The Business of Games

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.Direct-to-consumer monetization is usually a conversation about where players spend: web shops, platform margins, owned storefronts. But what if the more interesting question is what they spend on — and what changes when real money is actually on the line?In this extended cut, host Lia Ballentine sits down with Derek Rathbun, Co-Founder and CEO of Gamers.bet, to explore a monetization layer most studios haven't seriously reckoned with yet: native real money wagering built directly into the game itself.Derek's path here runs through automotive technology, a front-row seat to the legalization of sports betting in 2018, and a series of conversations with retired industry veterans who confirmed the category was wide open. When Disney reversed course and launched ESPN Bet in late 2023, the cultural shift became hard to ignore — and the question of who would move first in games became a lot more urgent.We dive into:Why real money gameplay is already happening at scale, and what it costs publishers who don't control the experienceHow native wagering opens up a new design surface, not just a new revenue lineWhy this monetization layer is most powerful when it's considered at the conceptualization stageHow peer-to-peer wagering reaches players that traditional DTC models — cosmetics, battle passes — simply don't convertWhy cross-border settlement required a new approach to payments infrastructure entirelyHow responsible gaming and age compliance can be enforced without disrupting the core experienceIf the broader context of direct-to-consumer monetization is something you want to go deeper on, check out our episode, “Direct-to-consumer: making money without the middleman,” where Lia and Chris Hewish explore this territory alongside Derek and Arron Goolsbey of Mythical Games.Whether you're a studio founder thinking about your next investment pitch, a product lead exploring new revenue models, or just someone watching the business of games evolve in real time, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at where monetization is headed next.Let's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.In this episode, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine get into the part of the direct-to-consumer conversation that most studios either rush past or get wrong entirely: monetization.The default framing is simple: cut out the platform, keep more margin. But the studios actually building direct-to-consumer monetization well aren't running a web shop as a side channel. They're rethinking how value gets created, how offers get structured, and how a purchase fits into a longer relationship with the player.To explore what that looks like in practice, Chris and Lia are joined by two leaders operating at very different frontiers: Derek Rathbun, Co-Founder and CEO of Gamers.bet, who navigates what it means to give publishers control over real-money player engagement in a space where ignoring direct monetization has visible, immediate consequences; and Arron Goolsbey, Chief Operating Officer of Mythical Games, where direct-to-consumer isn't a feature that was added — it's the foundation the entire business was built on.Together, they make the case that the barrier to going direct is lower than most teams assume, the cost of waiting is higher than it appears, and the best monetization in a direct-to-player model isn't the most aggressive — it's the most earned.You'll hear why ceding the player relationship, even passively, costs more than it shows up on any balance sheet; why direct-to-consumer is really about owning identity, payments, and inventory as a unified system rather than a checkout flow; how data becomes a decision engine rather than a reporting function when those foundations are in place; and why designing monetization around what players earn, rather than what they're willing to pay, is what separates durable businesses from ones that plateau.What you'll learn:Why ignoring direct monetization is a cost, not just a missed opportunityWhat the foundational tech stack for direct-to-consumer actually requires and what studios shouldn't build themselvesHow to treat data as a decision system, not a dashboardWhy the best monetization design starts at the moment of install, not at the web shopHow emerging models like player-to-player economies are expanding who can participate and howLet's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to Coffee.Press.Play., brought to you by The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla. Recorded live at GDC 2026 inside the Xsolla Clubhouse, this series puts a twist on the traditional interview format: guests play a round of a classic video game against our Xsolla host and the outcome determines whether they face an easy question or a hard one.In this episode, host Ed Lin sits down with Adam Krause and TJ Consunji, Managing Partners and Co-Founders of Miniboss Solutions — an embedded publishing partner helping indie studios and smaller developers take their games to market with the strategy and discipline of a AAA publisher.Between them, Adam and TJ bring over 40 years of industry experience. Adam has worked across paid media and go-to-market strategy at Ubisoft, Capcom, Striking Distance, and 2K. TJ spent nearly two decades at PlayStation, working on franchises like God of War, Uncharted, Horizon, Gran Turismo, and SOCOM. Now they've taken everything they learned in the big leagues and built a company designed to give smaller studios access to the same caliber of thinking.What you'll hear:Why discoverability is the defining challenge in today's market and how 20,000 games a year on Steam makes it existential for smaller studiosWhy the AAA mindset isn't about budget — it's about the discipline to ask the right questions before you spend a dollarHow smaller developers often don't realize how hard publishing is until they're already halfway through itWhy modern targeting tools level the playing field, but only if you know what to say once you reach your audienceWhy building a brand, not just launching a game, is the shift that separates studios that sustain from ones that spike and fadeCoffee.Press.Play. is an ongoing mini-series, and more conversations with our GDC guests are on the way. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch full episodes on our YouTube channel.Missed us at GDC 2026? Stay tuned to our LinkedIn page for announcements on where we'll be next. And catch up on recent episodes at xsolla.com/podcast.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to Coffee.Press.Play., brought to you by The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla. Recorded live at GDC 2026 inside the Xsolla Clubhouse, this series puts a twist on the traditional interview format: guests play a round of a classic video game against our Xsolla host and the outcome determines whether they face an easy question or a hard one.In this episode, host Ed Lin sits down with Rob Carroll, CEO and co-founder of Roll Craft — a studio on a mission to bring back the text-based RPG experiences that defined Facebook gaming's golden era.Rob's path into games is one of the more unexpected ones you'll hear. He was a construction manager building gas stations in Boston when a gaming community pulled him west. A guild for the modded shooter Tribes, an angel investor who happened to be playing, and a project management role that needed filling — that's how a career in construction became a career in games. From there, Rob went on to LucasArts, Zynga (where he worked on the Mafia Wars franchise), and Wargaming, where he helped launch World of Tanks Blitz on mobile. Now, he's taken the leap into founding his own studio.Roll Craft is building an HTML5 platform for text-based RPG games, the kind that thrived on Facebook before the platform moved on. Rob believes that genre still has a real home in today's market — and he's betting his next chapter on proving it.What you'll hear:How a Tribes guild mod and an angel investor launched Rob's career in gamesWhy he believes text-based RPGs have a strong place in today's marketWhat it actually felt like to go from the corporate side of the industry to founding a studioHow Roll Craft is using WeFunder to raise community-backed equity fundingThe one piece of advice Rob would give anyone stepping into the founder seatLet's get into it.Coffee.Press.Play. is an ongoing mini-series, and more conversations with our GDC guests are on the way. