I've been on every side of this business. Here's why I'm writing about it.
Developer. Publisher. Agency. Here's what I learned - and why I'm writing about it now.
Why me?
Several years in games. Developer side, publisher side, agency side. I’ve pitched games to publishers, I’ve been the one sitting across the table receiving pitches, and I’ve run PR campaigns for both. I co-host a podcast called InputLag - we’ve been talking about games and the industry for over a decade now.
At some point I noticed I had things to say that didn’t fit anywhere. Too specific for a podcast. Too long for a LinkedIn post. Too opinionated for a press release. Stuff I’d tell someone over a beer at Gamescom but never wrote down.
This is where I’m writing it down.
Why this, why now?
The industry is having a rough few years and a lot of the coverage doesn’t quite make sense to me. Not because it’s wrong - but because it’s missing context. Studios close and nobody explains what the publishing deal actually looked like. A mid-tier game bombs and the headline is about the genre, not the release strategy. A publisher shifts focus and the analysis is about market trends, not about what that means for the 12 studios currently in their pipeline.
I’m not a journalist. I’m not breaking news. I’m giving you the read from someone who’s been in some of these rooms, or at least knows people who have. I love to network and I’m proud to have a vast web of contacts I can always reach for advice.
What should you care?
I write about the industry from several angles - publishing deals and what makes them work or fail, PR and how games actually get coverage, the developer perspective on things publishers rarely see, what’s really happening in the market beyond the headlines, and the conference circuit from the business side rather than the press side.
Everything is free and lands in your inbox.
Who this is for?
People who work in games. People who want to. Developers trying to understand the business side of what they’re building. PR folks who want a perspective from someone who’s been pitched at and done the pitching. Anyone in the industry who reads the news and keeps thinking: “okay, but what does this actually mean?”
If that’s you - glad you’re here.
One ask: if something lands, forward it to one person who works in games. That’s the only growth strategy I have.
First proper post goes out tomorrow. Subscribe to be up-to-date.