The Business of Video Games Podcast

It's Friday! And what do you expect? After our last conversation unexpectedly blew up and wormed its way into the gaming news cycle for a day or two (or three?), we are now back to talk about ... you guessed it! Xbox! In this episode, we dive right back into the Xbox ecosystem, looking closely at Game Pass, the massive acquisitions, the enormous amout of layoffs, and what scaling up really looks l...

It's Friday and what a show we got for you today! Shams and Fernando are tearing into the harsh new realities of the games industry where Microsoft’s new leadership has brought out the big black hammer, as well as slowing down on Game Pass deals according to our latest findings. But that's just for todays starters. The main focus of this episode is the absolute juggernaut that is the Chinese gamin...

While Fernando is off enjoying Italy, Shams is flying solo and holding down the fort for today's episode.  Today, our dear friend Tim Bender returns to talk about the incredible early access launch of Olden Era, which has by the time of today already sold over a million copies in just its first month! The big topic, though, is Hooded Horse's leveled-up partnership with Griffin Gaming Partners. Tim...

Did you ever wonder what happens when a bunch of cocky college students decide they're going to take over the games industry? Spoiler alert: it involves immediate debt, panic attacks, and practically begging a publisher for survival. Yes. We are back with our second part together with Johan Pilestedt. In this episode, Johan walks us through the absolute gauntlet (we honestly couldn't find a more f...

It's finally time for the first round of our exclusive deep-dive series with Arrowhead Game Studios CCO & Founder Johan Pilestedt! In this kickoff episode, we take a closer look at Johan's roots in Gällivare, a remote Swedish mining town where Johan at one point practiced as a miner minor (or was it a minor miner..?). Having his mind blown by 3D dinosaur magazines and watching Aliens (at age e...

We are back with the second part of our conversation together with our good friend Tim Bender as the we dive deeper into the weeds of some of the most surprising moves in the industry lately. Why not start with the backstory of the Ubisoft partnership on Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era for example? Far from a simple hand-off, Tim explains how a long-term dialogue led to a specialist publisher...

In the first part of our two-parter, Shams sits down with Tim Bender from Hooded Horse to pull back the curtain on one of the currently most talked-about trajectories in modern indie game publishing. From the logistical realities of scaling a team to the philosophical "final form" of a sustainable games business, Tim breaks down the internal logic of the Hooded Horse portfolio at the same time as...

Sorry for being late! After a not so welcomed water leakage at our producers studios, we are back with the second part of our conversation with Trent Kusters, the visionary co-founder of League of Geeks! Shams rides this one solo since Fernando is on a trip across the pond and it's time to get into the "messy middle" of building a studio that lasts over a decade in an industry that sometimes feels...

Imagine what happens when a new episode of The Business of Video Games Podcast all of a sudden release on a Monday! Almost as mindwrecking as if one accidentally started a career in game development, right? Well, say no more dear listener! In this episode, Shams sits down with Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks (Armello), who did just that. In this first part of our two part interview wi...

Time for a one off with the great folks at Oro Interactive who currently is on a real victory lap with 300k units sold of Roadside Research within two weeks(!) and 400k units sold for Super Battle Golf within it's first week! Absolutely bonkers. But not as bonkers as Shams who is once again away on a mission celebrating Swedish games at the Swedish Game Awards 2026, while Fernando sits down with o...

50 episodes! Imagine that! We are back again with our dear friend Agostino Simonetta in the second part of our two part interview. This time with Fernando taking the lead for a deeper one-on-one since Shams had to go and spread some democracy across the galaxy (as he should). Fernando and Ago is immediately getting in to familiar territory with conference season, industry rituals, and the strange...

Friends! It's 2026 and we're back! In this first part of a two-episode conversation, Shams and Fernando sit down with none other than industry veteran Agostino Simonetta. They talk through a career in games that was shaped less by master plans and more by circumstance, timing, and a fair number of hard calls. From early production work to platform-side roles at PlayStation and Xbox, to what it act...

It's Fri... Monday! In this end-of-year episode, Shams and Fernando look back on 2025. From personal wins to the industry-wide turbulence that affects everyone. They both reflect on a surprisingly strong year for their work while acknowledging how tough it’s been for many studios, with layoffs, consolidation and cautious decision-making shaping the landscape. Topics iniclude the major deals almost...

