The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2...
In an industry where development costs have skyrocketed, and market success has become increasingly challenging, understanding the true drivers of successful game development has never been more crucial. In this discussion with Ben Carcich from Building Better Games, we highlight the counter-intuitive patterns of success and practical frameworks for modern game development leadership.Key Focus Areas:🔑 Why the most successful games often emerge from the most visibly challenging development processes🔑 How premature scaling and uncertainty avoidance doom projects before launch🔑 Critical success patterns observed across AAA and indie studios🔑 Practical approaches to balancing creative vision, technical execution, and business realityListen to this episode for actionable insights that challenge conventional wisdom about building successful games in 2024.OUTLINE:0:00 Intro1:45 How costs impact game success6:05 Other major problems with game success10:30 Zero sum time problem and the rise of live operated games11:40 Success from China and small devs12:30 Importance of delivering on a player experience14:35 The Alignment problem15:24 Fighting to expand the percentage of new game time18:25 How bigger production cost impacts decision making20:15 Major production problems - comfort with uncertainty24:35 Fear and pride25:55 Game projects with big problems succeed more often29:40 Pride and Insecurity31:52 The rush to production39:45 Obsession with planning42:20 Importance of development speed44:25 What derails planning: the wrong person and bad decisions47:09 The problem with the creative auteur49:52 Decision analysis vs. prioritization54:15 Scope creep: The ooh ooh ooh idea problem1:00:50 Taking lessons from the military and football1:04:52 Why do great lessons come from military and sports1:13:42 The problem with big plans1:14:37 Why you shouldn’t “always have an answer”1:19:00 The #1 rule: common sense rules1:22:34 How to find time to think deeply1:24:43 You don’t need to solve every problem1:30:02 How to think about long-term issues1:37:12 What are characteristics from successful game studios1:58:12 You should push when you’re young2:01:01 More about Building Better Games consultancy👇 EPISODE LINKS: - Building Better Games: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/- Ben Carcich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.com/😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1• TWITTER → @jokim1• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
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2:06:36
The FUTURE of 4X Games: FirstFun's Surprising Billion-Dollar Strategy
Join gaming industry veterans as they break down the unprecedented transformation of mobile 4X games. Featuring insights from Joseph Kim (Lila Games), Justin Yau (Wharton MBA), UA specialist Matej Lancaric (2.5 Gamers) and game design specialist Jakub Remiar (2.5 Gamers) on how Chinese gaming companies are achieving $8M+ daily revenue through innovative UA strategies and product design.Key Topics:🔑 Evolution of 4X game design🔑 UA innovation and AI creative production🔑 Server economics and monetization strategies🔑 Future industry predictions⏰ Timestamps:0:00 Introduction and Speaker Backgrounds3:09 First Fun/River Game Partnership History8:05 Modern 4X Game Economics15:20 UA Strategy Evolution23:45 Creative Production at Scale31:30 AI's Role in UA Innovation38:15 Product Design Integration45:40 Server Management Strategies52:30 Future of 4X Gaming57:15 Non-Consensus Predictions🔍 Featured Experts:Joseph Kim (CEO, Lila Games)Justin Yau (Industry Analyst, Wharton)Matej Lancaric (UA Specialist)Jakub Remiar (Game Design Consultant)💡 Additional Resources:Previous Matej +: JK Collaboration Podcast on 4X UA Strategy: https://youtu.be/IvRjmGvWhdQDissecting Best-Selling Mobile 4X Game Metrics by Ning Wang: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dissecting-best-selling-mobile-4x-game-metrics-ning-wang-vk1pc/Join the GameMakers newsletter for more industry insights and discussions: Newsletter: www.gamemakers.com#MobileGaming #GameDev #UserAcquisition #4XGames #GameStrategy
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1:05:30
LiveOps Playbook: Critical Secrets from Gaming's Top Experts
Learn the insider strategies from industry legends Frank Yan (Brawl Stars), Dafna Ben Onn (SciPlay), and Ivan Trancik (Superscale) on mastering mobile game operations!
