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The Business of Video Games Podcast

The Business of Video Games Podcast

The Business of Video Games Podcast 64 Episodes Oct 2, 2026

The Business of Video Games Podcast explores the inner workings of the video game industry, focusing on business decisions, publishing strategies, and the steps and missteps that happen behind the scenes. Each episode sheds light on the why, how, who, and what of industry practices, offering insights for professionals and enthusiasts alike.

Episodes

Episode 65 - Made by Claude
Episode 65 - Made by Claude Oct 2, 2026 3859 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
Episode 64 - Off by 700% - Johan Pilestedt Pt. 3
Episode 64 - Off by 700% - Johan Pilestedt Pt. 3 Sep 18, 2026 5986 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
Episode 63 - Gamescom was good
Episode 63 - Gamescom was good Sep 4, 2026 2959 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
Episode 62 - People don't buy new games
Episode 62 - People don't buy new games Aug 7, 2026 2796 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 a
Episode 61 - Basically too many games  - Jon Shafer
Episode 61 - Basically too many games - Jon Shafer Jul 24, 2026 4500 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 reali
Episode 60 - 14 layers
Episode 60 - 14 layers Jul 10, 2026 3754 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 l
Episode 59 - Basically institutionalized crunch
Episode 59 - Basically institutionalized crunch Jun 26, 2026 3659 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 gamin
Episode 58 - A reflective optimist - Tim Bender
Episode 58 - A reflective optimist - Tim Bender Jun 12, 2026 3789 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
Episode 57 - We need to drop out of college now - Johan Pilestedt Pt. 2
Episode 57 - We need to drop out of college now - Johan Pilestedt Pt. 2 May 29, 2026 4040 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 f
Episode 56 - From the ass end of nowhere - Johan Pilestedt Pt. 1
Episode 56 - From the ass end of nowhere - Johan Pilestedt Pt. 1 May 15, 2026 2833 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 e
Episode 55 - Recoup is self-destructive - Tim Bender Pt. 2
Episode 55 - Recoup is self-destructive - Tim Bender Pt. 2 May 1, 2026 3564 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
Episode 54 - 100 plus years - Tim Bender Pt. 1
Episode 54 - 100 plus years - Tim Bender Pt. 1 Apr 17, 2026 3106 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

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