Gamified

Is the Roblox selloff a temporary monetization reset, or proof that the platform's growth model is breaking?

What is the one word for putting prediction and pick-to-win mechanics into games that have nothing to do with sports?

Should you buy Nintendo ahead of Thursday's earnings, or is the Switch 2 story already priced in?

Steam released roughly twice as many games as it did four years ago. Is that a green flag for creative abundance or a red flag for market saturation?

Watch instead of listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T83lpHmcpU

CHAPTERS:

2:43 - Roblox thesis broken? | Sentiment Score
26:39 - Predictions Infected Everything | What’s the Word?
50:45 - Nintendo Stock Pre-Earnings | Buy or Sell?
1:08:57 - Steam Releases Rising | Red or Green Flag?

HOST: Sam Steffanina - / samsteffanina

PANEL:
Joe Ferencz — Gamefam Founder - / joeferencz
Chris Heatherly — Ex-Disney / Ex-NBCUniversal - / chrisheatherly
Colan Neese — Screen Engine / mindGAME Data - / colanneese
Kohji Nagata (Parallel) - https://x.com/ParallelTCGpod
dub (Battletrade) - https://x.com/uhhdub
Tony (Makko.ai) - https://x.com/Tvalc

EA promises "creative freedom" under its new Saudi sovereign-fund owners
Is DLSS 5 / neural rendering a genuine "GPT moment" for gaming, or NVIDIA hype?
Atari turning its arcade catalog into a movie?
Capcom wants to release a Resident Evil every year, and it sees remakes as the way to make that cadence work
Someone rebuilt World of Warcraft as a single-player experience populated with roughly 1,700 AI-driven companions and NPCs, and r/videogames actually loved it
Drop the ban hammer on one gaming-industry norm

CHAPTERS:
2:45 - EA Buyout + Creative Freedom | Bullish or Bullshit?
18:49 - AI Graphics Enhancer | Sentiment Score
52:42 - Atari Classics Movie | Red or Green Flag?
1:08:22 - Capcom’s Annual Resident Evil | Buy or Sell?
1:15:06 - WoW AI Companions | What Can We Learn?
1:22:22 - Industry Norm to Ban Forever | Ban Hammer

Watch instead of listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IESJ6qn2e40

HOST:
Sam Steffanina - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsteffanina/

PANEL:
Chris Heatherly - Ex-Disney / Ex-NBCUniversal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisheatherly/
Josh Hassen - Ex-Playstation - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-hassin-9a21806/
Kohji Nagata (Parallel) - https://x.com/ParallelTCGpod
Oliver Maroney (OpenSea) - https://x.com/OliverMaroney
Gnoc (Digital Collectors Club) - https://x.com/itsGnoc
Tony Valcarcel (Makko.ai) - https://x.com/Tvalc

Unity is building its next-gen engine around AI agents.
MindsEye's Meltdown - A GTA legend's comeback studio flops, lays off 400+, blames corporate sabotage, and throws an all-expenses fan party the same day workers protest outside
Palworld borrowed Pokemon's whole playbook, got sued by Nintendo, and made ~$700M anyway
Gamescom Sells Out for the First Time Ever - is this genuinely bullish for the gaming industy?

Watch instead of listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NvO5QsZuZI

CHAPTERS:
2:53 - Mindseye Playtest & Layoffs | What’s the Word?
32:50 - Palworld Stealing Mechanics | Buy or Sell?
59:42 - Gamescom Sells Out | Bullish or Bullshit?
1:20:05 - Unity Bets on Coding Agents | Devil’s Advocate

HOST: Sam Steffanina - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsteffanina/

PANEL:
Chris Heatherly — Ex-Disney / Ex-NBCUniversal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisheatherly/
Joe Ferencz — Gamefam Founder - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeferencz/
Oliver Maroney (OpenSea) - https://x.com/OliverMaroney
Gnoc (Digital Collectors Club) - https://x.com/itsGnoc
Payton Kaleiwahea (Wolves Co / Kizuna) - https://x.com/paytkaleiwahea
Tony Valcarcel (Makko.ai) - https://x.com/Tvalc

EA put paid progression into College Football 27's single-player modes, then pulls it days later in launch week?

What Would It Actually Take for Sony to Walk Back the Disc Shutdown?

84% of Game Attention Goes to Games Older Than Two Years - is this a crisis for new games?

Tim Sweeney Says Steam's Fees Are Leaving Billions on the Table

Is the games industry crashing? What does it look like in 2030?

Watch instead of listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx4bzyLOH2o

CHAPTERS:

2:40 - College Football P2W - What’s the Word?
20:00 - Sony Returns to Physical if… | Finish the Sentence
33:00 - 84% Attention on Older Games | Advise Me
47:54 - Steam Fees Cost them Billions | Board Room
1:09:10 - Games Industry Crashing? Bullish or Bullshit

Host: Sam Steffanina - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsteffanina/

PANEL:
Chris Heatherly — Ex-Disney / Ex-NBCUniversal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisheatherly/
Kohji Nagata (Parallel) - https://x.com/ParallelTCGpod
Robin Boyar - thinktank / Ex-EA - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-boyar/
Gnoc (Digital Collectors Club) - https://x.com/itsGnoc
Payton Kaleiwahea (Wolves Co / Kizuna) - https://x.com/paytkaleiwahea

Is Asha Sharma's reset actually making Xbox a healthy business?

What the **** was Phil Spencer doing, and how did he survive 38 years at Microsoft to walk out with Xbox losing 64 cents on every dollar?

On a scale of 0 to 10, how do you feel about ads becoming standard on console and PC?

Funds moving from equity to project financing: bullish or bullshit? Is this the death of gaming VC, or a necessary evolution?

CHAPTERS:
2:22 - Xbox Cuts Jobs & Studios | Buy or Sell
21:30 - Xbox loses 64c on Every Dollar | Autopsy
48:56 - Ads on Console | Buy or Sell
1:09:46 - Equity vs Project Financing | Bullish or Bullshit

Watch instead of listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYlGzPx45Rw

Host: Sam Steffanina - https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsteffanina/

PANEL:
Chris Heatherly — Ex-Disney / Ex-NBCUniversal - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisheatherly/
Kohji Nagata (Parallel) - https://x.com/ParallelTCGpod
Wills Spangler — GameCred - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wills-spangler/
Tony Valcarcel (Makko.ai) - https://x.com/Tvalc
Colan Neese — Screen Engine / mindGAME Data - https://www.linkedin.com/in/colanneese/
Matthew Buxton - Warp Chain (ex-Rovio, Jagex) - https://x.com/BuxtonMatthew