The GamesIndustry.biz team gathers around their mics to look back at some of the biggest stories and trends of the year. Using a recent edition of This Week In Business as a jumping off point, we discuss whether 2022 was a weak year for new video games (as some folks believe) and how well the line-up compares to previous years. We also discuss the biggest trends, such as the wave of potentially industry-changing M&A deals that rocked the business back in January. As always, you can get more ...
Dec 13, 2022•43 min
For the latest episode of the Playable Futures Podcast, games journalist Will Freeman is joined by representatives from three of the many independent and mid-size studios that are currently making waves in the games industry. Playtonic Games business development manager Stephanie Darrah, nDreams CEO Patrick O'Luanaigh, and Nosebleed Interactive managing director Andreas Firnigl discuss how much the game space has changed in the past decade and what it means to be an indie in a world where their ...
Dec 02, 2022•23 min
The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast is back, as the team once again gathers around their mics to discuss the biggest stories of the week. We start with the highs and lows of the latest Pokémon launch. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are smashing series records in key territories and are the most ambitious entries to date – but it turns out that ambition comes at a price. With widespread complaints and viral examples of technical issues, we discuss the potential impact of Scarlet and Violet's woes on the fr...
Nov 25, 2022•52 min
For the second outing of the Playable Futures Podcast, games journalist Will Freeman chats with Tommy Palm, founder and CEO of Resolution Games to reflect on the future of virtual reality. An industry veteran responsible for the enormous success of Candy Crush Saga, Palm has since shifted his focus to the world of virtual reality, courtesy of Ultimechs, Resolution’s new multiplayer VR gaming experience. There are now more than ten million headsets in the market, so with VR well established as an...
Nov 18, 2022•26 min
"In eight years' time, I'd like to see the video games industry being the greenest industry in the world and that the players that play games are coming to it, not just to escape, but to give back as well." The wider creative industries are increasingly looking to games for inspiration. After all, it’s probably fair to say that gaming is now bigger than the Beatles – so why wouldn’t the world of music and film be looking to video games for a steer on how to engage their audiences? In the first e...
Nov 04, 2022•28 min
Our special podcast series The Five Games Of returns with Tim Schafer, founder, CEO and president of Double Fine Productions. And the episode is available to download now. For those who may have missed past episodes, this is a series of interviews in which we explore how the games industry has changed over the course of five games from our guest's careers: their first, their latest, and three of their choice. In this episode, Schafer shares how he came to work at LucasFilm Games, the evolution o...
Nov 02, 2022•1 hr
To succeed in mobile games today, you not only need to make a great game, but you need to have a strong monetisation plan from the very beginning. In this special GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, Meta Audience Network’s Michael Bertaut discusses the state of in-game advertising, player acquisition and the future of monetisation. He reveals the latest data on where things are heading and details Meta’s view on how developers can make the most of the new opportunities. "We’ve noticed a shift from buildi...
Oct 18, 2022•21 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to discuss the biggest stories from the business of video games. We start this week's episode with thoughts on how the industry will fare in the impending recession. The business models supporting games companies have changed dramatically since the last financial collapse, so how will economic changes affect spending on everything from free-to-play titles and in-game purchases to subscriptions? We also discuss the recent Grand Theft Auto 6 leak...
Sep 30, 2022•59 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to discuss the biggest stories from the business of video games. This week, we focus on Ubisoft - starting with our interview with CEO Yves Guillemot. The company has faced years of scrutiny following the wave of abuse allegations in 2020, but is it doing enough to address the issues within its workplace? We also talk about the accountability of leadership at AAA firms, as well as Ubisoft's plans for its flagship franchises - especially Assassi...
Sep 16, 2022•43 min
James Batchelor is joined by VG247's Alex Donaldson to discuss the biggest reveals and announcements at Gamescom Opening Night Live. Over the course of the episode, we discuss the breadth (or perhaps lack thereof) of games on show, the importance of giving smaller publishers the opportunity to shine in the absence of major players, and the long-awaited reveal of Everywhere - the debut game from the studio formed by ex-GTA producer Leslie Benzies. We also share our personal highlights, and talk a...
