Naavik Gaming Podcast

What are the differences between On-Chain game assets (NFTs) and regular in-game assets? What is up with Raph Koster’s new MMO? Is this the top of the NFT bubble?Answer to this and more in this week’s roundtable!In this Metacast episode, Abhimanyu Kumar and Miikka Ahonen are joined by your host Nicolas Vereecke to discuss; - The debate: On-chain vs Off-chain game assets - Raph Koster reveals tech for Playable Worlds - Statespace raises $50 million As this week’s bonus segment, we are making bold predictions about the NFT space! If you’d like to join the discussion, feel free to join our Discord! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In this Metacast Interview episode, Miska Katkoff, co-founder & CEO of Savage Game Studio’s and Founder of Deconstructor of Fun, is joined by our own Nicolas Vereecke.They discuss what it takes to be a good Product Manager in the Games Industry, how to build a new Games Studio, and why learning in public is a Superpower.If you would like us to interview anyone else (or you have something interesting to share), do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like to join the discussion, feel free to join our Discord!

Why is an NFT of a Destroyed Diamond being sold for $18.000? What’s next for Epic and Apple? Why is Plants versus Zombies 3 going into soft launch, again?Answer to this and more in this week’s roundtable!In this Metacast episode, Matej Lancaric, David Amor and Chong Ahn are joined by your host Nicolas Vereecke to discuss; - Epic versus Apple, end of Chapter 1 - Plants vs Zombies 3 going into soft launch, again - The Destroyed Diamond NFT (prepare to get you mind blown) As this week’s bonus segment, we are doing another round of ‘Would you rather?’ If you’d like to join the discussion, feel free to join our Discord! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

*Correction: Loot is an ERC721 token, NOT an ERC20 tokenIf you’re in the gaming industry and haven’t heard of Loot, stop what you’re doing and listen to this episode. As a bonus, you’ll get some fantastic insights into Blockchain and Games!In this Blockchain-heavy Metacast roundtable, Jayne Peressini, David Amor and Chong Ahn are joined by your host Nicolas Vereecke to discuss; - Loot (for adventurers) - Scalability for Blockchain Games - Best Practices in Blockchain and Games As this week’s bonus segment, we are doing another Bold Predictions round, and we stay on the blockchain hype train. If you’d like to join our discord to join the discussion, feel free to sign up for our newsletter at www.naavik.co. And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Uri Marchand, Founder and CEO of Overwolf. Overwolf is a modding-as-a-service platform that enables game developers to build a UGC strategy, and creators to easily build and scale mods and apps for their favourite games. We discuss why Uri is so bullish on creators, the future of modding, learnings from building a company, and much more. Enjoy!If you would like us to interview anyone else (or you have something interesting to share), do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Why is Netflix launching 2 Stranger Things games in Poland? How impactful are Apple’s recent concessions, really? What are the implications of China’s recent gaming ban?Answers to this and a whole lot of laughs in this week’s Roundtable!In this Metacast episode, Abhimanyu Kumar, Matej Lancaric and Anton Gorodetsky are joined by your host Nicolas Vereecke to discuss; - Netflix’s baby steps into gaming - Apple’s loosening of its App Store rules - China’s ban of more than 3 hours of gaming per week for minors. As this week’s bonus segment, we reintroduce Pitch your dream game. Panelists get a short time to pitch the game they would love to play, regardless of current technological limitations. If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Why did Google pay developers to publish only on the Google Play Store? How can a fully remote team successfully build something as complex as a video game? How fun is Supercell’s new game?Answers to this and much more in this week’s Roundtable!In this Metacast episode, Jayne Peressini, Miikka Ahonen and Yonatan Raz-Fridman are joined by your host Nicolas Vereecke to discuss; - Google’s response to Epic Games with ‘Project Hug’ - How to successfully build a fully remote organisation - Supercell’s new game Everdale As this week’s bonus segment, we introduce Pitch your dream game. Panelists get a short time to pitch the game they would love to play, regardless of current technological limitations. If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In this Metacast Interview episode, we had the pleasure of interviewing Josh Williams, CEO of Forte. Forte is building end-to-end infrastructure solutions that enable game developers to more easily build, launch, and manage blockchain games. We discuss why blockchain games matter, how Forte works, the company’s vision and plans for the future, and best practices for designing blockchain games. Enjoy his conversation with Naavik's own Aaron Bush!If you would like us to interview anyone else (or you have something interesting to share), do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Will Activision Blizzard be able to correct its culture issues? What does Android need to do to overtake iOS? What’s up with Ariana Grande and Fortnite? Why should Ubisoft and Spotify merge??Answers to these questions, and a whole lot of very bold predictions in this week’s Roundtable!In this Metacast episode, Aaron Bush, Matej Lancaric and Yonatan Raz-Fridman are joined by your host Nicolas Vereecke to discuss; - Activision’s Q2 results - Android’s moves in the mobile gaming industry - Ariana Grande in Fortnite As this week’s bonus segment, we do another round of Would you rather? In the games industry If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Talewind is a new, UK studio building a social sandbox RPG that’s exclusive to the Roblox platform. Founded by Mike Allender and Georgina Felce at the beginning of the year, the studio completed the Roblox Accelerator program and closed an Angel investment round of $800k to support their ambitions to build high quality, professional games for metaverse platforms. In this conversation, Mike & Georgina discuss why they’re building Roblox, the importance of social-first games, and how to build a strong company culture and community.If you would like us to interview anyone else (or you have something interesting to share), do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Why is Ubisoft investing in Free-to-Play games? What were the biggest games deals for the first half of this year? Why did Jam City REALLY cancel its SPAC? Answers to these questions and more in this week’s Roundtable!In this Metacast episode, Nicolas Vereecke is joined by Aaron Bush, Anton Gorodetsky and Grigory Bortnik to discuss; - Ubisoft’s shift in strategy - InvestGame’s H1 2021 Game Deal Report - Jam City’s cancelled SPAC As this week’s bonus segment, we introduce the popular party game “Would you rather?” in the games industry If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In this first Metacast Interview, we have the pleasure of speaking with Moritz Baier-Lentz, partner at BITKRAFT Ventures, with Nicolas Vereecke hosting.We start our conversation with Moritz’s experiences as a professional esports athlete and investment banker in the gaming industry. We then shift our focus to his work at BITKRAFT. Moritz lays out BITKRAFT’s thesis around “Synthetic Reality”, business models he’s particularly interested in, and technologies he’s keeping an eye on. Finally, he shares some tips for aspiring gaming entrepreneurs, gives us his view on the future of gaming, and ends with a spicy prediction.If you would like us to interview anyone else (or you have something interesting to share), do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

