GameMakers

Joseph Kim
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The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.

  1. 14/07

    Steve Ganem (Unity VP of Product): Why Unity Made D2C Payments Free — and What It's Really After

    Unity just made direct-to-consumer payments free for every developer on its IAP SDK. No take rate, no fees. So what's the catch?I sat down with Steve Ganem, VP of Product at Unity, to unpack the real strategy — and it turns out the story isn't about payments at all. It's about data.Steve brings a rare vantage point: 19 years in games (EA, Activision's Tony Hawk franchise, 11 years running his own studio through the free-to-play transition), then a decade at Google Analytics. In this conversation we cover why "free" is a rational move rather than a giveaway, why going D2C without Unity could actually cost developers ad signal, the conversion tradeoff most coverage skips (web checkout is harder than Face ID), and how this connects to Unity's advertising business and its AI platform, Vector.Whether you're a developer weighing D2C, a PM modeling the conversion math, or an investor watching Unity's turnaround, this one goes well past the announcement.📖 Full written analysis: https://www.gamemakers.com/p/the-most-important-number-in-unitys

  2. 16/06

    Own Your Players, Don't Rent Them — D2C, Creator Codes & the Shadow Server Economy | Liam Wiltshire, GM of Tebex

    Epic spent five years and over $100M breaking the platforms' 30% tax — then cut V-Bucks by 20% to "pay the bills." If the company that won the fee war still gets squeezed, what does that say about everyone else? The answer isn't about fees. When AI makes content infinite and attention stays finite, the only asset that appreciates is the direct relationship with your players — the one distribution channel that gets cheaper the stronger it gets. And a nearly invisible economy of community-run game servers has been proving its dollar value for fifteen years. I sit down with Liam Wiltshire, GM of Tebex — the merchant-of-record platform behind direct payments for Rockstar, Take-Two, Hytale, and FiveM — to unpack it. In this episode: Why "is 30% dead?" is the wrong questionCreator codes: how trust drives 50–227% more spendThe BNPL and crypto data that surprised even TebexWhy 35% of desktop game purchases happen on a phoneHow Hytale launched off Steam and secured two years of runway from pre-orders aloneThe £20, 16-year-old origin story behind a company that's processed $1.5BRead the full breakdown and subscribe at gamemakers.com. Chapters00:00 — Epic cut V-Bucks: why it's really a margin story03:47 — When content is infinite, what's actually scarce?07:38 — The shadow games industry: Hypixel, FiveM & a $1.5B economy10:13 — The data: creator codes, BNPL & buying on a second screen13:33 — Liam Wiltshire joins: the state of the industry16:35 — Why every player purchase is a "CapEx decision"18:50 — Is the 30% platform fee dead?21:00 — Who really owns the player relationship?23:27 — D2C across mobile, web, PC & console34:59 — Treating the platform as an acquisition channel42:57 — UGC servers & what a "merchant of record" actually does1:00:40 — Creator codes: how trust drives more spend1:19:04 — BNPL & crypto: the numbers that surprised Tebex1:31:20 — Payment optimization & one-click checkout1:40:43 — The £20 origin story & the $29M exit