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch full episodes on our YouTube channel.Missed us at GDC 2026? Stay tuned to our LinkedIn page for announcements on where we'll be next. And catch up on recent episodes at xsolla.com/podcast.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to Coffee.Press.Play., brought to you by The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla. Recorded live at GDC 2026 inside the Xsolla Clubhouse, this series puts a twist on the traditional interview format: guests play a round of a classic video game against our Xsolla host and the outcome determines whether they face an easy question or a hard one.In this episode, host Ed Lin sits down with Jenny Xu, CEO and founder of Talofa Games — a San Francisco-based studio making mobile games designed to get people mentally and physically healthier.Jenny started making games at 12. Not as a hobby she eventually professionalized, but as a lifeline. A self-described introverted kid who rarely spoke more than a word or two, she found her community online through Neopets, discovered art through that community, and taught herself Flash development on deviantart.com because games were the most interactive thing she could make. By 18, she had built 133 of them.The conversation traces her path from ActionScript 2 to MIT's cross-country team to the founding of Talofa Games — and the honest admission that somewhere between freshman year and graduation, she almost talked herself out of games entirely.What you'll hear:How loneliness and Neopets set Jenny on the path to game developmentWhy running and dark psychological anime were her two biggest creative inputsWhat it actually took to balance MIT athletics, social life, academics, and shipping gamesHow a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People changed her trajectoryWhy she describes her career in games as a Pokémon journey — and what the Elite Four represents nowLet's get into it.Coffee.Press.Play. is an ongoing mini-series, and more conversations with our GDC guests are on the way. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch full episodes on our YouTube channel.Missed us at GDC 2026? Stay tuned to our LinkedIn page for announcements on where we'll be next. And catch up on recent episodes at xsolla.com/podcast.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.Direct-to-consumer is easy to talk about in terms of web shops, payment rails, and platform fees. It's harder to talk about what's actually underneath it — the identity layer, the data architecture, the economic models, and the distribution infrastructure that either make the player relationship durable or leave it fragile. In this extended cut, host Lia Ballentine sits back down with Arron Goolsbey, Chief Operating Officer at Mythical Games, to go a level deeper.Arron brings a perspective shaped by years of building platforms at scale, and a mindset that resists binary thinking at every turn. For him, DTC isn't a distribution decision — it's a consumer operating system. And building it right means asking the right foundational questions before the spark becomes a fire.The conversation is grounded, practical, and full of frameworks that apply well beyond Web3.We dive into:Why DTC is really about owning identity, payments, and inventory — not just adding a web shopThe four questions every studio should answer before going to marketWhy data is a decision system, not a dashboardHow Mythical's secondary market economics create a fourth monetization model that reaches players traditional approaches can'tWhy the best monetization decisions start with a stewardship mindset, not a pricing formulaLet's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.Direct-to-consumer strategies are usually measured by what they remove — platform fees, intermediaries, friction at checkout. But what happens when the asset itself becomes the channel?In this extended cut, host Lia Ballentine sits down with Jan Roessner, CEO and co-founder of One Earth Rising, to explore a new layer of the developer-player relationship: one built not on storefronts, but on ownership that travels with the player across games and platforms. His company has done something the industry hasn't seen before, and as of this recording, they have the patent to prove it.Jan brings a background that defies easy summary: military officer, digital marketing agency founder, indie game developer, and now builder of cross-platform infrastructure that's already live in the market. The conversation is grounded, optimistic, and full of examples that make an abstract idea feel concrete.We dive into:What ownable game assets actually are and how they work in practiceWhy One Earth Rising deliberately avoids leading with blockchainWhat a Walmart campaign reveals about DTC beyond the storefrontHow social impact is baked into the infrastructure itselfWhy the future of DTC will be defined by the user, not the providerLet's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.In this episode, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine go a layer deeper into direct-to-consumer — past the strategy, past the economics, and into the infrastructure that determines whether a studio's direct-to-player ambitions actually hold up at scale.Most direct-to-consumer conversations start with intent and end with outcomes. But between the two sits a layer most studios underestimate: the technology stack. Identity systems, payments infrastructure, data pipelines, commerce backends, and emerging Web3 tooling aren't supporting characters in the direct-to-player story. They're the plot. And the studios getting it right aren't necessarily the biggest or most technically sophisticated. They're the ones who made the right architectural decisions early.To explore what those decisions look like in practice, Chris and Lia draw on conversations with two leaders building at the frontier of games technology and infrastructure: Arron Goolsbey, Chief Operating Officer at Mythical Games, who has spent years building direct-to-consumer ecosystems at scale, and Jan Roessner, co-founder and CEO of One Earth Rising, whose work connecting ownable game assets across platforms offers a fresh lens on what player ownership can actually mean.Together, they unpack how identity, data, and commerce infrastructure either enable the player relationship or quietly undermine it. You'll hear why the stack isn't one decision but a sequence of interconnected ones, and why the order matters enormously. Why Web3, stripped of the hype, is best understood as an infrastructure capability rather than a platform unto itself. Why data-informed decision systems are fundamentally different from data-driven dashboards. And why trust infrastructure — payments reliability, fraud prevention, support — isn't a back-office cost center but a direct investment in the player relationship.The through-line is clear: the player relationship you're promising is only as real as the systems you've built to support it.What you'll learn:Why direct-to-consumer is an architectural commitment, not just a business model decisionHow to think about the stack as a sequence and why the order of decisions mattersWhat Web3 tooling actually adds to a direct-to-player infrastructure and where it doesn'tWhy first-party data architecture must be built before you need itHow trust infrastructure becomes a player relationship investmentLet's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to Coffee.Press.Play., brought to you by The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.Recorded live at GDC 2026 inside the Xsolla Clubhouse, this series puts a twist on the traditional interview format: guests play a round of a classic video game against host Chris Hewish and the outcome determines whether they face an easy question or a hard one.In this first episode, Bronson