Skillz, Beamable and The LiveOps Shift
An episode of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast podcast, hosted by PGbiz Podcast, titled "Skillz, Beamable and The LiveOps Shift" was published on April 8, 2026 and runs 47 minutes.
April 8, 2026 ·47m · PocketGamer.biz Podcast
Summary
Recorded live on-site at GDC, hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Craig Chapple sit down with Robert Burnett, Head of New Content at Skillz, and Jon Radoff, CPO of Beamable, to unpack what just changed for developers building competitive mobile games.With the acquisition of Beamable, Skillz is pushing into a bigger role: giving developers more control over progression, LiveOps and monetisation inside the game, while still handling the infrastructure that is hardest to build well. As Jon puts it, the goal is to build “a business operating system for a game studio” so developers can focus on gameplay instead of racking up debt. “If you’re spending any of your effort building the tech instead of the fun, you’re accumulating debt that doesn’t do you any good.”Skillz also unveiled the Pro SDK at GDC, opening up more control inside Unity for developers who want to build competitive games with richer progression, more flexible monetisation and a stronger live-service layer. In this episode, Peggy and Craig get into:Puzzle Blockz, the first live proof point for the combined platformWhat this shift means for smaller teams that want to move faster without building every part of the stack themselvesHow advertising, IAP and competition can start to work together instead of sitting in separate silos If you are serious about building competitive mobile games that can keep players and grow revenue, start here.Chapters00:00 New Ways for Developers to Monetize01:34 The Acquisition of Beamable by Skillz01:59 Solving Pain Points with the Pro SDK04:46 A Business Operating System for Game Studios06:27 The Role of AI in Rapid Prototyping10:14 Economies of Scale in Game Development11:51 From Vibe Coding to Agentic Systems16:01 Case Study: The Puzzle Blocks Proof of Concept22:50 Iterating Based on Real-Time Player Feedback34:31 The Future Roadmap: Intelligence and AutomationLet's Connect👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pocketgamer-biz/?originalSubdomain=uk 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event
Episode Description
Recorded live on-site at GDC, hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Craig Chapple sit down with Robert Burnett, Head of New Content at Skillz, and Jon Radoff, CPO of Beamable, to unpack what just changed for developers building competitive mobile games.
With the acquisition of Beamable, Skillz is pushing into a bigger role: giving developers more control over progression, LiveOps and monetisation inside the game, while still handling the infrastructure that is hardest to build well.
As Jon puts it, the goal is to build “a business operating system for a game studio” so developers can focus on gameplay instead of racking up debt. “If you’re spending any of your effort building the tech instead of the fun, you’re accumulating debt that doesn’t do you any good.”
Skillz also unveiled the Pro SDK at GDC, opening up more control inside Unity for developers who want to build competitive games with richer progression, more flexible monetisation and a stronger live-service layer.
In this episode, Peggy and Craig get into:
- Puzzle Blockz, the first live proof point for the combined platform
- What this shift means for smaller teams that want to move faster without building every part of the stack themselves
- How advertising, IAP and competition can start to work together instead of sitting in separate silos
If you are serious about building competitive mobile games that can keep players and grow revenue, start here.
Chapters
00:00 New Ways for Developers to Monetize
01:34 The Acquisition of Beamable by Skillz
01:59 Solving Pain Points with the Pro SDK
04:46 A Business Operating System for Game Studios
06:27 The Role of AI in Rapid Prototyping
10:14 Economies of Scale in Game Development
11:51 From Vibe Coding to Agentic Systems
16:01 Case Study: The Puzzle Blocks Proof of Concept
22:50 Iterating Based on Real-Time Player Feedback
34:31 The Future Roadmap: Intelligence and Automation
Let's Connect
👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz
👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pocketgamer-biz/?originalSubdomain=uk
👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz
👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz
Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event
Similar Episodes
No similar episodes found.
Similar Podcasts
No similar podcasts found.