Naavik Gaming Podcast

12:49

Naavik Digest: The Memo That Undid 10 Years of XBOX...

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/07/19

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, July 19th. In this week’s issue, we shine a light on the memo that undid 10 years of Xbox strategy, focusing on what CEO Asha Sharma is actually trying to achieve. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/the-memo-that-undid-ten-years-of-xbox-strategyMeet with Naavik at Gamescom: https://naavik.typeform.com/to/qE3Yw6pa?typeform-source=www.dropbox.com Want

en

49:38

What Game Studios Still Get Wrong About DTC

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/07/16

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) is moving from an experimental monetization channel toward a more established part of game publishing, but adoption remains uneven. Host Devin Becker is joined by David Stelzer, CSO of Appcharge, to discuss findings from the company’s recent report and what they reveal about the current state of DTC. They examine why more than half of studios are still making few meaningful changes, what separates the small group of innovators pulling ahead, and where developers

en

17:23

Naavik Digest: How the AI Boom Is Rewiring the...

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/07/12

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, July 12th. In today’s issue, we evaluate the memory boom’s effect on the present and future of gaming hardware.You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/the-ai-boom-is-repricing-gaming-hardware-and-rewiring-the-console-businessMeet with Naavik at Gamescom: https://naavik.typeform.com/to/qE3Yw6pa?typeform-source=www.dropbox.com India’s State of Play report:

en

59:39

Can Performance Marketing Finally Work On Steam?

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/07/07

Mobile has spent the last decade perfecting paid acquisition, and often, paid UA comprises 99% of a mobile game’s marketing budget. PC and console gaming generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue, yet most studios have never tried performance marketing once. PC and console have always played in the field of brand, festivals, press, influencers, and content creators due to a variety of reasons that we unpack in this episode. Alexandra Takei, VP of Platform Revenue at Medal, sits down

en

15:20

Naavik Digest: The Next Wave of Creator-Led Growth

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/07/05

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, July 5th. In today’s issue, we discuss the underrated, emerging intersection of creators and DTC — and why creator codes specifically are becoming an increasingly low-cost, high-reward way to drive player engagement and monetization.You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/the-next-wave-of-creator-led-growthWant to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a

en

68:25

Inside Cannes Lions: What Makes Award-Winning Gaming...

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/06/30

In this special episode of the Naavik Gaming Podcast, recorded live from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, host Kalie Moore sits down with fellow Cannes Lions Gaming Jury member Cheryl Platz, author of The Game Development Strategy Guide, and former UX leader at Riot Games, Scopely, Microsoft, and Amazon. Together, they pull back the curtain on what it was actually like judging one of the world's most prestigious creative awards programs, from the multi-stage evaluation

en

14:27

Naavik Digest: Two Underrated Mobile Development Regions

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/06/28

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, June 28th. In today’s issue, we uncover two underrated mobile development regions that are flying under the radar — a downloads powerhouse and a small but mighty region punching above its weight. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/two-underrated-mobile-development-regionsWant to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note:

en

47:47

What Game Studios Can Learn from the AI Microdrama Boom

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/06/23

In this episode, host Kalie Moore sits down with Angela Yu, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of StoReel, to explore one of the fastest-growing entertainment categories that gaming executives should be paying attention to: AI-native microdramas. While many still think of microdramas as shortened TV shows, Angela argues they have far more in common with mobile games, relying on retention loops, emotional hooks, creator ecosystems, user acquisition economics, and increasingly interactive experiences. She

en

15:44

Naavik Digest: 30 Years of Gaming at LEGO

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/06/21

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, June 21st. In today’s issue, we dive deep into LEGO’s 30-year history, examining its roots, how it is quietly starting to change, and what comes next for the company in gaming. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/thirty-years-of-gaming-at-lego Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ Let us know what you think

en

22:53

Naavik Digest: The Microdrama Volume vs. Value Paradox

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/06/14

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, June 14th. In today’s issue, we discuss the current state of microdramas — a category which rapidly evolved from a niche Chinese entertainment phenomenon into one of the fastest-growing mobile content categories in the world — exploring the widening gap between audience expansion and monetization, a trend which raises important questions about the category’s long-term economics.You can read the newsletter (with even more

en

65:24

Lessons from Real M&A Transactions: Getting Studios...

