Naavik Gaming Podcast

(Apologies for Mic Quality issues in the last 2 minutes!)  On this week’s Crypto Corner, StriderDAO cofounder and CEO Andrew Green joins your host Nico Vereecke for a deep dive into Strider -  a web3 platform and toolset that helps harness the creative power of communities to build new game and entertainment IP. If you would like us to discuss any other blockchain gaming-related topics, do reach o...

In this episode, Sophie Vo – founder of Rise and Play, as well as a game / studio lead – joins Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush to discuss: #1 What is conscious leadership and why does it matter #2 How to best lead teams among change – remote work, studio restructuring, layoffs, and more – as well as how to make teams antifragile #3 How she assesses conscious leadership in founders as an early stage i...

In this Metacast episode, Aaron Bush , Anil Das-Gupta and Lars Doucet , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Earnings Update: What’s next for Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft? #2 Google’s Interstitial Ads Rules: Do the new rules spell doom for the hyper-casual mobile genre? #3 TikTok’s Mini-games: How do games help deliver TikTok’s strategy? Also, a big thanks to data.ai for supporting all...

On this week’s Crypto Corner, Play Ventures’ Anton Backman and Konvoy Ventures’ Philip Collins join your host Nico Vereecke for discussion about how we see the Web3 Gaming space evolve over the next 2 years. We go into: Building Games vs building Tooling/Infrastructure Innovation on Gameplay Design vs Tokenomics What types of Games will be most successful And more! If you would like us to discuss...

In this episode, Matthew Ball – brilliant thinker, prolific essayist, active investor, founder of Ball Metaverse Research Partners, a producer of media, and now a published author – joins Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush to discuss: #1 His new book, The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything, which can be purchased here : https://www.amazon.com/Metaverse-How-Will-Revolutionize-Everything/...

In this Metacast episode, Anthony Pecorella , David Amor and Tim Mannveille , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Web Forums vs Discord Social Hubs: Are web forums a thing of the past? #2 Misleading Ads - Innovation or Scourge: Should misleading UA ads be incentivized? #3 Polygon Announce zkEVM: What does the new tech bring to blockchain game development? #4 UK Government Loot Boxes Self...

On this week’s Crypto Corner, BreederDAO Cofounder and CEO Renz Chong joins your host Nico Vereecke for a no-nonsense discussion about Play-to-Earn/Play-and-earn, inter-game arbitrage, NFT-based Breeding Ponzi’s and the future of the Web3 Metaverse. If you would like us to discuss any other blockchain gaming-related topics, do reach out at nicolas@naavik.co or metacast@naavik.co . We’d love to hea...

In this Metacast episode, Matt Dion and Tammy Levy , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Benefits and Challenges of Player Polls: How does player polling affect Old School RuneScape? Based on NME’s article . #2 Russia’s National Game Engine: How could national game engines shape the world? #3 Unity x ironSource Merger: How does the merger benefit both companies? If you would like us to d...

On this week’s Crypto Corner, Magicave cofounders Harry Holmwood and Ste Curran your host Nico Vereecke for a conversation about the future of Digital Toys. Magicave is crafting digital hobbies centred around beautiful, playful, tactile virtual items, which sit at the heart of an ecosystem of games, apps, players and creators. The company's first project, dNo (short for ‘d-Number’), marries collec...

In this episode, Raph Koster – legendary game designer, author of Theory of Fun for Game Design , and CEO of Playable Worlds – joins Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush to discuss: #1 How to evolve and grow as a game designer #2 The mission of Playable Worlds, what it means to build a “metaverse platform,” and the future of MMORPGs #3 His advice about metaverse standards, player-owned economies, and digi...

In this Metacast episode, Abhimanyu Kumar and Aaron Bush , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 M&A and Growth by Acquisition: Who could still make billion-dollar acquisitions during a market downturn? What future awaits companies that rely on growth by acquisition strategies? #2 Market Cycle in Full Swing: What consequences are we seeing from the market downturn? #3 Crypto Gaming’s S...

On this week’s Crypto Corner, Anton Bernstein , CEO and co-founder of Pocket Worlds , joins your host Nico Vereecke for a conversation about the future of social connectivity and play. Pocket Worlds is the creator of Highrise and Everskies , two leading mobile Metaverses with a combined userbase of more than 15 million players. We discuss his entrepreneurial journey, learnings from creating highly...

In this Metacast episode, Anthony Pecorella , Anil Das-Gupta and Matt Dion , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Investing in Interestingness: Could setting goals actually be counterproductive when creating innovative games? #2 Fully On-Chain Games: Is this a direction the industry should go towards, or is it just an academic curiosity? #3 Traditional Console Developers and Mobile: Consi...

