Episodes

  • TWIG #407: Roblox’s Steal Economy, Tim Sweeney Goes All In on AI and Xbox Loses Its COO

    TWIG #407: Roblox’s Steal Economy, Tim Sweeney Goes All In on AI and Xbox Loses Its COO
    Oct 29 2026
    Half of Roblox’s 2025 revenue came from steal games, and the platform can’t seem to quit them.This week we debate whether steal mechanics are a passing trend or the real engine behind Roblox’s growth, ahead of an earnings call that will likely reward the algorithm rollback. Tim Sweeney says AI will bring a golden age of gaming, while Steam data shows AI-disclosed releases tripling and players pushing back with their wallets. We compare PocketGamer.biz’s top mobile makers against Sensor Tower revenue, break down Modern Warfare 4’s design bets and launch numbers, and unpack a chaotic week at Xbox: a rumored private equity bid, 60,000 voluntary exit offers, a failed Netflix deal and a COO who lasted three months. We close on Rockstar turning Miami into Vice City three weeks before GTA VI.Topics Covered:• Steal games drove half of Roblox’s 2025 revenue.• Roblox earnings could rebound after the algorithm rollback.• Tim Sweeney bets Epic’s future on AI.• AI-disclosed Steam releases jumped from 10% to 34%.• Disclosure labels are hurting sales on Steam.• PocketGamer.biz and Sensor Tower disagree on mobile’s top 10.• Turkey and China dominate the mobile charts.• Modern Warfare 4 wins back sentiment but may miss the numbers.• Apex attachments and the gunnery advisor reshape progression.• Private equity eyes a $100B+ Xbox buyout.• Microsoft offers exit packages to 60,000 employees.• Netflix walks away from a $500M Xbox IP deal.• Helen Chiang leaves Xbox three months after becoming COO.• Rockstar reskins Miami as Vice City.CHAPTERS:00:00 Welcome and lineup00:32 What we are covering today02:12 What everyone is playing05:12 WoW Forever debate06:46 Discord interview takeaways10:15 Roblox revenue chart debate19:17 Tim Sweeney on AI future23:51 Steam AI disclosures data34:35 Mobile Top Maker Debate36:41 Pocket Gamer vs Sensor Tower39:34 Modern Warfare 4 Breakdown56:35 Xbox Rumors and Restructuring01:03:28 Netflix Deal and IP Value01:05:08 GTA VI Miami Marketing Blitz01:07:26 Wrap Up and Sign Off
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • 354. Why Friends Keep Players Longer Than Features Do

    354. Why Friends Keep Players Longer Than Features Do
    Oct 26 2026
    Discord spent years saying it would never run ads. Now it sits on 90 million daily users who mostly play games with friends, and Chief Business Officer Jules Shumaker, who previously built ad businesses at EA, Zynga and Unity, is turning that audience into a growth channel for game makers.She walks through why players linked through the Social SDK retain 31% better by D28, why Nitro subscribers opt into ads more than non-payers, and how Discord brings lapsed players back for under $2 each. Plus the social commerce launch where 41% of Marvel Rivals purchases were gifts, the push into mobile, and the self-serve ad manager coming next.Chapters:00:00 - Meet Jules Shumaker00:45 - From EA and Zynga to Discord09:00 - What Discord offers game developers13:20 - Social SDK and the retention lift17:15 - Bringing the social layer to mobile20:30 - How Discord started doing ads26:30 - Social commerce and gifting31:00 - Winning back lapsed players39:50 - Video Quest and self-serve ads43:10 - Building a Discord growth strategy
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    48 mins
  • TWIG #406: Roblox Goes Private, AI Floods the Platform and GTA VI Comes for Shooters

    TWIG #406: Roblox Goes Private, AI Floods the Platform and GTA VI Comes for Shooters
    Oct 22 2026
    Is Steal an Egg the real engine behind Roblox’s revenue?This week the crew argues over a Konvoy piece saying Roblox should go private. With the stock well off its highs, $6B in cash and a long-term HD strategy that Wall Street keeps punishing, is a buyout the only way out of the brainrot cycle? We also look at the AI-driven surge of first-time creators on Roblox, Arc Raiders’ new big-update content model, the Liquid Swords shutdown and which genres GTA VI is about to hit hardest.Topics Covered:• Takeaways from our interview with Riot’s CFO• Why Riot’s China revenue mostly benefits Tencent• GDC moves to four days and adds dealmaking space• Gen Alpha plays to be seen, not to disappear• Creator activations and the UA content they feed• 20% of top mobile spenders are looking for their next game• Roblox leads PC and console playtime• Should Roblox go private?• Steal an Egg and revenue concentration on Roblox• AI tools bring a 10x jump in first-time Roblox creators• What Liquid Swords’ closure teaches indie AAA founders• Arc Raiders’ content update and Steam free weekend• GTA VI’s launch threatens shooters, sports and racing gamesCHAPTERS: 00:00 Intro01:21 Banned Topics and AI Jokes01:53 Riot CFO Interview Takeaways02:50 Riot China Revenue Reality10:07 Sponsor Shoutouts Sensor Tower14:14 Roundtable Recap Gen Alpha20:32 Whales as Free Agents Stat23:42 Roblox29:30 Replace Dave Or Go Private31:03 AAA Pivot And Moral Debate34:37 Algorithm And Revenue Concentration37:49 AI Flood Of New Roblox Games44:01 Indie AAA Studio Collapse50:04 Arc Raiders57:35 GTA Launch Shockwave01:02:38 EA Bioware Closure
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    1 hr and 29 mins
  • 353. How Riot Went From One Game to Five Hits | Mark Sottosanti, Riot Games

    353. How Riot Went From One Game to Five Hits | Mark Sottosanti, Riot Games
    Oct 19 2026
    Riot shipped one game in ten years, then four in the next two. Mark Sottosanti, CFO of Riot Games, was there for all of it. He joined in 2012 as head of monetization after running a hedge fund, and has been at Riot ever since.We start with how Riot went from League of Legends to a multi-game publisher. That covers the 10th anniversary reveal, why five of its seven launches worked, and what Legends of Runeterra and 2XKO taught the team. Then we get into the business side, discussing regional strategy, Korea’s PC cafes, mobile and China, Valorant on console, and why Valorant still has no loot boxes.Mark also explains the real math behind Arcane and how Season 2 broke even, how Riot uses AI today, where he sees the industry heading, and why Riot has never bought revenue.CHAPTERS:00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:09 Why Riot Now02:07 Mark Joins Riot04:01 From One Game to Many08:55 Greenlighting and Results13:54 Global Offices Strategy17:54 Mobile Shift and China22:55 Wild Rift and Console25:24 Monetization Philosophy26:39 Arcane and Transmedia ROI34:54 Industry Outlook and Hiring37:18 Hybrid Work and CFO Advice39:36 Wrap Up and Whats Next
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    46 mins
  • TWIG #405: Gears of War E-Day Flops, EU Comes for Virtual Currency and Turkey Wins the Puzzle Race

    TWIG #405: Gears of War E-Day Flops, EU Comes for Virtual Currency and Turkey Wins the Puzzle Race
    Oct 15 2026
    Xbox has a franchise problem, and Gears of War E-Day just made it obvious.This week we look back on Mobidictum in Istanbul and argue about why Turkey became the puzzle capital while Sweden didn’t. Then we pull apart Aream’s Q3 report: the M&A number is inflated by the EA deal, the IPO window stays shut, and seed funding is at a five-year low. We also cover the EU’s new action against ten game companies over virtual currency and dark patterns, the panic over US console sales, and Xbox’s new XP division. We finish with the Aniimo launch and why FunPlus held back on monetization.Topics Covered:• Mobidictum takeaways and the Sweden vs Turkey debate• US console sales hit record lows ahead of GTA VI• EU targets ten companies over virtual currency bundles• Aream Q3 report and the real M&A numbers• No IPO market for gaming• AI infrastructure money counted as gaming VC• Steam growth and new IP winning on PC• Mobile installs down and the frozen top charts• Turkey stands out in IAP growth and early stage deals• Gears of War E-Day and the cost of losing the console war• Xbox launches XP for film, TV and products• Aniimo launch numbers and its core loop• Why Aniimo skipped direct creature gachaCHAPTERS:01:58 Istanbul Takeaways04:18 Sweden vs Turkey Debate08:02 Cyprus Event Plug13:47 EU Targets Virtual Currency19:00 Areem Q3 Report34:59 Gears E-Day Franchise Autopsy41:31 Xbox XP48:21 Aniimo Launch and Core Loop52:38 Aniimo Monetization and Costs
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • 352. AI Made Every Team Faster. Then It Got Messy.