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/06/09

Gaming M&A is no longer just a story about strategics buying obvious hits. In this episode, Alexandra Takei, VP of Platform Revenue at Medal, sits down with Brogan Keane, Managing Partner at Double Black Capital, to unpack what actually happens when a game studio reaches the end of its company lifecycle: sale, exit, or recapitalization. The conversation breaks down who is buying game companies today, from private equity firms and Korean strategics to non-gaming entertainment companies

en

14:11

Naavik Digest: Embracer Splits Again

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/06/07

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, June 7th. In today’s issue, we shine a light on Embracer after the company recently announced it is splitting up again. We look back at the key strategic decisions the company has made and what they might mean for its future.You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/embracer-splits-again Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note:

en

57:07

How to Reduce Churn and Keep Players Playing

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/06/02

Keeping players playing is getting harder as player attention fragments and expectations rise, so understanding churn has become a core live-ops competency. Host Devin Becker sits down with Elad Levy, Founder & CTO of Dive, to break down how churn is defined (and when it’s actually “permanent”), the behavioral signals that players are drifting toward the exit, and the underlying causes teams can often address before it’s too late. They dig into practical interventions from in-session

en

16:43

Naavik Digest: Dissecting Scopely's Mobile Empire

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/05/31

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, May 31st. In today’s issue, we dive deep into Scopely and the three titles which generate close to 95% of the company’s monthly in-app revenue, examining their current states and future prospects. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/dissecting-scopelys-mobile-empire Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ Let

en

54:55

True Crime, Now Playable: Inside Scriptic's...

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/05/26

In this episode, host Kalie Moore sits down with James Nicholls, Studio Director at Scriptic, to explore one of the most fascinating intersections emerging in entertainment today: true crime, interactive storytelling, streaming platforms, and AI-powered production. Scriptic’s breakout title, Scriptic: Crime Stories, became one of the top-performing games in Netflix Games history by turning players into detectives investigating crimes through phones, voice notes, chats, and digital evidence

en

15:04

Naavik Digest: Where will Asha Sharma take Xbox?

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/05/24

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, May 24th. This week, we take a closer look at Asha Sharma's progress and plans three months into her tenure as CEO of Xbox — reviewing her early moves and what she may need to do to reverse Xbox’s fortunes. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/where-will-asha-sharma-take-xbox Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note:

en

57:10

Listening to Players at Scale

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/05/20

Host Devin Becker sits down with Tom Gayner, CEO of Levellr, to dig into what it actually looks like to listen to players at scale, and how to turn the constant stream of feedback from places like Discord and Reddit into usable sentiment signals. Tom breaks down how Levellr gathers and organizes that data, what teams gain when they treat social channels as a living feedback layer, and how different communities or players tend to “slant” the conversation in different ways. They also get

en

20:40

Naavik Digest: The Eastern Playbook for Dominating...

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/05/17

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, May 17th. This week, we conduct a focused case study within the highly competitive Merge-2 subgenre of the casual mobile F2P market, where certain Eastern developers are now consistently out-monetizing their Western counterparts while competing for the same audience pools. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here:

en

63:46

Premium: Driving Back Catalogue, DLC, and the Long Tail

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/05/14

Most premium games are treated like opening-weekend businesses: if they do not spike, studios cut losses and move on. This episode challenges that instinct. Alexandra Takei, VP of Platform Revenue at Medal, sits down with Ian Fielding, CEO of Super Evil Megacorp, to discuss how studios can build durable premium games, manage back catalogs, and survive as independent AA companies in a market that increasingly punishes the middle.The conversation traces SEMC’s evolution from Vainglory and

en

13:06

Naavik Digest: Inside Saudi Arabia's $38 Billion...

Naavik Gaming Podcast ·

2026/05/10

This is the audio version of the Naavik Digest newsletter published on May 10th, 2026. This week, we dive deep into Savvy Games Group, exploring what the Saudi Arabian gaming holding company now owns, how it’s performed, and its endgame.You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/inside-saudi-arabias-gaming-empireMeet with Naavik at the Nordic Game 2026: https://naavik.typeform.com/to/Jc5cl7eY Let us know what you think by

en

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

TaxTalent.com The Golden Rule Podcast

Adam Golden

TaxTalent.com Podcast

Tony Santiago

Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog

Martin North

The Smashi Business Show

Augustus Media

Dagen med Di

Dagens industri