What are the different ways to invest in the Play-to-Earn space? Should Facebook’s Metaverse aspirations concern us? How big is the threat of the Chinese Government? Answers to these questions and more on this week’s Roundtable!In this Metacast episode, Nicolas Vereecke is joined by Piers Kicks, Abhimanyu Kumar and Yonatan Raz-Fridman to discuss; - How investors can gain exposure to the booming #Playtoearn space - Why Facebook wants to become a Metaverse company, and whether that's a good thing - The threat of the Chinese government over games companies As this week’s bonus segment, we do another round of bold predictions! If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.naavik.co. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Why is Netflix moving into games? Will the Steam Deck be successful? How do you acquire users for a Blockchain game? Find out on this week’s roundtable!!!In this Metacast episode, Nicolas Vereecke is joined by Jayne Peressini, Matej Lancaric and Aaron Bush to discuss; - Netflix’ entry into video games. - Valve’s announcement of the Steam Deck, a handheld gaming PC. - How to approach User Acquisition for Play-to-Earn games like Axie Infinity or Gala Games. If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.masterthemeta.com. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

How sustainable is the Play-to-Earn business model? Is it a Ponzi Scheme? Or is it the future of gaming? Find out on this week’s Roundtable episode!In this Metacast episode, Nicolas Vereecke is joined by David Amor, Miikka Ahonen, Florian Ziegler and Anton Gorodetsky to discuss; - The sustainability of the Play-to-Earn model with games like Axie Infinity - The past and future of instant games As today’s bonus segment, we have some more Bold Predictions, where panelists give us their spicy takes on the future of the video game industry. If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.masterthemeta.com. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

This week's Metacast episode is a banger!We are proud to debut crypto expert and BITKRAFT's own Piers Kicks as part of our roundtable team! He's joined by Gala Games' Jayne, and Naavik's Aaron and Nico to discuss: - The newly emerging Play-to-Earn model, focusing on companies like Axie Infinity and Gala Games - The big moves Facebook is making in the VR space race As today’s bonus segment, we introduce Bold Predictions, where panelists make a prediction about the future of the video game industry. If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.masterthemeta.com. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In this Metacast episode, Nico is joined by David and Florian to discuss; - The benefits and drawbacks of using Blockchain in games - E3: The good, the bad and the ugly - Gaming subscriptions, the future of game monetization? As today’s bonus segment, we play 'Pitch the game, mobile version'! If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.masterthemeta.com. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In this Metacast episode, Nico is joined by Manyu, Matej and Florian to discuss - - First Time User Experience (FTUE), what HD/Console game developers can learn from Mobile games best practices - The future of Cloud gaming and Massive Interactive Live Events - Trends in the development of Ad Creatives We also introduce a new bonus segment, a game called 'Overrated/Underrated'. You find the post Matej refers to here. And our deep dive on MILEs here.If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too! And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review! If you’d like more content, check us out at www.masterthemeta.com. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In this Metacast episode, Nico is joined by Aaron, Yon and Anton to discuss -- The future of Roblox and why video game developers might consider building on UGC platforms- How different companies build ecosystems around their offerings and leverage them to succeed in bigger way- Embracer Group's last earnings report, plus the sustainability of its M&A-focused growth strategyWe also introduce a new segment, called 'Pitch the game', where the panelists try to convince Nico to try out a game of their choosing. If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too!And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review!If you’d like more content, check us out at www.masterthemeta.com. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In this marketing heavy Metacast episode, Nico and Manyu are joined by Jayne, Matej and Florian to discuss -How Player Networks might hold the key to User Acquisition growth in a post-IDFA worldHow UA can be used to validate game concepts in the early stages of game development and derisk the business overallIf you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too!And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review!If you’d like more content, check us out at www.masterthemeta.com. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In The Metacast’s maiden episode, Nico is joined by Aaron, Manyu and Sergey to discuss -The data gold mine unveiled in the Apple vs Epic court caseIs content king in the gaming industry? The power of platforms and ecosystemsA future outlook on AppLovinIf you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, do reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your general thoughts and feedback too!And as always, if you like the episode, you can help others find us by leaving a rating or review!If you’d like more content, check us out at www.masterthemeta.com. You can also find us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.