The Business of Video Games Podcast

Welcome back dear listener and sorry to keep you waiting!
Fernando and Shams are fresh (+ one week give or take) off the Gamescom floor and ready to share a little bit of what happened when over 360 000 gamers and industry people flooded Cologne last week. While Shams spent the week hiding out in hotel lobbies, Fernando was out working the floor.
Today, we break down a couple of Opening Night Live favorites, including Neon Giant’s gorgeous immersive sim No Law and Paradox's IP-building play with Afterworld among other things. But the real meat is in the changing publisher landscape. Today’s publishers expect you to stroll in with 50,000 wishlists already, so make sure that you are locked in on doing very early community building. Add in the fact that AI tools are making prototyping dangerously easy, and the market is about to be flooded with cheap indie hobby projects. 
But hey! Despite it all, Fernando and Shams actually have a shocking revelation: the industry vibes are actually good again. Deals are being signed, optimism is back, and Fernando is officially famous enough to be recognized purely by his voice at an Icelandic industry mixer. So what could possibly go wrong?
Thanks for listening and have a nice weekend!
Oh and btw! Read Shams interview in Gamesindustry here and also his other interview in Gamesbeat here.

It's Friday and we are back to to tackle two major industry deep-dives, but not before touching base on Microsoft and EA, comparing BBC quotes  and teasing a Patreon-exclusive story about a spectacularly failed kosher salt business.
First up, Shams and Fernando unpacks Joakim Achren’s newsletter breakdown (link here) on the "Six Reasons VCs Pulled Back from Games," examining why early-stage bets and public game studio IPOs are falling flat. Paired with insights from Thomas Bidaux’s ICO Partners newsletter, which recently tracked an all-time record number of Steam releases, they further explore why standing out is harder than ever.
Next up, it's time to dissect Matthew Ball’s massive, "doorstop" state-of-the-industry deck "The State of Video Gaming in 2026" (link here). Ball’s data reveals a sobering picture: actual growth is heavily carried by Roblox and subscriptions, overall gamer numbers might be shrinking due to screen fatigue, and median players are sticking to forever-games rather than buying new titles. And of course this is just the tip of the iceberg in Ball´s presentation.
Thanks for listening!
Shams quoted in BBCIco Partners NewsletterAlmost Ready Games FundThat page in Ball´s deck around time spent on new games that Fernando mentioned? Page 35 (link to deck once more here)

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.