, in th...

In this week's Roundtable, we discuss the FTC losing its court case to block Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and explore what Xbox Game Pass means for developers. We also touch on Meta's new social network Threads hitting 100 million users and Final Fantasy XVI's supposedly “disappointing” 373,790 in physical Japan sales after two weeks as a $70 PS5 exclusive. With 87% of games befo...

David Gardner , co-founder and co-chairman of The Motley Fool, is not just a legendary investor, but he has also pulled off something special: successfully embedding game design into his life and business. In this episode, Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush joins David to ask how gamification can level up anyone’s life or business. They also discuss how David’s “Rule Breaker Investing” principles can ap...

In this week's Roundtable, the crew discusses whether Sony may open up its PlayStation audience to Roblox, Unity's new AI tools Sentis and Muse alongside its new AI marketplace, and Scopely's acquisition of Tag Games. We also touch on why Niantic laid off a quarter of its staff after announcing multiple new games and what its reorganization means for Pokémon Go. Also on the agenda is Square Enix i...

Most Web3 game economies, even the most successful ones from the earliest days of the genre, have struggled in recent quarters, in part due to fundamentally unsustainable economics / tokenomics. But in this episode, we’re discussing one of the more notable exceptions: the France-based fantasy sports game Sorare. Launched on Ethereum in 2019, the game generated nearly $350 million in secondary mark...

Is greenlighting really that different? Who leads innovation, and who fast follows? Should you accept your gaming startup offer? Lee Reed is Studio Product Lead at Infinity Ward, and Jess Adepoju is a Lead Producer at Bad Robot Games and consultant at The Indie Intellectual. In this episode, we frame gaming studios and incumbents in the Innovator’s Dilemma of “low-end versus new market disruptions...

We’re halfway through 2023, so let’s pause, reflect, and think about the future. This episode’s panelists – Aaron Bush , Anil Das-Gupta , Jonathan Anastas , plus host Devin Becker – discuss their standout games of 2023 so far, what trends have defined the industry lately, what’s currently over- and under-hyped, and what they’re watching closely as the rest of the year unfolds. This wide-ranging co...

Nexon is one of the largest and best-performing companies in the gaming industry, but too few Western onlookers fully know why the business excels. That changes today. Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney joins Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush to discuss his journey in games, what he’s learned from leading a large global business, and how Nexon builds long-lasting virtual worlds. They also discuss the importance of...