Game Theory

Game publishers used to suffer from “lumpy” annual revenues, attracting players to buy physical releases every five years or so—with a drought of income streams in-between. But they’ve come a long way: portfolio diversification; digital downloads and distribution; add-ons, DLCs, and live services with in-game monetization; platform expansions; and investments in new IP have all driven significant...

Video games have long been maligned for contributing to the already sedentary lifestyle of most modern people. But our first interactions with play during childhood—pretend games and imaginative adventures—are inherently physical. Cue the arrival of Pokémon GO, a pioneer in location-based gaming that has brought hundreds of millions of players back into the great outdoors. In this episode, co-host...

The best video games immerse players in enchanting worlds and novel experiences. To get there, the best video game engines level the playing field so that the creation of entire virtual universes is democratized and accessible to anyone—from AAA veterans to indies and novices bursting with ideas. In this episode, co-hosts Moritz Baier-Lentz and Hemal Thaker sit down with Matt Bromberg, the Preside...

Engaging, retaining play is an art and a science.  That’s why Scopely, a mobile-first video game developer and publisher with increasing cross-platform ambitions, creates an environment for its employees where people feel comfortable to innovate beyond preconceived notions—all in the spirit of creating emotionally significant moments for its players. In this episode, co-hosts Moritz Baier-Lentz an...

Most gamers used to identify first and foremost with the console they played on—i.e., “I’m a PC gamer,” or “I only play on Xbox.” But increasingly, the rise of cross-platform gaming puts the player—not their device of choice—at the center of the experience. Allowing gaming experiences to enchant their players at any time, and anywhere. In this episode, co-hosts Moritz Baier-Lentz and Hemal Thaker...

Video games have seen and even catalyzed innumerable technological advances in the past decades, from decision trees, GPUs, and distributed multiplayer experiences to mobile screens and extended reality, cross-platform play, digital distribution, live services, user-generated content, and—most recently—artificial intelligence. But what if we were still only in the “Stone Age of gaming,” especially...

Game Theory, a new video podcast from Lightspeed and Goldman Sachs, in partnership with McKinsey, takes a look behind the curtain of the industry-defining gaming & technology companies—and explores how play is changing everything. Featuring insights and untold stories from Founders, CEOs, and Presidents—including David Baszucki (Roblox), Sarah Bond (Microsoft Xbox), Strauss Zelnick (Take-Two Inter...