Naavik Gaming Podcast

Game Tech: The Hidden Force Behind Gaming’s Challenges and Opportunities

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In recent years, there’s been considerable discourse about the game industry’s challenges. However, according to today's guest, Jiten Dajee, one c...

Dream Sports and the Future of Cricket

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you are into fantasy sports, Dream 11 is a household name. Boasting over 220M active users, it is one of the most popular fantasy sports platforms ...

How to Bring Brands to Roblox

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over the last few years, brands have increasingly gravitated to platforms like Roblox as a way to reach younger audiences. In 2023 alone, we saw 240 b...

Sony, Microsoft, Valve, and Roblox: Who Will Be Platform King?

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The gaming industry is currently facing an identity crisis, with widespread layoffs, escalating budgets, and a flood of new games hitting the market. ...

Building a Creator-Focused 3D Engine with Hiber

03 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

UGC is hot, hot, hot right now. Roblox is on track to pay out half a billion USD to creators - annually - and never has it been more possible for youn...

Emergency Pod: SEC vs OpenSea

31 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On August 28th, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Wells Notice to OpenSea, notifying the largest NFT marketplace that it is under invest...

Monopoly Go! and Baldur’s Gate III: The Hasbro Perspective

20 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hasbro is known for iconic properties like Dungeons and Dragons and Monopoly, but is sometimes overlooked as the licensor of incredible video game suc...

Building the Next Game-as-a-Platform

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we explore what it takes to build the next big video game franchise powered by user-generated games. It's a daunting task as Epic Games paid ro...

Animoca Brands and the Motorverse

13 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Animoca has been an unwavering web3 cheerleader since day one, with a stated goal of leveraging blockchain technologies to “deliver digital property...

Web3 Innovation with Mirai Labs

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the biggest web3 hits of 2022, the horse racing game Pegaxy, generated over $200 million in sales, second only to Axie Infinity during that per...

The State of Adaptive Gaming

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are 3B gamers in the world, and many of those players have disabilities. Often called “accessibility” or “adaptive gaming”, this is one ...

The Past, Present, & Future of KidTech

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Online safety for kids has only become more important over time, and it's become a thorny compliance topic for games teams to wrestle with. Fortunatel...

The Next Era of Voice Games

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Voice games have had a quiet history compared to mobile, console, and the PC gaming arena. However, Lightspeed and Microsoft’s M12 Ventures see Voll...

Inside Voodoo’s #1 Hit: The Story of Mob Control’s $200M+ Rise

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mobile gaming is a tough business, but Voodoo has been able to evolve with the times. After years of pioneering hypercasual, the company has more rece...

Building a Thriving Casual Word Games Business in a Red Ocean

05 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Casual word games is a tough, tough category to compete in on mobile. Not only is it a very crowded red ocean, but casual games are notoriously hard t...

AdTech Evolution: Navigating the Privacy-First Frontier

02 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Between Apple’s policy changes and growing government regulations, privacy concerns have sparked a significant shift in AdTech strategies. This epis...

Queen’s Gambit: The Big Business of Chess.com

29 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chess is a business that has, without a doubt, been supercharged by linear media and has been booming since COVID-19. As one of the most tactically co...

Toys x Games (with Spin Master)

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Major toy companies like Spin Master, Mattel, and Hasbro have all been expanding their influence beyond traditional toys for many years. Spin Master, ...

The State of China’s Gaming Market

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China is the second largest video game market in the world, and even though its industry has faced domestic challenges, China’s global impact on gam...

The Business of Cloud and Game Servers

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Apex Legends is known for having one of the most “boring” game launches in history in the best of ways. Jokingly called Uptime Legends, Apex pursu...

How Content Creators Are Shaping Gaming

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the world of gaming matures, the influence of content creators is increasingly important. In this episode, host Devin Becker sits down with Justin ...

The Next Era of Modding - with Overwolf, Studio Wildcard, and Look North World

07 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Modding has long been a force of innovation and creativity in the games industry, but the emergence of cross-platform, premium mods is set to take mod...

New York Times Games, From Strength to Strength

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The New York Times is one of the world’s most recognized newspapers and has been in circulation since 1851. With 10 million subscribers, the Times h...

AI-Powered Quality Assurance

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Quality assurance is one of the most crucial aspects of game development to ensure the game functions as intended and to provide a positive player exp...

Yuga Labs: 1 Year After Dookey Dash

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Yuga Labs, the heavyweight behind some of the biggest Web3 IP, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and Meebits, made its first foray into gam...

Unpacking Krafton’s Strategy: PUBG, New IPs, Investments & More!

