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Game Dev Podcast | Coffee with Butterscotch

Game Dev Podcast | Coffee with Butterscotch

Butterscotch Shenanigans 567 episodes Nov 11, 2026

Coffee with Butterscotch is a weekly podcast by indie game studio Butterscotch Shenanigans, creators of Crashlands. Each episode covers game development, productivity, business strategies, and entrepreneurship. The hosts share insights on building a small company and solving problems creatively. Listeners can submit questions for the show.

Episodes

[Ep598] How To Succeed On Steam: Finding A Winning Game Idea
[Ep598] How To Succeed On Steam: Finding A Winning Game Idea Nov 11, 2026 53:10 In episode 598 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers using their How Many Dudes data and a practical concept-brainstorming process, they outline ways to improve a game's chances of being noticed and shared. They weigh genre and price-tier hit rates against development cost, then get into how to turn a promising concept into one that’s easy to pitch. None of it is a guarantee, just w
[Ep597] Is Steam Next Fest Dead for Indie Devs? Let's Look at the Data!
[Ep597] Is Steam Next Fest Dead for Indie Devs? Let's Look at the Data! Nov 4, 2026 1:05:45 In episode 597 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers examine whether Steam Next Fest is being overwhelmed by AI-made games and what the data says about discovery. They argue that the influx is real, but the central lesson for developers is that the Next Fest is a moment when players are looking for demos, not a substitute for marketing that brings an audience to a game."How Many Dud
[Ep596] Should Our Next Game be 2D or 3D? Singleplayer or Multiplayer? Indie Devs Look at the Data
[Ep596] Should Our Next Game be 2D or 3D? Singleplayer or Multiplayer? Indie Devs Look at the Data Oct 28, 2026 1:06:18 In episode 596 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers dig into the Steam data behind some of the biggest decisions facing their next game. They walk through what the numbers suggest about 2D versus 3D, multiplayer versus single player, and pricing, while being careful to treat it all as directional evidence rather than a rulebook."How Many Dudes?": https://howmanydudes.com00:00 Navig
[Ep595] Will GTA6 Wreck Your Indie Game’s Launch?
[Ep595] Will GTA6 Wreck Your Indie Game’s Launch? Oct 21, 2026 1:04:52 In episode 595 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers explore the impact of big game releases on indie game launches, examining whether launching alongside major titles affects visibility, sales, and marketing strategies. They analyze platform-specific dynamics, content creator attention, and the impact of such releases on indie developers, the attention economy, and strategic timing
[Ep594] Needle in a Haystack Simulator: Are Devs Cooked?
[Ep594] Needle in a Haystack Simulator: Are Devs Cooked? Oct 14, 2026 1:00:01 In episode 594 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers dig into the Needle in a Haystack Simulator phenomenon and what it reveals about how game ideas spread, get cloned, and go viral. They explore why a strong, simple premise can trigger a wave of fast followers almost overnight, what AI tools mean for how quickly someone can spin up a clone, and what any of this means for indie deve
[Ep593] Top 5 Myths About Steam Wishlists
[Ep593] Top 5 Myths About Steam Wishlists Oct 7, 2026 58:41 In episode 593 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers debunk common myths about Steam wishlists and how they influence game success. They explore how external marketing, timing, and understanding Steam's algorithms are crucial for indie developers aiming for success."How Many Dudes?": https://howmanydudes.com00:00 Understanding Steam Wishlists10:08 The Myth of Accumulating Wishlists1
[Ep592] How IRON NEST Won Steam Next Fest and Launched With Nearly 1 MILLION Wishlists
[Ep592] How IRON NEST Won Steam Next Fest and Launched With Nearly 1 MILLION Wishlists Sep 30, 2026 2:11:09 In episode 592 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers welcome their first ever podcast guests Nick and Dominik, the team behind IRON NEST. Seth and Sam walk through the entire dev cycle with them, from how they chose the name and built a thriving Discord community to the marketing decisions that drove nearly a million wishlists. It's a candid conversation about pivoting on data, lean
[Ep591] How To Make An Indie Studio That Makes Hit Games
[Ep591] How To Make An Indie Studio That Makes Hit Games Sep 23, 2026 1:06:48 In episode 591 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers dig into what actually makes a small studio function well over the long haul. Using Butterscotch Shenanigans as the through line, they walk through how their team structure has evolved, how they think about hiring, bottlenecks, and unexpected skills and what it looks like to keep a small team functioning well through years of ship
[Ep590] Hackers, Piracy, and Clones - How Should Indie Game Devs React?
[Ep590] Hackers, Piracy, and Clones - How Should Indie Game Devs React? Sep 16, 2026 1:12:02 In episode 590 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers work through every flavor of people messing with your game, from hackers and exploiters to pirates and outright clones. They dig into what's actually worth losing sleep over, how to think about customer support when players break things on purpose, and why piracy and knockoffs might not always be the disaster they feel like in the
[Ep589] The One Skill Holding Back Indie Game Devs
[Ep589] The One Skill Holding Back Indie Game Devs Sep 9, 2026 1:07:04 In episode 589 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers make the case that understanding your own workflow might be the most underrated skill in game development. They dig into how invisible bottlenecks and unchecked error rates quietly drain productivity, why most studio problems trace back to work that nobody can see, and what it actually looks like to map, measure, and improve the w
[Ep588] Can One Screenshot Boost Your Steam Sales by 25%?
[Ep588] Can One Screenshot Boost Your Steam Sales by 25%? Sep 2, 2026 1:05:26 In episode 588 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers get into the weeds on Steam store page optimization and what the data from How Many Dudes is suggesting. They break down what swapping screenshots and micro trailers appears to have done for visibility and conversion, where players are actually coming from, and why your visual hook might be doing more work than you think."How Many
[Ep587] Are we in an Indie Golden Age?
[Ep587] Are we in an Indie Golden Age? Aug 26, 2026 1:04:51 In episode 587 of 'Coffee with Butterscotch,' the brothers point out that right now might actually be the best time to be an indie developer. They dig into why smaller, faster games are resonating with players, what the data from How Many Dudes tells them about market dynamics and visibility, and how studios can build sustainable businesses without burning themselves out in the process. "

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