Lewis Ward
For the past 15+ years I have specialized in researching, testing, contextualizing, forecasting, and writing actionable reports and giving insightful presentations about the global supply and demand for video game, XR, and interactive 3D software, hardware, and services.
36 pieces across the network.
- DESKSEP 22, 2026
Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change, Pushes the Video Game Industry Toward a More ‘Hopeful and Optimistic Future’
In an exclusive sit-down with her at Games for Change (G4C) in July, we covered mission, impact, and inspiring participation in the hands-on, playful community
- DESKSEP 16, 2026
Games for Change’s Dr. Rachel Kowert and Arana Shapiro on Raising Good Gamers
At G4C 2026 in July, Dr. Kowert and Shapiro laid out a new program designed to knit gaming families more closely together
- DESKSEP 10, 2026
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Zach Letter, Co-Founder and CEO of Wonder Works, Part 2
The driving force behind the smash hit Roblox game SpongeBob Tower Defense shares the inside scoop, plus Live Ops and AI tips
- DESKSEP 3, 2026
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Zach Letter, Co-Founder and CEO of Wonder Works
The former popular YouTube influencer leaped into risky Roblox development waters in 2019, and candidly reflects on his studio’s feast or famine saga
- PODCASTSEP 1, 2026
Gaming is a lifeline: why the number one Make-A-Wish request type is video games
Make-A-Wish sorts every wish into four kinds: to go, to meet, to be, or to have. Travel is still the biggest category overall, but when a child anywhere in the world asks to have something, the number one request is gaming.
- DESKAUG 19, 2026
Under the Hood of Call of Duty’s Matchmaking System and MMR With Charlie Olson, Part 2
Our extended conversation with Olson covers Marvel Rivals, Elo, and how Call of Duty (COD) Ranked Play works from a player skill standpoint
- DESKAUG 13, 2026
Under the Hood of Call of Duty’s Matchmaking System and MMR With Charlie Olson
Olson spills the beans on the original COD matchmaking rating (MMR) system that he authored, before hanging out his own shingle with colleagues in 2022
- DESKAUG 5, 2026
Games for Change 2026: “Reimaging Play” Through Social Impact and Tools for Raising “Good” Gamers, Part 2
The 23rd annual Games for Change festival was held in New York City on July 21-22 and we highlight a handful of day two sessions and key takeaways
- DESKJUL 29, 2026
Games for Change 2026: “Reimaging Play” Through Social Impact and Tools for Raising “Good” Gamers
The 23rd annual Games for Change festival was held last week in New York City and we highlight a handful of key sessions and takeaways
- PODCASTJUL 28, 2026
Games Can Be Positive in Ways You Can't See | Games for Change 2026
Games for Change president Susanna Pollack, research director Dr. Rachel Kowert and programs lead Arana Shapiro on why the most important effects of games are the ones nobody sees, and why the panic about kids and gaming is a distribution problem rather than an evidence problem.
- DESKJUL 14, 2026
Fiene Ziegler’s Accidental Path from Cultural Studies to Player Community Management at InnoGames, Part 2
The community management specialist shares tips on getting video game content noticed and assessing KPIs on popular social media platforms
- DESKJUL 7, 2026
Fiene Ziegler’s Accidental Path from Cultural Studies to Player Community Management at InnoGames
The community management specialist offers insights into how she orchestrates communications between the developers and global player base of Forge of Empires…and explains why she’s so into road trips
- DESKJUL 1, 2026
Thad Sasser Loves Learning, Smart Risk-taking, Fun, and MERICA, Part 2
The vet FPS studio exec and current creative director of COD Warzone talks vision, the ‘friendship hostage’ problem, shooter innovations, and American grit
- DESKJUN 16, 2026
ARCANIX’s Oscar Clark on the EU’s DFA, Lightning Lessons, and the Primacy of Player Value, Part 2
The industry vet talks Lightning Lessons, ARCANIX, and how studios can “find the fun” in a sustainable way
- DESKJUN 9, 2026
ARCANIX’s Oscar Clark on the EU’s DFA, Lightning Lessons, and the Primacy of Player Value, Part 1
The veteran gaming industry exec, speaker, and author is acutely attuned to the interplay of ethics and regulation
- PODCASTJUN 9, 2026
Why Most Games Fail in the Gap Between the Idea and the Build
Lewis Ward spent sixteen years covering games as an analyst at IDC. Now he runs Design Desk at Player Driven, and his obsession has moved upstream, into the design layer where games are still just ideas.
