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PODCAST

The Business of Video Games Podcast

The Business of Video Games Podcast

Welcome to The Business of Video Games Podcast.A show where we shed some light on the inner workings of the games industry—the why, how, who, and what the hell?! behind business decisions, publishing calls, and the steps (and missteps) that happen behind the scenes. Basically: the inside view on how and why things are actually done the way they are. Not just guesswork on 4Chan. The podcast is hosted by Shams Jorjani (CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, Chairman of the Board at Hooded Horse, and founder

leisure video games

All Episodes

55:51

Business Of Video Games Episode 43 - Games industry...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2025/07/16

In our final episode of the season, Shams and Fernando drop the guest format to tackle a few persistent myths and misconceptions that have been quietly annoying us all year.We dig into things like: How a game can be a bestseller and still be considered a disappointment What minority investments really mean — and what they don’t No shouting, no hot takes (okay, maybe one), just two people who’ve seen a few things, trying to make sense of a business that often doesn't. Thanks for listening this

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46:14

Business Of Video Games Episode 41 - Should You Be...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2025/06/30

Nobody does shadow drops (the act of releasing a game with no advance marketing) quite like Landfall Games, who've done it many times; most recently moving 2 million units of PEAK in less than 2 weeks after shadow dropping it in June.Fernando talks to Landfall's Chief Business Officer Rebecca Lautner and Head of Publishing Kirsten-Lee Naidoo to get the inside story of how they've become the masters of this unusual tactic.

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01:14:08

Business Of Video Games Episode 41 - Business War...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2025/05/16

XCOM designer and Sid Meier protege Jake Solomon is embarking on a new mission: CEO of his own studio. Jake gives Shams and Fernando a window into his extraordinary career, telling stories from his days at Firaxis and talking about his journey to found Midsummer Studios.Follow Jake's progress at https://www.midsummerstudios.com/

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01:09:19

Business Of Video Games Episode 40 - Forty Two...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2025/04/04

Fourty two is the answer to life - but it's also the number of points of wisdom justly dispensed by games industry veteran Paul Kilduff-Taylor - mastermind behind Developer/Publisher/Operator - Mode 7 Games. Paul wrote the list of "42 Essential Game Dev Tips That Are Immutably Correct and Must Never Be Disputed by Anyone Ever At Any Time!" and we unpack some of these and try to figure out why Paul is a very wise man. Because he is.(sorry about Shams audio - its fixed in the next episode!) Check

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01:00:51

Business Of Video Games Episode 39 - The Indie...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2025/03/10

Season 3 finally continues with a truly unique indie business auteur!Xalavier Nelson Jr. runs Strange Scaffold, a game studio that defies convention—achieving repeated success while staying boldly artistic. Listen in to hear Xalavier and Strange Scaffold manage what so few others do. 👉 Visit Strange Scaffold and explore their games here. https://www.strangescaffold.com/

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01:04:41

Business Of Video Games Episode 38 - Can a toolkit...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/12/23

As we're in a festive mood we decided to try something new and unpack what life is like at a service provider in the games industry. Some describe it as the hardest biz dev job in the industry and they wouldn't be wrong.Serial entrepreneur Alexander Bergendahl shares how Lootlocker helps developers and publishers level up and get closer to their players. https://lootlocker.com/

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01:08:54

Business Of Video Games Episode 37 - Modding Madness...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/11/29

This episode, we’re diving into the wild world of user-generated content (UGC) with Scott Reismanis, CEO of Mod.io. Ever wondered WHY mods go from hobby projects to gaming game-changers such as DOTA or CS? Scott’s here to spill the beans on Mod.io’s mission, the challenges of getting studios on board, and why UGC is still the future (spoiler: it’s awesome).We’ll chat about big decisions, big trends, and big dreams for modding. Mods, memes, and major insights—don’t miss it!

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01:12:42

Business Of Video Games Episode 36 - The Return of...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/10/30

In this episode we sit down with two true operators in the biz dev space - Callum Underwood and Alex Nicholson. By night they're up to shenanigans - by day - more shenanigans - but also they run Uwu Biz a one stop shop for your business development or really - any needs you might have as a successful developer. Callum and Alex regale us with how they operate in tough times.https://www.uwu.biz/

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55:47

Business Of Video Games Episode 35 - Deep Rock's...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/10/03

Welcome to a new season of the Business of Video Games Podcast! Your host finally cut his hair, grew up and got himself a job (more on in a future episode)!Meaning that this season we'll be bringing on a new co-host - Fernando Rizo - business developer extraordinaire - familiar to regular listeners. Expect monthly episodes this season and more behind the scenes materials for patreons - otherwise our format stays the same - the hardest hitting business interviews in the games industry. In this

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41:53

Business Of Video Games Episode 34 - The Rise and...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/08/29

Finally we arrive at the season finale! In this episode your's truly shares the story of trying, and failing, at starting a game studio. Why start a studio in this day and age? How did Shams go about doing and why did the studio endeavour end in shambles (but with a lot of learnings)?If you want to see some screenshots of some of the prototypes have a look here: https://shorturl.at/4BWAS See you next season!

