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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A series of in-depth conversations between video game makers on the business and craft of interactive entertainment, exploring the core tenants of D.I.C.E. (Design. Innovate. Communicate. Entertain.)
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From Halo to Fortnite: Alex Seropian's Unfiltered Take on UEFN's Future
59:37
59:37
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59:37Alex Seropian (Bungie co-founder) shares his experience developing for Epic's UEFN platform in this exclusive interview. Discover insights on platform capabilities, economics, audience demographics, and future predictions for Fortnite's creator ecosystem. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Introduction 1:00 - Changes in UEFN since 2023 5:30 - Working with brands o…
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Creating the Super Earth of Helldivers 2 with Arrowhead's Johan Pilestedt
3:17:22
3:17:22
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3:17:22Trent Kusters chats with Johan Pilestedt, the Game Director on Arrowhead Game Studios' smash-hit, HELLDIVERS™ 2. Together they discuss his path in games that led to the founding of Arrowhead alongside his classmates in Sweden; the development and release of their first title, Magicka; the original ideas around that laid the foundation for the Helld…
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Becoming Indiana Jones with Troy Baker
1:19:49
1:19:49
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1:19:49Alexa Ray Corriea chats with actor Troy Baker. Together they discuss his award winning performance as Indiana Jones in MachineGames's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle; his biggest challenges in playing an iconic character; lessons he learned from his past projects that informed his preparation and performance; and the difference between a perform…
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Applovin vs Unity: How Applovin Destroyed the Competition!
1:15:00
1:15:00
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1:15:00(0:00) Introduction (1:00) Overview of AppLovin vs Unity market situation since 2022(2:10) Discussion of current mobile UA market conditions(6:30) Introduction to AppLovin vs Unity topic(9:00) How AppLovin gained advantage through Max mediation platform(11:10) The data advantage of first-party data in AppLovin's ecosystem(13:20) The lock-in effect …
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Magic, Kevlar, and Conspiracies with Tactical Breach Wizards Dev Tom Francis
2:37:25
2:37:25
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2:37:25Trent Kusters chats with game designer Tom Francis of Suspicious Developments, developers of hit indie tactical strategy games like Gunpoint, Heat Signature, and Tactical Breach Wizards. Together they discuss how Tom went from games journalism to game development; his ideas around challenge and difficulty; weaving gameplay with narrative; and his t…
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Future of AI in Game Development: Revolution or Evolution?
55:40
55:40
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55:40Dive into the future of AI in game development with this insightful panel from GDC featuring Aaron Farr (CTO at Jam and Tea Studios) and Liam Dean (Principal Analyst, Games at Omdia). They explore AI-native games, emergent gameplay, development acceleration, and how AI is transforming both game creation and player experiences. Essential viewing for…
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From Theater to Video Games with 1000xRESIST Actor, Nhi Do
1:01:00
1:01:00
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1:01:00Alexa Ray Correia chats with actor Nhi Do, who starred in Sunset Visitor's debut narrative adventure, 1000xRESIST. Together they discuss her background in theater and how she landed her first part in video games; finding the entry point when playing a new character; the catharsis of finishing a project; and the importance of compartmentalization wh…
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Join us for an in-depth discussion on the Game Developers Conference 2025 with industry veterans as they share their perspectives and what was learned during GDC on the current state of the gaming industry. This candid conversation explores attendance trends, market challenges, investment landscapes, and what's next for game developers in a changin…
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Mysteries of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with MachineGames
1:12:18
1:12:18
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1:12:18Adam Orth chats with MachineGames' Jens Andersson and Axel Torvenius about their critically acclaimed title, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Together they discuss why they decided to make an Indiana Jones game in first person; the importance of introducing players to the Indiana Jones world by recreating the iconic opening scene from Raiders of…
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Becoming Yuffie in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH with Actor Suzie Yeung
45:12
45:12
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45:12Alexa Ray Correia chats with actor Suzie Yeung. Together they discuss how she got her start acting in games; her performance as Yuffie Kisaragi in the recent reboot of FINAL FANTASY VII; her extensive work in the anime industry; the process and differences in recording for animation versus games; how she prepared for her performance as Yuffie; and …
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This week I share thoughts from my years in game development about why teams often struggle with addressing their most critical problems. I discussed this with Ben Carcich in a pod I published a couple of weeks back: the "Building Better Games" episode. Some questions came up and I wanted to try something new, a bit of a rant on this topic. Is it l…
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Founder Ted Price Reflects on 30 Years of Insomniac Games and Retirement
1:23:20
1:23:20
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1:23:20Trent Kusters chats with Insomniac Games' Ted Price. Ted recently announced his retirement from the games industry and received the 2025 AIAS Hall of Fame award at the 28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. In this conversation, Ted recalls his life in game development as the founder and president of Insomniac Games from key projects and career milestones to…
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[Sponsored] Chat with Xsolla's Berkley Egenes
36:17
36:17
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36:17Xsolla is a leading global video game commerce company with a robust and powerful set of tools and services designed specifically for the industry. Since its founding in 2005, Xsolla has helped thousands of game developers and publishers of all sizes fund, market, launch, and monetize their games globally and across multiple platforms. To learn mor…
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Understanding Battle Pass Game Design from Overwatch 2
53:02
53:02
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53:02Dive deep into Battle Pass design with industry experts discussing Overwatch 2's approach, player psychology, and monetization strategies. Learn essential insights about progression systems, player choice, and value perception from game developer Ted Park and former Riot meta-systems expert Chris Cobb, hosted by Joseph Kim of Lila Games.Content Ove…