Aug 24, 2022•55 min
The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast is back, with the team once again gathering around their mics to discuss the biggest stories from the business of video games. This week, we're taking a look at the current wave of financial results, showing each company's performance for the first quarter of the financial year (April to June 2022). Most, but not all, show some form of decline - an inevitable sign as pandemic measures ease and more people venture outside. We discuss the implications for each of the ...
Aug 08, 2022•46 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics and discuss the biggest news of the past week. Naturally, this episode focuses on the various showcases that filled the void left by the absence of E3. From Starfield to The Plucky Squire and beyond, we dive into the highlights, lowlights and the impressions we got about where games are headed in the next year. From a AAA standpoint, it was a largely underwhelming week, but has that hindered the many indie games shown off over the last two week...
Jun 15, 2022•45 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics and discuss the biggest stories from the business of video games. With the wave of livestreams and showcases that would traditionally have been grouped around E3 now upon us, we ponder the week ahead and what we can expect from each of the major events. We also reflect on PlayStation's most recent State of Play, diving into the line-up, the prospects for PlayStation VR2 and the curiously low profile of PlayStation Plus ahead of its revamp. As a...
Jun 07, 2022•58 min
On this episode of The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast, we're joined by former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé. Following the launch of his memoir, Disrupting The Game, we talk to him about his experiences at Nintendo and as one of the industry's few prominent Black gaming executives. He also shares his thoughts on the industry's ongoing diversity issues in general, as well as thoughts on the future of games, including the use of cloud technology and how Nintendo can follow up on the su...
May 20, 2022•1 hr 1 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gathers around their mics and discuss the biggest stores from across the business of video games. Well, we say 'team' but this week it's just Brendan and James, and we say 'stories' but there's only one topic we're diving into this time: Square Enix's sale of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal for $300 million. We discuss the surprisingly low price tag given that the deal includes major IP such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief and Legacy of Kain, a...
May 06, 2022•35 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to discuss the biggest news from across the business of video games. For this episode, we start by discussing the news that both Sony and Microsoft are reportedly considering introducing in-game ads into free-to-play titles on their consoles. While both are said to be working on inobtrusive methods, the initial reception to the news has not been positive. We discuss the rise of advertising in games, previous attempts to establish this as a mode...
Apr 29, 2022•54 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gathers around their mics to dive deeper into some of the big discussions coursing through the business of video games. First, we explore a recent article written for us by TinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik on why review scores are dead. We share our own thoughts on the relevance of both reviews and the numbers attached to them, as well as the many hurdles that have been thrown at critics as video games have evolved as a medium. Then we discuss this week's comments from ...
Apr 22, 2022•57 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to discuss the biggest news from the world behind video games. This week, we focus on the long-rumoured overhaul of PlayStation Plus, now revealed to be a three-tier system (with a fourth for regions without streaming). The team shares their reactions to Sony's souped-up offering, and our thoughts on how benefits such as a retro library and access to PlayStation Now have been spread across the tiers. We also discuss the (unsurprising) lack of s...
Apr 01, 2022•56 min
GamesIndustry.biz is hosting a special episode of Video Games Real Talk, featuring former Sony PlayStation Studios chairman Shawn Layden. During the session, Layden shares his insighs of the global video games industry, offers advice to games studios and tells us what it was like working for the founder of Sony, Akio Morita. Hosted by Streamline Media Group CEO Alexander Fernandez and recorded just over a year ago, the session discusses topics such as industry diversity, how the games industry c...
Mar 22, 2022•1 hr 15 min
This week, we start by discussing the varying responses from games companies of all sizes to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine -- with a particular focus on the many major firms who have halted all sales in the region. We’ve since reported that these platform holders and publishers areturning their back on a $3.4 billion market -- a not insignificant move on their part -- but we also discuss the precedent the industry is setting with this show of support ahead of the next inevitable confli...
