Welcome to The Business of Video Games Podcast.
A show where we shed some light on the inner workings of the games industry—the why, how, who, and what the hell?! behind business decisions, publishing calls, and the steps (and missteps) that happen behind the scenes.
Basically: the inside view on how and why things are actually done the way they are. Not just guesswork on 4Chan.
The podcast is hosted by Shams Jorjani (CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, Chairman of the Board at Hooded Horse, and founder of the Almost Ready Games Fund) and Fernando Rizo (former Chief Sales & Business Development Officer at Raw Fury, now Partner at Kaboodle Games).
In every episode, we invite a guest from the industry to unpack an interesting decision or event, share lessons learned, or explain why all of us armchair experts got it wrong (or occasionally right).
This podcast previously ran for four years at Paradox Interactive and was available there until they decided to remove it. It might yet return someday - as a DLC in one of their games.
It's Friday!
Søren Lundgaard from Ghost Ship Games returns to discuss the recent triumphs and setbacks while once again sharing his wisdom with Shams and Fernando on the studio's growth and their expansion into publishing.
And of course major topic is the launch of Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core, a spin-off that faced massive criticism and review bombing, particularly in China where the pricing was considered too high, which leads to the question: how do you recover from that in 2026?
Additionally, we can't have Søren on without of course talking about their continued success, now with Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.
This and MUCH more, thanks for listening!
More on Ghost Ship Games, Deep Rock Galactic and Deep Rock Galactic Rogue CoreMore on Funday GamesMore on Dress MakerMore on Wizard 3
2 Oct 2026
Episode 65 - Made by Claude
It's Friday!
Shams and Fernando are finally addressing the AI elephant in the room, but not before dissecting Microsoft’s brutal studio cuts and why the old Game Pass pipe dream hasn't gone the way they planned.
Then, we dive headfirst into the AI swamp. Are these models built on stolen IP? Probably. Can you stop this wave from coming? Not a chance. We’re looking on developers hiding their AI use on Steam, geeking out over insane LLM-powered mods for Football Manager, and arguing how AI is going to democratize game dev just like Dreamweaver and drum machines did back in the stone age (fair enough?).
We also make time to hype up The Planet Crafter and a brilliant indie game about a skateboarding glass demon (Skate Story). And much more.
Thanks for listening!
More about Skate Story hereAI Games on Steam
17 Sept 2026
Episode 64 - Off by 700% - Johan Pilestedt Pt. 3
It's Friday!
And holy moly. Trust us when we say - this one is one for the books.
Our dear friend Johan Pilestedt is finally back(!) to the interrogation room, to take us down the very depths of developing and releasing Magicka under their publishing deal with Paradox Interactive. A trip down memory lane about crunching, missing timelines by an absurd 700%, and pocket advance money for a promised Xbox 360 port with zero completed milestones? You bet. And that's not even close to the whole truth.
TLDR: Read the contract.
But before they go into the interview the hosts eulogize games media's death, noting IGN as the last struggling legacy dinosaurs. Fernando also brings up a theory on why modern audiences are hyper-fragmented and monolithic media is dead among many other nuggest.
Finally, the panel goes into what they've been playing.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend!
Also - watch the trailers for Magicka here:Once upon a timeGet your Robes Ready TeaserVietnam TrailerPVP Trailer
And of course that magical poster...
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
38 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 35 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
35
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
85
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