The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast

The GamesIndustry.biz editorial team discusses the most controversial game announcement of the year so far and weigh up whether developers can handle a topic as sensitive as war. Following our interview with the company behind upcoming shooter Six Days In Fallujah, we explore the reaction to the game's existence -- both in 2021 and back in 2009 when the title was dropped by its publisher -- and th...

The GamesIndustry.biz team takes a deeper look at one of the biggest stories of the past week -- namely, Warner Bros securing a patent for Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis system. For this episode, we're joined by Kostya Lobov of law firm Harbottle & Lewis to look at the intricacies of patents and the implications for any other developers hoping to build games around a similar mechanic to the Nemesis sy...

On our latest podcast, Matt, Brendan and James discuss two of the biggest games industry stories of the past two weeks. First up, we discuss Embracer Group's acquisition of Gearbox Software -- a deal potentially worth close to $1.4 billion, but with some very notable caveats. We use this as a jumping off point to explore Embracer's overall mergers and acquisitions strategy, and ponder the wider tr...

The GamesIndustry.biz editorial team looks optimistically forward and starts to ponder the future of video games when the COVID-19 pandemic eventually comes to an end. Following on an editorial by our Head of B2B Chris Dring, James, Brendan, Marie and Chris discuss the implications of 2020's rapid growth in terms of new customers, and the perhaps inevitable industry contraction when those consumer...

The Five Games Of is a special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast that explores the evolution of the video games business through the career of prominent developers, executives and more. This time, we explore five games from the career of Jesper Kyd, one of the industry's most prolific composers. We talk to Kyd about his start in the industry, working with a group of friends that went on to f...

On this week's podcast, the GamesIndustry.biz editorial team takes a look at some of the biggest challenges facing indie developers. Our discussion begins with the recent reveal of Moonrise Fund, which focuses on financing teams working on gameplay that hasn't been seen before. We recently spoke to the fund's creator Evva Karr about their ambitions for the project. We then talk about the gaps in f...

This week, GamesIndustry.biz team members Matt, Rebekah and James are joined by PCMag's Mike Williams to discuss the biggest news of the past week. Following a slew of LucasFilm Games announcements -- including the revival of the brand, Bethesda's Indiana Jones game, and Ubisoft's open-world Star Wars project -- we discuss licensed games. It wasn't so long ago that licensed games were often hastil...

In our first weekly episode of 2021, the GamesIndustry.biz team discuss the biggest news of the past week – and slightly further back. Matt, Brendan, Rebekah, James and Chris unpack the implications and build-up to Nintendo's acquisition of Next Level Games, the team behind Switch hit Luigi's Mansion 3. And in the first instalment of a new monthly discussion, we expand on the most recent 10 Years...

In this special sponsored GamesIndustry.biz podcast, we speak with Facebook Audience Network’s Imran Khan to discuss mobile game monetisation methods and in-game advertising. This week’s podcast discusses all forms of monetisation and provides ideas and guidance on how to maximise revenue for game developers. Khan will reveal why the games industry needs to look beyond in-app purchases as the de f...

This special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast talks to developers about the titles that influenced their careers. This time, we have Xalavier Nelson Jr., the creator of An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs as well as an award-nominated narrative mind behind Hypnospace Outlaw, Reigns: Beyond, Skatebird, and more. Nelson Jr. is here to chat about The Evil Within 2, specifically its mod...

In our last podcast of the year, the GamesIndustry.biz editorial team gather around the mics to share their favourite games of 2020. Matt, Brendan, Rebekah, Marie and James each share some honourable mentions and key highlights before delving into to their pick for the best game that they've played this year. Note the 'that they've played' caveat, as not all choices are in fact from 2020. You'll b...

On this special episode of the podcast, we look at the challenges journalists and the games media have faced in 2020. For this discussion, we're joined by USGamer editor-in-chief Kat Bailey, VideoGamesChronicle editor-in-chief Andy Robinson, VG247 assistant editor Alex Donaldson, and Kotaku staff writer Ethan Gach. Together, the panel reflects on the impact of event closures, the unorthodox build-...

