Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla. In this Extended Cut, host Lia Ballentine talks with Mark Long, veteran producer, investor, and CEO of Villain Studios, about how indie developers can thrive in an increasingly crowded market and why the future of Web3 depends on making it invisible. With experience at HBO, Microsoft, and as former CEO of Shrapnel, Mark shares a modern indie playbook built around ownership, community, and smart planning. He explains why devel...
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Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla. In this Extended Cut, host Lia Ballentine talks with Mark Long, veteran producer, investor, and CEO of Villain Studios, about how indie developers can thrive in an increasingly crowded market and why the future of Web3 depends on making it invisible. With experience at HBO, Microsoft, and as former CEO of Shrapnel, Mark shares a modern indie playbook built around ownership, community, and smart planning. He explains why devel...
Why CFOs can’t ignore the direct-to-player model anymore — featuring Niantic’s Jeff Shouger
The Business of Games
28 minutes
4 months ago
Why CFOs can’t ignore the direct-to-player model anymore — featuring Niantic’s Jeff Shouger
In today’s episode, Xsolla’s Chris Hewish sits down with Jeff Shouger, CFO at Niantic, the studio behind Pokémon GO, Peridot, and Monster Hunter Now. Jeff shares how Niantic approached the shift to web shops from a financial perspective, what convinced them to go direct-to-player, and the measurable impact they’ve seen since. If you're in the game industry and curious about how top studios navigate monetization, platform relationships, and the future of AR-driven commerce, this one’s for you....
The Business of Games
Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla. In this Extended Cut, host Lia Ballentine talks with Mark Long, veteran producer, investor, and CEO of Villain Studios, about how indie developers can thrive in an increasingly crowded market and why the future of Web3 depends on making it invisible. With experience at HBO, Microsoft, and as former CEO of Shrapnel, Mark shares a modern indie playbook built around ownership, community, and smart planning. He explains why devel...