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Krafton is one of the world’s premier video game publishers. After experiencing the explosive success of PUBG in the late 2010s, Krafton rebranded i...

Mastering the Roblox Meta

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Roblox is approaching 350M monthly active users. It’s a platform that generated $3.3B in bookings last year and paid $740M to its developers and cre...

Mastering Crowdfunding Campaigns

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In an era of games where the financing sources are slim and marketing and community can make or break your game launch, your host Alexandra Takei, Dir...

Guild of Guardians, Immutable’s Next Web3 Flagship Game?

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guild of Guardians is Immutable’s second major game after Gods Unchained, and is one of the most anticipated web3 games of 2024 - Immutable has call...

Paying Players to Play

07 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the dynamic landscape of gaming, the fusion of cutting-edge financial technology and innovative incentives is shaping a new era of player acquisiti...

The New Business of Narrative

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new era of game developer has arrived to shake up narrative game making. In this episode, host Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, welcomes E...

Nyan Heroes: Cats, Mechs & Esports in Web3

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nyan Heroes is a team-based hero shooter featuring small cats piloting giant mechs. The studio was founded in Singapore in 2021 and is staffed by indu...

From Scrappy to Success: Strategies for Gaming Founders

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it take to stand out and succeed as a games industry entrepreneur these days? And how should smart venture capitalists best identify and wor...

Fortnite Creative Origins

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Epic Games paid $320 million to over 25,000 creators in the last 12 months and during that time saw UGC content capture a whopping 35% of total Fortni...

TikTok: Gaming’s New Discovery Platform

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

TikTok is undeniably changing the game for game developers and creating a new marketing and distribution playbook across mobile, console, and PC. In t...

Tactical Advice for Building Healthy Player Relationships

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the ever-evolving world of gaming, understanding and managing player interactions through technology is becoming increasingly critical. Host Devin ...

The Bleeding Edge: Building Games on Discord, ChatGPT, and Beyond

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There’s no shortage of conversation around how new technologies are changing the way games are made, but that technological change doesn’t end the...

Guild of Guardians on Immutable + Web3 Pulsecheck

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Guild of Guardians, Immutable’s second major game after Gods Unchained, is one of the most anticipated web3 games of 2024. The game recently pivoted...

GDC Vibes / data.ai x Sensor Tower / Epic Announcements / US v. Apple

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad takes a deep dive into the unique atmosphere of this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC), marked by a spirit ...

Century Games: How a Top 20 Mobile Publisher Found Success on Roblox

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Finding success on Roblox can be very challenging. There are over 20 million experiences created every year, and the play patterns are quite different...

P2E is Dead? Long Live P2E! With Pixels.xyz

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After the meteoric rise - and equally meteoric fall - of Axie Infinity, the term “Play-to-Earn” lost much of its cachet, and web3 developers avoid...

A Mario Movie Sequel / Activision's New Union / Apple's EU Troubles / Toys x Games

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad dives into the exciting news of a greenlit sequel to the Super Mario Brothers movie, with production once again h...

The Past, Present, & Future of Live Service Games

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

RallyHere builds on the back of years of experience in Live Service, before the term was even coined, as Hi-Rez Studios under the leadership of CEO St...

Esports Infrastructure, by the Numbers

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

GRID has seen the value of data in esports since 2018 thanks to Founder and CEO Moritz Maurer's direct experience in the scene. Working directly with ...

Neopets: A New Frontier

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Neopets has always been a metaverse, says Dominic Law, CEO of The World of Neopia. If you were born prior to the 2000s, you’ll remember how much Neo...

Emulator Armageddon / Netflix Ports / Private Equity / Early 2024 Winners

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad unpacks the seismic impact of Nintendo's legal victory, securing a $2.4M settlement against the Switch emulator Y...

Web3 Mech Combat with MetalCore

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Studio369 is preparing to launch MetalCore, an open world player-versus-player mech combat game that combines the engagement of high-quality tradition...

How to Succeed in MENA (with Sandsoft Games)

03 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The games industry can no longer ignore the MENA region, encompassing markets like Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and more. With approximately 800 ...

Age of Empires Mobile / Balatro’s Success / Sony Layoffs / Apple Arcade Woes

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad dives into the recent announcement of Age of Empires Mobile, sparking debates on whether it will meet the high ex...

XR: X-plore, X-plain, X-amine

25 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Do you believe that XR is the future of modern entertainment? Composed of a blend of AR, MR, VR, and spatial computing, XR is a major frontier for big...

Helldivers 2 Invades Steam / Xbox’s Big Non-Event / Supercell’s Annual Letter

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad dives into the unexpected success of Helldivers 2, PlayStation Studios' first game to launch simultaneously on Pl...