Lingamfelter, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of One Earth Rising, takes on Chris in a quick battle and earns the easy question — though what follows is anything but a simple conversation.Bronson's path into gaming runs through one of digital media's most transformative moments. Nearly 20 years ago, he helped digitize the comic book industry, co-founding Comixology and building the Buy Once Read Anywhere platform that powered digital comics for Marvel, DC, Image, and more.Now, Bronson is applying those same instincts to games: using emerging technology to rethink how players discover, own, and engage with the titles they love. At One Earth Rising, that means driving new game ownership out of retail environments, bridging loyal CPG audiences into gaming experiences on PlayStation and Steam, and opening up discovery in ways the industry hasn't fully explored yet.One word captures how he got there: ownership.What you'll hear:How digitizing comics shaped Bronson's approach to game ownershipWhat Comixology built and why it mattered before the Walking Dead show changed everythingHow One Earth Rising is using retail activations and CPG partnerships to bring new players into gamesWhy Bronson sees emerging technology as the key to unlocking the next chapter of game discoveryLet’s get into it.Coffee.Press.Play. is an ongoing mini-series, and more conversations with our GDC guests are on the way. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch full episodes on our YouTube channel.Missed us at GDC 2026? Stay tuned to our LinkedIn page for announcements on where we'll be next. And catch up on recent episodes at xsolla.com/podcast.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.GDC 2026 brought us something a little different. At Coffee.Press.Play., hosts Chris Hewish and Ed Lin sat down with past guests, friends of the podcast, and new voices from across the industry — all in one place.This short clip captures the energy of those conversations: candid, wide-ranging, and full of the kind of insight you only get when the right people are in the same room.A huge thank you to our guests: Alex Reed, Adam Krause, TJ Consunji, Sue Suhyun Yoon, Bronson Lingamfelter, Jan Roessner, Jenny Xu, Wes Morton, Xander Agosta, Derek Rathbun, Garry Edwards, Ivan Carillo, and Rob Carroll.This is just a taste of what’s coming. Full conversations with our Coffee.Press.Play. guests are on the way as part of an upcoming mini series. Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch full episodes on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@XsollaPodcast).Missed us at GDC? Stay tuned to our LinkedIn page for announcements on where we'll be next. And catch up on recent episodes at xsolla.com/podcast.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.Every March, the games industry makes its pilgrimage to San Francisco. GDC isn't a fan show. It's where developers, executives, investors, and platform teams talk to each other about what's actually happening in the business of games.In this episode, Lia Ballentine flips the script. Xsolla President, Chris Hewish, freshly back from GDC 2026, takes the guest seat to share what he heard on the show floor, inside the Xsolla Clubhouse, and in the conversations between sessions that rarely make it into recap posts.The mood at GDC this year was what Chris describes as cautiously constructive. The turbulence of the past few years — layoffs, studio closures, a hard reset after pandemic-era expansion — hasn't disappeared from memory. But the tone has shifted. Developers have accepted the new market reality and are asking sharper, more practical questions: How do you build sustainably? How do you reach players directly? How do you harness AI without losing what makes games human?Chris walked those halls and had those conversations. In this episode, he brings those insights to life, including perspectives from developers and industry voices he connected with on the ground.What you'll learn:Why GDC 2026 felt different and what "cautiously constructive" actually means for the industryHow AI has moved from theoretical to practical inside real production pipelinesWhy direct-to-player kept surfacing as a through-line across sessions and conversationsWhat the investment climate looks like now, and where capital is starting to flow againHow the most forward-looking studios are shifting from linear development to parallel workflowsWhat one takeaway from GDC 2026 should shape how you build your games business in the year aheadLet's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.Direct-to-consumer is often framed as a distribution or monetization decision. But for someone who has spent more than two decades building brand voice and managing player relationships, the more important shift is cultural, and it starts with whether a studio is actually willing to listen.In this extended cut, host Lia Ballentine sits down with Mac Marshall, a veteran marketing and communications leader whose career spans Activision Blizzard, Sierra Entertainment, Codemasters, and most recently Turtle Beach Corporation, where he spent 11 years shaping one of gaming's most recognized hardware brands. Mac brings a perspective grounded in the trenches of brand building: what it takes to earn trust with a gaming audience, how to show up authentically in the channels that matter, and why the human element of communication is harder to replace than most teams realize.The conversation covers what direct-to-consumer really means when you strip away the economics; and the answer, for Mac, is simpler than most frameworks suggest: genuine two-way conversation, a willingness to engage even when the news is bad, and the self-awareness to know when to step back.We dive into:Why direct-to-consumer is ultimately about inclusion and giving fans a real sense that their voice is being heardHow to turn detractors into fans through direct, human engagementWhat Mac's career-long post-it note rule reveals about good communication instinctsWhy AI works best in service of the human element, not as a replacement for itHow over-communication is one of the most common ways brands erode trustWhat "main character syndrome" looks like for a brand and how to avoid itWhy creator partnerships have become the new prime-time TV spotWhere to start when building a direct-to-consumer foundation from scratchWhether you're leading comms at a major publisher or figuring out how to build a brand voice for the first time, Mac's instincts offer a grounding reminder: the tools and channels will keep changing, but the basics of honest, human communication never do.Let's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.Marketing a game used to end at launch. In this extended cut, host Chris Hewish sits down with David Pava, Senior Director of Marketing for World of Tanks Modern Armor at Wargaming, to explore what happens when studios stop thinking in campaigns and start thinking in relationships.David brings a career path unlike most, from webmaster for World Championship Wrestling in the early days of the internet to marketing console games for millions of players on PlayStation and Xbox. Along the way, he's developed a philosophy rooted in feedback loops, curation, and earning trust at every touchpoint.In this conversation, he makes the case that direct-to-consumer is fundamentally about eliminating friction — between a studio and its audience, between data and decisions, between messaging and meaning. And he draws some surprising parallels between live service games and the world of professional wrestling to prove it.We dive into:Why direct-to-consumer is really about two things: curation and controlHow World of Tanks Modern Armor tripled its Twitch audience, and why that matters as much as DAUsThe 60-factor player segmentation model that shapes how the team targets and experimentsWhy AI accelerates your existing systems (for better or worse), and why authenticity is the antidoteHow an eight-week season pass cadence creates a build-test-learn loop that compounds over timeWhat new marketing teams should prioritize first when building a direct-to-consumer foundationWhether you're running a live service title, building your first