──PODCAST · EP_137 · JANUARY 27, 2026

The Riot Publishing Paradox and The Resurrection of Hytale

In this episode, Greg and Colan break down the surprising success of Hytale after its departure from Riot Games, the strategic restructuring at Ubisoft, and the evolving multi-platform future of Xbox.

Audio episode

↳ AUDIO

…

──── THE OPERATOR'S BRIEFING

Get the Tuesday briefing.

Three things every Tuesday: the week's best essay, the next live drop, and one thing we're still arguing about internally.

No spam. Unsubscribe with one click.

Ready for more? Join the Discord community or see the Academy.

──MORE EPISODES

Keep listening.

ALL EPISODES →

43:46

Are private servers piracy? Inside the ESA fight with Nodecraft's Jonathan Yarbor

The ESA told California lawmakers private servers are piracy. NodeCraft's Jonathan Yarbor on the terminology it botched and why licensing beats litigating.

PLAYER DRIVENJUL 7, 2026

The Biggest Gaming Platform You've Never Heard Of (100M Players a Month)

41:39

EP_159

The Biggest Gaming Platform You've Never Heard Of (100M Players a Month)

Web games went from the thing you played to kill time in study hall to a platform pulling 100 million monthly active users.

PLAYER DRIVENJUN 30, 2026

1:09:13

Skill-based matchmaking, explained by the engineer who built Call of Duty's rating system

Charlie Olsen wrote the matchmaking rating system inside Call of Duty. Now he sells matchmaking to studios — and explains what SBMM really does to your game.

PLAYER DRIVENJUN 23, 2026