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- DESK
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
WITH FIENE ZIEGLER - BLOGJUN 25, 2026
Who Pays for the Player Now? Justin Ruiss on Ads, the Xbox Free Tier, and the Second Search War
Ad-tech operator Justin Ruiss on why a free, ad-supported Xbox is the most logical move on the board, how GTA 6 reshapes the Roblox creator economy, and why Reddit became the arms dealer of the AI search war.
BY GREG POSNER - PODCASTJUN 23, 2026
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.
BY GREG POSNER - 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
BY LEWIS WARD - PODCASTJUN 16, 2026
Betting the Studio: Zach Letter on Surviving the Cut and Building Roblox's #1 Licensed Game
Zach Letter spent over a decade as a full-time YouTube creator with billions of views before he saw Roblox and recognized the exact platform mechanics he had already mastered: a title, a thumbnail, and an algorithm to beat.
WITH ZACH LETTER - 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.
BY GREG POSNER - 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
WITH CATALIN ALEXANDRU - PODCASTMAY 26, 2026
Ad-Supported Xbox, the Death of the Open Web, and House Cats for AI
Matt Ball just joined Xbox, and Colan is calling his shot: a free, ad-supported Xbox tier is coming, and people are massively underestimating what free does to an ecosystem.
- BLOGMAY 21, 2026
AI, IP, and Game Development: What Studios Need to Know Before Using Generative AI
Game developers are used to building in uncertainty. You launch into changing player expectations, shifting platform rules, unpredictable communities, monetization pressure, global regulation, and the occasional bug that somehow only happens when a streamer with 400,000 followers is live. Now add generative AI to the pile.
- PODCASTMAY 19, 2026
No AI Doesn't Mean What You Think It Does
Guest: Tess Lynch, Founding Attorney, Clause and Affect When Crimson Desert announced "no AI in our game," the internet applauded.
WITH TESS LYNCH - LIVEMAY 14, 2026
IP Name Is Not a Marketing Strategy: What Forza Got Right That Bond Got Wrong
Forza Horizon 6 landed a 91 on Metacritic, pulled data showing unprecedented traction in Asian markets, and flew its influencer event to Japan to sell car culture instead of game features. Bond, releasing in the same window, bought an NBA halftime placement, put dev talent in turtlenecks for YouTube interviews, and assumed that 007 still carries weight with anyone under 35. One of these games will be a cultural moment. The other will be fine. That contrast, laid out across a full episode of Player Driven Live by Greg and analyst Colan, is the editorial spine of something practitioners running live games and planning launches need to hear: audience assumption is a budget leak.
- PODCASTAPR 21, 2026
The Rise of Web Shops: How Games Are Reclaiming Players and Profit
For years, mobile gaming operated under one unspoken rule: give up ~30% of your revenue to platform holders like Apple and Google. That model is starting to break.
WITH GIL TOV-LY - 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
BY LEWIS WARD - PODCASTMAR 24, 2026
Day Zero Design: Why Your Community Strategy is Your New Game Engine
Guests: Karin Johnson: Co-founder of Magic Potion Games (Veteran of Club Penguin and Fortnite)Hege Tokerud: CEO/Founder of Aiba (Cybersecurity and AI moderation specialist) Episode Summary In this strategic primer for GDC 2026, we sit down…
- 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
BY LEWIS WARD - 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
BY LEWIS WARD - PODCASTMAR 3, 2026
The Evolution of Moderation: Why AI Won’t Replace Humans… It Will Redefine Them
In this episode of Player Driven, host Greg welcomes back industry veteran Sharon Fisher to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of content moderation.
