Is The Era of Mobile “AI Slop” Games Here?
The rise of generative AI is changing how mobile games are made, but it also raises concerns about a surge of low-quality “AI slop” games flooding the market.
How Sub-$200K Games Win Discovery and the Steam Algorithm
A new breed of “micro-indie” publisher is emerging: teams that fund sub-$200K games, ship fast, and treat releases like a portfolio. In this episode, host Alexandra Takei, VP at Medal, sits down with Kirill Akimkin, founder of Polden Publishing, to unpack the world of micro indies and discovery. In 2025, they shipped almost 8 games with $800K and plan…
Inside the PC Game Gray Market Economy
The PC games “gray market” isn’t just a couple of shady websites. It’s an economic behavior that exploits regional pricing and promotion timing to siphon revenue away from publishers. In this episode, Our host, Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, sits down with Vadim Andreev, CEO of Rokky (and former founder of PlayKey), to unpack how retail-era code resale evolved…
Valve’s Real Bet Isn’t Hardware, It’s SteamOS
Today, we explore Valve’s cross-platform expansions, share a new episode with the creators at the forefront of UEFN, revisit our latest deep dive about the future of DTC for mobile games, and round up the latest news and content you should know about.
Hilmar Petursson on Building Games That Last Forever
EVE Online is one of the longest-standing MMOs of all time, celebrating its 22nd anniversary since its launch in 2003. In this episode, host Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, sits down with CCP Games’ CEO Hilmar Petursson to unpack how the Icelandic studio still maintains one of gaming’s most complex live worlds, a single universe that has…
The Future of Game Publishing Is Player Ownership
In this episode, host Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, sits down with Robert van Hoesel, co-founder and CEO of First Look, now part of Pragma, to explore how studios can own and scale their player relationships. Robert’s journey from founding a SaaS company to building First Look began with one simple insight: game studios are some of the most…
Atari’s Renewed M&A Strategy
In today’s issue, we unpack Atari’s revamped business strategy and share the latest industry news and insights.
Who Can Make a New Hit Live-Services FPS Today?
With the recent releases of 1047 Games’ Splitgate 2 and Remedy’s FBC: Firebreak, we decided to look into the current state of the PC/console FPS market and try to determine the degree to which new entrants can claim a share of it. In our new podcast episode, we continue the topic of shooters with Night Street Games, discussing the journey of building Last Flag, a 5v5 hero shooter. Lastly, we bring you this week’s top news items as well as a fresh batch of Content Worth Consuming.
Can InZOI Challenge The Sims?
In today’s issue, we look at how InZOI could challenge The Sims’ leadership in the life sim market. In our latest podcast episode, we talk about UGC games, plus there’s this week’s top news items and Content Worth Consuming.
Exploring the China-U.S. Gaming Dynamics
Today, we explore the relationship between gaming markets in the US and China, examining the trends that led us to where we are today. We’ve also got the week’s top news items all in one place.
