The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast

James, Matt and Rebekah discuss the biggest games industry stories of the week -- much of which centres around confusion. First, there's the contradicting stories as to whether or not Borderlands 3 has microtransactions. While Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford said quite clearly on stage that it doesn't -- our own Rebekah Valentine was in the room when he said this -- his own developers, and 19 hours o...

Brendan, James and Haydn discuss the biggest topic of the week - and, unfortunately, one of the longest running conversations in the games industry. With reports emerging of intensive working conditions at Fortnite creator Epic Games, across the Chinese games and tech industry, and (in recent days) from Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios, we are yet again reminded of how hard some manager...

Matt, Brendan and James discuss the latest industry headlines, this week focusing on major announcements from the console space. After Sony unveiled the first details of PlayStation 5, we debate whether 8K support and PS4 backwards compatibility are enough to excite players and encourage them to upgrade. While Sony will inevitably make a larger, more detailed announcement at (or before) E3, this s...

Rebekah and Brendan discuss the latest industry headlines from the past week. We kick off by addressing the ease with which mobile developers are able to apply kids age ratings to inappropriate games on Google Play via the International Age Rating Coalition's system. Then we weigh in on the debate surrounding Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the question of accessibility. Yes, this is well-trodden gr...

Matt, Chris, James and Haydn take time out of EGX Rezzed 2019 to discuss the latest gaming headlines. The biggest topic this week is the ongoing decline of pre-owned games, as indicated by both GameStop's latest financials and the UK games market valuation. We talk about why this aspect of games retail is shrinking and how stores are adapting to cope with it. Then, following a recent exposé on Bio...

James, Rebekah and Haydn reflect on the biggest news of this year's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Inevitably, Google's Stadia streaming service dominates much of the conversation. We recap the most interesting aspects of the announcement, debate the appeal and potential of Stadia, and highlight the many, many unanswered questions. We also discuss the Nindies showcase and its most pr...

James, Rebekah and Brendan discuss the latest gaming headlines, including whether publishers need to be more careful in screening the influencers they work with. We kick off with an update on the various lawsuits between Epic and the creators of popular dances, as well as news that former EA Motive founder Jade Raymond and battle royale pioneer Brendan Greene have taken on new roles. Then, followi...

Rebekah, Brendan and Haydn once again discuss the latest industry headlines, many of which centre around rather toothless apologies. We follow up on last week's main topic as THQ Nordic CEO Lars Wingefors addresses his subsidiary's decisions to run a Q&A on controversial image board 8chan. But, of course, the bulk of the episode is taken up by Valve's handling of Rape Day, a controversial visual n...

Rebekah, Brendan and Haydn discuss some of the biggest games industry headlines from the past week. The biggest topic of the week is THQ Nordic's ill-advised decision to conduct an AMA on controversial forum 8chan, known for harbouring hate speech and previously blacklisted for hosting child pornography. We discuss the implications for THQ Nordic, debate how well the company responded to criticism...

Matt, Brendan, Chris and James gather to discuss the biggest industry headlines of the past week. Chief among them is the arrival of Crackdown 3 and the difficulty it presents in judging its success. Media reviews are mixed, its retail performance (in the UK, at least) has been poor, yet engagement on Xbox seems to be high, thanks to Game Pass. Is this the first in a new type of release, where the...

James, Rebekah and Haydn discuss the latest industry headlines, starting with the biggest story of the week: Activision's plans to cut 800 jobs despite record revenues. We debate whether such drastic cuts are necessary, and how Activision could have better handled the revelation. Plus, where does Blizzard fit in the publisher's future plans? We also touch on the latest Nintendo direct, the ongoing...

Chris, Charlotte, James and Haydn gather to discuss the biggest news of the past few days. We kick off the episode with the surprising (or is it?) success of Kingdom Hearts 3, having shipped five million copies worldwide and broken series records in various territories. Following Chris' article, we also debate Electronic Arts' strategy in releasing Apex Legends, the new free-to-play battle royale...