- PODCASTFEB 24, 2026
Exploring the Psychological Traits That Motivate Video Game Players: From GTA to Fortnite and Beyond
Episode Summary Why do we play the video games that we play? Is interest in the strategy game genre truly waning globally over time? Greg and Lewis sit down with gaming psychology pioneer and Quantic Foundry co-founder Nick Yee to answer th…
- BLOGFEB 20, 2026
How AI Is Changing Player Support in Games | Helpshift Breakdown
Helpshift's Head of Product breaks down how AI is reshaping player support — from automation to retention intelligence. A quick but signal-rich dispatch for anyone running or scaling a CX operation in live games.
- BLOGFEB 6, 2026
Microsoft’s Gaming Problem, And The Downsides Of AI
Microsoft's Q4 miss wasn't just a bad quarter — it's a signal that the AI capital arms race is quietly deprioritizing games inside a $3T tech empire. Here's what the attention data and portfolio economics actually show.
- LIVEFEB 5, 2026
Who’s Really Driving the Game Industry Right Now? Microsoft, Nintendo, and the AI Crossroad
The gaming landscape is shifting beneath our feet. This week on Player Driven Live, we break down a whirlwind of high-stakes earnings calls, massive leadership changes, and the generative AI technologies that are forcing every major player to pick a side. From Microsoft's supply chain struggles to Nintendo’s absolute dominance with legacy IPs, here are the key takeaways from our February 5, 2026, episode.
- 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
BY LEWIS WARD - PODCASTFEB 3, 2026
How AI Is Rewriting Trust and Safety in Games
Recorded live at Pocket Gamer London, Greg sits down with Hill from Checkstep for a wide ranging conversation on trust and safety, AI powered content detection, parenting in a gaming household, and why moderation is no longer just about rem…
- PODCASTJAN 20, 2026
300M Losses & $650 Legos: Is the Gaming Industry in a Tailspin?
Episode SummaryIs the gaming industry entering a "negative flywheel"? This week, we dive into the staggering reports of Black Ops 6 underperforming and what it means for the future of Microsoft Gaming and potential layoffs.
- BLOGJAN 13, 2026
Capcom’s Q1 Lock, 2000s Nostalgia, And The Games That Refuse To Die
Capcom has quietly built one of the most repeatable release strategies in the industry by staging its biggest launches in Q1, when competition is thin and attention is up for grabs. Resident Evil Requiem's pre-launch data suggests the playbook is working again — and the signals are worth understanding before the game even ships.
- PODCASTDEC 30, 2025
ENCORE: Revolutionizing Reality: The Digital Overlay Transforming Retail and Gaming with Beau Button
Episode Summary:In this special encore presentation, we revisit one of our earliest and most popular conversations. Originally recorded two years ago, Greg Posner sits down with Beau Button, the visionary CTO and Co-Founder of Atlas Reality…
- PODCASTDEC 23, 2025
ENCORE: Flow, Feedback, and Fun: The Pillars of Great Level Design | Marvel Rivals Level Designer
What does ambition really look like inside modern game development? In this episode, Greg sits down with Jack Burrows to unpack how level designers think, work, and stay motivated across massive franchises and creative constraints.
- PODCASTDEC 16, 2025
ENCORE From Sound to Studio – Building Devhouse with Jim Welch
In this episode, Greg sits down with Jim Welch, a composer turned developer turned studio founder whose creative journey spans Dragon Ball Z trailers to launching a party game in the spirit of Jackbox.
- PODCASTDEC 2, 2025
ENCORE: From AAA to Indie: How Proactive Game Devs Change the Industry with Willem Kranendonk
Dive deep into the strategic mindset of level design, the shift from AAA development to indie studio entrepreneurship, and a radical new business model for creating innovative "Cocktail Games." Key Takeaways & Discussion PointsThe Reality o…
- PODCASTNOV 11, 2025
The Rules We Break: Eric Zimmerman on Game Design, Loops, and Culture
Episode OverviewWhat does it really mean to design a game — and what can that teach us about culture, creativity, and even our daily lives? In this episode, Greg is joined by Lewis Ward and Eric Zimmerman, legendary game designer, professor…
WITH ERIC ZIMMERMAN