  3. 31/03

    The Last 20% Is Worth $100 Million

    AI is making it cheaper to build games. It's doing nothing for the cost of building the right game. That distinction is about to crush more studios than any technology shift in the past decade.                                    Ran Mo is the CEO of Proxima and creator of Suck Up — arguably the first commercially successful game to use AI at runtime. The game generated over 100 million YouTube views with zero marketing spend. Before founding Proxima, Ran led product teams at EA on The Sims franchise and spent time at YouTube and BCG.  In this episode, Ran live demos AI-assisted coding in Unity, breaks down his "trunk and leaves" framework for where AI helps (and where it destroys your codebase), and makes the contrarian case that AI in actual gameplay is overhyped — even though he built the first game to prove it works.                                   We go deep on: why vibe-coded games are architecturally unusable at scale, the power law that's about to eliminate mid-tier studios, why Ran hired a marketer with 1M TikTok followers, and the Taoist philosophy that keeps him sane while Silicon Valley burns out around him                                                                         Whether you're a game dev, studio head, or just trying to understand where AI actually moves the needle in creative industries, this conversation will sharpen your thinking. 🔗 Ran Mo's newsletter: newsletter.ranmo.me                                              🔗 Proxima: proxima.gg                                                                                   Outline: 0:00 Intro 1:15 Ran Mo's background and founding Proxima 4:38 How Suck Up actually uses AI                                                                      8:49 Why Proxima won't use AI for art or design                                      12:32 Live demo: AI coding in Unity                                                                    22:33 Vibe coding gone wrong — the Stardew Valley test 25:14 The trunk and leaves framework 29:24 Real productivity numbers (not Twitter hype) 34:57 The technically capable designer                                                   38:58 Power law distribution is coming for games                                 43:48 Suck Up's $0 marketing playbook 46:04 The Courage to Do Nothing 52:35 The velocity trap                                                                                  58:13 Hot take: AI in gameplay is overhyped 61:01 Ran's personal story                                                                               66:15 Go your own way                                                                                    69:15 Final advice: slow down to speed up

  4. 10/02

    ThiGaming Trends for 2026 — And the One Nobody Wants to Talk AboutRT

    Last month, I sat on a panel about where the gaming industry is headed. The conversation was good — but there was one thing I didn't say out loud. In this episode, I break down the key trends I think will define gaming in 2026: The noise problem is about to get much, much worse — and it's hitting from both sidesSmall teams aren't an anomaly. They're the new default."Nobody codes anymore" — what AI-or-die actually means for studios right nowWhy the industry is losing its moat and most people don't see it yet Plus: the progression compression paradox that nobody's solving — why the attention economy is forcing games to speed up in ways that might break long-term engagement. Whether you're running a studio, building a game, or trying to figure out where this industry is going — this one's for you. 📩 Subscribe to the Gamemakers newsletter: gamemakers.com

  5. 30/12/2025

    AppLovin Bull vs. Bear Case: What Operators Know That Investors Don't

    AppLovin just crossed $250 billion in market cap. Stock up 127% YTD. EBITDA margins at 82%. Is this the beginning—or the top? We assembled the most qualified panel possible to break it down: an operator running millions through AppLovin's platform, a gaming-focused financial analyst, and an institutional investor who's seen these cycles before. What emerged isn't your typical bull-bear debate. It's a breakdown of how dominance actually works in ad tech—and what could break it. IN THIS EPISODE → Why AppLovin doesn't need to be better than competitors—just 95% as good → The MAX/Axon lock-in that keeps publishers captive → E-commerce expansion: AppLovin is beating Google on Android → The SEC investigation and deplatforming risk (how worried should you be?) → What one operator's portfolio data reveals about where the cracks are forming → Each panelist's prediction for AppLovin in 2026 SPEAKERS Josh Chandley — President & CEO, WildCard Games Matthew Kanterman, CFA — Director of Research, Blue River Financial Group Brian Peganoff — Former TMT Investor, Founder Timber Advisors Joseph Kim — CEO, Lila Games TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Introduction & Panel Overview [01:22] AppLovin Financial Recap: 127% YTD, 82% Margins [04:52] Valuation Analysis: Is Growth Priced In? [07:15] The Bull Case: Infrastructure Lock-In [10:30] How MAX & Axon Create Publisher Dependency [15:45] E-Commerce Expansion: Beating Google on Android [22:10] Why Meta & Google Can't Compete on iOS [28:40] The Bear Case: Five Risks [35:20] SEC Investigation & Deplatforming Risk [42:15] The Infrastructure Risk Nobody Discusses [48:30] Competitive Landscape: Unity, Moloco, Meta [58:20] Connected TV: Wild Card or Dead End? [1:05:40] Panel Predictions for 2026 [1:15:30] Key Takeaways LINKS Newsletter: https://www.gamemakers.com Full article: https://www.gamemakers.com/p/applovin-bull-bear-case Pixels & Profits is a GameMakers series covering the business and investing side of the gaming industry.

