Game Developer Podcast

On this week's episode of the Game Developer podcast, celebrated game designer Harvey Smith and former Arkane Austin executive producer Ben Horne—also the co-founders of the new game studio Black Pony Immersive—join senior editor Bryant Francis for a conversation about the creative principles at the heart of their new venture. 

When you're talking about founding any new company, you're usually discussing topics like funding and "addressable marketplaces," but Smith and Horne have had far deeper and more intense discussions about the creative craft of game development—and are ready to explain how those philosophies can make for a successful studio.

Learn more about Black Pony Immersive: https://www.blackpony.com/

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What's changing in the world of co-development (co-dev) and external development (ex-dev) GDC Side Quest returns with another interview recorded on the show floor of the 2026 GDC of Festival of Gaming, this time speaking with Microsoft veteran and XDS Spark co-founder Sam Carlisle. Content marketing manager Beth Elderkin joins Carlisle, who has over fifteen years of experience sourcing high-quality external content for major game development projects, to discuss why this development practice is becoming more and more essential in the changing world of video game production. 

Learn more about GDC Festival of Gaming: https://gdconf.com/

Learn more about XDS Spark: https://www.xds-spark.com/

Game Developer and GDC Festival of Gaming are sibling organizations under Informa Festivals.

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On this week's episode of the Game Developer podcast, senior editor Bryant Francis chats with Peter Hodges, director for ecosystem strategy for developer platforms at ARM. Peter is a game development veteran who uses his experience in the game-making profession to help developers integrate ARM technology into their workflows. He's currently focused on helping developers understand ARM's new Neural Technology—a collection of on-chip AI techniques that improve frame rate and expand lighting possibilities on mobile devices.

You can't talk about the benefits of new dev tools without discussing why developers use them—that's why today's episode doesn't just talk about the possibilities of on-chip AI, but also the impact of art like Hollis Framptons' 1969 7-minute short film Lemon.

Learn more about ARM Neural Technology: https://developer.arm.com/mobile-graphics-and-gaming/neural-technology

Learn more about Lemon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_(1969_film)

Learn more about Somerset House's  MC Escher exhibition: https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/mc-escher-the-exhibition

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On this week's episode of the Game Developer podcast, senior editor Bryant Francis sits down with Bit Reactor CEO and co-founder Greg Foertsch, who also served as creative director on Star Wars Zero Company, the newest adventure in that galaxy far far away. Foertsch sat down to discuss important perspectives on making good camera perspectives, the value in having every team member think of themselves as a "game developer," regardless of their job title, and why he loves the character  Huyang from Star Wars The Clone Wars and Ahsoka: A Star Wars Story.

Learn more about Bit Reactor: https://www.bitreactor.com/

Learn more about Star Wars Zero Company: https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/zero-company

Learn more about Huyang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huyang

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GDC Side Quest is back with another fantastic interview straight from the show floor of GDC Festival of Gaming. This month, celebrated composer Austin Wintory joins content marketing manager Beth Elderkin for a conversation about his creative process as a composer on games like Journey, Sword and the Sea, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, and other excellent titles.

Austin also breaks down the process for crafting the Developer's Concert—an annual musical celebration of the art of game development only available at the GDC Festival of Gaming. 

Learn more about GDC Festival of Gaming: https://gdconf.com/

Learn more about Austin Wintory: https://www.austinwintory.com/projects-videogames

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This week on the Game Developer Podcast, senior editor Bryant Francis, former Maxis senior engineer David "Rez" Graham and former Take-Two head of AI Dr. Luke Dicken—both celebrated experts in the field of video game AI—are tackling the "black hole" of a topic that is generative AI. Graham and Dicken have spent their careers studying AI techniques to help developers make better, more exciting games, and they have had lots of opinions watching their field of expertise become the explosively large business driving excitement in Silicon Valley.

This is a conversation about AI and AI techniques, but it’s also a conversation about the nature of work, what goals we’re trying to achieve when we use AI technology, and the inherent value of AI in game development.

Learn more about David “Rez” Graham: https://www.academyart.edu/academics/game-development/ 

Learn more about Luke Dicken: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukedicken

Learn more about Suck Up: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2726370/Suck_Up/

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This week on the Game Developer Podcast, we’re diving into the discipline of localization—the undersung heroes of the video game industry. Localizers and translators are the ones who make it possible for games to sell beyond the borders of their native language—but they’re also the ones facing brutal cuts and threats to their jobs in the face of cost-cutting and dodgy implementation of generative AI. They sometimes aren’t even properly credited for their work.

As it turns out, many developers never get a chance to speak with their colleagues in the world of localization, and there’s plenty of best practices that haven’t proliferated across the industry. Today we’re bridging that gap with our guests, Concha Fernández Álvarez and LocQuest’s Aurélie Perrin, and Guido Di Carlo.

Learn more about Concha Fernández Álvarez: https://cfernandez.me/

Learn more about LocQuest: https://locquest.com/

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It's time for another episode of GDC Side Quest and another fantastic conversation recorded live on the GDC Festival of Gaming Show Floor. This month’s guest: acclaimed actor Samantha Béart, known for her work in Larian Studios' Baldur’s Gate III, Cloak and Dagger Games’s The Excavation of Hobbs Barrow, and IO Interactive’s 007 First Light. The powerhouse actor took time to discuss how they’ve seen developers better integrate acting performances in the creative process, their conversations with showrunner Craig Mazin about his planned Baldur’s Gate III TV show, and the challenges of doing great work in a sometimes secretive recording environment.

Learn more about GDC Festival of Gaming: https://gdconf.com/

Learn more about Samantha Béart: https://samantha-beart-shop.fourthwall.com/

Learn more about It Takes A Village: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdETg9xOislGXARi19-Tfm8SOUH46RHrl&si=5MLI1R2u4D8D4cE4

Game Developer and GDC Festival of Gaming are sibling organizations under Informa Festivals.

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This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Jackbox Games CEO Mike Bilder joins senior editor Bryant Francis to discuss how the makers of the Jackbox Party Pack series survived the—in hindsight—inevitable decline of sales after the end of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. It’s a trend that’s battered game developers all over the industry, and if Jackbox had overexpanded after its success, things could have taken a turn for the worst.

Instead, Jackbox has endured the downturn and set up a new publishing arm to support other developers making weird, unique comedy games like Toot Games’ My Arms Are Longer Now. We're quizzing Bilder about Jackbox's strategy for navigating hard times and what kinds of games it wants to publish.

Learn more about Jackbox Games: https://www.jackboxgames.com/

Learn more about My Arms Are Longer Now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2646170/My_Arms_Are_Longer_Now/

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This week on the Game Developer Podcast, NexusMods CEO Victor Folmann joins senior editor Bryant Francis for a conversation about the unique and fascinating world of video game modding. For years, players have used the site as a platform to host a bona fide treasure trove of creative modifications to their favorite games. Now, Folmann believes the company can evolve from a file-hosting company to a bona fide user-generated content (UGC) platform.

How? To find out, we’re digging into the unique dynamics of running an open-source platform defined by players who set the terms on what they want from video game mods. It’s a group of highly-technical and shrewd players who will do whatever it takes to alter the game of their choice, even if it means digging through obscure and poorly-documented file systems. 

Can this kind of content be brought to more players? That’s what we’re here to find out.

Learn more about NexusMods: https://www.nexusmods.com/

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