Midnight, the AA Web 3 Games Consolidator

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It is no secret that web3 gaming had bit of a down year in 2023. Many studios had to shut down, and venture funding was hard to come by. But where som...

Decoding Success: From Operator to Venture Capitalist

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s guest is Shanti Bergel, Founding General Partner and Managing Director of Transcend Fund, which has been a top decile performer since the fi...

Games: Once Upon Now in Hollywood

11 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Super Mario Brothers Movie made $1.36B at the box office, shattering records and solidifying the power of gaming IP on the big screen. Transmedia ...

Disney x Fortnite / Heroes of Mavia Launch / WB Live Service Stumbles

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad dives into Disney's $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games, aiming to create custom Fortnite-related experiences. ...

Parallel, the $500 Million Web3 TCG

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Trading card games (TCGs) have always been the most natural fit for web3. Their real-world analog cousins are inherently collectible, generally have a...

The State of UGC Gaming in 2024

04 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

User-generated content (UGC) in games continues to grow in scale and impact, and staying on top of this dynamic market has never been more important. ...

China's Regulations / Microsoft & EA Earnings / Apple’s Legal Challenges

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad dives into the public reversal of China's proposed bans on game monetization tactics, plus ponders the future of ...

Between the Lines: Eastern Europe’s Gaming Market

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It is known that the gaming scene in CIS has political, legal, and regulatory challenges that make it hard to develop games or deploy investments into...

Palworld Explodes / Riot Scales Back / Newzoo’s 2024 Report

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad dives into the booming success of Palworld, a game that's been dubbed "Pokemon with guns," and explores why it's ...

Immutable’s Web3 Roadmap for 2024

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Immutable is one of the leaders in the web3 gaming space, as well as one of Australia’s fastest-growing companies. The business has raised AUD$400 m...

The State of Gaming VC in 2024

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Venture markets – within and beyond gaming – soared in 2020-2021 and fell back to earth over the past couple of years, but what should we expect i...

Valve's Daily Deals / Activision Blizzard & NetEase Reconcile / Apple's 27% Fee

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad begins by discussing Stumble Guys' move to Xbox, which will now compete head-to-head with Fall Guys. We then shif...

CES Takeaways / Subscription Strategy Changes / Second Dinner's $100M Raise

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, we explore the gaming highlights from the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show and joke about what trends are peaking in ridiculo...

The State of Web3 Trading Card Games

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Trading Card Games (TCGs) have always been a natural fit for Web3. Their real-world analog cousins are inherently collectible, generally have a notion...

Nexon’s CEO on Leaving a Legacy, Fostering Talent, & AI in Games

07 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Owen Mahoney, CEO of Nexon, is back for another phenomenal conversation – this time on the heels of the announcement that Owen is soon stepping down...

Game Awards Stats / VR Struggles / China Regulations / Square Enix Letter

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad kicks off with a deep dive into the Game Awards' staggering 118 million viewers, surpassing even the Super Bowl, ...

Our Games Industry Predictions for 2024

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, we follow up on the previous episode with this week’s Epic Games Store policy shift, highlighting the decision to create ...

The Advent of AI Analytics

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Together with Dive, one of our Open Gaming Research Initiative partners, we’re exploring the topic of data and games through a limited podcast serie...

Forever Digital Pets in the Petaverse

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Real, living pets have a fundamental problem - they have a limited lifespan and they die. Digital pets aren’t immortal either. Over 80 million Tamag...

LEGO Fortnite Pops / Google's Legal Loss / ESRB vs Web3 / The Game Awards

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad dives into the successful collaboration between LEGO and Fortnite, discussing how LEGO's first successful Minecra...

Unraveling Content Creator Programs

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Together with Nexus, one of our Open Gaming Research Initiative partners, today we’re diving into the topic of content creator programs.Content crea...

Lessons in Entrepreneurship, Kid-Tech, and UGC

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Serial entrepreneurs that always win are a rare breed worth learning from, and we’re hosting one of those special people today as our guest. Dylan C...

GTA VI Trailer / Hybridcasual Success / Africa's Gaming Market

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad dives into the unexpected early leak and subsequent official release of the GTA VI trailer, which has taken the i...

UEFN Studios: Boom, Bust, or Choose Roblox?

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

UEFN is gunning to be the next major Roblox competitor, but just how competitive is it? Today, your host, Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, s...

Nuverse Winds Down / Shrapnel Lawsuit / Business Of Gaming Awards

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad unpacks ByteDance's decision to wind down its gaming arm, Nuverse, and divest popular titles like Marvel Snap. Th...