owned channel strategy, or just trying to understand what it actually means to own the player relationship, David's perspective offers hard-won clarity.Let's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.In this episode, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine explore one of the most consequential shifts in modern game marketing: what happens when studios stop renting attention and start owning the relationship.Direct-to-consumer strategies are often framed around economics: margins, platform fees, and monetization control. But the deeper change shows up somewhere else entirely. When studios own player identity, communication, and data, marketing stops being a function optimized for scale and becomes something responsible for trust, relevance, and long-term engagement.To explore that shift, Chris and Lia draw from conversations with two leaders navigating it firsthand: David Pava, Senior Director of Marketing for World of Tanks Modern Armor at Wargaming, who has spent years building direct relationships with millions of players across PlayStation and Xbox, and Mac Marshall, a seasoned marketing and brand leader with experience across some of the industry's most recognized names, including Activision Blizzard and Turtle Beach.Together, they unpack how direct-to-consumer changes the role of marketing from campaign-driven acquisition to audience-first relationship building and explore what it actually takes to make that shift stick.You'll hear how owned channels change the weight of every message a studio sends; why data and segmentation have moved from strategic advantage to operational expectation; how AI accelerates whatever system you already have in place (for better or worse); and why monetization, in a direct relationship model, can no longer be separated from brand and trust.The through-line is simple: in a direct-to-consumer world, marketing isn't just how players find your game. It's how they come to trust it, stay connected to it, and choose to invest in it over time.Let's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this episode, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine lay the foundation for a special series this season on direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategies in games. Chris unpacks the difference between DTC as a commercial motion and his concept of "Direct to Player" — a structural operating model that goes beyond the transaction and shifts the organizing principle of a game business from platform-centric to player-centric.Chris introduces five principles of Direct to Player drawn from decades of industry experience, covering everything from who owns the player relationship to how trust is built over time. Together, they form a system; and as Chris makes clear, that's exactly the point. These principles only work when they reinforce each other.This episode sets the foundation for the season's exploration into DTC strategies, including marketing and audience building, technology and infrastructure, monetization design, player engagement, and more. Direct to Player isn't a channel. It's a commitment to building games around players, not platforms.Let's get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.Game commerce isn’t just about platforms and storefronts. It’s about who can actually pay. In this episode, Lia Ballentine speaks with Michael Jedrzejczak, Program Manager and Gift Card Consultant at Xsolla, about how payment methods, gift cards, and retail access continue to shape who can buy and play games.Michael brings over 15 years of experience building and scaling game commerce, from early digital key stores to large-scale gift card programs that connect physical retail with digital games. He explains why digital keys, vouchers, and gift cards aren’t interchangeable and how each one influences buying behavior in different ways.Most digital purchases are made for yourself. Most gift cards are bought for someone else. That simple distinction helps explain why physical retail still matters, especially during the holiday season. Michael shares how Q4 continues to drive 2–3x sales spikes, why October is a hard deadline for gift card launches, and what studios often underestimate about fraud, compliance, and global payments.The takeaway is straightforward: expanding how players can pay often matters as much as where games are sold. For studios looking to grow, access isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a competitive advantage.What you’ll learn:Why digital keys, vouchers, and gift cards play different rolesHow physical retail still drives gifting and impulse buyingWhy October matters more than December for holiday commerceWhat teams underestimate about payments, fraud, and complianceWhen outsourcing commerce makes more sense than building itLet’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.In this episode, Lia Ballentine talks with Adam Krause and TJ Consunji, Managing Partners and Co-Founders of Miniboss Solutions, about how game retail actually works today and why being discoverable now matters more than ever.Game retail is no longer about shelves, launch days, or a single sales spike. With more than 20,000 games released each year, the challenge is getting noticed and staying visible. Algorithms, storefront placement, wishlists, and ongoing updates now shape when and how players decide to buy.Drawing on experience across PlayStation, Ubisoft, Capcom, and both AAA and indie launches, Adam and TJ explain how retail has shifted from a final step in the process to something that affects development, marketing, and long-term planning from the start.They break down why many studios are moving away from traditional holiday launches, how to think about wishlist quality instead of raw volume, and what smaller teams need to do differently when they cannot rely on massive budgets to recover from mistakes.The conversation also looks at modern publishing realities, including release timing, competition for attention, and why sustained engagement often matters more than a strong launch week.The takeaway is simple. Retail success today is not about winning a single moment. It is about building a plan that keeps a game visible and relevant over time.What you’ll learn:Why discoverability now matters more than shelf spaceHow digital storefronts changed release timing and planningWhat wishlist quality actually tells you about demandWhy some studios avoid holiday launches altogetherHow smaller teams can apply disciplined, AAA-style planningLet’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.In this episode, Lia Ballentine is joined by special co-host Lauren Baca, Global VP of Marketing at Xsolla Ads, to explore how retail strategy in games has fundamentally changed and what the most recent holiday season reveals about where the industry is headed next.For decades, the holidays were the defining moment in game retail. Physical shelves, launch windows, and a single make-or-break sales peak shaped how studios planned their entire year. But in a digital-first world, that model has flattened. Stores never close. Campaigns never truly end. And player expectations don’t reset with the calendar.Joining the conversation are Michael Jedrzejczak (Program Manager and Gift Card Consultant at Xsolla) and Adam Krause and TJ Consunji (Managing Partners and Co-Founders of Miniboss Solutions), who bring firsthand insight into how publishers, platforms, and developers now operate in an always-on retail environment.Together, they unpack how peak moments like the holidays have become stress tests rather than centerpieces and reveal where infrastructure bends, where strategy breaks, and where smart planning creates lasting advantage.You’ll hear how player buying behavior has evolved in a frictionless, global marketplace; why many studios are avoiding traditional Q4 launches altogether; and how live-ops, regional calendars, and continuous optimization are reshaping the meaning of “retail success” in games.By the end, one thing is clear: the holidays still matter, but they’re no longer the moment that defines the business. In today’s games industry, retail isn’t a season. It’s a system.What you’ll learn:Why digital storefronts turned retail into an always-on operationHow holiday behavior mirrors everyday player expectationsWhat peak moments reveal about pricing, payments, and infrastructureWhy release timing matters more than release traditionHow modern retail strategy is becoming inseparable from developmentLet’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