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Shuhei Yoshida chats with Team ASOBI Studio Director Nicolas Doucet. Together they discuss his journey in game development from his early days in QA to his move to work at Japan Studio; building Team ASOBI to work on the emerging technology within SIE; the origins and development of Astro Bot; and how they worked with publishers around the world to…
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Writing the Haunting Narrative of INDIKA with Dmitry Svetlow
49:53
49:53
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49:53Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Odd Meter Studio Director, Dmitry Svetlow. Together they discuss the development of INDIKA including the origins and inspirations behind the haunting narrative; how they built the team and what it takes to be part of a small indie studio; their use of juxtaposition between dark and playful imagery; and balancing how muc…
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How to Build Better Games - Game Production
2:06:36
2:06:36
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2:06:36In 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 fo…
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Adam Orth chats with Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov. Together they discuss his early life with computing and how he first created Tetris; his ideas behind real-time versus turn-based puzzle design; ideas he scrapped from early development; distributing Tetris outside of the Soviet Union; his work on titles outside of Tetris and the pressure his fir…
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17 Year Development Journey with Caves of Qud
2:23:09
2:23:09
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2:23:09Trent Kusters chats with Freehold Games' Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinbalt about their a science fantasy roguelike, Caves of Qud. Together they discuss the 17 year development journey to 1.0; developing the engine and systems that drive their game; their thoughts around modular design; balancing bespoke and procedural content; and the personal and p…
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The FUTURE of 4X Games: FirstFun's Surprising Billion-Dollar Strategy
1:05:30
1:05:30
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1:05:30Join 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 innov…
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LiveOps Playbook: Critical Secrets from Gaming's Top Experts
15:35
15:35
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15:35Learn 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 Fundamentals2:15 - Frank Yan: Rapid Content Deployment Strategies4:30 - The Art of Player Segmentation7:00 - Dafna Ben Onn: Optimizing Rew…
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Creating the Sound and Music for Eternal Strands with Audio Director, Aldo Sampaio
1:48:31
1:48:31
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1:48:31Austin Wintory chats with Audio Director Aldo Sampaio, with whom he recently collaborated together with on the newly released Eternal Strands. They discuss Aldo's journey in game development including his work on the Assassin's Creed franchise; what he learned from working in AAA game development; how they came together at Yellow Brick Games to cre…
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MMPs and Attribution: What Game Studios Need to Know to Grow
1:04:58
1:04:58
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1:04:58Leading 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 executive…
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Why UGC Cosmetics Could be the Future of Gaming
46:07
46:07
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46:07Join 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 w…
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Writing Comedy in Games with Thank Goodness You're Here
29:37
29:37
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29:37Greg Rice chats with James Carbutt and Will Todd from Coal Supper. Together they discuss growing up in Yorkshire in Northern England, how they first got together and began developing games; what they learned from their early projects; the British influences behind Thank Goodness You're Here; and the intricacies of writing humor for video games. Thi…
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Balancing Procedural and Intimate Storytelling in Wildermyth
1:07:14
1:07:14
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1:07:14Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Anne, Douglas, and Nate Austin from Worldwalker Games, developers of Wildermyth. Together they discuss how they started creating games together; the inspirations behind the story and gameplay of Wildermyth; how to create iconic and memorable characters in procedural experiences; the differences between writing for proce…
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The Real Life and Theater Inspirations of 1000xRESIST
1:09:50
1:09:50
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1:09:50Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Remy Siu and Pinki Li from Sunset Visitor to talk about their D.I.C.E. Award nominated game, 1000xRESIST. Together they discuss how they met and transitioned from live performance to creating video games; the real life inspirations behind the narrative design; how desperation can lead to great choices; and how theater i…
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Pixels & Profits | Gaming Industry 2024-2025 - Crisis, Transformation, and Opportunity
1:17:40
1:17:40
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1:17:40The gaming industry experienced seismic shifts in 2024, from record-breaking layoffs to China's rising dominance. In this comprehensive analysis, we break down the five key developments that shaped gaming in 2024 and what they mean for 2025. We'll explore:🔑 The true impact of the gaming recession🔑 Why live service games are harder than ever to comp…
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Writing for Call of Duty with Ashley Poprik and Chris Holzworth
1:17:01
1:17:01
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1:17:01Alexa Ray Corriea chats with writers Ashley Poprik and Chris Holzworth. Together they discuss how they each started their careers and the titles they've worked on; the pressure of writing on a massively popular and long running franchise like Call of Duty; giving every developer the chance to be a storyteller; the differences between writing for si…
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The Haunting Audio of Hellblade with Ninja Theory's David Garcia
1:10:00
1:10:00
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1:10:00Austin Wintory chats with David Garcia, Audio Director at Ninja Theory. Together they discuss his life growing up in Spain and studying music; his life as a composer and his musical work on games such as Rime; how he joined the sound team at Ninja Theory; and how they created the haunting audio behind the Hellblade series. This episode is supported…
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Digital Extreme's Rebecca Ford Talks 10 Years of Warframe
1:30:04
1:30:04
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1:30:04This episode is supported by Xsolla Adam Orth chats with Rebecca Ford, Creative Director at Digital Extremes. Together they discuss how she got started in games and when she first joined Digital Extremes; her work with the Warframe community; her transition into the Creative Director role and thoughts on leadership; lessons you can learn by acknowl…
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