Savvy Games Group’s Ambition, Strategy, and Future

26 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the third and final part in our series covering all things Savvy Games Group, the Saudi-backed gaming giant in the making. In this episode,...

VC Funding Down / Fortnite Kid Safety / OpenAI Drama / Embracer Restructure

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, we welcome Taylor Hurst from Konvoy Ventures, bringing a fresh investment perspective to our discussions. We kick off by di...

The State of Web3 With Game7

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Game7, a community formed to accelerate the adoption of Web3 gaming, recognized that there had to date not been a comprehensive overview of the entire...

Gaming Journalism: How, What, and Impact with Jason Schreier and Neil Long

19 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Neil Long used to be responsible for app rankings on the Apple iOS Store before founding Mobilegamer.biz, a site aimed at increasing mobile games cove...

MW3 Controversy / Live Service Evolutions / Roblox Earnings / Esports Woes

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad tackles the contentious release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, scrutinizing Activision's bold pricing strateg...

Building Hits with the Power of Community

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Together with Windwalk, one of our Open Gaming Research Initiative partners, we’re diving into the topic of community building within game building....

Bungie Layoffs / Live-Action Zelda / Epic v Google / FC 24 Sales

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad unpacks Bungie's recent layoffs and the implications for Destiny 2 and Marathon’s future. We then shift gears t...

Building a Roblox Studio

05 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do you build a dedicated Roblox studio? The answer: “hire your customer” according to the Co-Founders of Tiny Comet Emily Tierney and Anca Aga...

Why Is Gaming Spend Not Up More? / M&A and Funding Trends / Earnings Season Begins

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad delves into the fresh UK sales numbers, highlighting top hits like Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Spider-Man 2. The...

S-Tier Go-To-Market Insights for PC Games

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Together with Gamesight, one of our Open Gaming Research Initiative partners, we’re exploring various go-to-market (GTM) strategies and insights, sp...

Inside Scopely: Monopoly Go, Stumble Guys, Savvy Games Group & The Future

29 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to part two in our series covering all things Savvy Games Group. In this episode Aaron Bush chats with Javier Ferreira, the co-CEO of Scopely,...

Game Pass Growth / FaZe Acquired / Netflix’s Game Plan

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad kicks off by discussing what to make of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's pay no longer being driven by Xbox Game Pas...

Transmedia IP, Gaming, and the Metaverse

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As "metaverses" gain in prominence, and more and more gameplay happens inside these digital worlds, brands, advertisers, and IP owners are naturally g...

The Future of Hybridcasual

22 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hybridcasual is a buzzword of late, but what exactly does it mean, and where is it going? As hypercasual continues declining, many games teams are exp...

Microsoft’s Done Deal / Predicting Holiday Hits / When Will Layoffs End?

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad delves into Microsoft's completed acquisition of Activision Blizzard and speculates on the future landscape of ga...

ESL FACEIT Group: Growing Beyond Play (Savvy Games Series #1)

15 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2022, ESL Gaming and FACEIT merged to create one of esports’ most important companies: ESL FACEIT Group (EFG). This operating group, fully owned ...

Riccitiello Resigns / Diablo IV On Steam / FC 24 Scores

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad kicks things off by discussing the resignation of Unity's CEO John Riccitiello and the introduction of the compan...

Driving ROI with Data Analysis – Part 2

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Together with Dive, one of our Open Gaming Research Initiative partners, we’re exploring the topic of data and games through a limited podcast serie...

Zynga Enters Web3 with Sugartown

11 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On September 13th, Zynga minted its first NFT collection, the Oras, and announced its entry into the Web3 gaming space with Sugartown. There have not ...

How to Disrupt the Shooter Market

08 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How red is the ocean of shooters and is there room for innovation in what most consider a wildly competitive and oversaturated space? Roby John, CEO a...

Monster Hunter Now Launch / Luda Raises For AI Sim / CS:GO 2 Launch

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad starts with covering the successful mobile launch of Monster Hunter Now, giving Niantic another win in location-b...

How Candivore’s Match Masters Innovates in Match 3

01 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve all played match 3 games, but the genre itself has seen limited innovation in recent years. However, Candivore and its hit game Match Masters ...

AAA’s Future / Epic Layoffs / Winners, Losers & Hidden Gems

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's Roundtable, the squad starts off by reflecting on Unity’s business model changes and Jim Ryan’s retirement after a strong 30 year r...

What Fully On-Chain Games Mean for Gamers & Developers

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Amitt Mahajan, co-creator of cultural icon and Internet treasure Farmville, has been working at the intersection of gaming and technology for his enti...