Matthew, Rebekah, and James are joined by Mike Williams to discuss the biggest stories of the week. Following the revelation that BioWare general manager Casey Hudson and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah are leaving the studio -- for the second time, in Hudson's case -- we discuss the impact this could have on the company. The conversation expands into exploring the 'wilderness period' Bi...

This special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast talks to developers about the titles that influenced their careers. This time, we have Fred Horgan, senior ideation designer at Bossa Studios, here to discuss how Sega's 2000 online console RPG shaped his understanding of social and cooperative gameplay. Horgan talks about his experiences playing with friends, and how unique design elements of P...

Matt, Brendan and James gather behind their respective mics to discuss the biggest stories of the week. This week, we explore Square Enix's decision to make remote working permanent for more of its Japanese staff, and the implications this has for any couple that adopts such a model. It's a topic our contributing editor Rob Fahey delved into with his latest column, and now the podcast explores the...

This week, we have a special bumper-length podcast as the team takes a look back at the previous generation of consoles. With Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 now on shelves around the world, we reflect on the seven years of games and innovations offered by their forebears. Rather than just focusing on our favourite games (although we do discuss this as well), we take a broader approach by offeri...

The Five Games Of is a special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast which explores the evolution of the video games business through the career of prominent developers, executives and more. This time, we explore five games from Mikael Kasurinen of Remedy Entertainment, who most recently served as game director for last year's acclaimed new IP Control. In addition to this game, we talk about his...

The latest episode of our podcast is available to download now, and somehow, we're not talking about next-gen consoles. Instead, FIFA is on the mind, following yet another lawsuit filed complaining of Ultimate Team loot boxes, and news of a new FIFA spend tracking tool allowing players to limit how many matches they play or how much money they can spend in the game. In response to that, Brendan ha...

In this special bonus episode of The Game Developer's Playlist, we take a look at Hideo Kojima's final outing with Metal Gear Solid. Brendan takes over hosting duties from Rebekah as he's joined by Jeffery Thompson Jr to talk about the mix of gritty stealth and goofy balloon extractions, with horror elements and more poignant messaging all woven into the mix. Thompson Jr is one of the founder of P...

Chris, Brendan and James are on hand to share their early impressions of the new consoles. Having recieved a mix of PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S units, the team has had a couple of weeks to get to grips with them, so what do we think of the next generaiton? We discuss the most interesting features, from both a user and business perspective, as well as touching on performance, visuals, loadin...

This special series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast talks to developers about the titles that influenced their careers. This time, we have Chandana 'Eka' Ekanayake, co-founder of Falcon Age studio Outerloop Games, here to discuss how 1995 biker adventure game Full Throttle inspired him to join the games industry.. Ekanayake discusses how the film-like elements of the game spurred his interest in...

On the latest GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, Rebekah and Marie are joined by USGamer's Mike Williams, as well as three special guests: freelance writer Aaron Lee, I Need Diverse Games founder Tanya DePass, and Melanin Gamers founder Annabel Ashalley-Anthony. Mike, Aaron, Tanya, and Annabel discuss being Black in the games industry, from issues of representation in games themselves to representation in...

This week, three members of the team -- Matt, Marie, and Rebekah -- chat with Digital Foundry's John Linneman about the impending next generation of consoles, especially the Xbox Series X. With just a few weeks remaining before the launch of both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, we reflect on the marketing and announcement cycles of both over the last year, as well as do a bit of deep-d...

The Five Games Of is a special spin-off series of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast that charts the evolution of the industry through the careers and games of prominent developers and more. This month's guest is Guha Bala, co-founder and president of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit developer Velan Studios, perhaps best known for the work he and his team accomplished at Vicarious Visions -- another studi...

Matt, Brendan, Chris and James gather behind their mics to discuss the biggest stories of the past week. Our main discussion for this episode is the partnership between Microsoft and GameStop, which offers the retailer a share of all digital revenues generated by users of Xbox Series consoles the retail chain has sold. We debate whether this is a way for the platform holder to sustain a valuable r...