Game Developer Podcast

What's changing in the world of co-development (co-dev) and external development (ex-dev) GDC Side Quest returns with another interview recorded on the show floor of the 2026 GDC of Festival of Gaming, this time speaking with Microsoft veteran and XDS Spark co-founder Sam Carlisle. Content marketing manager Beth Elderkin joins Carlisle, who has over fifteen years of experience sourcing high-quality external content for major game development projects, to discuss why this development practice is becoming more and more essential in the changing world of video game production.  Learn more about GDC Festival of Gaming: https://gdconf.com/ Learn more about XDS Spark: https://www.xds-spark.com/ Game Developer and GDC Festival of Gaming are sibling organizations under Informa Festivals. - - - 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

On this week's episode of the Game Developer podcast, senior editor Bryant Francis chats with Peter Hodges, director for ecosystem strategy for developer platforms at ARM. Peter is a game development veteran who uses his experience in the game-making profession to help developers integrate ARM technology into their workflows. He's currently focused on helping developers understand ARM's new Neural Technology—a collection of on-chip AI techniques that improve frame rate and expand lighting possibilities on mobile devices. You can't talk about the benefits of new dev tools without discussing why developers use them—that's why today's episode doesn't just talk about the possibilities of on-chip AI, but also the impact of art like Hollis Framptons' 1969 7-minute short film Lemon. Learn more about ARM Neural Technology: https://developer.arm.com/mobile-graphics-and-gaming/neural-technology Learn more about Lemon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_(1969_film) Learn more about Somerset House's  MC Escher exhibition: https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/mc-escher-the-exhibition - - - 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

On this week's episode of the Game Developer podcast, senior editor Bryant Francis sits down with Bit Reactor CEO and co-founder Greg Foertsch, who also served as creative director on Star Wars Zero Company, the newest adventure in that galaxy far far away. Foertsch sat down to discuss important perspectives on making good camera perspectives, the value in having every team member think of themselves as a "game developer," regardless of their job title, and why he loves the character  Huyang from Star Wars The Clone Wars and Ahsoka: A Star Wars Story. Learn more about Bit Reactor: https://www.bitreactor.com/ Learn more about Star Wars Zero Company: https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/zero-company Learn more about Huyang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huyang - - - 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

GDC Side Quest is back with another fantastic interview straight from the show floor of GDC Festival of Gaming. This month, celebrated composer Austin Wintory joins content marketing manager Beth Elderkin for a conversation about his creative process as a composer on games like Journey, Sword and the Sea, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, and other excellent titles. Austin also breaks down the process for crafting the Developer's Concert—an annual musical celebration of the art of game development only available at the GDC Festival of Gaming.  Learn more about GDC Festival of Gaming: https://gdconf.com/ Learn more about Austin Wintory: https://www.austinwintory.com/projects-videogames - - - 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, senior editor Bryant Francis, former Maxis senior engineer David "Rez" Graham and former Take-Two head of AI Dr. Luke Dicken—both celebrated experts in the field of video game AI—are tackling the "black hole" of a topic that is generative AI. Graham and Dicken have spent their careers studying AI techniques to help developers make better, more exciting games, and they have had lots of opinions watching their field of expertise become the explosively large business driving excitement in Silicon Valley. This is a conversation about AI and AI techniques, but it’s also a conversation about the nature of work, what goals we’re trying to achieve when we use AI technology, and the inherent value of AI in game development. Learn more about David “Rez” Graham: https://www.academyart.edu/academics/game-development/  Learn more about Luke Dicken: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukedicken Learn more about Suck Up: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2726370/Suck_Up/ - - - 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