It's Friday! In the second half of their conversation with Adam Boyes, Shams and Fernando go far beyond career anecdotes and dig into what truly drives fulfillment in the games industry. Adam reflects on the pivotal moment he chose happiness and creative energy over traditional career momentum - an insight that later shaped Iron Galaxy’s unusually transparent, collaborative leadership structure. T...

Do we got another great conversation for you here friends? Yes we do! In this episode, Shams and Fernando sit down with industry veteran Adam Boyes to explore his remarkable journey through the industry over the last decades. Adam shares stories from his early years, continuing to look at his time at Midway and Capcom, and his transition into business development and executive leadership. The conv...

It's time to continue our conversation with Chris and Tyler som Red Hook Studios! In this second half of our interview with Red Hook Studios founders Chris and Tyler, we focus on what happened after Darkest Dungeon 1. Wrapping up Kickstarter commitments, the surprising intensity of Early Access, and how the game’s success never really gave the team a chance to slow down. Among other things, we als...

We are back! And what a time to be alive when we start of Season 4 with two real bangers. Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman are the creative minds behind Darkest Dungeon and co-founders of Red Hook Studios. Chris - who still believes he’s not really an artist, despite shaping one of the most iconic visual styles in gaming - joins forces with Tyler, the design wizard and production mastermind. In thi...

In our final episode of the season, Shams and Fernando drop the guest format to tackle a few persistent myths and misconceptions that have been quietly annoying us all year. We dig into things like: How a game can be a bestseller and still be considered a disappointment What minority investments really mean — and what they don’t No shouting, no hot takes (okay, maybe one), just two people who’ve s...

Nobody does shadow drops (the act of releasing a game with no advance marketing) quite like Landfall Games, who've done it many times; most recently moving 2 million units of PEAK in less than 2 weeks after shadow dropping it in June. Fernando talks to Landfall's Chief Business Officer Rebecca Lautner and Head of Publishing Kirsten-Lee Naidoo to get the inside story of how they've become the maste...

XCOM designer and Sid Meier protege Jake Solomon is embarking on a new mission: CEO of his own studio. Jake gives Shams and Fernando a window into his extraordinary career, telling stories from his days at Firaxis and talking about his journey to found Midsummer Studios. Follow Jake's progress at https://www.midsummerstudios.com/

Fourty two is the answer to life - but it's also the number of points of wisdom justly dispensed by games industry veteran Paul Kilduff-Taylor - mastermind behind Developer/Publisher/Operator - Mode 7 Games. Paul wrote the list of "42 Essential Game Dev Tips That Are Immutably Correct and Must Never Be Disputed by Anyone Ever At Any Time!"  and we unpack some of these and try to figure out why Pau...

Season 3 finally continues with a truly unique indie business auteur! Xalavier Nelson Jr. runs Strange Scaffold, a game studio that defies convention—achieving repeated success while staying boldly artistic. Listen in to hear Xalavier and Strange Scaffold manage what so few others do.    👉 Visit Strange Scaffold and explore their games here. https://www.strangescaffold.com/

As we're in a festive mood we decided to try something new and unpack what life is like at a service provider in the games industry. Some describe it as the hardest biz dev job in the industry and they wouldn't be wrong. Serial entrepreneur Alexander Bergendahl shares how Lootlocker helps developers and publishers level up and get closer to their players.    https://lootlocker.com/

This episode, we’re diving into the wild world of user-generated content (UGC) with Scott Reismanis, CEO of Mod.io. Ever wondered WHY mods go from hobby projects to gaming game-changers such as DOTA or CS? Scott’s here to spill the beans on Mod.io’s mission, the challenges of getting studios on board, and why UGC is still the future (spoiler: it’s awesome). We’ll chat about big decisions, big tren...

In this episode we sit down with two true operators in the biz dev space - Callum Underwood and Alex Nicholson. By night they're up to shenanigans - by day - more shenanigans - but also they run Uwu Biz a one stop shop for your business development or really - any needs you might have as a successful developer. Callum and Alex regale us with how they operate in tough times.   https://www.uwu.biz/...