📍 Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction to LiveOps Fundamentals
2:15 - Frank Yan: Rapid Content Deployment Strategies
4:30 - The Art of Player Segmentation
7:00 - Dafna Ben Onn: Optimizing Rewards and Retention
10:45 - Balancing Monetization and Player Experience
14:20 - Ivan Trancik: Analytics and Experimentation Stages
18:30 - Building a Data-Driven Game Development Machine
22:00 - Key Takeaways and Future of LiveOps
🔑 Key Insights:
How to update games instantly without client updates
Personalization techniques that keep players engaged
Building a robust analytics infrastructure
Experimental strategies for game growth
💡 Perfect for:
Mobile game developers
Product managers
Game studios looking to optimize performance
Entrepreneurs in the gaming industry
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15:35
MMPs and Attribution: What Game Studios Need to Know to Grow
Leading mobile gaming experts break down everything you need to know about Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) in 2025. Get insider perspectives from AppsFlyer, Wildcard Games, and industry veterans on when to use MMPs, how much they really cost, and where the industry is heading. Perfect for mobile game developers, UA managers, and studio executives looking to optimize their marketing strategy and understand the evolving role of MMPs in today's privacy-first environment.
OUTLINE:
00:00 - Introduction & Overview
03:43 - What is an MMP? Core Functions Explained
05:28 - SDK Integration Benefits
08:02 - Attribution & Performance Tracking
12:24 - Impact of IDFA Deprecation
16:32 - When Do Studios Need an MMP?
24:42 - Cost Breakdown for Studios
27:54 - Self-Attributing Networks (SANs)
32:45 - Working with Multiple Ad Networks
38:59 - Creative Optimization & AI Tools
43:08 - Data Clean Rooms & Privacy
51:09 - Open Source MMP Projects
53:52 - Future Trends in Mobile Marketing
57:47 - Industry Changes & Consolidation
1:01:02 - Final Thoughts & Recommendations
SPEAKERS:
✅ Josh Chandley. Co-founder and COO at WildCard Games.
✅ Joseph Kim. CEO at Lila Games.
✅ Brian Murphy. Head of Gaming and New Product Strategy at AppsFlyer.
✅ James O’Claire. Former COO at Bubbleye. Founder Open Attribution.
For links and additional info go to Gamemakers.com
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1:04:58
Why UGC Cosmetics Could be the Future of Gaming
Join us as we explore the future of user-generated content (UGC) in gaming with Playmakers, diving into why community-created content converts 30% better than studio content and how AI fits into the UGC ecosystem. Essential insights for game developers looking to scale content creation through community engagement. #GameDev #UGC #gaming Co-hosted with Anton Bernstein, CEO at Pocket Worlds.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
0:40 Best game examples of UGC cosmetics
1:20 How cosmetics work in Counterstrike
3:05 The Playmakers UGC platform business
6:52 Dealing with the biggest UGC problem: Time To Penis (TTP)
9:10 Other problems: Trademarks and duplicates
10:18 Economics of enabling a UGC cosmetics platform
12:06 Balancing professional content vs. UGC content in a game
13:52 The kinds of games better adapted for UGC content
16:10 AI as a complement or competition to UGC: UGC vs. AGC vs. UGAC
20:37 In a world of infinite free content, how to give UGC items value
22:40 Biggest concerns to integrating UGC content in their games
24:40 Integration issues for integrating UGC in games
26:16 The functions required for a UGC platform
27:48 Getting over the cold-start problem getting creators to start making UGC
32:40 Can UGC content be cross-game content?
34:00 Big upcoming UGC macro trends
37:15 Depth vs. shallowness of UGC support Roblox vs. Minecraft
39:20 The trend of UGC remixing
41:35 Future Playmakers roadmap
👇 EPISODE LINKS: - Playmakers: https://www.playmakers.co/
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY
The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.
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