Winter is here. On this week’s Crypto Corner, BITKRAFT Crypto Team members Carlos Pereira and Jamie Wallace join your host (and their colleague) Nico Vereecke to discuss the current state of Web3 fundraising. Now that expectations have come back to earth, what’s the best way forward for Studio Founders? What do you do when the price of your token is unfairly low? How should you approach fundraisin...

In this episode, Eric Kress , principal of Gossamer Consulting Group and co-host of the Deconstructor of Fun podcast , joins Naavik co-founder Aaron Bush to discuss: #1 What’s driving negative games industry growth rates and where there’s underlying strength #2 How this recession may play out differently from previous ones for gaming companies #3 His analysis on companies including Microsoft, Embr...

In this Metacast episode, Brett Nowak , Anil Das-Gupta and Matt Dion , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Solana’s Web3 Mobile Phone: What problems is Solana solving by developing a web3 phone? #2 Miniclip Acquires Sybo: How does the acquisition benefit both Miniclip and Sybo? #3 Are Games Recession Proof: Could the impacts vary depending on game platform and monetisation models? #4 For...

The Future of Gaming is fully decentralized and is built on Autonomous Worlds and Digital Physics.  On this week’s Crypto Corner, tech pioneer Justin Glibert shares his vision with your host Nico Vereecke . Justin heads up the ‘Autonomous Worlds’ division at 0xPARC , a foundation promoting R&D and Infrastructure around Decentralized Platform. 0xPARC is currently best known for its significant...

In this Metacast episode, Joost van Dreunen , and Aaron Bush , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Diablo Immortal Game Launch Results: Did the P2W uproar affect the game’s launch results? #2 Offroad Unchained Launch: What’s this fun new racing game and why could it struggle with performance? #3 Meta Doubles Down on VR and Gaming: What has changed with Meta’s Reality Labs over the past f...

Chris Clay has been working on games for over two decades. He has spent the last 3 years building and operating one of the most popular and sustainable Blockchain Games in the world, Gods Unchained . Together with Alex Takei , he joins your host Nico Vereecke for a deep dive into Gods Unchained, learnings from 3 years of Web3 game building, advantages and disadvantages of using Blockchain technolo...

In this Metacast episode, Abhimanyu Kumar , Lars Doucet and Tim Mannveille , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Riot x Game Pass: What’s in it for Riot and will it affect their monetisation strategy? #2 Who Is Savvy Gaming Group: Why did they invest in Embracer Group? #3 Dark Forest Research Sneak Peak: How did Dark Forest develop a game fully on-chain? #4 Apple Says “Fingerprinting is...

What are the differences between 1 and 2 token models for games? How can you leverage them to make a sustainable economy? Tokenomics experts Nat Eliason and Defi Vader join your host Nico Vereecke for a deep dive. If you would like us to discuss any other blockchain gaming-related topics, do reach out at nicolas@naavik.co or metacast@naavik.co . We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback...

In this Metacast episode, David Amor , Yon Raz-Fridman and Aaron Bush , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Axie Infinity’s First UGC Games: How does the Sky Mavis UGC programme benefit Axie Infinity? Could the revenue share model sustain builders’ costs of development? #2 Diablo Immortal’s $100k+ to Max a Character: What is the game mechanic with enough spend depth for $100k+ per charac...

What do fungible tokens bring to video games? What do you need to keep in mind when designing a game economy with tokens? How will tokens & games evolve over time? Tokenomics expert Jeremy Parris and everyone’s favorite crypto-skeptic Lars Doucet join your host Nico Vereecke for a deep dive. If you would like us to discuss any other blockchain gaming-related topics, do reach out at nicolas@naa...

In this Metacast episode, Anil Das-Gupta and Matt Dion , join your host Maria Gillies to discuss:   #1 Sony’s Transmedia Announcements: Are we in the golden age for successful big screen adaptations of games? #2 When Does Consolidation Mania End: Why are game giants interested in being acquired? What does consolidation mean to the creativity of game development? #3 Some Players Don’t Want Fair Mat...

Blocklords is a Web3 Medieval Strategy MMO with asymmetric gameplay facilitating a (potentially) sustainable Play-and-Earn economy. Their CEO, David Johansson joins your host Nico Vereecke for a deep dive. If you would like us to discuss any other blockchain gaming-related topics, do reach out at nicolas@naavik.co or metacast@naavik.co . We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too!  ...