The Business of Video Games Podcast

It's Friday and we are back!

Today, Shams and Fernando sit down with our friend, the one and only, Daniel Kaplan who is finally back after 66 episodes (yes Daniel was our very first guest)! This time to talk about surviving the chaotic game industry. We dive into the messy reality behind launching Jump Space complete with last-minute name changes, IP drama, and sweaty Xbox memory crashes. Daniel also shares the hard truth about game engines and why relying on Unity isn't exactly smooth sailing.

We get the hot of the press scoop on his new publishing gig, Three Friends (which ironically has four people), and why they are officially too lazy to sign studios they can't easily travel to. Plus, they tackle the controversy of using AI for voice acting and coding, why making licensed games is a total nightmare, and the epic, years-long bureaucratic struggle of getting Minecraft's Steve into Smash Bros. We won’t spoil exactly how Nintendo handled it, though you'll have to listen to find out.

But of course there won't be a real show without some Star Trek banter before we start...

Thanks for listening!

FYI - this episode was recorded before we learned about the passing of the great Sir Patrick Stewart. We thank him for leading us to the stars and showing the way for the next generation.
Rest in peace, Captain Picard, you made it so.

It's Friday!

Søren Lundgaard from Ghost Ship Games returns to discuss the recent triumphs and setbacks while once again sharing his wisdom with Shams and Fernando on the studio's growth and their expansion into publishing.

And of course major topic is the launch of Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core, a spin-off that faced massive criticism and review bombing, particularly in China where the pricing was considered too high, which leads to the question: how do you recover from that in 2026?

Additionally, we can't have Søren on without of course talking about their continued success, now with Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.

This and MUCH more, thanks for listening!

More on Ghost Ship Games, Deep Rock Galactic and Deep Rock Galactic Rogue Core
More on Funday Games
More on Dress Maker
More on Wizard 3

It's Friday!

Shams and Fernando are finally addressing the AI elephant in the room, but not before dissecting Microsoft’s brutal studio cuts and why the old Game Pass pipe dream hasn't gone the way they planned.

Then, we dive headfirst into the AI swamp. Are these models built on stolen IP? Probably. Can you stop this wave from coming? Not a chance. We’re looking on developers hiding their AI use on Steam, geeking out over insane LLM-powered mods for Football Manager, and arguing how AI is going to democratize game dev just like Dreamweaver and drum machines did back in the stone age (fair enough?).

We also make time to hype up The Planet Crafter and a brilliant indie game about a skateboarding glass demon (Skate Story). And much more.

Thanks for listening!

More about Skate Story here
AI Games on Steam

It's Friday!

And holy moly. Trust us when we say - this one is one for the books.

Our dear friend Johan Pilestedt is finally back(!) to the interrogation room, to take us down the very depths of developing and releasing Magicka under their publishing deal with Paradox Interactive. A trip down memory lane about crunching, missing timelines by an absurd 700%, and pocket advance money for a promised Xbox 360 port with zero completed milestones? You bet. And that's not even close to the whole truth.

TLDR: Read the contract.

But before they go into the interview the hosts eulogize games media's death, noting IGN as the last struggling legacy dinosaurs. Fernando also brings up a theory on why modern audiences are hyper-fragmented and monolithic media is dead among many other nuggest.

Finally, the panel goes into what they've been playing. 

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend!

Also - watch the trailers for Magicka here:
Once upon a time
Get your Robes Ready Teaser
Vietnam Trailer
PVP Trailer

And of course that magical poster...

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.