The Business of Video Games Podcast

Shams and Fernando bring on their buddy Jon Shafer (former Lead Designer on Civ V) from Conifer Games to cut through the noise and break down the actual state of PC gaming post-Steam Next Fest!
Spoiler alert: that 2010s indie golden age everyone misses? It’s dead and buried.
Jon’s been obsessively tracking Steam data (while juggling his double PC setup optimized for Steam demos), and the new reality is, well to be honest, brutal.
To survive today, developers either need to pump out a game in two months or bleed over it for up to 14 years - there is zero in-between. Welcome to the "go short or go long" meta.
The trio also look into the wildest trends currently hijacking the platform such as the unapologetic explosions of co-op "friend slop," the massive wave of players jumping between Roblox and Steam, and why traditional buying habits are out while cult-level fandom is in.
In short - the dev scene might be an absolute bloodbath right now, but for players? We might just be sitting in a brand-new golden age.
Thanks for listening!
The BBC articleDesigner Notes Podcast

It's Friday!
And what do you expect? After our last conversation unexpectedly blew up and wormed its way into the gaming news cycle for a day or two (or three?), we are now back to talk about ... you guessed it! Xbox!
In this episode, we dive right back into the Xbox ecosystem, looking closely at Game Pass, the massive acquisitions, the enormous amout of layoffs, and what scaling up really looks like in today's gaming landscape. We also touch on the delicate PR strategies companies use to avoid becoming the "bad guys" of the industry. Is it even possible?
Plus, stick around until the end for a little palette cleanser where we chat about some highly recommended tabletop chaos, current gaming obsessions, and a surprising confession about a specific James Bond-actor...
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend!

It's Friday and what a show we got for you today!
Shams and Fernando are tearing into the harsh new realities of the games industry where Microsoft’s new leadership has brought out the big black hammer, as well as slowing down on Game Pass deals according to our latest findings. But that's just for todays starters.
The main focus of this episode is the absolute juggernaut that is the Chinese gaming market. Yes, you spoke and we listened!
Shams and Fernando break down how Chinese devs are taking over the premium PC and console space. Think you can just drop your game in China and print money? Good luck. We cover why bad localization will get you review-bombed to oblivion on Steam, the insane reality of the brutal 9-9-6 work culture, and why Chinese gamers couldn't care less if your game uses generative AI.
Plus, we discuss why they love Helldivers 2 and go over our top picks from Steam Next Fest. And Robert Redford. Of course.
Strap in and thanks for listening!

While Fernando is off enjoying Italy, Shams is flying solo and holding down the fort for today's episode. 
Today, our dear friend Tim Bender returns to talk about the incredible early access launch of Olden Era, which has by the time of today already sold over a million copies in just its first month!
The big topic, though, is Hooded Horse's leveled-up partnership with Griffin Gaming Partners.
Tim breaks down a massive new $100 million project financing fund built specifically for indie developers. The best part? They’re ditching those brutal 100% recoup deals in favor of flat revenue splits. It’s a total game-changer for studios looking for a fairer, more sustainable way to get funded without giving up their equity.
But before we jump into that, Shams kicks things off with a quick rundown of his recent trip to China , touching on how their gaming market is shifting fast towards PC and premium titles , and how local developers are really stepping up to the global stage.
Thanks for listening and be sure to learn more about the Special Opportunities Fund here!

Did you ever wonder what happens when a bunch of cocky college students decide they're going to take over the games industry?Spoiler alert: it involves immediate debt, panic attacks, and practically begging a publisher for survival.
Yes. We are back with our second part together with Johan Pilestedt.
In this episode, Johan walks us through the absolute gauntlet (we honestly couldn't find a more fitting description) of Arrowhead’s first six months as a full-time game developer. Sure, after taking home the top prize at the Swedish Game Awards and puffing on premature victory cigars, reality eventually hits the team when a massive bank loan with personal liability seemed to be the only way out.
But first a little bit of touchdown on the current state of the live service landscape from our dear hosts.
For more on Johan and Arrowhead Game Studios - please visit their website here!