The business of games is evolving, and in Season 2, we’ll explore what’s driving the industry forward.We’ll dive into the shifts reshaping how games are built, launched, and scaled as the industry moves through 2026 and beyond. From AI and direct-to-consumer strategies to the human decisions behind development, this season cuts through the noise to focus on what matters.Featuring insights from developers, technologists, and industry leaders across the ecosystem, Season 2 offers a clear view of what’s emerging, what’s accelerating, and what’s worth your attention.New episodes of The Business of Games Podcast coming soon.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this episode, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine close out the year with a special look back at 2025 and a forward look at the trends that will define 2026.Instead of a single topic, this one pulls together voices from across the games ecosystem, from studios to platforms to service partners:Arron Goolsbey (COO, Mythical Games)David Kim (Publishing & Marketing Leader, Web3 Advisor)Jenny Xu (Founder & CEO, Talofa Games)Lauren Baca (Global VP of Marketing, Xsolla)Mark Long (CEO, Villain Studios)Olivier Perbet (Chief Marketing & Revenue Officer, IO Interactive)Travis Anderson (Global Head of Business Development, Xsolla Ads)Together, they help map out how the business of games is changing, from regulation and revenue models to AI workflows, creator ecosystems, and the emotional realities of building games through another turbulent year.We start with 2025 in review: platform rules shifting after Epic v. Google, the surprising rise of younger creators, the erosion of AAA’s monopoly, and the pressure facing studios as layoffs and pivots ripple through the industry.From there, we turn to five key predictions for 2026:How regulation and open ecosystems could finally rebalance power between platforms and developersWhy mobile is becoming the entry point to cross-device, transmedia game universesHow AI will quietly become the creative “engine room” behind smaller, faster, more focused teamsWhy web shops will evolve from off-platform checkout pages into full player hubs and loyalty layersHow the line between player and creator will dissolve as communities help shape both development and business modelsFinally, we close with the human side of change: candid reflections on mental health, resilience, imposter syndrome, and gratitude for the careers and communities that make all of this possible.By the end, you’ll have a clear snapshot of what 2025 actually changed and a practical sense of where to focus as 2026 begins.Let’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this episode, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine close out our three-part series on Web3 in games. Part 1 explored the promise. Part 2 confronted the chaos. Now, in Part 3, we look ahead and ask what happens if the industry finally gets Web3 right.Joining us are Brian Murphy, Head of Gaming and GTM at AppsFlyer, and Arron Goolsbey, COO at Mythical Games, who are two leaders shaping Web3’s second act.Together, they unpack how the next generation of blockchain games is being rebuilt: more scalable, more seamless, and more player-first. From invisible infrastructure to better onboarding, we explore how developers can make ownership meaningful, reduce friction, and rebuild trust after the hype.You’ll hear why scalability and adoption were the “two boss fights” that broke early Web3, how invisible systems can make blockchain feel as natural as multiplayer or cloud saves, and what happens when interoperability finally lets digital items, and player progress, travel freely between worlds.By the end, we lay out the roadmap for a smarter, more sustainable Web3: one where players don’t think about the tech at all. They just play.What you’ll learn:Why scalability and adoption are Web3’s biggest hurdlesHow early Web3 models confused speculation with participationWhat “invisible infrastructure” really means for game designHow ownership and interoperability can boost player loyaltyWhy Web3’s future depends on fairness, not decentralizationLet’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this Extended Cut, host Lia Ballentine talks with Arron Goolsbey, Chief Operating Officer at Mythical Games, about how the next generation of Web3 games is moving beyond labels to focus on fun, fairness, and lasting player value.A 25-year veteran of the industry, Arron has led global publishing and technology efforts at Activision Blizzard, Meta, and Hasbro. Now at Mythical, he’s helping bridge traditional game development and blockchain innovation and creating ecosystems where players truly own and shape their digital worlds.Arron shares how Mythical is blending proven free-to-play design with player ownership, why “Web3” should become invisible to players, and how openness and interoperability will define gaming’s next chapter.Across the discussion, Arron and Lia explore:Why Web3 should be an invisible technology, not a marketing labelHow Mythical Games is blending studio development with an open digital-economy platformWhat an “open garden” model looks like: safe, curated, but freeHow early Web3 games confused speculation with participationWhy rebuilding trust starts with fun and fairnessThe role of ownership and interoperability in long-term engagementHow AI and new tools are collapsing the gap between players and creatorsWhat the “next version of the internet” means for developers big and smallWhether you’re a developer, publisher, or just curious about the evolution of digital ownership, this conversation unpacks how Web3 can move from buzzword to backbone and shape a more open, player-driven future for games.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this Extended Cut, host Lia Ballentine talks with Brian Murphy, Head of Gaming and GTM at AppsFlyer, about how the first wave of Web3 games went from hype to hard lessons and what a more practical, sustainable future might look like.A long-time gamer and early crypto adopter, Brian reflects on his journey from the early days of Ethereum to today’s more measured view of blockchain’s role in gaming. He explains how speculation and complexity slowed progress, and why the next generation of developers is focusing on making games fun first, with ownership and transparency built in.Across the discussion, Brian and Lia explore:Why early Web3 games struggled to retain playersHow “Web 2.5” models combine traditional and blockchain economiesLessons from Upland and Mythical GamesWhy having an in-game economist mattersThe challenges of measuring engagement in a decentralized worldHow simpler systems and interoperability could speed adoptionWhy major publishers may acquire Web3 studios to expand their reachWhether you’re curious about blockchain or already experimenting with it, this episode unpacks what’s real, what’s next, and how Web3 can find its footing in the business of games.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this Extended Cut, host Lia Ballentine talks with Mark Long, veteran producer, investor, and CEO of Villain Studios, about how indie developers can thrive in an increasingly crowded market and why the future of Web3 depends on making it invisible.With experience at HBO, Microsoft, and as former CEO of Shrapnel, Mark shares a modern indie playbook built around ownership, community, and smart planning. He explains why developers should control their launch strategies, focus on meaningful player connections, and treat blockchain as background infrastructure rather than the story itself.Across the discussion, Mark shares insights on:Building direct-to-player funnels and owning your launchFocusing on wishlist quality, not just quantitySequencing storefronts to build lasting momentumUsing Web3 as invisible infrastructure to enhance player trustApplying AI responsibly while keeping creative work humanWhether you're launching your first game or exploring new technologies, this episode offers practical guidance for building games and communities that last.