← All episodes
The Gaming Playbook
Game Development
· 47 min
Why Most Game Launches Fail and What Studios Miss | Joe Hills
With Joe Hills
Listen on
About this episode
Today’s guest is Joe Hills, an expert game marketer, ex-Blizzard, Supercell, Meta, Riot, and now Head of Gaming & Partnerships at Once Upon a Time. Also newly joined the Advisory Board for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
We break down why studios obsess over launch day, how long you should actually market a game, why gut instinct vs data is misunderstood, and what indie devs consistently get wrong. Joe explains how to find your audience, build long-term hype, create content players genuinely care about, and avoid the traps that kill campaigns before launch.
If you’re an indie or AA studio trying to stand out in a brutal market, this episode is for you.
Connect with Joe Hills
More episodes like this
Game Development
How This Publisher Tests Game Ideas in Just 2 Weeks | Kirill Oreshkin
Today, I’m joined by Kirill Oreshkin, Co-founder and CEO of Polden Publishing, who explains how his team tests indie game…
Oct 29, 2026
The Gaming Playbook
· 66 min
Game Development
How to Decide What’s Worth Doing at Your Game Studio | Jakob Berglund
Today I’m joined by Jakob Berglund, founder of Atlas One, who spent over 11 years at King and later worked on MONOPOLY GO! at Scopely.
Oct 22, 2026
The Gaming Playbook
· 65 min
Game Development
What It Takes for a Great Game to Succeed | Everplay CEO Mikkel Weider
Today, I’m joined by Mikkel Weider, the new CEO of Everplay Group, home to Team17, astragon Entertainment and StoryToys, with…
Sep 10, 2026
The Gaming Playbook
· 33 min
FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Hivemind Weekly
New episodes, upcoming events and what games industry leaders are talking about. Weekly. Unsubscribe at any time.