Following the news that Bungie and Activision are parting ways, the GamesIndustry.biz team discuss where the AAA publisher goes from here. Whether part of the ten-year agreement between the two firms or due to a change in strategy, there's no denying that the break-up leaves a Destiny-shaped hole in Activision's limited portfolio (NB: We mean Activision specifically, which is left with Call of Dut...

Brendan, Chris, James and Rebekah kick off the year with their predictions for the year ahead. We've already covered analysts' predictions and industry leaders' most anticipated games on the site, but now it's time for us to offer our own take on what 2019 has in store for the games market. Topics we explore include: the increased competition among PC stores, thanks to the rise of Epic and Discord...

We round out the year with a thorough discussion of our favourite titles from the past twelve months. The entire GamesIndustry.biz team is on hand for this episode, each with their pick (or, in a few cases, picks) for best game of the year. While we somehow managed to reach a consensus last year -- jointly recognising Zelda: Breath of the Wild as the greatest 2017 offering -- there's a much broade...

In light of increased scrutiny around loot boxes in full-price games, Brendan and James discuss how in industry is (and should be) handling this divisive monetisation mechanic. During the episode, we touch on the dangers that legislation like that imposed in Belgium and the Netherlands pose to publishers, the IGDA's recommendations on how games firms can show it is implementing loot boxes responsi...

This week, we're joined by Resolution Games CEO and virtual reality proponent Tommy Palm to discuss the ongoing hurdles the immersive technology must overcome. At a time when skepticism around the future of VR is on the rise, with with past champions declaring it's nigh on impossible to build a business around it, Resolution Games continues to invest in both virtual and augmented reality projects....

This week we're joined by Reality Gaming Group co-founder Tony Pearce to discuss the changing landscape of cryptocurrency and blockchain-based games and services. Following a surge of interest in the technology at the tail end of 2017 and the headline-grabbing devaluing of prominent cryptocurrency Bitcoin - plus tales of scams and failed projects funded by Initial Coin Offerings - we look at how t...

Chris and James reflect on the recent Rockstar controversy surrounding the working conditions behind Red Dead Redemption 2 - and, more importantly, ask where the industry goes from here. We discuss the growing scope of open-world games and the pressure this puts on developers and their resources, plus the decisions behind release dates and how this can drastically impact what a team is able to acc...

In the wake of Microsoft's Project xCloud announcement, James, Matt and Brendan ponder the possibilities for game streaming. While undoubtedly a disruptive force in the games industry, what role will the technology play in Xbox's future - or that of video games in general? We discuss the hurdles that Microsoft - or any would-be streaming service provider - need to overcome to appease consumers and...

This week, we're joined by Simon Smith, managing director of family games publisher Thumbfood.  Smith joins us to discuss why the family and kids games market needs "a kick up the arse" on consoles, and why a wider audience is the key to driving PlayStation 4 past 100 million sales. We also touch on how to avoid the mistakes made by previous publishers with an interest in family games, how to comp...

Recorded during Develop:Brighton 2018, we're joined by former Valve writer Chet Faliszek to discuss the realities and possibilities of AI in video games. Faliszek shares how he believes AI can be used to build more systemic gameplay, and how this can create more unique experiences for the players. He also touches on why mid-sized studios are best placed to take advantage of this rapidly developing...

We're joined this episode by indie figurehead Mike Bithell, developer of Thomas Was Alone, Volume and bitesize text adventure Subsurface Circular. Recorded just a few days after the surprise launch of the latter's spiritual successor, Quarantine Circular, we speak to Bithell about the advantages and potential of releasing games without any marketing build-up. We also discuss the benefits of develo...

This week, we're joined by Geogrify founder and ex-IGDA director Kate Edwards to discuss one of the less-highlighted challenges of working in the video games industry: Ageism. Recorded at E3 2018, the discussion explores who is being affected by ageism in the industry, and the impact on both victims but also the companies neglecting them.  Edwards also shares the process behind her recent 50 Over...

The entire GamesIndustry.biz team convene to reflect on this year's major games showcase in Los Angeles. Instead of talking through every announcement (which listeners are no doubt familiar with), we each choose a topic or trend that emerged from the show and discuss how it impacts the industry in general. Throughout the episode we discuss the growing presence of consumers at E3, the continuing sa...