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this episode, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine move from definitions to deployment. Part 1 explained what Web3 is. Part 2 asks how it’s actually being used in games today and explores what’s working, what’s failing, and why.Joining us are two returning guests on the front lines. David Kim, a publishing and marketing leader who’s advised studios on blockchain and Web3 strategy, and Mark Long, CEO of Villain Studios and former CEO of Shrapnel, one of the first AAA Web3 game studios.Together, they help unpack the messy middle between promise and practice. From Axie Infinity’s boom and bust to CS2, Roblox, and Fortnite as proof that digital ownership already drives real economies, we explore what early Web3 experiments got right and wrong.You’ll hear how smart contracts could unlock new revenue through secondary sales, how player governance and community tokens are reshaping engagement, and how Web3 can open funding doors for indies. But we’ll also confront the friction that’s holding it all back: wallet UX, gas fees, trust deficits, and player skepticism after the hype.By the end, we set up what’s next. If this is Web3’s reality, still rough around the edges but inching forward, what happens when the tech fades into the background and the games come first?What you’ll learn:What early Web3 games taught us about hype vs. sustainabilityHow digital ownership parallels existing in-game economiesWhere studios can capture value through smart-contract royalties and community co-creationWhy wallets, UX, and trust remain the biggest blockersHow “invisible” Web3 design could finally make it mainstreamLet’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this Extended Cut episode, host Lia Ballentine sits down with David Kim, a publishing and marketing leader and advisor in the Web3 space, for a deep-dive conversation about the realities of blockchain, digital ownership, and the economics shaping the next phase of gaming.Web3 has been called everything from the future of player ownership to a passing fad. But beneath the hype is a real question: how can this technology actually make games and game businesses better?David argues that the most meaningful innovations aren’t technical, but legal and economic. By moving ownership records from proprietary servers to public ledgers, studios can avoid becoming middlemen, legitimize gray-market trading, and open new models of trust between players and developers.Across the discussion, David breaks down:The evolution from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake and why that shift finally made blockchain viable for gamesHow NFTs and public ledgers can serve as verifiable receipts, solving long-standing issues of fraud, resale, and player rightsWhy Web3 isn’t a product but a toolkit and how studios can use it to build better economies and communities, not just speculationThe pitfalls of “gamified DeFi” and what early failures teach us about designing sustainable play-to-own systemsHow regulation and clarity, from initiatives like the Clarity Act, could unlock mainstream adoption by reducing legal friction for both players and studiosWhether you’re a developer curious about tokenized economies or a marketer exploring new player engagement tools, this conversation demystifies what’s next for digital ownership and how to approach it without losing sight of what matters most: great games.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In today’s episode, Xsolla’s Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine kick off a three-part series on Web3 and gaming, cutting through hype and backlash to explain what the tech actually does for players and studios.For decades, digital items lived inside walled gardens. Players acted like owners anyway by trading, reselling, and modding in gray markets that created value but invited fraud and frustration. Web3 introduces tools that could legitimize those behaviors: blockchains for transparent ownership, NFTs as verifiable receipts, tokens as programmable currencies, wallets that travel with players, and smart contracts that automate royalties and rules.Joining us are two guests on the front lines. David Kim, a publishing and marketing leader and Web3 advisor, explains that the real unlock is legal and economic clarity, preventing studios from being forced into being middlemen. And Mark Long, CEO of Villain Studios and former CEO of SHRAPNEL, argues that Web3 should be invisible “plumbing” with no wallet friction, no jargon. Just secure provenance behind fun-first games.Together, we explore why early projects stumbled (speculation-first design, clunky onboarding, rug pulls, and environmental concerns), what regulations like the Clarity Act could change, and how a shared-economy model might reward developers, creators, and players without compromising the game.From defining core concepts to separating signal from noise, this episode lays the groundwork for understanding Web3’s real potential in the business of games and what needs to improve before it earns players’ trust.Whether you’re a studio founder, product lead, or marketer, you’ll leave with a clear vocabulary, cautionary lessons from P2E and “metaverse land,” and practical criteria for evaluating Web3 features that actually enhance gameplay.Let’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this extended cut, host Chris Hewish sits down with Olivier Perbet, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer at IO Interactive (IOI), to explore how LiveOps transformed Hitman from a boxed release into a living platform and what that means for the future of AAA publishing.From his early career at Disney and Warner Bros. to guiding IOI through independence, Olivier shares how storytelling, player connection, and rapid iteration have shaped both his path and the studio’s evolution. He reflects on why ownership of IP like Hitman mattered, how IOI is preparing to bring 007: First Light to a new generation of players, and why not every game needs to chase live service to succeed.We dive into:Olivier’s journey from licensing at Disney to leading marketing and revenue at IO InteractiveHow IOI used LiveOps to sustain engagement between Hitman titles and build toward a trilogyWhy designing for rapid iteration is the key to successful LiveOpsThe impact of celebrity collaborations and cultural partnerships in expanding audiencesWhy independence gave IOI the agility to experiment and how that shaped their approach to 007: First LightThe balance between engaging Gen Z and Gen Alpha without alienating longtime fansWhy LiveOps should be a pillar, not an afterthought, and how studios can decide if it’s right for themWhether you’re an indie founder, a AAA leader, or simply fascinated by the business shifts redefining games, this conversation offers a candid look at the lessons and strategies behind one of the industry’s most iconic stealth franchises.Let’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this extended cut, host Lia Ballentine sits down with Jenny Xu, founder and CEO of Talofa Games, for a wide-ranging conversation about designing for Gen Z, turning fitness into fun, and why building in public matters more than chasing polish.Jenny’s story is one of creativity, resilience, and rethinking the rules. From drawing Neopets fan art on DeviantArt as a kid, to pitching VCs after teaching a virtual fitness class, to launching Run Legends and Monster Walk, Jenny has forged her own path in games. Along the way, she’s had to navigate skepticism, imposter syndrome, and investor pressure, while staying true to her vision of games as systems that improve lives.We dive into:Jenny’s journey from anime fan and Pokémon collector to Forbes 30 Under 30 game founderHow Talofa prototyped five different fitness games then let community feedback decide which to buildThe balance between delighting “power users” and welcoming new