HeyJaredThe Gaming Playbook w/ Harry Phokou
On The Gaming Playbook, Harry Phokou sits down with experts in the games industry who have never been interviewed before. Through these in-depth conversations, Harry unpacks the "Playbook" that made them so successful.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 7
- Latest publication
- Sep 17, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 23, 2026
Latest episodes
#80 - Magnus Lysell: How to Sell More Copies of Your Game in China (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Today, I’m joined by Magnus Lysell, co-founder of Light Up Games and a former product manager at Paradox Interactive, where he worked on games including Cities: Skylines and Surviving Mars. He now helps developers and publishers launch games globally, with a particular focus on China. We talked about why game developers often think about China too late, how publishing and marketing games there actually works, and what developers need to know about localization, Steam, Bilibili, Heybox, pricing a
#79 - Mikkel Weider: What It Takes for a Great Game to Succeed (Publishing, Discovery, Market Demand & More) (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Today, I’m joined by Mikkel Weider, the new CEO of Everplay Group, home to Team17, astragon Entertainment and StoryToys, with hundreds of games across its portfolio. We talked about what publishers look for in games, how developers can stand out in an increasingly crowded market, and why understanding your audience and market matters just as much as making a great game. If you’re a game developer, running an indie studio, or trying to understand how publishers think about games, then this episod
#78 - Ali Farha: How Game Funding Works (VC, Publishers, Project Financing & More) (opens the original)
Read excerpt
How do game studios actually get funded, and when should you choose VC, a publisher, project financing, or another route? Today I’m joined by Ali Farha, Investment Associate at Behold Ventures, to break down how game funding actually works from the investor side, and what developers need to understand before raising money. We talked about the difference between VC, publishers and project financing, when each funding route makes sense, what games VCs actually look for in a studio, how the investm
#77 - Adam Jaffe: Why Mobile Game Growth Has Changed and Where the New Opportunities Are (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Today I’m joined by Adam Jaffe, a mobile gaming marketer with nearly two decades in the industry. He was Playtika’s 10th employee and Head of User Acquisition, and later served as VP of Marketing at Social Point. We talked about why organic growth in mobile gaming has become so much harder, where studios should be looking for new users now, and why pouring more money into marketing won’t save a product that isn’t ready to scale. If you’re building, marketing or running a mobile game business and
#76 - Doug Pennant: How to Build a Career That Lasts in the Games Industry (opens the original)
Read excerpt
Today, I'm joined by Doug Pennant, a Senior Producer at Infinity Ward, drawing on 16 years across Alien: Isolation, Total War, and Call of Duty, who explains how game developers can build resilient, long-term careers in an industry shaped by layoffs, changing technology, and increasingly project-based employment. We talked about transferable skills, difficult managers, networking before you need a job, adapting your CV to the market, and why MobyGames could become an important hiring tool for ga
Publishing over time
Last 90 days. Choose a month to open its work.
Recurring subjects
Named in the text we hold. One piece can cover several.
Not enough subject data for this period yet.
Audience
No verified audience measurement yet.
About this data
Counts cover the work we have indexed. Tone needs enough text and a confident classification. Excerpts and episode notes are not full articles or transcripts.
Identity or attribution wrong? Suggest a correction.