The Business of Video Games Podcast

Did you ever wonder what happens when a bunch of cocky college students decide they're going to take over the games industry?
Spoiler alert: it involves immediate debt, panic attacks, and practically begging a publisher for survival.

Yes. We are back with our second part together with Johan Pilestedt.

In this episode, Johan walks us through the absolute gauntlet (we honestly couldn't find a more fitting description) of Arrowhead’s first six months as a full-time game developer. Sure, after taking home the top prize at the Swedish Game Awards and puffing on premature victory cigars, reality eventually hits the team when a massive bank loan with personal liability seemed to be the only way out.

But first a little bit of touchdown on the current state of the live service landscape from our dear hosts.

For more on Johan and Arrowhead Game Studios - please visit their website here!

It's finally time for the first round of our exclusive deep-dive series with Arrowhead Game Studios CCO & Founder Johan Pilestedt!

In this kickoff episode, we take a closer look at Johan's roots in Gällivare, a remote Swedish mining town where Johan at one point practiced as a miner minor (or was it a minor miner..?). Having his mind blown by 3D dinosaur magazines and watching Aliens (at age eight!), we explore Johan's following early obsession with Zelda and his adventure into the PC modding scene.

The defining moment?

Arriving at university to study game development (and beer!) and then grabbing the most important prize at the 2008 Swedish Game Awards, which led Johan and his friends to finally make the decision that would change their lives forever.

Watch Arrowhead win at the Swedish Game Awards 2008 here

Follow Johan and Arrowhead Game Studios here.

We are back with the second part of our conversation together with our good friend Tim Bender as the we dive deeper into the weeds of some of the most surprising moves in the industry lately.

Why not start with the backstory of the Ubisoft partnership on Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era for example?

Far from a simple hand-off, Tim explains how a long-term dialogue led to a specialist publisher stepping in to steward a legendary IP, and why a massive corporate player sought out a niche team to help find the right "indie" formula for a classic series.

And that’s not all.

Following some recent “LinkedIn shenanigans”, Tim doubles down on his advice that most indie developers are actually better off self-publishing than signing with a publisher that fails to add true value.

Expect a candid look at the power dynamics between creators and financiers, concluding with an exploration of why remaining private, and avoiding “public company logic”, is the only way to keep Hooded Horse’s 100-year mission on track.

Thanks again for joining us Tim!

Find out more about Tim and Hooded Horse here.

In the first part of our two-parter, Shams sits down with Tim Bender from Hooded Horse to pull back the curtain on one of the currently most talked-about trajectories in modern indie game publishing.

From the logistical realities of scaling a team to the philosophical "final form" of a sustainable games business, Tim breaks down the internal logic of the Hooded Horse portfolio at the same time as he explains "why a survival horror cult classic might actually have more in common with a hardcore strategy title than a genre label suggests". Yes, you read that right the first time.

As the conversation dives deeper into the financials of the industry, Tim outlines his provocative stance on "recoupment" and why he believes the traditional safety nets used by publishers might actually be a "disease" that strangles developer creativity and cash flow.

And then of course, comes the question, will Hooded Horse continue on this successful path 100 years from now..?

Listen and find out for yourself!

Follow Tim Bender and Hooded Horse here.

Sorry for being late! After a not so welcomed water leakage at our producers studios, we are back with the second part of our conversation with Trent Kusters, the visionary co-founder of League of Geeks!

Shams rides this one solo since Fernando is on a trip across the pond and it's time to get into the "messy middle" of building a studio that lasts over a decade in an industry that sometimes feels like it's trying to shake you off.

Trent opens up about the early days of Australian Kickstarter hurdles and the pivots required to keep a premium title sustainable when everyone else was chasing free-to-play trends.

We also get a rare, candid look at the internal culture of League of Geeks, where Trent shares some reflections on the loss of co-founder Adam Duncan and how that reshaped his view on honoring talent and charting a company's future.

Thanks to Trent for joining us! Please follow Trent and League of Geeks here.