Game Developer Podcast

Former Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney has been on a blogging tear lately, calling out industry execs for boneheaded fad-chasing, breaking down the economics of game development, and, yes, singing the praises of generative AI. His posts have rumbled across LinkedIn and through the private chats of industry executives. This week, we’re sitting down with Mahoney to ask about what game companies can do to survive the ongoing financial hardship—and press him about his thinking on why genAI is a supposed game-changer for game development.  Read Owen Mahoney’s blog: https://www.owenmahoney.ai/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Welcome to GDC Side Quest, our new monthly podcast project produced in partnership with GDC Festival of Gaming. On this show content marketing manager Beth Elderkin will travel the broader B2B ecosystem of the video game industry, seeking more insights from the many talented individuals who make great games come to life. In this premiere episode Elderkin quizzes Finji CEO Bekah Saltsman not just about *what* indies need to know to survive the modern marketing landscape. The GDC Side Quest podcast is a monthly podcast that celebrates and uplifts the entire game ecosystem, showcasing the people who make games thrive and sharing their lessons with the community. Part of the Game Developer podcast, GDC Side Quest is hosted and edited by Beth Elderkin, and features music by Mike Meehan. Learn more about Finji: https://finji.co/ Learn more about GDC Festival of Gaming: schedule.gdconf.com - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

And now for some indie game appreciation. This week Trinket Studios’ Tom Eastman and Ben Perez join us to discuss the development of the anime-inspired, card-based role-playing game Battle Suit Aces, with tales of cooking up card games and racing to save their intellectual property from the sinking of Adult Swim Games.   Learn more about Battle Suit Aces: https://battlesuitaces.com/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Midwest Games CEO Ben Kvalo—an alumni of 2K Interactive and Netflix—sits down to discuss how “regionalism” can bring developers together from different parts of the industry, and how smaller companies that combine their powers may be a better fit than studios that tackle all ends of development. Learn more about Midwest Games: https://www.midwestgames.com/ Learn more about the Wisconsin Games Alliance: https://www.wisconsingamesalliance.com/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Former BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah discusses the complex challenges of leadership in the game industry, reflecting on what worked and what didn’t work during his days at BioWare. Also, what’s up with running his own YouTube channel now that he’s done making titanic role-playing games?   Learn more about Mark Darrah’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkDarrah - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

ArenaNet game director Stephen Clarke-Willson and server programmer Robert Neckorcuk discuss the realities of keeping ArenaNet’s Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 up and running—with some spooky horror stories as well. Learn more about Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Gearbox creative director Graeme Timmins and global creative executive Andrew Reiner swing by for a chat about what goes into the big picture of making a game like Borderlands 4, the team’s relationship with Unreal Engine 5, and offer their thoughts on Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford’s frequent public posts. Learn more about Borderlands 4. - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Bloober Team lead combat designer Shamil Yanbukhtin and senior game AI programmer Dennis Pauly share insights from making a new kind of survival horror combat system for Cronos: The New Dawn. Learn more about Cronos: The New Dawn. - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, System Era Softworks design director Liz England joins us to look back on her famous 2014 blog post “The Door Problem,” discuss her evolving game design career, and explain her antagonistic approach to organizing books by color on her bookshelf. Follow Liz England on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lizardengland.bsky.social Read The Door Problem: https://lizengland.com/blog/the-door-problem/ Recommended Reading/Playing: The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker. Planet Crafter by Miju Games. - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Soft Rains creative director Joel Burgess and narrative director Kait Tremblay discuss the development of Ambrosia Sky, a cosmic science fiction game where players uncover the mysteries of a lost colony by cleaning up an alien mold and burying the dead. It’s the most interesting game you’ll hear about in 2025. Check out the Ambrosia Sky demo on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3580160/Ambrosia_Sky/ Follow Joel Burgess and Kait Tremblay on Bluesky at @joelburgess.bsky.social‬ and @kaittremblay.bsky.social‬ Learn more about Soft Rains: https://softrains.games/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, actor and SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media negotiating committee chair Sarah Elmaleh stops by to discuss the success and strategy behind the union’s year-long strike. Follow Sarah Elmaleh on Bluesky at @selmaleh.bsky.social‬  - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Sabotage Studio president and creative director Thierry Boulanger discusses the company’s approach to building a business off of retro-themed indie games. It's a journey into how to make retro games stand out in a crowded market, and also how to set up your business to last beyond a single shipped game.  Learn more about Sabotage Studio: https://sabotagestudio.com/  - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast we quiz Bithell Games CEO and Disney TRON: Catalyst creative director Mike Bithell about his journey from small-time indie to head of a successful game development studio. In this episode, Mike breaks down his creative influences and leadership lessons from over a decade of making commercial games, and what his experience means for developers trying to survive the economic turbulence of 2025. Learn more about Bithell Games: https://www.bithellgames.com/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

