Building a Community From Scratch with Thomas Schramm

Today’s guest is Thomas Schramm, Community Manager at Sky E Red in Germany, where he’s helping shape the launch of their debut game, Battle Frontier. Thomas’s path into the games industry is anything but typical—what began as a childhood hobby in online Halo communities eventually turned into a full-time career in community management. We talk about what it’s like to build a community from scratch when your game hasn’t even launched yet, the strategic (and very human) work that goes into early-stage community development, and the unique challenges of community-building in a startup environment. Thomas also opens up about dealing with unemployment in the games industry, learning new skills to stay competitive, and the evolving, often ambiguous nature of community management roles—especially at indie studios. Games mentioned in this episode: Halo Destiny 2 Battle Frontier Final Fantasy XVI Pokémon TCG Live Find Thomas on: LinkedIn X (formerly Twitter) as @Fuzzle_HC The Community Lounge is brought to you by Feature Upvote – Painlessly collect feedback from your players. More insights, less noise.