playersWhy Gen Z values authenticity, scrappy iteration, and community-first designHow success is measured not just in revenue, but in steps walked, habits formed, and lives changedThe role of LiveOps in keeping Monster Walk fresh, from simulated Discord events to real-time tuningWhether you’re a founder, a product lead, or simply curious about where the next generation of games is headed, you’ll come away with a deeper understanding of how Gen Z thinks about play and how Jenny Xu is building games that move both hearts and bodies.Let’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In today’s episode, Xsolla’s Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine take a closer look at the generation reshaping how games are made, marketed, and monetized: Gen Z.For decades, the industry operated on a one-way model: studios built games, players bought them, and marketing ran through TV spots and conventions. But Gen Z grew up in a different reality. For them, games are living social platforms, and the line between player and creator has all but disappeared.Joining us is Jenny Xu, founder and CEO of Talofa Games, who shares first-hand insights into designing for a generation that values authenticity over polish, community over campaigns, and participation over passive play. Plus, Xsolla’s Joe Pierpont brings data-driven perspective, with stats on how Gen Z is discovering games through creators instead of ads, spending more on cosmetics than older players, and prioritizing identity, creativity, and community over competition.Together, we explore how Gen Z’s cultural touchstones, from Neopets to Pokémon to Undertale, are shaping the next wave of game design, and why traditional strategies may no longer cut it.From building games in public and co-creating with communities to rethinking monetization around self-expression, this episode examines how studios can win Gen Z’s loyalty in an era of endless choice.Whether you’re a marketer, product lead, or studio founder, you’ll come away with practical insights into what it really takes to build for this generation and why understanding them may be the most important move you can make in the business of games.Let’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

LiveOps is no longer a backstage scramble. It’s a growth strategy.In this episode of The Business of Games: Extended Cut, host Chris Hewish sits down with Tim Kravchenko, veteran LiveOps producer and product manager at Xsolla, to explore how LiveOps has transformed into the heartbeat of modern games.From Guinness World Record concurrency attempts to AI-driven campaign orchestration, Tim shares lessons from more than a decade of running global LiveOps, highlighting what works, what doesn’t, and what’s next.You’ll hear about:How LiveOps evolved from a support function to a core business driverWhy emotion and “the right moment” matter more than perfect pricingThe pitfalls of spreadsheet-driven LiveOps (and how new tools solve them)How localization and cultural nuance shape global campaignsWhy the future of LiveOps lies in player-created quests and streaming integrationsIf you’re a studio lead, product manager, or monetization strategist, this conversation offers tactical insights for building LiveOps systems that scale and drive real business results.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In this special episode, host Lia Ballentine sits down with Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla, who has just returned from the world’s biggest gaming event: Gamescom. This time, Chris takes the guest chair to share his firsthand takeaways from the show floor, giving us a unique insider’s perspective on the industry’s most important trends.From direct-to-player monetization and AI breakthroughs, to the balancing act between indie creativity and blockbuster spectacle, Gamescom 2025 offered a front-row seat to the future of gaming. Along the way, you’ll hear live soundbites from the industry voices Chris spoke with on the ground and get a true pulse check on where the business of games is headed next.Whether you’re a studio founder, platform strategist, or simply curious about what Gamescom signals for the year ahead, this episode delivers your executive summary of the winners, risks, and next bets shaping the business of games.Let’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In today’s episode, Xsolla’s Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine take a closer look at the engine that keeps modern games alive long after launch: LiveOps.Once dismissed as duct-taped events and last-minute patches, LiveOps has become one of the most powerful growth drivers in the industry, fueling player retention, personalization, and revenue. As acquisition costs climb and competition intensifies, studios are realizing that sustainable success depends on more than content drops. It requires orchestration, strategy, and systems that scale.Joining us are two leaders shaping the future of LiveOps: Tim Kravchenko, Xsolla’s expert in monetization and campaign design, and Jenny Xu, CEO of Talofa Games, whose titles like Run Legends and Monster Walk turn real-world activity into in-game power. Together, they share lessons on balancing first-time players and power users, moving beyond spreadsheets, and building LiveOps that drive both outcomes and impact.From AI-driven segmentation and churn prevention to the creative challenge of designing meaningful, player-first experiences, this episode explores what happens when LiveOps stops being reactive and starts being strategic.Plus, gain quick insights into the metrics and tactics that prove how much the right LiveOps stack can drive results for modern studios.Whether you’re a product lead, monetization strategist, or studio founder, this episode will give you real-world examples, insights, and tactical advice for turning LiveOps into a true growth engine.Let’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

In this episode of The Business of Games: EU Sessions, Nathan, Director of BD EMEA, interviews Timo Verschueren, co-founder of BlackSoup marketing agency and Mostly Games development studio. The conversation delves into community building for games, how influencer marketing has evolved over the past decade, and advice for self-publishing developers, including the importance of community feedback, strategic platform engagement, and creativity in campaigns. Verschueren shares examples of successful campaigns, such as "Fragging for Charity" for Valorant and an immersive experience for Ad Infinitum, emphasizing the value of making content better for creators.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Loyalty is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a business strategy.In this episode of The Business of Games: Extended Cut, Lia Ballentine sits down with Sarah Chafer, Xsolla’s Global Head of Ad Sales, and Travis Anderson, Head of Developer Partnerships, to explore how loyalty and rewards are evolving into a core growth engine for the games industry.From early experiments with Farmville and K-pop voting apps to modern systems that blend gamification, personalization, and brand integration, Sarah and Travis offer a behind-the-scenes look at what makes loyalty systems work and why they often don’t. Whether you’re trying to drive retention, increase lifetime value, or monetize non-spenders, this conversation is packed with tactical insights from two leaders who’ve been in the trenches for over a decade.You’ll hear about:How loyalty programs shape player behavior and emotional investmentThe role of segmentation, personalization, and “value exchange” in smart reward designWhy studios must overcome the fear of cannibalizationReal-world examples from Genshin Impact, Duolingo, Monopoly Go, and moreHow Xsolla’s Offerwall and Social Questing tools support loyalty at scaleIf you're looking to turn your players into superfans and your game into a long-term success, this episode breaks down the strategy behind loyalty that lasts.