Mar 10, 2022•42 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to discuss the biggest news from the past week. On this episode, we start with a discussion about the DICE Summit keynote from EA executive vice president and chief operating officer Laura Miele, in which she said that games company leaders who “fall short of basic standards” should be removed. Next, we address the implications of the rumoured delay to the Call of Duty planned for 2023, which would mark the first year without a premium title in...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 7 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics and discuss the biggest news of the past week. Following Team17's speedy withdrawal from its proposed NFT project, we explore the sentiments behind the backlash against this divisive technology (for more on this, be sure to read the latest This Week In Business). We also discuss the debate around Sifu and other games about different cultures that are still developed by studios predominantly staffed by white men. As always, you can get more news...
Feb 10, 2022•52 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gathers around their mics and discusses the biggest news of the past week. On this episode, we are of course delving into Sony's $3.6 billion acquisiton of Bungie, as well as our exclusive interview with PlayStation boss Jim Ryan and the Destiny studio's CEO Pete Parsons. The discussion explores the future of Destiny (and any other properties Bungie creates), Sony's live-service ambitions, the increasing consolidation in the AAA games industry, and that hefty price tag...
Feb 03, 2022•56 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to discuss the biggest news of the past week. This week, that does of course mean delving deeper into Microsoft's record-breaking plan to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7bn. We've already spoken to analysts about, as one referred to it, "the deal that will change the industry forever" and posed our own unanswered questions about the deal. During this episode, we discuss the wider implications of the acquisition, why the companies might be ...
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 2 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gathers around their mics to discuss the biggest stories of the past week. On this episode, we start with Take-Two's $12.7bn acquisition of mobile giant Zynga, delving into why the publisher of GTA and Borderlands might want to grow its presence in the mobile market. We also discuss a similar topic: the rise of the Apple Arcade subscription service and how it clashes with typical free-to-play games design, following an article we ran by Seattle University's Dr Christop...
Jan 19, 2022•47 min
The GamesIndustry.biz podcast is back, with the team gathering around their mics to discuss the year ahead. Following our annual analysts' predictions feature, we discuss some of the more interesting topics that emerged and how we think they might develop. Subjects include the ongoing rumours around PlayStation's subscription plans, renewed interest in virtual reality, the impressive release slate for 2022 (and potential for delays), and more. As always you can get more insight at www.gamesindus...
Jan 14, 2022•1 hr 8 min
For our final podcast of the year, the GamesIndustry.biz team discuss the best games we played in 2021. Be sure to check out the website for our Games of the Year articles. We'll speak to you all in 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 21, 2021•1 hr 8 min
In the first of our two year-end shows, we reflect on some of the biggest topics of the past 12 months in the games industry. We start with a discussion about the state of the AAA market, with a particular focus on the wave of new studios we've seen emerge - and the room for improvement when it comes to diversity behind the scenes. Then, we recap the highlights and implications of the Epic vs Apple trial from earlier this year. And we finish off with an update on our thoughts on what are undenia...
Dec 15, 2021•1 hr 8 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to discuss the biggest stories from across the video games business. This week, we're taking Xbox's 20th anniversary as a chance to reflect on the evolution of the brand and the impact it has had on the wider industry - something we've explored in detail here. We also share our first and fondest memories of the original Xbox, and discuss why it's the Xbox 360 that will trigger the biggest nostalgia moment for Microsoft's console business. And i...
Nov 16, 2021•37 min
The GamesIndustry.biz team gather around their mics to discuss the biggest stories from the business of video games. This week, we start with a discussion on the wave of name-dropping for NFTs and blockchains in major publishers' recent financial results - a trend on which we have made our stance very clear. As our contributing editor Rob Fahey observes, there is something of an agenda behind why even the execs that are somewhat skeptical about this new technology are referencing it in their ear...
Nov 10, 2021•50 min
