Naavik Gaming Podcast

Hosted by Naavik

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Episodes

483

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

The Naavik Gaming Podcast is a business-focused exploration of the companies, trends, strategies and leaders that are defining the future of games. To learn more and see other great content visit www.naavik.co.

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60 recent

October 13, 202652 min

The Solo Developer Making Seven Figures From Free Browser Games

Most studios have teams, funding, and a publisher behind them. Abe Train has a laptop and a handful of contractors. In this episode, Kalie Moore sits down with Abe, founder of Trainwreck Labs, to unpack how a former head of business intelligence at HelloFresh became one of the most successful independent developers in daily browser games. Abe quit his job on the last day of 2021 with about six months of runway, and a month later Wordle took over the internet. He built Globle, a daily geography guessing game, posted it to one Reddit community, and watched it climb to over a million players a day at its peak. They get into why that post worked when the identical one in a bigger subreddit got zero traction, why most Wordle clones vanished while Globle stuck, and why the best creator marketing he’s ever had came from people he never spoke to, including a Thai TikToker playing an English word game and a biology teacher who plays Metazooa on camera every day. The conversation also covers how Abe has built a catalog of daily educational games as the only full-time employee. He explains why a small, obsessive audience is more valuable than a big casual one, why players always ask for games to get easier but never harder, and what he learned moderating taxonomy debates in his Discord. On monetization, he shares why he almost refused to run ads, how he ended up running them on his own terms through Nitro, why players barely noticed when he did, and the rule he brought from HelloFresh about the complaints you never hear.. He also walks through how he barely writes code anymore, why there’s no AI-generated art in any of his games, what he learned shutting down his newsletter, and his plans for native apps, real-world events, and the Trainwreck Club subscription he gives to teachers for free. This episode is brought to you by Appcharge, the payments platform built specifically for mobile gaming that processes over a billion dollars annually. Learn more here: https://www.appcharge.com/?utm_source=naavik&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=sponsorship_payments We’d also like to thank Dive for making this episode possible! With its fully managed analytics and LiveOps platform built for game studios, 95% of their clients grow revenue in one year. All of that without having to hire an in-house data team. Learn more here: https://www.dive.games/ If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co . Who’s On: Guest - Abe Train: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abe-train-81418714b/ Host - Kalie Moore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/ Watch the episode: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe Links mentioned: https://trainwrecklabs.com/

October 11, 202611 min

Newsletter: CD Projekt’s Best Days May Be Ahead

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on October 11th. In this week’s issue, we check in on CD Projekt, looking at the company’s current state, ongoing projects, and how the company has shifted its way of working to drive a more successful future. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://naavik.substack.com/p/cd-projekts-best-days-may-be-ahead Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co . Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe .

October 6, 202649 min

How Behavioral AI Helps Fight Cheating

As cheating becomes more sophisticated, anti-cheat is increasingly shifting from detecting software to understanding player behavior. Host Devin Becker is joined by André Pimenta Ribeiro , CEO & Co-Founder of Anybrain, to discuss how behavioral anti-cheat analyzes player inputs, where it fits alongside traditional tools, and why some approaches avoid software access entirely. The conversation explores the business impact of cheating on retention and revenue, when studios should begin investing in prevention, and how even smaller teams can approach the problem. André also breaks down the growing cheat-as-a-service economy, the challenge posed by AI and hardware-assisted cheats, the risks of false positives for legitimate players, and how behavioral data could expand beyond cheating detection over the next several years. We’d like to thank Medal.tv for making this episode possible. If you're a PC gamer and want to clip your moments or a studio, publisher, or marketer looking to reach a high-quality gaming audience and get your game in front of the right players, check out all Medal has to offer at https://grow.medal.tv . If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co. Watch the episode: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe

October 3, 202616 min

Newsletter: The Road Toward AI-Enabled Fandom

This episode covers Naavik’s AI x Gaming newsletter published on September 29th. In this week’s issue, we take a broader look at the entertainment landscape to map out what recent announcements from Disney, Hasbro, and miHoYo could mean for the future of gaming fandom. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://naavik.substack.com/p/from-disney-to-mihoyo-the-road-toward Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co . Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe .

September 27, 202616 min

Naavik Digest : 'Tis the Season - Holiday Live-Ops In 2026

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, September 27th. In this week’s issue, we take a look at how seasonal live-ops performs in 2026, analyzing a decade of Sensor Tower revenue and download data across 15 top mobile titles, alongside console and Roblox data. Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co . Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe

September 22, 202659 min

How AI Makes Game Creation More Accessible

AI is making game creation more accessible, but building reliable games that can reach players across multiple platforms requires more than simply prompting an LLM. Host Devin Becker welcomes Robby Yung , CEO of The Sandbox, to discuss Sandbox Studio and its approach to AI-assisted UGC development. Robby explains what the team learned from the original Game Maker, where Studio draws the line between structured creation and “vibe coding,” and how AI can combine code, assets, systems, and accumulated development knowledge without turning game creation into an unpredictable black box. The conversation also explores The Sandbox’s shift toward letting creators publish beyond its own ecosystem, how LAND and Web3 fit into that strategy, and what becomes scarce when creators can produce far more content. Looking further ahead, Robby shares his perspective on how AI and UGC tools could reshape the roles of engines, publishers, and platforms as multi-platform game creation evolves over the next several years. We’d like to thank Overwolf for making this episode possible! Whether you're a gamer, creator, or game studio, Overwolf is the ultimate destination for integrating UGC in games! You can check out all Overwolf has to offer at https://www.overwolf.com/ If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co. Watch the episode: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe .

