The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, we talk about the struggles of Concord, PlayStation's latest foray into the live service space, and the potential reasons behind the hero shooter's failure to pull in the number of players seen by other multiplayer outings - including Sony's own recent hit Helldivers 2. We also talk about Remedy's deal with Annapurna and the Alan Wake studio's move towards self-publishing, while this week's What Do The Numbers Mean? takes a look at how Astro Bot might perform when the PlayStation platformer releases later this week. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris and James recap their time at Gamescom and predict how Star Wars Outlaws might do next week Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For this podcast, we did something a little different: a live Q&A show recorded as part of the official Devcom 2024 Twitch stream. Chris Dring and James Batchelor were joined by Altered Gene's Des Gayle, answering questions submitted by GamesIndustry.biz readers ahead of the show. Topics tackled in this episode included: Why do developers create huge expansions over standalone games? Can Nintendo maintain momentum with Switch 2? How many concurrent users does a multiplayer game need to survive? Will Grand Theft Auto 6 convert last-gen console owners to upgrade? As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing our Gamescom 2024 coverage, Chris and James look back at the biggest announcements from this year's Opening Night Live showcase. We talk about Take-Two's packed 2025 line-up, the range of updates from Xbox's many studios, and some of the big surprises, such as the new fantasy god game Masters of Albion from veteran designer Peter Molyneux and his team at 22Cans. You can find out more about Molyneux's approach to this - potentially his final game - in his full interview with GamesIndustry.biz. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of our series of daily podcasts from Devcom and Gamescom 2024, GamesIndustry.biz editor-in-chief James Batchelor is joined by Execution Labs co-founder and former IGDA Montreal executive director Jason Della Rocca. Drawing on Della Rocca's years of experiences working with indie developers, we discuss the biggest challenges these studios face in today's market, from the impact of layoffs and studio closures to the shrinking indie publisher scene. We also talk about what helps indies stand out in the market, why it's important to research your genre before committing to it, and what opportunities there may be for indies in the near future. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Our main topic this week is the launch of the Epic Games Store on mobile, bringing Fortnite back to Android and (in the EU) iOS four years after Epic began its legal dispute with Apple and Google. We discuss the potential for alternative mobile stores, and Epic's goal to reach 100,000 installs before 2025 despite the 12 to 15 steps players must go through on each mobile ecosystem. And in this week's What Do The Numbers Mean?, Chris takes a look at the long-awaited release date for Devolver Digital's The Plucky Squire, two fairly hefty (and one very similar) games coming out around it, and, of course, sales figures that offer a little more context. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, we continue our look at the latest financial results, with highlights from Warner Bros, Bandai Namco, Sega and Remedy. We dive a little deeper into Sony and the decline it faces in PS5 sales, as well as our conversation with Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick around the publisher's latest results and its future line-up. We also discuss Krafton's acquisition of Tango Gameworks and the Hi-Fi Rush IP following closures at Xbox earlier this year, and we introduce a new segment, What do the numbers mean?, where we foolishly indulge Chris and his love of sales statistics. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week's packed episode covers the key takeaways so far from the latest financials season, included expected declines at Nintendo and Electronic Arts (and why 2023 is such a tough comparison year to follow), as well as Activision Blizzard's ongoing boost to Microsoft's results. We also discuss the Bungie layoffs and the latest US monthly spending figures, with Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree helping to offset the potential year-on-year decline. Finally, and for our main topic, we talk about the closure of Game Informer and the many, many challenges the games media - and journalism in general - faces in today's market. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, we discuss Humble Games' claims that is restructuring amid reports of mass layoffs and ponder how this reflects some of the biggest challenges in publishing today. Specifically, we look at a range of indie-focused publishers and the troubles they've encountered in the past year, and discuss the future prospects for this segment of the market. We also discuss two stories in which generative AI was a primary concern, from Activision reportedly using these tools at the potential expense of staff and the SAG-AFTRA strike, in which the union is trying to protect voice actors from being exploited by companies using AI. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, and in Chris' absence, James is joined by MobileGamer.biz editor Neil Long as they discuss the latter's reports that Resident Evil 7 on iOS has struggled to convince the majority of the 83,000 people who downloaded it to purchase the full $20 experience. The pair reflect on the challenges AAA hardcore games face on mobile devices and ponder the future of whether publishers will continue to invest in these technologically impressive but commercially disappointing ports. James and Neil also share their thoughts on the FTC's criticism of Microsoft's recent changes to Xbox Game Pass (please note, this episode was recorded before Microsoft responded to the FTC). As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, James and Chris discuss Microsoft's changes to Xbox Game Pass, including price increases for all existing tiers and the introduction of a new Standard tier that does not include day one releases. The episode explores the platform holder's strategy when it comes to its subscription service, and its new 'You don't need an Xbox to play Xbox' ad campaign. We also talk about the vibe of Develop Brighton 2024, and Nintendo's unusual teaser campaign for a new horror game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, James reports back from the first ever Gamescom Latam and gives a little insight into the growth of both the Brazillian games market and Gamescom as a global show. We also discuss Don't Nod's decision to delay new IP Lost Records: Bloom & Rage to avoid clashing with its previous IP Life Is Strange, which returns this October. The history of the industry is filled with examples of rival titles going head-to-head to the benefit of no one (and we list quite a few), so we discuss the need for smarter release scheduling going forward. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Haiyan Zhang, general manager of Gaming AI at Xbox, and Brady Woods, product leader at Xbox Game Creator Services, will discuss how the latest technology can help game developers build their games better and more efficiently Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Schell Games boss Jesse Schell on the advantages of keeping a lean team, how to know the right team size for each project and the art of scaling up and down as development progresses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of our GI Sprint series of podcasts, Team Sync's Graham McAllister tells us why the concept stage is the most important one to get right for team efficiency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI experts Tommy Thompson, Sean Cooper, Aleena Chia, Lauren Maslen and Lucie Migne opens our AI talks by discussing the broad opportunities and challenges of the technology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, we discuss the line-up shown at the latest Nintendo Direct, with new Mario, Zelda and Metroid titles on display, and ponder what this says about the Switch's final year before its successor arrives. We also look at the untapped potential for the Metroid franchise. From there, we weigh up the showcases from each of the platform holders and the implications for those businesses as well as the wider market. And, inevitably, the conversation turns to ongoing turbulence felt across the industry, and when we might start to see signs of recovery in the wake of various layoffs and studio closures. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing our GI Sprint editorial special - a series of guides on how to make games cheaper, faster and better - this panel looks at the art and importance of failing fast. Prototyping and iterating is a crucial stage of any game's development, but if something isn't quite clicking how much time and effort do you put in before moving on to your next idea? Indie dev Rami Ismail, FreeLives managing director Dominique Gawlowski and Ant Workshop managing director Tony Gowland discuss Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GI Sprint is our new editorial series all around making video games cheaper, faster and better. To kick things off, games veteran Shawn Layden speaks with GamesIndustry.biz about the spiralling costs of AAA game development, and why it needs entirely rethinking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news.  This week, Chris is in Los Angeles to give us a sense of what's happening on the ground among all the showcases of the past week. He joins James to discuss some of the biggest reveals from Xbox and Summer Game Fest, as well as the variety of games on display across all the digital events. We also talk about how the physical side of these events are growing and how they might evolve in future, and why PlayStation's Lego Horizon Adventues is coming to Nintendo Switch. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices