Laine Nooney, Joost van Dreunen

UNBOXING: Play & Profit for the Gaming Curious.

Business EN ↓ 75 episodes

Joost crunches data. Laine rummages in archives. Together on UNBOXING, these two NYU professors unlock the secrets of the games business they share with their students and cover the games news for insiders and newbies alike. A weekly podcast for anyone curious about why games matter in today's economy, dropping every Friday. Logo by Moira Zhang, theeverdrift.cargo.site

Author

Laine Nooney, Joost van Dreunen

Episodes

“Neither Credible Nor Attractive” 15.05.2026 51:47

Sega takes a massive Rovio write-down as the mobile gaming gold rush cools off. PLUS: eBay rejects GameStop’s takeover bid as “neither credible nor attractive.” -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

GameStop Pines After eBay and Unity Pushes More AI 08.05.2026 53:11

GameStop’s CEO wants to buy eBay and we have thoughts... PLUS: Unity’s recent AI pivot and what that means for the future of games. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

That’s a Wrap on Spring 2026! 01.05.2026 57:38

End-of-semester teaching wins, losses, and lessons learned. AI in the classroom—tool, crutch, or existential threat? PLUS: Tune in for strategies to beat the AI homework machine. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Xbox’s Price Cut: Is the Subscription Dream Cracking? 24.04.2026 47:30

Xbox cuts Game Pass prices—strategy shift or quiet retreat? PLUS: The cloud gaming dream fades as subscriptions hit their limits. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Welcome to Stupid Stage Capitalism: The Games Industry Edition 17.04.2026 55:23

Disney x Epic’s newest (and possibly dumbest) venture yet, then find out if today’s industry is “crashier” than it was in the 80s. PLUS: Capitalism enters a new phase of stupid and we hate it! -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates an...

The $1,000 Console Era Is Coming––Are You Ready? 03.04.2026 50:08

PlayStation price hike. PLUS: Subscriptions rise as game sales fall. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Power Shifts: Who Wins in the New Games Economy? 27.03.2026 57:07

Layoffs of Epic (Games) proportions. PLUS: India’s rise & global power shifts in gaming? -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

UNBOXING’s GDC 2026 Postmortem 20.03.2026 53:18

This week on UNBOXING , Laine and Joost spill all from their week at GDC 2026. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Loot Boxes on Trial, Zillow in Azeroth, and Our GDC Survival Guide 06.03.2026 56:59

New York takes on Valve over loot boxes. The WoW × Zillow collab no one asked for... PLUS: Our guide to surviving GDC this year! -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

The Hottest Take on the Xbox CEO Turnover You Haven’t Heard Yet 27.02.2026 42:12

What if we told you that Xbox’s CEO reshuffle wasn't just a swap… 🤯 Tune in to this week's episode for the more of our hottest take yet. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Discord Has Entered Its Verification Era. Is Enshittification Next? 13.02.2026 46:36

Discord has entered its verification era... Face scans. IPO plans. Enshittification? Laine and Joost break it down. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Project Genie in a Bottle? 06.02.2026 41:23

Google's Project Genie: What it actually does vs. what it promises. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Pod Friends with Julian Togelius 23.01.2026 49:53

Joost talks games and AI with pod friend Julian Togelius. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Another Week, Another Megadeal 19.12.2025 1:13:21

Netflix’s $80B bid for Warner Bros. PLUS: an indie sweep at The Game Awards?! Tune in! -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

UNBOXING’s End-of-Semester Wrap Up 12.12.2025 59:40

UNBOXING's end-of-semester wrap: finals, feedback & feels. PLUS: Pwns, owns & holiday vibes! -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts: ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

From Rockstar Chaos to the Game Awards Canon 05.12.2025 59:19

GTA VI delayed (yet again) & union-busting allegations at Rockstar? PLUS: Our thoughts on the Game Awards preview. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts - ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Speculating Irresponsibly: Steam Machines, Saudi Money, and More! 21.11.2025 57:50

Steam Machine crashes the console party. Ubisoft delays earnings & halts trading (!?) PLUS: Laine's thoughts on Sky Sports’ “Halo” disaster. Tune in! -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts - ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

GDC Is Dead––Long Live the Festival of Gaming 11.11.2025 1:18:00

GDC gets a rebrand! PLUS: Laine’s inside look at GDC’s State of the Industry report. -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts - ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠Apple⁠ For the true fans, subscribe to our newsletter for weekly email updates and more!

Pod Friends: Mitu Khandaker & the Future of NYC Games 31.10.2025 1:03:58

The EU’s Digital (Un)Fairness Act? PLUS: Pod Friends returns with Mitu Khandaker, the Associate Director of NYU Tandon’s new Game Design Future Lab, who will share her view on the future of games in NYC! For more on the Game Design Future Labs, check these links out: Website Instagram LinkedIn -- Never miss an update and listen to your favorite UNBOXING episodes wherever you get your podcasts - Yo...

ESA’s Global Games Report Gets Graded 17.10.2025 1:11:01

The ESA’s 2025 Global Games Report drops, and Laine + Joost have some thoughts.

The $55 Billion Question: Are Games Geopolitical Assets Now? 03.10.2025 52:46

EA acquired in a $55B Saudi-backed buyout––what this means both for the gay couple in The Sims and for our geopolitical landscape. PLUS: Xbox’s $1K handheld + what’s new at the Video Game History Foundation.

“Pod Friends” with Colleen Macklin 26.09.2025 55:03

What Trump’s $100K H-1B visa fee means for games. “Pod Friends” kick off w/ Colleen Macklin, fresh from the Game UX Summit. PLUS: Stone-skipping scandals (?!) + the benefits of regular student feedback (!!)

Back to School Pt. 2: What Our Students Are Playing 19.09.2025 1:13:38

The long awaited student gameplay survey results revealed. PLUS: WNBA playoffs & Mario turns 40!

Zigging with Nintendo & Scrambling with Roblox 12.09.2025 1:10:49

Nintendo’s Switch 2 smashes records & why they keep winning, then Roblox under fire... again! PLUS: the $80 game debate & student survey sneak peaks for next week!

Back to School Pt. 1: Teaching Games in 2025 05.09.2025 1:14:21

Fall syllabi with final cuts revealed, then get a behind the scenes look at the annual gameplay habits survey. PLUS: Roblox doc w/ Chris Hansen? Yep, that’s a thing.