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to The Business of Games podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.In today’s episode, Xsolla’s Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine take a closer look at one of the most important and often misunderstood growth levers in modern gaming: loyalty.For years, loyalty programs were treated as add-ons. Cosmetic perks. Daily log-in bonuses. However, in a world where acquisition costs are high, players are fragmented across platforms, and the competition for engagement is constant, loyalty and rewards have become crucial to both retention and revenue strategies.Joining us are two leaders in the space: Sarah Chafer, Xsolla’s Global Head of Ad Sales, and Travis Anderson, Head of Developer Partnerships. Together, they’ve spent decades shaping loyalty systems for studios, ad networks, and brands. Today, they’re helping redefine how rewards work in the business of games.From the psychology of streaks and segmentation to lessons borrowed from Duolingo, Farmville, and even Starbucks, this episode explores what happens when loyalty stops being a feature and starts being a system.Plus, get quick insights from Xsolla’s Joe Pierpont on the data, tactics, and outcomes shaping the future of loyalty in games.Suppose you're a studio lead, monetization strategist, or UA manager trying to turn play into sustained engagement. In that case, this episode will give you real-world examples, insights, and tactical advice to get started.Let’s get into it.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Discovery isn’t just a marketing challenge. It’s the foundation of the entire business of games.In our most expansive Xsolla Conversations episode yet, Brian Murphy, Head of Gaming and Go-To-Market at AppsFlyer, joins host Lia Ballentine to unpack how discovery has evolved in a post-IDFA, privacy-first world and why the smartest studios are treating it as a full-lifecycle strategy, not just a launch tactic.Brian shares:What broke with iOS 14 and how developers are adaptingHow creative testing, influencer marketing, and CRM are reshaping the funnelWhy every company is becoming an ad network and what that means for gamesThe promise of data clean rooms and privacy-enhancing techHow top studios like Scopely and Zynga are building discovery into every phase of developmentWhether you’re launching your first game or scaling a portfolio, this in-depth look at the new rules of discovery is packed with practical insights for staying ahead.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Discovery used to be about visibility. Now it’s about architecture.In this episode of Xsolla Conversations, Chris Hewish talks with Ryan Goeden, Gaming Sales Director of RTB House, to break down what it takes to drive game discovery in today’s fragmented, post-platform world. Drawing on more than a decade in mobile advertising, Ryan shares a clear-eyed view of how developers can build scalable, full-funnel systems that drive re-engagement, extend player lifetime, and recapture revenue.They explore:How Big Huge Games used retargeting to scale discovery and drive 3.5x returnsWhy launching a web shop isn’t enough and what it takes actually to shift player behaviorThe rise of rewarded gaming apps and why they’re quietly reshaping user acquisitionHow to retarget without cannibalization (and why more overlap can boost results)The impact of privacy regulations, loss of device IDs, and why "good enough" data is still powerfulRyan also offers insights into building effective retention loops, coordinating live ops and marketing, and why too many studios stop at user acquisition without investing in what comes next.This episode is a must-listen for developers looking to take control of their discovery strategy and finally stop depending on platform handouts.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Discovery isn’t just about being seen anymore — it’s about building systems that scale. In this episode of State of Play, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine pull together insights from two leaders at the forefront of performance and post-platform marketing: Nic Ingham, VP of Performance Marketing at Xsolla, and Ryan Goeden, Gaming Sales Director at RTB House. Together, their perspectives paint a sharp, essential picture of how discovery strategies are evolving and what developers must do to stay in the game.Learn how studios are moving beyond App Store dependence to create full-funnel ecosystems that drive visibility, engagement, and revenue. Let’s get into it. For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

Welcome to Xsolla Conversations. In this episode, Xsolla’s Chris Hewish sits down with Nic Ingham to discuss one of the biggest shifts in the game business: discovery. For years, developers relied on platform-controlled visibility App Store placements, algorithm boosts, and pay-to-win UA to get noticed. But the rules have changed. With seismic shifts like the Digital Markets Act and the Epic v. Apple ruling, developers now face both a challenge and an opportunity: building discovery engines from scratch. Nic shares actionable insights on how the most forward-thinking studios are creating interconnected ecosystems that blend first-party data, retargeting, community engagement, and content loops. These strategies aren't just buzzwords they’re essential to thrive in 2025 and beyond. Whether you're a developer, marketer, or studio lead, this episode is packed with real-world tactics and strategic advice to help you navigate the evolving discovery landscape. Let’s get into it. For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

In today’s episode, Xsolla’s Chris Hewish talks with Artem Liubutov, VP of Monetization Products & Solutions at Xsolla. With over 15 years in the space, Artem shares how web shops evolved from a simple idea into a transformative model for mobile game monetization.They discuss what held developers back, what finally pushed adoption forward, and the real results games are seeing now, from revenue lift to retention insights unlocked by owning player data. If you’re a developer, product lead, or anyone thinking about the future of direct-to-player commerce, this episode is packed with practical advice and strategic perspective. Now, let’s get into it!For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

In this premiere episode, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine explore one of the biggest shifts in the mobile gaming industry: the rise of web shops.Through cinematic storytelling, real-world examples, and conversations with Niantic CFO Jeff Shouger and Xsolla’s Artem Liubutov, we unpack how developers are reclaiming control over margins, data, and their connection to players.You’ll hear how studios are moving beyond the 30% platform tax, why conversion rates on web shops are exceeding expectations, and what it means to build a monetization experience outside the app store. This isn’t just about commerce, it’s about power, strategy, and the future of the game business itself.If you're a game developer, executive, product lead, or investor, this episode offers a powerful lens on what’s next in mobile game monetization.For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

In today’s episode, Xsolla’s Chris Hewish sits down with Jeff Shouger, CFO at Niantic, the studio behind Pokémon GO, Peridot, and Monster Hunter Now. Jeff shares how Niantic approached the shift to web shops from a financial perspective, what convinced them to go direct-to-player, and the measurable impact they’ve seen since.If you're in the game industry and curious about how top studios navigate monetization, platform relationships, and the future of AR-driven commerce, this one’s for you. Now, let’s get into it!For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.

In today's episode, Xsolla's Developer Relations lead, AJ Sath sits down with Stephen Lee, VP of Business Development at Deca Games to talk about something every game developer should care about: player communities — specifically, best practices for establishing and growing them, and how to tie them into LTV. If you’re in the game industry and want to know more about how a thriving community can boost your game's metrics, this one’s for you. Now, let’s get into it!For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.