  6. 17/11/2025

    Your validation passed. Your players hated it. Here’s why. | MAG #10

    Most game studios either skip validation entirely or waste hundreds of thousands on academic testing that doesn't move the needle. Both approaches kill products. In this episode, we discuss why product validation is the difference between success and years of wasted development—and introduces two frameworks to fix your process. You'll discover: The Pyramid Decision Model: When to trust tastemaker vision vs. player dataWhy the "wrong tastemaker problem" is your biggest invisible risk5 critical validation failures (and how to avoid each one)The signal vs. noise problem: When player feedback actually hurts your gameStage-specific validation: Pre-production → Production → Soft Launch → Hard LaunchWhy expensive user motivation studies and persona research rarely work This matters if: Your team debates "vision" vs. "data-driven" design endlesslyYou've hired consultants who delivered fancy reports but no resultsYour validation tests keep pointing in different directionsYou're burning runway without knowing if your core concept worksYou need a framework to match methodology to development stage The uncomfortable truth: It's nearly impossible to evaluate a "right tastemaker" without historical success—and even then, they might fail in a new genre. Meanwhile, over-intellectualized academic approaches sound impressive but rarely translate to product gains. Bottom line: Product velocity = speed × direction. Validation should steer your direction, not justify executive forecasts or create someone to blame. This episode gives you the frameworks to validate what matters, when it matters. Read the full breakdown with detailed frameworks:https://www.gamemakers.com/p/your-validation-passed-your-players Timestamps: (00:00:00) Why This Might Be the Most Important Topic Yet(00:01:07) The Two Extremes: No Testing vs. Testing Theater(00:05:28) The Pyramid Decision Model: Top vs. Bottom(00:09:52) Problem #1: The Wrong Tastemaker Problem(00:12:08) Problem #2: Validation Tests Are Often Flawed(00:14:08) Problem #3: Over-Intellectualization (Why Academic Models Fail)(00:17:14) Problem #4: Misinterpreting Validation Results(00:20:02) Problem #5: The Signal vs. Noise Problem(00:22:17) The What, When, and How Framework by Development Stage(00:25:33) Final Thoughts: Why This Is Really, Really Hard#gamedev #productvalidation #gamedevelopment #productmanagement #gamedevelopmenttips

  7. 29/10/2025

    Your Analytics Stack Is Killing Your Studio (The New Meta: PostHog FTW)

    Most game studios waste weeks of runway on the wrong analytics decision—here's how to avoid that mistake. Traditional analytics SDK vendors like Amplitude, Mixpanel, and Braze promise plug-and-play simplicity but deliver silent failures, contract negotiations, and escalating costs that can destroy startup velocity. In this episode, we discuss why the old analytics playbook is obsolete in 2025—and reveals the new meta that's eating market share. You'll discover: Why SDK analytics vendors fail silently (and cost you weeks of bad data)The contract negotiation trap that delays launches by 6+ weeks5 analytics infrastructure options compared (real costs, hidden tradeoffs)Why PostHog is the new standard for studios under 500K MAUHow the right stack can improve dev velocity by 30%+ and cut costs 40-50% This matters if: You're choosing analytics infrastructure for a new gameYour current solution is slowing down iteration speedYou're tired of waiting hours for batched event dataYou want warehouse-native architecture without enterprise costs Bottom line: Your analytics decision could mean the difference between product-market fit and running out of runway. For small to mid-sized game studios, PostHog combines enterprise-grade power with pay-as-you-go pricing—no contracts, no traffic forecasting, no silent failures. Read the full breakdown with technical details, pricing tables, and implementation guides: https://www.gamemakers.com/p/the-new-meta-for-game-analytics-save Timestamps (Episode Chapters): (00:00:00) The Studio-Killing Problem You're Ignoring(00:01:26) The "Silent Failure" Trap (How SDKs Hide Bugs)(00:02:41) How 15-Minute Data Delays Destroy QA Velocity(00:06:02) The Obsolete 3-Tier Analytics Model (and Why It's Broken)(00:10:38) The 6-Week Contract Negotiation Trap(00:14:16) The "Nostradamus" Forecasting Problem: Why You Always Overpay(00:16:19) Option 1: Traditional SDKs (Amplitude, Mixpanel)(00:25:32) Option 2: Firebase + BigQuery(00:28:34) Option 3: Unity Analytics(00:30:21) Option 4: The New Meta (PostHog)(00:36:14) Option 5: The Enterprise Trap (Snowflake)(00:39:01) Integrated (Braze) vs. Best-of-Breed (PostHog + CRM)(00:42:56) The Final Verdict: What to Choose By Studio Size

