GameMakers

By Joseph KimLeisure Video Games

GameMakers episodes

January 12, 2024 How Profitable is Monopoly Go? (Is #1 really #1?)
In this podcast episode, Joseph Kim, Matej Lancaric, and Summer Liu discuss the profitability of the game Monopoly Go.
They explore the controversy surrounding the game and the lack of a widely accepted definition of profitability in the industry.
The conversation covers data analysis, marketing strategies, and the use of different creatives. The hosts also discuss the importance of understanding CPIs and the impact of scaling up advertising spend.
The conversation delves into the topic of profitability in the mobile games business, exploring the nuances and challenges of defining and achieving profitability. It discusses the importance of maintaining scale and KPIs in order to sustain profitability.
The conversation also highlights the differences between operational profitability and UA modeled payback profitability. Additionally, it touches on the LTV curves and payback periods in different game genres. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the profitability of Monopoly Go and the need for a clear definition of profitability.
Takeaways
The games industry lacks a widely accepted definition of profitability, leading to confusion and conflation of different issues.
Monopoly Go has achieved significant success, with high revenue and a large number of downloads.
The game utilizes various marketing strategies, including video and playable ads, to attract and engage players.
Understanding CPIs and the impact of scaling up advertising spend is crucial for evaluating the profitability of a game. Maintaining scale and KPIs is crucial for sustaining profitability in the mobile games business.
Profitability in the mobile games industry can be defined differently, including operational profitability and UA modeled payback profitability.
LTV curves and payback periods vary across different game genres and can impact profitability.
There are nuances and tricks in game profitability, including accounting practices and adjusting costs.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:00 Defining Profitability in the Games Industry
09:00 Data Analysis and Revenue
23:00 Marketing Analysis
32:00 Creative Strategies and CPIs
43:04 Maintaining Scale and KPIs
44:03 Defining Profitability in the Mobile Games Business
45:57 Operational Profitability vs. UA Modeled Payback Profitability
49:46 LTV Curves and Payback Periods
53:56 Nuances and Tricks in Game Profitability
59:46 Is Monopoly Go Profitable?
54 min
January 11, 2024 Roblox (RBLX): Business Overview and Future (What you need to know!)
Recorded mid December 2023. We discuss the current and future outlook of Roblox with a focus on financials.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:11 Overview of the business
5:00 Being a social network vs. gaming platform
5:43 Financial overview
7:06 How does Roblox turn around their profitability? Biggest expense buckets
11:51 Structure and components of Roblox business, 3 primary parts: client, studio, and cloud and 8 groups
14:30 Roblox creator economics and definition of a creator
17:45 Growth opportunities: where will Roblox find user or revenue growth?
37:12 AI applications and opportunities for Roblox
43:35 Regulation risk
44:19 Biggest challenges = social competition
46:55 Roblox’s stock based compensation problem
51:17 Future outlook
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY
54 min
January 09, 2024 AI NPCs in Gaming with Inworld AI ft. Travis Boatman, Carbonated
Discussion with Kylan Gibbs, Chief Product Officer at Inworld AI and Travis Boatman, CEO at Carbonated. We discuss Inworld's AI services around AI NPCs / conversational AI for games.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
2:00 Inworld AI origin story and application areas of relationships and progression
9:27 Roleplaying is biggest application area for social simulation and emergent storytelling
13:47 How Travis thinks about AI for his games at Carbonated
17:50 Personalizing content for players
20:09 JK’s nice to have (tips/guide, loneliness, strange attractor) vs. fundamental integration of AI perspective
22:24 Kylan on building a personal relationship with characters and game world
25:14 Unexpected application: companion characters for FPS or MMO
26: 05 New game designs: social simulators
27:00 Interaction-focused role-playing games
27:55 Biggest area is detective-style games
28:40 Emerging application: show/game hybrid
29:32 Characterization of the market opportunity for conversational AI - gaming is core focus
31:47 Can you use AI to be a DM in a D&D campaign?
36:01 AI enables creatives to focus on story and core game
38:45 Economics of conversational AI - How much? Who pays? Cloud vs. on-device
45:06 JK and Travis on mitigating and justifying costs using AI as a dev
50:13 AI NPCs competitive landscape and how to differentiate between vendors
56:46 Addressing AI risks concerning IP ownership and data provenance
1:02:39 What other AI applications will have biggest impact to gaming? Which companies?
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Inworld AI: https://inworld.ai/
- Carbonated Games: https://www.carbonated.com/
- Kylan Gibbs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylangibbs/
- Travis Boatman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-boatman-3bb593/
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY
1 hr 9 min
January 09, 2024 Savvy Games $30B?, iPhone gaming in trouble, Game Industry Job Hunting, Netflix, Predictions | GO #6
Joseph Kim and Arthur Trusov talk top game charts, game industry news, and games we're playing.