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44:45

Business Of Video Games Episode 33 - Why some game...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/08/10

We arrive finally in the fifth and final episode in the series where we talk to Kim Nordström - games industry meganerd, veteran and author of "Up, Down, Up - why some game companies succeed while others fail. This episode delves into the final phase that companies go through before throwing in the towel - namely the "Decline Phase". We unpack why companies end up here and how you navigate out of these dreaded waters.You can find more info about the book here: https://updownupbook.com/

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43:38

Business Of Video Games Episode 32 - Why some game...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/07/23

After a short (!) hiatus we're back with Kim Nordström and "Up, Down, Up" - the ultimate book about why some game companies fail and others succeed. This time about the "Mature" phase. Sounds more risqué than it sounds - but still worth a listen - if you dare.You can find more info about the book here: https://updownupbook.com/

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39:11

Business Of Video Games Episode 31 - Becoming a Manor...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/06/05

We return yet again to our home base this season - Indie publisher Hooded Horse. They recently release Manor Lords and it was a roaring success selling over 2M copies in less than 3 weeks. We talk to their CEO Tim Bender and Chief Marketing Officer Abhishek Chaudhry to understand what went right, wrong and what the team would do differently.Find Manor Lords here https://store.steampowered.com/app/1363080/Manor_Lords/ And follow Hooded Horse here: https://x.com/HoodedHorseInc

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01:08:15

Business Of Video Games Episode 30 - Survive Till 25...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/05/16

Times are grim in the games industry - at least they are if you're running a business looking for money. But there's light at the end of the tunnel! We think. The trick is just to survive until Gandalf comes riding back with backup. To discuss how to survive until 2025 when things might look better we invited Robert Bäckström - ex Fatshark, Raw Fury and much more to talk about survival strategies for game developers.Visit Aurora Punks here: https://www.aurorapunks.com/ And Robert here:

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50:18

Business Of Video Games Episode 29 - Why some game...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/05/02

We're back with another episode in the series where we explore the book - "Up, Down, Up - Why some game companies succeed while others fail" written by Kim Nordström. This time we talk about the growth phase of the companies journey. We delve into what characterizes this phase and how the focus of companies change during this phase. We talk about crazy concepts such as "Culture transfer rate" and other tricks of the dark arts.You can find more info on it here: https://updownupbook.com/

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55:14

Business Of Video Games Episode 28 - WINGS -...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/04/18

In this episode we had a chat with Astrid Refstrup - CEO of Tripletopping and now in charge of Developer Relation & Business Development at the games fund WINGS who invest in gender marginalized teams. Astrid shares war stories and we talk about WINGS modus operandi. We try to figure out how one balances business excellence with idealistic goals.You can find Wings and their application process here: Wings: https://wingsfund.me/ https://wingsfund.me/apply/ And Astrid can be reached

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52:13

Business Of Video Games Episode 27 - Why some game...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/04/05

We're back with another episode in the series where we explore the book - "Up, Down, Up - Why some game companies succeed while others fail" written by Kim Nordström. This time we talk about the startup phase of the companies journey. Kim shares insights and takeaways from other companies that mastered and flubbed this critical phase.You can find more info on it here: https://updownupbook.com/

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01:28:13

Business Of Video Games Episode 26 - The union of Art...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/03/22

In this extra long interview I had the privilege of talking to the illustrious leader of Finji - makers of Canabalt, Overland, Tunic and many more fun games. We delve into the details and get a good understanding of why Finji - being an artist centric developer - has managed to also build and grow as a business successfully over the years.Finji makes some truly magical games - which you can find here: https://finji.co/ Rebekah can be found here: https://twitter.com/BexSaltsman

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46:37

Business Of Video Games Episode 25 - Ask Hooded Horse...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/03/06

We return yet again to Hooded Horse for a Q&A episode - but almost immediately things go off the rails. The idea was to pepper the CEO of Hooded Horse Tim Bender with dozens of questions from the community - but instead we barely got past the 3rd question thanks to Tim's insightful answers and ensuing discussion. Take out your notepads for this one kids.Send us more questions to attack Tim with in the future. Visit https://hoodedhorse.com/ and find their games here:

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43:30

Business Of Video Games Episode 24 - How to Biz Dev...

The Business of Video Games Podcast ·

2024/02/22

How do you make the most out of a trip to the annual Game Developers Conference if you're starting out in the industry or generally want to up your game? In this episode we invited Fernando Rizo back to the show to talk about how to get the most out of a GDC (Game Developers Conference) show attendance. If you're Phil Spencer this episode isn't for you - but you might still enjoy it Phil.GDC is one of the business development highlights of the year and it's hard to navigate if you haven't been

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