  8. 24/10/2025

    Why Game Studio Failures Are Structure Problems, Not Talent Problems | Chris Casanova (Microsoft, Mojang, Relic, Hypixel)

    Most game studios think they have a talent problem. They don't. They have a structure problem. Chris Casanova spent 15+ years as a producer across Microsoft Xbox, Mojang (Minecraft), Relic Entertainment, Offworld Industries, and Hypixel Studios. He's watched talented teams fail repeatedly—not from lack of skill, but from organizational friction. Traditional studios organize around craft silos: design departments, engineering departments, art departments. Every feature requires handoffs. Every handoff loses fidelity. The result? Friction, misalignment, wasted iteration, and missed deadlines. Chris reveals the alternative: cross-functional outcome teams of 5-9 people who own their results from concept to ship. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ TIMESTAMPS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 - Chris's background: Xbox, Mojang, Relic 02:59 - Why he wrote "Structure Teams to Win" 06:54 - The problem with craft-based teams 08:17 - Outcome teams: The procedural worlds example 18:32 - Why 5-9 people is optimal team size 24:10 - Three organizational layers explained 31:48 - When leaders resist change 42:20 - The political reality of reorganization 47:15 - Case study: 70-person AA co-op shooter 58:07 - Advice for small teams (10 people) 01:01:06 - How to connect with Chris ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ KEY INSIGHTS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ THE PROBLEMS: - Design creates specs without context → over-engineered solutions - Art produces assets without validation → endless iteration - QA receives unclear requirements → irrelevant bug reports - Every handoff loses the original intent THE SOLUTION: Cross-functional teams of 5-9 people with: → Mixed disciplines (designers, engineers, artists, QA embedded) → Clear mission and measurable KPIs → Everything needed to own their outcome → Minimal handoffs, maximum collaboration REAL EXAMPLE: Procedural worlds team mission: "Every world seed feels fresh, readable, performant" KPI: Biome novelty per minute Team: Generation engineers, world designers, environment artists, technical artists, QA ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 70-PERSON STUDIO STRUCTURE ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Chris provides detailed org structure for AA co-op shooter: - Combat & Gameplay (15 people, 2 teams) - Progression & Economy (10 people, 2 teams) - Social & Co-Op (12 people, 2 teams) - Content & Live Ops (15 people, 2 teams) - World & Narrative (10 people, 1 team) - Technical Foundation (8 people, 1 team) Each team has 5-9 people with mixed disciplines focused on specific outcomes. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ THE HARD TRUTHS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Some leaders won't make the transition from managing 30 people to being on a team of 8. They'll resist or self-select out. And that's okay—holding onto territorial structures to preserve egos is how studios fail. "If you have a C-suite that's divided, you're not going to be able to make this change. You need unified leadership." ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ RESOURCES MENTIONED ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ - "Team of Teams" by Gen. Stanley McChrystal - "Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Willink - "Structure Teams to Win" (Chris's Medium article) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ CONNECT WITH CHRIS ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Chris is seeking his next production leadership role. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-casanova/ Email: ChrisCasanova@outlook.com Article: https://medium.com/@chris.casanova/structure-teams-to-win-15d98e65c5d7 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ READ THE FULL BREAKDOWN ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Detailed newsletter post with implementation templates and additional examples: https://www.gamemakers.com/p/why-your-game-studios-organizational ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Gamemakers podcast: Gaming business insights for developers, executives, and investors. Hosted by Joseph Kim. New episodes weekly. #gamedev #productmanagement #teamstructure #leadership

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Sobre

The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.

Informação

  • Autoria
    Joseph Kim
  • Anos em atividade
    2020 - 2026
  • Episódios
    189
  • Classificação
    Para todos
  • Copyright
    © Joseph Kim
  • Site do programa
    GameMakers

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