Savvy Games Group: “Approximately 75 percent of our capital allotment has not yet been invested”
The future of iPhone gaming is in trouble
My personal rollercoaster of job hunting and growth in the games industry
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood mobile game to shut down
Netflix considers ways to make money from video games in potential pivot
Predictions for 2024’s gaming
Star Citizen has a $48,000 DLC??
Game Studio Shuts Down due to Cyberattacks
Season 2 of Arcane has been teased
1 hr
January 02, 2024 8 Ball Pool. Sony MIcrosoft Riposte mobile M&A in '24?, Owen Mahoney, Top 5 FPS Games, Starfield "Mostly Negative", Top Steam and Nintendo Games of '23, Layoffs in '23 | GO #5
We discuss game industry news for the past week: Joseph Kim and Arthur Trusov.

0:00 Intro - New Years Eve
2:52 Top Steam charts - Baldur’s Gate 3, Lethal Company, Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077 big jumps
6:27 Top mobile charts - Ice Scream 8, 8 Ball Pool, Royal Match vs. Monopoly GO
9:40 8 Ball Pool Keeps Trucking from Gamemakers Newsletter, innovations and early history, opportunity in runner games
14:52 Sony Activision Riposte will involve mobile gaming from Reuters
20:27 from Owen Mahoney interview: “Nobody in the industry is happy” from Game File newsletter - game projects getting too big
32:11 Top 5 FPS mobile games for 2024: Polygon Arena, Rainbow Six Mobile, Warzone Mobile, Valorant Mobile, and Arena Breakout Season 2
40:30 China’s NPPA walks back some Chinese gaming restrictions on WeChat, approves over 100 game licenses in response to backlash
44:45 Bethesda’s Starfield reviews tank to mostly negative
50:55 Valve’s bestselling games of 2023
54:00 Nintendo’s best downloaded games on Switch for 2023: Suika + new Dragon Quest game
59:30 Ghost Runner is free on Epic Games
1:00:00 Layoffs in 2023
1:03:30 Thoughts on 2024
1:07:55 Games we’re playing: Diablo 4, Block Jam 3D, Ghostrunner
1 hr 12 min
December 28, 2023 China regulations tank Netease and Tencent, Take-Two's $12B Zynga bet tumbles, Valorant Mobile, Insomniac Games leak, More layoffs, Winter sale and gaming deals | GO #4
Joseph Kim (Oldie but Goodie) and Arthur Trusov (Young Blood) discuss top charts and gaming news.

0:00 Intro
2:22 Top Steam charts
5:05 Top mobile charts
7:45 China to curb gaming spend: Netease and Tencent plunge
10:13 China regulator to study concerns about the new gaming curbs
12:45 Take-Two Bet $12B Just as mobile games tumbled
19:33 Valorant Mobile Game
25:30 Insomniac Games major hacking leak
29:30 GTA hacker sentenced
30:45 More layoffs at Sony, may close studio
32:35 Steam Winter sale up to 60% off on games and other gaming deals
38:03 What’re we playing? Ready or Not, Wild Rift, Coop games
42 min
December 19, 2023 Netflix game strategy, Fortnite breaks records, Tiktok breaks $10B, Epic vs. Google, and more! | Go #3
Game over podcast Episode #3.

Joseph Kim and Arthur Trusov talk top game charts, gaming news, and games we're playing.

Overview:
0:00 Intro
2:19 Top Steam charts
4:32 Top Mobile charts
6:10 Netflix future games strategy
10:30 Epic Games hits all time records with Fortnite
13:12 TikTok hits over $10B in mobile IAP revenue
15:45 Epic Games wins verdict against Google for monopolistic behavior
21:40 Max Payne voice actor passed away
22:50 First home game console turns 50 years old
24:00 Sony patents dynamically adjusting game difficulty
26:09 Tencent shuts down Team Kaiju studio
28:28 E3 games conference shutting down
33:36 Twitter allowed “Artistic Nudity”, backlash
38:40 Games we’re playing: Block Jam 3D (mobile), Asgard’s Wrath 2 (Oculus), Grand Theft Auto Online (PC)
45 min
December 12, 2023 "Unity, I'm done," Stormgate RTS Kickstarter, Sega's $800M Super Game, GTA 6, Game Awards | GO #2
From Game Over podcast. Dual publishing here until we get a bigger audience. Joseph Kim and Arthur Trusov talk top games by market charts, gaming news, and games we're playing.