It's finally time for the first round of our exclusive deep-dive series with Arrowhead Game Studios CCO & Founder Johan Pilestedt!
In this kickoff episode, we take a closer look at Johan's roots in Gällivare, a remote Swedish mining town where Johan at one point practiced as a miner minor (or was it a minor miner..?). Having his mind blown by 3D dinosaur magazines and watching Aliens (at age eight!), we explore Johan's following early obsession with Zelda and his adventure into the PC modding scene.
The defining moment?
Arriving at university to study game development (and beer!) and then grabbing the most important prize at the 2008 Swedish Game Awards, which led Johan and his friends to finally make the decision that would change their lives forever.
Watch Arrowhead win at the Swedish Game Awards 2008 here
Follow Johan and Arrowhead Game Studios here.

We are back with the second part of our conversation together with our good friend Tim Bender as the we dive deeper into the weeds of some of the most surprising moves in the industry lately.
Why not start with the backstory of the Ubisoft partnership on Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era for example?
Far from a simple hand-off, Tim explains how a long-term dialogue led to a specialist publisher stepping in to steward a legendary IP, and why a massive corporate player sought out a niche team to help find the right "indie" formula for a classic series.
And that’s not all.
Following some recent “LinkedIn shenanigans”, Tim doubles down on his advice that most indie developers are actually better off self-publishing than signing with a publisher that fails to add true value.
Expect a candid look at the power dynamics between creators and financiers, concluding with an exploration of why remaining private, and avoiding “public company logic”, is the only way to keep Hooded Horse’s 100-year mission on track.
Thanks again for joining us Tim!
Find out more about Tim and Hooded Horse here.

In the first part of our two-parter, Shams sits down with Tim Bender from Hooded Horse to pull back the curtain on one of the currently most talked-about trajectories in modern indie game publishing.
From the logistical realities of scaling a team to the philosophical "final form" of a sustainable games business, Tim breaks down the internal logic of the Hooded Horse portfolio at the same time as he explains "why a survival horror cult classic might actually have more in common with a hardcore strategy title than a genre label suggests". Yes, you read that right the first time.
As the conversation dives deeper into the financials of the industry, Tim outlines his provocative stance on "recoupment" and why he believes the traditional safety nets used by publishers might actually be a "disease" that strangles developer creativity and cash flow.
And then of course, comes the question, will Hooded Horse continue on this successful path 100 years from now..?
Listen and find out for yourself!
Follow Tim Bender and Hooded Horse here.

Sorry for being late! After a not so welcomed water leakage at our producers studios, we are back with the second part of our conversation with Trent Kusters, the visionary co-founder of League of Geeks!
Shams rides this one solo since Fernando is on a trip across the pond and it's time to get into the "messy middle" of building a studio that lasts over a decade in an industry that sometimes feels like it's trying to shake you off.
Trent opens up about the early days of Australian Kickstarter hurdles and the pivots required to keep a premium title sustainable when everyone else was chasing free-to-play trends.
We also get a rare, candid look at the internal culture of League of Geeks, where Trent shares some reflections on the loss of co-founder Adam Duncan and how that reshaped his view on honoring talent and charting a company's future.
Thanks to Trent for joining us! Please follow Trent and League of Geeks here.

Imagine what happens when a new episode of The Business of Video Games Podcast all of a sudden release on a Monday! Almost as mindwrecking as if one accidentally started a career in game development, right? Well, say no more dear listener! In this episode, Shams sits down with Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks (Armello), who did just that.
In this first part of our two part interview with Trent, he unpacks the unlikely chain of events that led him into the industry. From bluffing(!) his way into covering the Halo 3 midnight launch as a journalist (...student?) to shipping 10 games in three years at Australia’s Torus Games, Trent shares how daring decisions, a good portion of curiosity and a bit of naivety shaped his early career.
We dive into what it was like learning game development in a fast-moving “factory” studio, why constraints can make some designers better, and how those early lessons later affected Trent’s approach to building studios and most of all - games.
BUT NOT before Shams and Fernando have talked about Steams 2025 Year Summary Blog Post.
For more from Trent Kusters, please follow him on LinkedIn here and Twitter here.