Strategy

How startups need to incorporate new information better to build competitive advantage! Y’all remember Bayes’ Theorem right? Lol. For most of us who don’t remember, Bayes’ Theorem “describes the probability of an event, based on prior knowledge of conditions that might be related to the event.” Seb Park (Infinite Canvas, BITKRAFT) believes more startups, including … [Read more...] about Bayesian Thinking for Startups ft. @SebPark

Sebastian Park believes user-generated content (UGC) will drive the next frontier in gaming. He’s betting on this belief with the new startup he cofounded, Infinite Canvas: a user-generated content publisher. Let’s use the McKinsey SCR (situation-complication-resolution) framework to characterize his thesis on UGC gaming. Or at least my interpretation of his … [Read more...] about Why User-Generated Content is the Future of Games

Hold up! How did Epic get Batman shooting guns in Fortnite?What are some of the biggest mistakes licensees make with big IP?What do typical IP deal structures look like?What are some crazy horror stories of IP gone wrong?How do you even get a big IP deal? Do you want the answers to these questions, plus a lot more, and war stories from some of the most experienced and … [Read more...] about Entertainment IP in Games | Learn from the Best!

Is Game Industry M&A in 2022 in Trouble? Last year, I believed that the nature of game industry consolidation was at the cusp of significant change. Two posts that addressed some of the significant changes occurring: The Warning | Game Companies Face Structural Transition in 2021Four Growth Paradigms: Zynga, Applovin, Skillz, and Jam City Part 1 and Part … [Read more...] about Game Industry M&A in 2022

Now this, I thought, was a rare opportunity for wisdom. I looked into the faces of 6 game studio CEOs staring back at me on Zoom. All very successful. All incredibly smart and capable. And then I asked my question: What should the responsibilities for a games studio CEO be? While I received some very similar responses, I was surprised by some of the very different … [Read more...] about How To Be A Great Games Company CEO!

In the new age of F2P gaming, a power shift has been occurring, changing game development dynamics. Key Trends: Rise of Emerging Countries: Former game development geographies better known for low-cost production and content pipelines such as China, Turkey, and Poland have now become centers of excellence and clusters for world-class talentCost Structure: Lower … [Read more...] about On Rooster Cages and Rise of The White Tiger: India F2P Games Conference

Netflix recently released a video series, High Score, covering the history of the video games industry. Although not the focus of the series, the documentary covered some of the iconic innovations from the industry’s past. Each of the major innovations covered dramatically increased the size of the video games market. What are some trends we can take away in … [Read more...] about Trip Hawkins on The New High Score | Past and Future of Video Games

Well that escalated quickly… Epic’s recent move to force competition in the Apple and Google App Stores has now gone full nuclear warfare. According to this court filing from Epic, Apple now not only threatens Fortnite but potentially any game using Unreal Engine: “By August 28, Apple will cut off Epic’s access to all development tools necessary to create … [Read more...] about An Epic Game of Chicken

Watch Now! Speakers We are joined by the founders and CEOs of 3 recently funded game studios: Antti Hattara, CEO of StarBerry ($1.3M led by ByFounders)Emily Greer, CEO of Double Loop ($2.5M led by London Venture Partners)Travis Boatman, CEO of Carbonated ($8.5M led by Andreessen Horowitz) Discussion Focus Today we’ll be talking about what it takes to start a … [Read more...] about Starting a New Game Studio | 3 CEOs Who Raised Millions!