Agenda:
0:00 Intro
2:11 Top Steam charts
3:25 Top Mobile charts
6:53 “Unity, I’m Done” - Fundamentally Games CEO quits Unity
13:56 Frost Giant’s Stormgate RTS fully funds Kickstarter
21:22 Sega’s new Super Game with an over $800M budget
25:50 GTA 6 Launch trailer and announcement
33:10 Day Before extraction shooter Top 10 worst rated game on Steam
37:50 EA’s old multiplayer games getting shut down
41:25 The Game Awards
47:14 What’re we playing? New Call of Duty Warzone map, Black Clover M, Spider Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Lethal Company
51 min
October 21, 2023 Gardens: Building a Startup Games Studio for success (makers of Journey, Spider-Man, Skyrim)
If you were going to start a new games studio, how would you design the organization, the work environment, and work culture and values for the company?
We speak with the co-founders of Gardens, who are building a shared fantasy adventure game from a veteran team that has worked on games such as Journey, Spider-Man, Skyrim, and many others.
Gardens has recently announced an over $30M series A round, and we discuss how they are starting.
- How are they designing their organization? Why did they make specific decisions on how to work and operate?
Also joining us, is veteran game industry veteran Kristian Segerstrale. Co-founder of Glu Mobile, early investor in Supercell, cofounder and CEO of Playfish acquired by EA, senior exec at EA, and currently CEO of Super Evil Megacorp.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:38 How to deal with cofounder relationships?
2:35 Meeting Lexi for the first time and starting the company with lots of preparation
6:06 How do you fight and disagree with each other?
8:54 Most important issues to figure out as an early startup - need to resolve disagreements in a good way and personal motivations
12:42 Industry trends over next 5-10 years vs. focusing internally - strategic product decisions (platform) and fundraising strategy
20:08 Validating assumptions and asking for help
20:50 Gardens game: “an online PVPVE fantasy action adventure survival sandbox”
23:53 How to green light/validate game concepts at Garden and convincing investors of funding from Seed to Series A through prototyping
29:00 How did they think about designing their organization and establishing company culture and values?
34:06 Will Garden’s employee-centric focus and support of “work-life-balance” hurt their ability to succeed? Is hard-core necessary?
40:50 How to be successful without working in office and without hardcore work ethic?
47:20 What are key concerns for success? Scaling/hiring
49:37 Hiring from 3 to 20
51:53 Objectives from Series A funding and overall ambition for the game project
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY
59 min
October 03, 2023 Unity Software (U): Huge Problems, Negative Outlook, Big Changes Required
There's a lot of context behind Unity's recent run-time fees and the big changes they rolled out on pricing. Find out more about Unity's business, issues & problems, and future outlook.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
0:52 High-level overview of Unity’s business: 1. Create and 2. Grow
5:40 Financials overview: Create vs. Grow, revenue growth, impact from Ironsource
12:04 The new world requires a different management approach & dollar-based net expansion rate
21:30 The Unity China business - context behind JV
25:38 Unity management’s egregious stock-based compensation (SBC)
34:44 Overview of Unity M&A activity
38:40 Unity Run-time fees/pricing changes discussion
42:48 Understanding the historical context behind the Unity pricing changes
46:18 Impact of pricing changes to Unity’s business
52:30 Winners & losers
54:18 Applovin impact
55:27 Future outlook for Unity
1:05:43 Final words: Change or die!
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- JK's podcast on Twitter:    • Speculative Bull Case for Twitter: So...
- Matthew Kanterman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-k...
- Joseph Kim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
- Brian Peganoff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-peg...
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney    • Economy of the Metaverse | Fortnite C...
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies    • Building the Amazon of Game Companies...
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021    • Mobile Gaming Trends in 2021 | Joe Ki...
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming    • Future of PC Gaming | David Brevik, S...
🔴 Games Industry M&A    • Games Industry M&A: Keys to Success w...
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games    • Netcode for Multiplayer Games | Glenn...
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact    • Apple IDFA Deprecation: Product & Too...
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score    • Trip Hawkins | The New High Score (Pa...
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices    • LiveOps - F2P Sales Best Practices 2020
1 hr 10 min

About GameMakers

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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,…