Deconstructor of Fun

In the heyday of 2022, there was an unprecedented surge in investment in Web3 games, capturing nearly half of all investment in both dollars and raw numbers. However, the excitement and speculation didn't translate into quality games, resulting in numerous failures within the industry.

Kress embraces grouchiness and brings the fire to today's podcast. Phil gets triggered by behavioural economics delivering an epic rant. Mishka weakly defends his “China” point and Jen talks about the latest Call of Duty that got drowned by the worst score in the history of the franchise. 

The crew discusses why console developers are backtracking from the Games-as-a-Service model and announces the Deconstructor of Fun Gaming Awards. The episode is capped by Zynga’s Match Factory breakdown.

In the latest podcast, Mishka delves into an all-encompassing discussion with Chris Hewish, President and interim CEO of Xsolla. Chris boasts an impressive gaming career that spans iconic companies like Skydance, Survios, DreamWorks, and includes a substantial 13-year stint at Activision.

Topics discussed:

With Miska resuming his jet-set life, Jen reviews hygiene at Blizzcon, while Kress tells us his opinion on the unexpected departure of PlayStation CEO and reminds us of the difference between Trekkies and fans. Laura and Phil go deep on Brawl Stars' new announcement - it's due or die. Phil can't understand The Finals, and neither can Eric. Omega Strikers is dead, and the team performs an autopsy.

BIG ups to our sponsors AppsFlyer, Heroic Labs, Data.ai and Xsolla!

Are you ready for the Merger & Acquisition Masterclass? Learn from Chris Petrovic, former Zynga Head of Corporate Strategy, why game companies venture into M&A, what are the biggest challenges and reasons leading to failed deals, current M&A trends, and more.

As Microsoft reorgs Xbox leadership, we debate who could be the perfect person to replace Bobby Kotick as the CEO of Activision. We also discuss why our industry has all the layoffs in the middle of breaking sales records. And we also talk about games: Mario Wonder, Supercell's Mo.Co and Wonder Blast from Good Game Studios.

shoutout to our world-class spornsors: AppsFlyer, Xsolla, Heroic Labs, and Data.ai

In this episode, we explore the unique challenges and successes of a remarkable woman CEO in the gaming industry.

Our guest, Carol Miu, has shattered glass ceilings and achieved incredible milestones throughout her career. We'll dive deep into her journey, discussing gender disparities in the CEO role, her most memorable achievements in maintaining work-life balance, industry evolution, and her reflections on her career. Y

ou won't want to miss this inspiring conversation with a trailblazing leader in the gaming world. Stay tuned for valuable insights and advice!

How do game companies get press for their new games, big company moments, or new hires? We ask Neil Long, founder and editor of Mobilegamer.biz, for tips and tricks on how to approach game media to get press.

Neil Long is the founder and editor of mobilegamer.biz, a new site for the mobile games business. He started out in games industry journalism almost 20 years ago, and before launching mobilegamer.biz he spent seven years at Apple as an App Store games editor, working out of the London office. 

The non-sick trifecta of Kress, Phil, and Jen hold down the fort. Kress pushed back on the India opportunity, arguing it's only for the top-of-the-top games. The gang revisits the Unity runtime fee news with new insights and quotes reported by Mobilegamer.biz. Shameless speculation ensues about Microsoft's declining success with Game Pass, meaning they might want to cancel it. What happened to Payday3? Trading was canceled in Rocket League.

All this and the top game industry news of the week. 

How to deal with negative feedback? And the importance of self-esteem, self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-evaluation. 

In today’s Episode joined by my friend and former colleague, Sophie Vo. Sophie comes with 15 years of experience in the games industry working at companies like Gameloft, Wooga, Rovio, Voodoo, and Savage Game Studios.

Sophie is perhaps best known for her Rise & Play podcast and newsletter, which focuses on leadership challenges in the gaming industry.