What Fully On-Chain Games Mean for Gamers & Developers

What Fully On-Chain Games Mean for Gamers & Developers

Amitt Mahajan, co-creator of cultural icon and Internet treasure Farmville, has been working at the intersection of gaming and technology for his entire career. Now, Amitt has set his sights on web3, and more specifically, building true fully on-chain “forever games” and the technical tools to power them, in order to facilitate autonomous worlds, ensure…

India’s Blue Gaming Ocean

India’s Blue Gaming Ocean

India’s gaming market is well known for its betting and gambling companies, including unicorns like Dream11 and Mobile Premier League, but what does the next decade of gaming behavior in India look like? Salone Sehgal, founder and GP of Lumikai, one of India’s first dedicated games and interactive media funds, and Abhaas Shah, co-founder of Studio Sirah, join us…

Unity Backpedals / Playtika Acquires / Next-Gen Console Leaks

Unity Backpedals / Playtika Acquires / Next-Gen Console Leaks

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad shares some personal updates, including a recap of Korea Blockchain Week, streetball with Fat Joe, and two new Naavik deep dives. Then we cover the latest in Unity’s evolving monetization saga, including why the company got itself into this situation in the first place and why it’s (perhaps partially)…

Driving ROI with Data Analysis – Part 1

Driving ROI with Data Analysis – Part 1

Together with Dive, one of Naavik’s Open Gaming Research Initiative partners, we’re exploring the topic of data and games through a limited podcast series called the “Data Corner”. Today’s episode is about “Driving ROI with Data Analysis” — a broad topic that everyone understands is valuable, but most don’t know how to effectively engineer into their game studios….

Overwolf: Building the All-In-One UGC Ecosystem

Overwolf: Building the All-In-One UGC Ecosystem

User generated content is a multi-decade wave that continues to grow and transform the games industry. One company pioneering this future is Overwolf, which is creating an all-in-one platform for creating, sharing, and monetizing in-game apps, mods, and game servers. As is laid out in the episode, Overwolf is looking to help creators earn billions of…

Unity Sparks an Uproar / YouTube Instant Play / Roblox Developers Conference

Unity Sparks an Uproar / YouTube Instant Play / Roblox Developers Conference

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad discusses a wide range of fun topics. We start by digging into the potential sales of Jagex and Gearbox, YouTube’s new Playables feature for instant gaming, and Story Protocol’s $54M raise for its unique web3 take on IP. Then we dive into the week’s main headline: Unity’s major installs-based…

Surveying the Web3 Gaming Landscape

Surveying the Web3 Gaming Landscape

In 2011, Sean Ryan was hired to build out Facebook’s nascent gaming business just as Zynga and other social gaming start-ups were gaining traction on the platform. A decade later, Sean’s responsibilities eventually encompassed numerous other initiatives, including Facebook’s forays into blockchain. In this episode, Sean explains why he felt compelled to leave Facebook to…

Starfield Launches / Actors Strike May Hit Games / Humble Bundle’s Expansion

Starfield Launches / Actors Strike May Hit Games / Humble Bundle’s Expansion

In this week’s Roundtable, the squad highlights data.ai’s new 2023 Gaming Spotlight Report (link below) and adds more details around PlayStation’s decision to raise subscription prices. Then we cover Starfield’s launch, including its impact on Game Pass and the viability of its windowing strategy, followed by discussion on how the writers and actors strike could…