September 20, 202616 min

Naavik Digest: The Real Value of Licensed IP

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, September 20th. In this week’s issue, we dig into the data and assess to what extent external IP drives a video game’s success. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://naavik.substack.com/p/the-real-value-of-licensed-ip Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co . Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe .

September 15, 202645 min

Is Gaming in an AI Bubble? What the Deal Data Says

Gaming financing hit a 12-month high in Q2 2026, with over $2.5B raised across fewer than 100 rounds. In this episode, recorded in person at Gamescom, Kalie Moore sits down with Michael Metzger, Managing Partner at Drake Star Partners, to work out what that actually signals. Michael leads Drake Star's gaming and digital media practice and is behind the quarterly report the industry reads to track where capital is moving. He starts with the question everyone is circling: is this an AI bubble? His answer is that the money reflects a massive opportunity, that some of the companies raising today will become very large businesses, and that a good number of them will not make it at all. They dig into what that means for valuations like General Intuition's, and why he's more excited about the AI-native games that haven't been built yet than the current wave of AI used to make production faster and cheaper. The conversation also covers why financing rounds have fallen from roughly 200 a quarter to below 100 while the money per round climbs, where capital is actually landing across gaming AI, ad-tech and hardware, and why he thinks AR glasses are the platform bet worth watching. Michael breaks down what he tells founders about timing a sale, why inbound interest is a better signal than trying to time the market, and what makes a mid-market deal attractive to buyers right now. Drawing on transactions he's advised, including Trak Racer to Corsair, Hipster Whale to Atari, Ready Player Me to Netflix and Echtra Games to Zynga, he explains what actually determines whether a deal works after it closes. They also get into why raising as a game studio remains harder than almost anything else in this market, the state of esports monetization after years of false starts, and the one category he thinks is currently undervalued. This episode is brought to you by Appcharge, the payments platform built specifically for mobile gaming that processes over a billion dollars annually. Learn more here: https://www.appcharge.com/?utm_source=naavik&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=sponsorship_payments We’d also like to thank Dive for making this episode possible! With its fully managed analytics and LiveOps platform built for game studios, 95% of their clients grow revenue in one year. All of that without having to hire an in-house data team. Learn more here: dive.games If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co . Who’s On: Guest - Michael Metzger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmmetzger/ Host - Kalie Moore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/ Watch the episode: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe Links mentioned: https://www.drakestar.com/news/global-gaming-report-q2-2026

September 13, 202613 min

Naavik Digest: The New Money Behind Indie Games

This episode covers the Naavik Digest newsletter published on Sunday, September 13th. In this week’s issue, explore the recent increase in notable indie game developers launching their own publishing businesses. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://naavik.substack.com/p/the-new-money-behind-indie-games Want to explore working with Naavik? Shoot us a note: https://naavik.co/contact-us/ Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co . Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe .

September 8, 202654 min

How AI Is Transforming User Acquisition

AI is rapidly changing user acquisition (UA), not just by speeding up creative production but by expanding how campaigns themselves can be managed. Host Devin Becker is joined by Amit Carmi , co-founder and CEO of Sett, to explore how AI is being used to combat creative fatigue, generate video and playable ads, and increasingly automate parts of the UA workflow. Amit breaks down where AI creative works well today and where it still falls short. The conversation also tackles the risks of increasingly homogenous or misleading ads, how platform-owned AI tools from Meta, Google, and AppLovin affect third-party providers, and whether creative teams are being replaced or simply evolving. Finally, Amit explains Sett’s move from data-driven creative generation into UA management agents and shares his view on what AI-driven UA could look like over the next few years. Big thanks to Heroic Labs for making this episode possible. When MADFINGER expanded from mobile to PC they used Heroic Labs to build a preview mode with full progress carryover. Read how the work led to increases in every core KPI from CCU to DAU/MAU, retention and session length, at launch: https://heroiclabs.com/blog/madfinger-spearhead-case-study/?_gl=1*8j79a3*_up*MQ..*_ga*MjA4MDI3MTc4OS4xNzg1MjI0MDk5*_ga_R9WLGSZ1KN*czE3ODUyMjQwOTkkbzEkZzEkdDE3ODUyMjUxMjIkajU3JGwwJGgw We’d also like to thank Medal.tv for making this episode possible. If you're a PC gamer and want to clip your moments or a studio, publisher, or marketer looking to reach a high-quality gaming audience and get your game in front of the right players, check out all Medal has to offer at https://grow.medal.tv If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co. Watch the episode: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website Free newsletter: Naavik Digest Follow us: Twitter | LinkedIn | Website Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe .