Episodes 26
Avg. Duration 1h 6m
Activity Dormant
Apple Rating 4.8 (132)
Since Jan 2023
Latest Episode Oct 2025

Publishing Details

Schedule
Weekly
Format
Episodic
Hosting
feeds.libsyn.com

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

Gamecraft is a limited series about the modern history of the video game business. Beginning in the early 1990's, the video game business began a radical transformation from a console and PC packaged goods business into the highly complex, online, multi-platform business it is today. Game industry legend Mitch Lasky and game investor Blake Robbins go on a thematic tour of the last 30 years of gaming, exploring the origins of free-to-play, platform-based publishing, casual & mobile gaming, forever games, user-generated content, consoles, virtual reality, and in-game economies across the eight episodes of Season 1. In Season 2, Mitch and Blake are back with a new series analyzing the state of the video game business in 2024. They start with a macro view of the current business, before looking at some hot topics in gaming: the rise of powerful independent game studios, emerging markets for games around the world, how innovations in artificial intelligence will change game creation, and the renewed importance of intellectual property in the game business.

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

S4 The EA "LBO"

Oct 15, 2025 37m Bonus

In this Special Edition of the GameCraft podcast, Mitch and Blake discuss the $55 billion leveraged buy-out of Electronic Arts by the Private Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Siliver Lake Partners,…

S3E8 The Sum of the Parts (Ep. 24)

May 21, 2025 1h 9m

Mitch and Blake explore the role of consolidation -- primarily through mergers and acquistions -- in building some of the biggest and most durable companies in gaming. They begin with a discussion…

S3E7 AI as a Platform (Ep. 23)

May 14, 2025 52m

Last season, Mitch and Blake discussed the implications of new Large Language Model Artificial Intelligence in games. In this episode, they return to the topic, this time focusing on games that are…

S3E6 Hasbro and Lego (Ep. 22)

May 07, 2025 44m

Mitch and Blake look at two of the largest toy companies in the world, Hasbro and Lego, and discuss their divergent but ultimately very successful forays into the games business as licensors of…

S3E5 The Venture Deadpool (Ep. 21)

Apr 30, 2025 1h 6m

Mitch and Blake address the unpleasant topic of how and why venture-backed games companies fail. They look first at the nature of venture financing and the inherent differences between venture and…

S3E4 China (Ep. 20)

Apr 23, 2025 56m

Mitch and Blake look at the current state of the vitally important Chinese gaming market, on the precipice of a bitter trade war resulting from the Trump tariffs. They review the history of the games…

S3E3 Valve (Ep. 19)

Apr 16, 2025 1h 1m

Mitch and Blake take an in-depth look at one of the most important companies in the global gaming business: Valve. They trace the company's origin as the developer of first-person shooter Half Life,…

S3E2 The Mobile Gaming Duopoly (Ep. 18)

Apr 09, 2025 59m

Mitch and Blake discuss the mobile duopoly in which Apple and Google exert extraordinary power by tying their app stores to hardware and software platforms. They warn that the inflexible and…

S3E1 Cycles & Survival (Ep. 17)

Apr 02, 2025 1h 23m

Mitch and Blake kick off Season 3 of the podcast with a high-level look at the current moment in the video game business, critiquing both the idea that the business is cyclical and we are in a…

S2E8 Artificial Intelligence (Ep. 16)

Mar 13, 2024 1h 13m

In their final episode of Season 2, Mitch and Blake take on the complex and highly speculative topic of the impact of recent improvements in artificial intelligence on the games business. Your hosts…

S2E7 Intellectual Property (Ep. 15)

Mar 06, 2024 1h 10m

Mitch and Blake look at the ins and outs of intellectual property licensing in games. After discussing the checkered history of the practice, they look at the creative and business reasons why…

S2E6 Distribution (Ep. 14)

Feb 28, 2024 1h 10m

In perhaps their most important episode of the series, Mitch and Blake explain what they mean when they use the term "distribution" and why it is so important to their understanding of how the video…

S2E5 Going Global (Ep. 13)

Feb 21, 2024 1h 7m

Mitch and Blake discuss the massive expansion of gaming in emerging markets around the world. The begin with a discussion of the big-picture factors driving this expansion -- primarily mobile…

S2E4 Independent Intervention (Ep. 12)

Feb 14, 2024 1h 3m

Mitch and Blake explore the idea of independent game development. They attempt to define "indie" in the video game context -- something that proves more difficult that it might seem on the surface.…

S2E3 A Changing of the Guard (Ep. 11)

Feb 07, 2024 1h 19m

Mitch and Blake expand on last season's discussion of platform-based publishers by introducing a new kind of company: the game-enabling software platform. The five companies they discuss (Epic,…

S2E2 Choose Your (ad)Venture (Ep. 10)

Jan 31, 2024 1h 11m

Mitch and Blake discuss the nuances of game financing. They begin by explaining how the publishing model of advances against royalties functions, and what the expected costs and benefits are for both…

S2E1 The State of Play: 2024 (Ep. 9)

Jan 24, 2024 1h 18m

They're back! Season 2 of the GameCraft podcast kicks off with Mitch and Blake introducing the new 8-episode season, followed by an analysis of the current health of the games business. Mitch and…

S1E8 The New Gold Rush (Ep. 8)

Feb 22, 2023 1h 2m

Mitch and Blake take on the complex topic of in-game economies. They discuss how the endemic problems of trust and arbitrage were present in the earliest in-game economies of the late 1980 and how…

S1E7 The Failures and Futures of Virtual Reality (Ep. 7)

Feb 15, 2023 53m

Mitch and Blake discuss the recurring industry obsession with the idea of virtual reality, beginning in the mid-1980s. Mitch recounts a story about his encounter with VPL and the weird world of…

S1E6 Console Castles (Ep. 6)

Feb 08, 2023 1h 1m

Mitch and Blake debate the continuing relevance of dedicated gaming consoles to the video game business. They begin with a discussion of the economics of the console business, and how console…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Gamecraft have?

Gamecraft has published 26 episodes since January 2023, covering topics in Business, Investing.

Is Gamecraft still active?

Gamecraft is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 1h 6m.

How do I contact Gamecraft for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Gamecraft, including email and social media links.

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