- DESKMAY 26, 2026
Mediating Irreconcilable Differences with Behavioral Game Economist Catalin Alexandru, Part 2
The consulting vet offers hot takes on what’s derailed Web3 gaming, SDT’s upsides, and the importance of bridging the gap between game design and production processes
- DESKMAY 15, 2026
Navigating Irreconcilable Differences with Behavioral Game Economist Catalin Alexandru, Part 1
He’s always surfing the next big, sexy, dangerous, and psychologically meaningful logarithmic or asymptotic curve
- DESKMAY 8, 2026
Utrecht University’s Dr. Joost Vervoort on Gaming’s Potential to Help Build a Better Future, Part 2
Forces in the EU are working to tap into video games’ latent potential to make the real-world a better place for everyone and the environment
- DESKMAY 1, 2026
Utrecht University’s Dr. Joost Vervoort on Gaming’s Potential to Help Build a Better Future, Part 1
He's helping to shape Speculative Agency's strategic deck-builder, All Will Rise, to be a means toward that end
- DESKAPR 24, 2026
Quantic Foundry’s Nick Yee on Gamer Motivations, Part 2
The consultancy’s Gamer Motivation Model is like a Swiss Army knife for understanding what motivates video game players
- DESKAPR 17, 2026
Quantic Foundry’s Nick Yee on Gamer Motivations, Part 1
The company’s model of twelve motivations is a window into the hearts and minds of “the gamer” and helps explain and predict their behaviors
- DESKAPR 2, 2026
GDC 2026: Riot Games’ Stone Librande on Game Design
The veteran designer helped lead workshop participants through two exercises that connected video game design elements to positive emotional and psychological outcomes for players.
- DESKMAR 19, 2026
NYU Professor Eric Zimmerman On Game Design's Deep and Broad Potential
From Diner Dash and Balatro to redesigning capitalism, Zimmerman is interested in creating, iterating, and playing with systems that deliver "mouthfuls of delicious meaning"
- DESKMAR 17, 2026
Player Support at Schell Games with Laura Hall
Among other insights, Hall highlights why AI-based tools such as ToxMod add significant valuable in a Live Ops gaming context
- DESKMAR 12, 2026
Meet Christina Camilleri, Netflix Games' "Chaos Gremlin" and "Safety By Design" Champion
From a dedicated MapleStory player to an "ethical hacker" to the Head of Trust and Safety at Netflix Games, Camilleri has blazed a unique trail across the digital community support landscape
- DESKMAR 9, 2026
The Steelier Side of Amir Satvat's Games Community Success
The hard-nosed biz dev and strategy exec also models the "Zero Profit, Infinite Caring" ethos that guides Amir Satvat’s Games Community
- DESKFEB 26, 2026
How Focused Player Psychology, Design, and Post-launch Process Sets the Stage for Live Ops Success
ArenaNet’s Crystin Cox, a veteran Live Ops video game designer, director and publisher, warns that Games-as-a-Service overthinking can spell doom
- DESKFEB 11, 2026
A Discussion With James Au, Author of Making a Metaverse That Matters
The 20-year metaverse vet shares his thoughts on what's gone right and what's gone wrong relative to the Snow Crash vision
- DESKFEB 4, 2026
Gamefam's Joe Ferencz On Roblox's Metaverse Potential
The CEO of Gamefam, Ferencz has had a front row seat to Roblox Corp's wild rise and ride across the metaverse's ever-shifting terrain for 7+ years
- DESKJAN 27, 2026
A Window Into Alex Seropian's UGC-based Studio, Look North World
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a studio working to fly in someone else's sky!
- DESKJAN 20, 2026
Profiling a Pariah Teenage Guild Leader
A cautionary tale for social economy designers and participants: don't let your "foxes" run the "henhouse"
- DESKJAN 8, 2026
Meet Francisco "Sandi" Montaño, Overwolf's Poster Child For PC Game Mod Breadwinners
For many months last year, Sandi's ARK: Survival Ascended mods cleared >$15,000
- DESKDEC 29, 2025
Nine Seconds to Fun
Mark Otero built Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes into a $1.4B mobile franchise by obsessing over one metric: time-to-fun. Tracing his path from a South Korean village to EA Capital Games reveals how personal obsession, financial modeling, and a camera-angle insight reshaped the collectibles RPG genre.
- DESK
Make-A-Wish’s April Stallings Illuminates the ‘Whys’ of Gaming: Joy, Well-being, and Connection
Make-A-Wish has granted >650,000 wishes to critically ill kids, and Stallings sheds light on why gaming-related requests are at the heart of one of the nonprofit’s four wish categories
- DESK
Make-A-Wish’s April Stallings Illuminates the ‘Whys’ of Gaming: Joy, Well-being, and Connection, Part 2
More insights on the positive effects of granted wishes, Roll for Wishes, and John Cena’s “inspirational…attention and detail” in wish grating