Naavik Gaming Podcast

Mar 28 2025 380 ep. 60 mins 67
Naavik Gaming Podcast artwork

The Naavik Gaming Podcast is a business-focused exploration of the companies, trends, strategies and leaders that are defining the future of games. To learn more and see other great content visit www.naavik.co.

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Finding the Fun in VR with Astrobeam and Schell Games

Mar 28 2025 58 mins  
In this episode, host Sam Distaso dives into the cutting edge of VR game development with Devin Reimer (founder and CEO of Astrobeam) and Ed Saxton (CPO of Schell Games). From the early startup days of VR to the evolution of mixed reality, Devin and Ed share how their studios use first-principles thinking to craft unique experiences. We explore how hit games like Job Simulator and

Sustainable Growth: Building Studios Without External Funding

Mar 21 2025 57 mins  
For the first time in Naavik’s history, we’re excited to bring a live audience show experience to air! At GDC, host, Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, sat down with Nick Popovich, CEO and Founder of Monomi Park, in San Francisco for a conversation centered around “doing it all yourself” in the indie games market — no external funding, crowd financing, or publishi

Personalization in Gaming: The Holy Grail of User Experience (and Monetization)

Mar 18 2025 44 mins  
In this episode, host Niko Vuori interviews Justin Stolzenberg, co-founder of Metica, a startup aiming to revolutionize gaming analytics through AI-driven insights and personalized experiences. Founded by ex-King and ex-Apple employees, Metica’s approach is a unique combination of King’s iterative, hyper-data-driven approach and Apple’s high-polish culture. The company recent

Com2Us’s Evolution: Gaming Innovation and Global Expansion

Mar 07 2025 62 mins  
In this episode, our host, Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, sits down with Kyu Lee, Chief Business Development Officer at Com2Us, Partner at CRIT Ventures, and ex-president of Com2Us USA. They explore Com2Us Holdings' evolution from its early days as Gamevil to becoming a global mobile powerhouse with hits like Summoners War, one of the industry’s biggest mobile IPs tha

Why Web3 Gaming Is Just Getting Started: Insights from the Ronin Ecosystem

Mar 04 2025 58 mins  
In this episode, host Niko Vuori speaks with Jeff Zirlin, co-founder of Sky Mavis and the play-to-earn OG, Axie Infinity, about the significant developments in the web3 gaming space, particularly the transition of the Ronin blockchain to a permissionless model.They discuss Jeff's background and journey into web3, the origin story and wild ride of Axie Infinity, the evolution of the

Building a #1 Earning VR Game

Feb 26 2025 59 mins  
Over the years, Spatial has undergone a wide-ranging evolution. It evolved from an AR collaboration platform to a Roblox competitor (with 2M+ creators), and it's now a VR game developer with the top earning VR game on the Meta Quest store (Animal Company). Spatial has raised almost $50M, according to Crunchbase, based on the founders’ convictions that 3D virtual spaces are the fu

The Future of AI Unscripted Entertainment

Feb 21 2025 63 mins  
In this episode, host, Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, is joined by Jacob Rapoport (CEO and Co-Founder) and Nico Vereecke from Evil Plan to discuss their groundbreaking project in AI-powered, unscripted fantasy entertainment. The conversation explores the future of interactive storytelling, where community influence and fully AI-driven narratives combine to create an ent

Cloud Creations: Scaling up Game Development

Feb 11 2025 72 mins  
Cloud technology is transforming the way games are developed, hosted, and maintained. In this episode, host Devin Becker is joined by Chris Melissinos, AWS Principal Evangelist for video games, to discuss the growing role of cloud services in game development. Chris highlights how Amazon Web Services (AWS) is empowering developers with tools that reduce production costs, streamline

The State of Video Game Financing in 2025

Feb 07 2025 66 mins  
In this episode, host Alexanda Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, sits down with Spike Laurie, Partner at Hiro Capital, to dissect gaming finance's grim reality in 2025. The conversation starts with a discussion on the industry's downturn, marked by studio closures and a reduction in funding, particularly at the Series A level. Venture capital, once a goldmine for game studios, is no

Can Play-to-Earn Ever Be Sustainable?

Feb 04 2025 61 mins  
In this episode of the Naavik Gaming podcast, host Niko Vuori welcomes back Luke Barwikowski, founder and CEO of Pixels.xyz, to discuss whether Play-to-Earn mechanics can, in fact, be sustainable. Luke shares the evolution of Pixels, its unique approach to Play-to-Earn gaming, and the strategies that have led to significant user growth (10 million registered users) and revenue gene