The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.
GameMakers
Claim This Podcastby Joseph Kim
4.6(23 reviews)
188 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas Sponsors
83
Podcast Authority
BetaExcellentBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality95
Social0
YouTube93
Engagement85
Podcast Overview
The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
11/24/2020
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83
Podcast Authority
BetaExcellentBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality95
Social0
YouTube93
Engagement85
9
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excellent
Episode Length
1h 4m
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Every 10 days
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Recent Episodes
June 16, 2026
Own Your Players, Don't Rent Them — D2C, Creator Codes & the Shadow Server Economy | Liam Wiltshire, GM of Tebex
<p>Epic spent five years and over $100M breaking the platforms' 30% tax — then cut V-Bucks by 20% to "pay the bills." If the company that won the fee war still gets squeezed, what does that say about everyone else?</p><p>The answer isn't about fees. When AI makes content infinite and attention stays finite, the only asset that appreciates is the direct relationship with your players — the one distribution channel that gets cheaper the stronger it gets. And a nearly invisible economy of community-run game servers has been proving its dollar value for fifteen years.</p><p>I sit down with Liam Wiltshire, GM of Tebex — the merchant-of-record platform behind direct payments for Rockstar, Take-Two, Hytale, and FiveM — to unpack it.</p><p>In this episode:</p><ul><li>Why "is 30% dead?" is the wrong question</li><li>Creator codes: how trust drives 50–227% more spend</li><li>The BNPL and crypto data that surprised even Tebex</li><li>Why 35% of desktop game purchases happen on a phone</li><li>How Hytale launched off Steam and secured two years of runway from pre-orders alone</li><li>The £20, 16-year-old origin story behind a company that's processed $1.5B</li></ul><p>Read the full breakdown and subscribe at gamemakers.com.</p><p>Chapters<br>00:00 — Epic cut V-Bucks: why it's really a margin story<br>03:47 — When content is infinite, what's actually scarce?<br>07:38 — The shadow games industry: Hypixel, FiveM & a $1.5B economy<br>10:13 — The data: creator codes, BNPL & buying on a second screen<br>13:33 — Liam Wiltshire joins: the state of the industry<br>16:35 — Why every player purchase is a "CapEx decision"<br>18:50 — Is the 30% platform fee dead?<br>21:00 — Who really owns the player relationship?<br>23:27 — D2C across mobile, web, PC & console<br>34:59 — Treating the platform as an acquisition channel<br>42:57 — UGC servers & what a "merchant of record" actually does<br>1:00:40 — Creator codes: how trust drives more spend<br>1:19:04 — BNPL & crypto: the numbers that surprised Tebex<br>1:31:20 — Payment optimization & one-click checkout<br>1:40:43 — The £20 origin story & the $29M exit</p><p><br></p>
March 31, 2026
The Last 20% Is Worth $100 Million
<p>AI is making it cheaper to build games. It's doing nothing for the cost of building the right game. That distinction is about to crush more studios than any technology shift in the past decade. </p><p>Ran Mo is the CEO of Proxima and creator of Suck Up — arguably the first commercially successful game to use AI at runtime. The game generated over 100 million YouTube views with zero marketing spend. Before founding Proxima, Ran led product teams at EA on The Sims franchise and spent time at YouTube and BCG. </p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Ran live demos AI-assisted coding in Unity, breaks down his "trunk and leaves" framework for where AI helps (and where it destroys your codebase), and makes the contrarian case that AI in actual gameplay is overhyped — even though he built the first game to prove it works. </p><p><br></p><p>We go deep on: why vibe-coded games are architecturally unusable at scale, the power law that's about to eliminate mid-tier studios, why Ran hired a marketer with 1M TikTok followers, and the Taoist philosophy that keeps him sane while Silicon Valley burns out around him </p><p><br></p><p>Whether you're a game dev, studio head, or just trying to understand where AI actually moves the needle in creative industries, this conversation will sharpen your thinking. </p><p><br></p><p>🔗 Ran Mo's newsletter: newsletter.ranmo.me 🔗 Proxima: proxima.gg </p><p><br></p><p>Outline:</p><p>0:00 Intro</p><p>1:15 Ran Mo's background and founding Proxima</p><p>4:38 How Suck Up actually uses AI </p><p>8:49 Why Proxima won't use AI for art or design </p><p>12:32 Live demo: AI coding in Unity </p><p>22:33 Vibe coding gone wrong — the Stardew Valley test</p><p>25:14 The trunk and leaves framework</p><p>29:24 Real productivity numbers (not Twitter hype)</p><p>34:57 The technically capable designer </p><p>38:58 Power law distribution is coming for games </p><p>43:48 Suck Up's $0 marketing playbook</p><p>46:04 The Courage to Do Nothing</p><p>52:35 The velocity trap </p><p>58:13 Hot take: AI in gameplay is overhyped</p><p>61:01 Ran's personal story </p><p>66:15 Go your own way </p><p>69:15 Final advice: slow down to speed up </p>
February 10, 2026
ThiGaming Trends for 2026 — And the One Nobody Wants to Talk AboutRT
<p>Last month, I sat on a panel about where the gaming industry is headed. The conversation was good — but there was one thing I didn't say out loud.</p><p>In this episode, I break down the key trends I think will define gaming in 2026:</p><ul><li>The noise problem is about to get much, much worse — and it's hitting from both sides</li><li>Small teams aren't an anomaly. They're the new default.</li><li>"Nobody codes anymore" — what AI-or-die actually means for studios right now</li><li>Why the industry is losing its moat and most people don't see it yet</li></ul><p> Plus: the progression compression paradox that nobody's solving — why the attention economy is forcing games to speed up in ways that might break long-term engagement.</p><p>Whether you're running a studio, building a game, or trying to figure out where this industry is going — this one's for you.</p><p>📩 Subscribe to the Gamemakers newsletter: gamemakers.com</p>
188 total episodes available
Recent guests on GameMakers
Guests from recent episodes — sign up to see every guest that has ever appeared on this show.
Oren Debi
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David Duong
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Tim Hong
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Lee Horn
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Joseph Kim
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Solomon Lichter
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Dmitry Kachmar
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Simon
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Alex Seropian
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Eric Kress
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Brett Novak
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Solomon Lichter Ruiz
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Frequently asked questions
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- What is GameMakers?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 9 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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