    352. AI Made Every Team Faster. Then It Got Messy.
    Oct 12 2026
    Retrofitting AI into a 1,300-person company and building one around it from day one are different problems. Mishka Katkoff sits down with Liaz Kamper, AI Experience Architect at AppsFlyer, and Maor Cohen, CTO of Vibes, to compare the two.00:00 — AI-first vs. AI-native companies06:19 — Transforming an established company with AI16:22 — Building an AI-native organization20:40 — Coordination and shared context26:12 — Building the company’s “AI brain”32:27 — Earning customer trust in an AI-powered world37:40 — Success in AI-native teams45:03 — AI as a tool, not the goal51:48 — Token costs58:56 — How AI is changing jobs66:02 — Closing thoughts on the two paths to AI transformation
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    58 mins
  • TWIG #404: AI Game Mashups Go Viral, Google Launches Playground and Mobile Studios Are Cheap Again

    TWIG #404: AI Game Mashups Go Viral, Google Launches Playground and Mobile Studios Are Cheap Again
    Oct 8 2026
    AI-made mashups of games like Skate 3 and Modern Warfare II took over social media, and publishers responded with takedowns. Google launched Playground, joining Roblox and Meta in the race to build prompt-to-game platforms. New InvestGame data shows 2026 already has more deals than any year since 2022, but buyers are paying less for each dollar of revenue, and the market has reopened on their terms. We also look at whether the Resident Evil movie actually sold games, and where Xbox is headed after its latest “we’re not selling” statement.Topics Covered:• AI mashup mods go viral and publishers issue takedowns.• Jagex pulls a RuneScape trailer after players spot generative AI.• Google launches Playground, with Unity Spark coming soon.• Roblox Build, Meta Horizon Create and the race for AI UGC platforms.• Gaming M&A picks up, but it’s a buyer’s market.• Circle Games raises a $25M Series A led by Tencent.• Resident Evil engagement jumps 50% after the movie, but the back catalog gets the lift.• The GTA VI cloud streaming deal and Xbox’s “we’re not selling” statement.• SNL’s GTA vs Zelda sketch and Mike Tomlin’s Minecraft city.• Aion 2 is eating someone’s life.CHAPTERS: 00:00 Welcome and lineup02:30 Gaming hits pop culture11:10 Xbox sale talk and hardware woes14:36 AI Mods & Mashups23:14 Google Playground prompt games33:08 Marketing Versus Product Reality40:04 Investments54:07 Resident Evil Engagement58:01 Aion 2 MMO Recommendation59:18 Wrap Up And Next Week
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    1 hr
  • 351. Why Great Hires Fail at Startups | Garry Hill, Makers Fund

    351. Why Great Hires Fail at Startups | Garry Hill, Makers Fund
    Oct 5 2026

    Most startup hiring mistakes come down to two things: hiring too fast and hiring too narrow. Garry Hill, head of talent at Makers Fund, sees both across a portfolio of 130+ companies. Before Makers Fund, he recruited at SpaceX, Amazon, Blizzard, PlayStation and Reddit.

    We start with the hires who looked perfect on paper and still failed, from pedigreed engineers who burned out at Blizzard to SpaceX's weekend interviews, and how those company cultures really compared. Then we get practical about hiring for game studios and startups discussing referral, interview processes, culture, and how to tell what a big-tech candidate is a fit or not for a startup.

    Garry also explains why senior talent should consider fractional roles, how talent needs change from seed to Series A to Series C, what good onboarding looks like, and the "truth serum" question he uses when interviewing co-founders.

    A vital listen to anyone hiring or getting hired in startups-

    chapters:

    00:00 Blizzard, SpaceX, Amazon: the hires who looked great and failed
    12:05 What a head of talent does at Makers Fund
    14:59 Too fast, too narrow: common founder hiring mistakes
    19:56 Culture add, not culture fit
    24:53 Vetting big-tech hires: what did you actually do?
    31:09 Startup life and going fractional
    35:03 Seed, Series A, Series C: how talent needs change
    44:36 Testing co-founders and the truth serum question
    52:26 Gaming founders vs. tech founders
    1:00:18 The tell that a co-founder will actually build
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    1 hr and 4 mins