In this episode fresh from the GDC Showcase archives, Bryant sits down with Ben Brode, Chief Development Officer at Second Dinner (Marvel Snap) to discuss the importance of expertise in your own game, exploring the limits of your design space, striking the balance between "functional" and "understandable," thinking like a game designer, and much more. More From Ben Brode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjhsY2Zuo-c - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Danielle is joined by Deborah Chantson, Writer and Narrative Designer at Sticky Brain Studios Inc., to discuss her multifaceted career writing for games, interactive media, TV and short films, as well as her gorgeous forthcoming folklore adventure game, Rooster. Wishlist Rooster on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1834220/Rooster/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Danielle sits down with legendary adventure game designer Charles Cecil, cofounder of Revolution Software, to discuss the upcoming remake of Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars, the difference between classic and modern adventure game players, the infamous "goat puzzle," finding that hint system sweet spot, and a lot more. Learn more about GDC Showcase: https://showcase.gdconf.com/ Check out Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2544110/Broken_Sword__Shadow_of_the_Templars_Reforged/ - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Hot off the heels of major unionization wins at Blizzard Entertainment and Bethesda Game Studios, Senior Editor Bryant Francis is joined by Emma Kinema of the CWA, as well as Autumn Mitchell and Chris Lusco of Bethesda Softworks, to discuss the ongoing surge of organizational efforts sweeping the video game industry. Read more about the new unions at Blizzard and Bethesda: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/production/over-500-blizzard-entertainment-workers-form-wall-to-wall-union SAG-AFTRA performers call strike against major game studios over AI: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/production/sag-aftra-authorizes-video-game-actor-strike-over-ai Read Bryant's piece on Project 2025 and its potential impact on game developers: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/how-will-project-2025-impact-game-developers- - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

With Summer Game Fest 2024 and its commingling events safely behind us, it’s finally time for everyone’s favorite part of video game announcement season: the post-show analysis! Danielle is joined by Senior Editor Bryant Francis and News Editor Chris Kerr for an in-depth discussion of everything that Sony, Microsoft and Geoff Keighley brought to the table, as well as our favorites from Day of the Devs and a few choice words on raw incompetence. Read Phil Spencer's controversial defense of Xbox layoffs: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/phil-spencer-deems-xbox-layoffs-very-hard-but-needed-for-sustainable-business- Scope the rest of our SGF 2024 coverage: https://www.gamedeveloper.com/keyword/summer-game-fest Get the latest from our newsletter: https://gd-resources.gamedeveloper.com/free/w_gamf01/prgm.cgi - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

Danielle is joined by GDC Content Marketing Manager Beth Elderkin and Conference Producer Sam Warnke to discuss the secret, year-round work that goes into orchestrating everyone's favorite developer-focused conference. - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

In this two-part episode of the Game Developer Podcast, Editor in Chief Danielle Riendeau finds the answers to these questions (and others!) by speaking with Rez Graham, senior AI programmer and Director of Game Programming at the Academy of Art University’s School of Game Development, as well as Game Developer Senior Editor Bryant Francis. Find Rez on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rezibot Peep his GDC talk on rolling your own game engine at https://schedule.gdconf.com/session/independent-games-summit-a-case-for-making-your-own-engine/901862 - - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau