The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, and in Chris' absence, James is joined by MobileGamer.biz editor Neil Long as they discuss the latter's reports that Resident Evil 7 on iOS has struggled to convince the majority of the 83,000 people who downloaded it to purchase the full $20 experience. The pair reflect on the challenges AAA hardcore games face on mobile devices and ponder the future of whether publishers will continue to invest in these technologically impressive but commercially disappointing ports. James and Neil also share their thoughts on the FTC's criticism of Microsoft's recent changes to Xbox Game Pass (please note, this episode was recorded before Microsoft responded to the FTC). As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, James and Chris discuss Microsoft's changes to Xbox Game Pass, including price increases for all existing tiers and the introduction of a new Standard tier that does not include day one releases. The episode explores the platform holder's strategy when it comes to its subscription service, and its new 'You don't need an Xbox to play Xbox' ad campaign. We also talk about the vibe of Develop Brighton 2024, and Nintendo's unusual teaser campaign for a new horror game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring as they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, James reports back from the first ever Gamescom Latam and gives a little insight into the growth of both the Brazillian games market and Gamescom as a global show. We also discuss Don't Nod's decision to delay new IP Lost Records: Bloom & Rage to avoid clashing with its previous IP Life Is Strange, which returns this October. The history of the industry is filled with examples of rival titles going head-to-head to the benefit of no one (and we list quite a few), so we discuss the need for smarter release scheduling going forward. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Haiyan Zhang, general manager of Gaming AI at Xbox, and Brady Woods, product leader at Xbox Game Creator Services, will discuss how the latest technology can help game developers build their games better and more efficiently Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Schell Games boss Jesse Schell on the advantages of keeping a lean team, how to know the right team size for each project and the art of scaling up and down as development progresses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of our GI Sprint series of podcasts, Team Sync's Graham McAllister tells us why the concept stage is the most important one to get right for team efficiency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI experts Tommy Thompson, Sean Cooper, Aleena Chia, Lauren Maslen and Lucie Migne opens our AI talks by discussing the broad opportunities and challenges of the technology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. This week, we discuss the line-up shown at the latest Nintendo Direct, with new Mario, Zelda and Metroid titles on display, and ponder what this says about the Switch's final year before its successor arrives. We also look at the untapped potential for the Metroid franchise. From there, we weigh up the showcases from each of the platform holders and the implications for those businesses as well as the wider market. And, inevitably, the conversation turns to ongoing turbulence felt across the industry, and when we might start to see signs of recovery in the wake of various layoffs and studio closures. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Continuing our GI Sprint editorial special - a series of guides on how to make games cheaper, faster and better - this panel looks at the art and importance of failing fast. Prototyping and iterating is a crucial stage of any game's development, but if something isn't quite clicking how much time and effort do you put in before moving on to your next idea? Indie dev Rami Ismail, FreeLives managing director Dominique Gawlowski and Ant Workshop managing director Tony Gowland discuss Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GI Sprint is our new editorial series all around making video games cheaper, faster and better. To kick things off, games veteran Shawn Layden speaks with GamesIndustry.biz about the spiralling costs of AAA game development, and why it needs entirely rethinking Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news.  This week, Chris is in Los Angeles to give us a sense of what's happening on the ground among all the showcases of the past week. He joins James to discuss some of the biggest reveals from Xbox and Summer Game Fest, as well as the variety of games on display across all the digital events. We also talk about how the physical side of these events are growing and how they might evolve in future, and why PlayStation's Lego Horizon Adventues is coming to Nintendo Switch. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news.  This week, we discuss the annual array of showcases that are filling the void left by E3, starting with last week's State of Play from PlayStation. We discuss the highlights of Sony's presentation, as well as our expectations for the showcases ahead, including Summer Game Fest and Xbox. On the subject of Xbox, we also discuss the confirmation that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available via Game Pass at launch and why this might be the ultimate litmus test for video game subscriptions. Finally, we discuss the growing trend of screen adaptations for video game properties, with announcements for Amazon Prime Video's Like A Dragon series, Netflix's animated Minecraft show, and two adaptations of John Romero's autobiography Doom Guy. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news.  This week, we discuss (to the extent that we can, given how early into the transition period we are) our change of ownership with IGN parent Ziff Davis acquiring Gamer Network Ltd and its brands, which includes GamesIndustry.biz and our sister sites Eurogamer, VG247, Rock Paper Shotgun and more. We also talk about the new leadership at Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Games as well as the studio's ambitions for the future, which you can read more about in Chris' interview on the site. Finally, we reflect on the impact of the other acquisitions announced last week; namely, Nintendo taking Shiver Entertainment off Embracer Group's hands, and Atari ending the first console war by snapping up the Intellivision brand. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news.  This week, we discuss the news from Sony regarding retired CEO Jim Ryan's replacement. Or rather, replacements. Plural. We reflect on the benefits of having long-serving execs like Herman Hulst and Hideaki Nishino in charge of PlayStation, as well as the challenges they face. We also discuss the Stop Killing Games campaign, the UK government's response to it, and the wider shift we see in both the games industry and entertainment in general that is reflected by the rise of such a campaign. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news.  This week, we take a quick dive in Xbox's closure of four Bethesda-owned studios, as well as what this means for Microsoft's wider gaming strategy, the future of the smaller studios it still owns, and its reputation with the rest of the industry and gamers. We also discuss Nintendo's first official word on Switch 2 - or, as it should be called, New Nintendo Switch U XL - as well as the platform holder's financials, and why the market really needs a new console before Christmas 2025. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news. This week, we discuss the reported troubles at Take-Two with claims that indie-focused label Private Division, Rollerdrome developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games were all affected (and, in some cases, closed) by the planned 580 layoffs. We also reflect on Microsoft's most recent financials, the decline in Xbox hardware sales, and why there is so much more to talk about with the platform holder than how many boxes it has sold. And Chris got caught up in the 'frames per second' debate, which gives us a good excuse to remind you of upcoming editorial event GI Sprint. ► Newsletter sign-up - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news. This week, Chris and James are joined by Neil Long, founder and editor of MobileGamer.biz to discuss Embracer's announcement that it will be splitting into three companies. We reflect on the ramifications of this separation, as well as what led to this point, and draw on some of the key takeaways from our interview with CEO Lars Wingefors. We also talk about the potential implications of the US' proposed ban on TikTok, and Long tells us why Supercell's Squad Busters - the Clash of Clans firm's first global launch in five years - could well be the 'GTA 6 of the mobile world.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all Podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news. This week, James and Chris are joined by Skillfull founder Gina Jackson to discuss her recent report on the skills crisis in the UK games industry (and the wider industry), as well as the systemic issues that need to be addressed in order to fix it. The episode also discusses Rare's new solar-powered Barn X and how the success of the Fallout TV show is boosting the games' sales. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all Podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news.  This week, Chris and James discuss this year's BAFTA Games Awards, the array of winners, and the vibe among industry professionals - both at the ceremony and the London Developer Conference that was held earlier in the day. The episode also explores some of the key takeaways from the conference, such as Newzoo's revelation of how few play hours everyone is competing for, as well as the latest discussions around the ongoing waves of layoffs, including the IGDA's call for more action to prevent or minimise them. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz. Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the weekly GI Microcast giving you the latest in video games news. Join James Batchelor and Chris Dring where they give you their take on the biggest stories in video games. Never miss an episode and subscribe to the GI Microcast on all podcasting platforms and YouTube. Join them every Monday for more video games news. This week, we discuss the ongoing conversations around Xbox - from Chris' recent revelation that developers are finding it hard to justify supporting the platform, to Xbox boss Phil Spencer's suggestion that the console could open up to third-party stores. We also discuss last week's big studio sales, including Embracer's $460m sale of Gearbox to Take-Two and Relic's breakaway from Sega to become an independent developer. As always, you can get more news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz, and you can get all the biggest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the GI Daily at www.gamesindustry.biz/newsletters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices