The Business of Video Games Podcast

In the first part of our two-parter, Shams sits down with Tim Bender from Hooded Horse to pull back the curtain on one of the currently most talked-about trajectories in modern indie game publishing.

From the logistical realities of scaling a team to the philosophical "final form" of a sustainable games business, Tim breaks down the internal logic of the Hooded Horse portfolio at the same time as he explains "why a survival horror cult classic might actually have more in common with a hardcore strategy title than a genre label suggests". Yes, you read that right the first time.

As the conversation dives deeper into the financials of the industry, Tim outlines his provocative stance on "recoupment" and why he believes the traditional safety nets used by publishers might actually be a "disease" that strangles developer creativity and cash flow.

And then of course, comes the question, will Hooded Horse continue on this successful path 100 years from now..?

Listen and find out for yourself!

Follow Tim Bender and Hooded Horse here.

Sorry for being late! After a not so welcomed water leakage at our producers studios, we are back with the second part of our conversation with Trent Kusters, the visionary co-founder of League of Geeks!

Shams rides this one solo since Fernando is on a trip across the pond and it's time to get into the "messy middle" of building a studio that lasts over a decade in an industry that sometimes feels like it's trying to shake you off.

Trent opens up about the early days of Australian Kickstarter hurdles and the pivots required to keep a premium title sustainable when everyone else was chasing free-to-play trends.

We also get a rare, candid look at the internal culture of League of Geeks, where Trent shares some reflections on the loss of co-founder Adam Duncan and how that reshaped his view on honoring talent and charting a company's future.

Thanks to Trent for joining us! Please follow Trent and League of Geeks here.

Imagine what happens when a new episode of The Business of Video Games Podcast all of a sudden release on a Monday! Almost as mindwrecking as if one accidentally started a career in game development, right? Well, say no more dear listener! In this episode, Shams sits down with Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks (Armello), who did just that.

In this first part of our two part interview with Trent, he unpacks the unlikely chain of events that led him into the industry. From bluffing(!) his way into covering the Halo 3 midnight launch as a journalist (...student?) to shipping 10 games in three years at Australia’s Torus Games, Trent shares how daring decisions, a good portion of curiosity and a bit of naivety shaped his early career.

We dive into what it was like learning game development in a fast-moving “factory” studio, why constraints can make some designers better, and how those early lessons later affected Trent’s approach to building studios and most of all - games.

BUT NOT before Shams and Fernando have talked about Steams 2025 Year Summary Blog Post.

For more from Trent Kusters, please follow him on LinkedIn here and Twitter here.

Time for a one off with the great folks at Oro Interactive who currently is on a real victory lap with 300k units sold of Roadside Research within two weeks(!) and 400k units sold for Super Battle Golf within it's first week! Absolutely bonkers.

But not as bonkers as Shams who is once again away on a mission celebrating Swedish games at the Swedish Game Awards 2026, while Fernando sits down with our guests Sam and Daniel to chat about what it’s actually like running a tiny (but fast!) publishing label. They dive into how it all started, how they decide what feels right, and also, why Oro don’t really care for big pitch decks or drawn-out processes.

Specifically, we look deeper into the topic of moving quickly when something clicks, spotting that one small detail that makes a game stand out, and most importantly - why staying small might be the whole point.

Please follow Sam and Daniel at Oro Interactive here!

50 episodes! Imagine that!

We are back again with our dear friend Agostino Simonetta in the second part of our two part interview. This time with Fernando taking the lead for a deeper one-on-one since Shams had to go and spread some democracy across the galaxy (as he should).

Fernando and Ago is immediately getting in to familiar territory with conference season, industry rituals, and the strange push and pull of showing up (or not). From there, it drifts into bigger questions about the usual suspects as growth and consolidation, but more importantly - what really happened during the acquisition rush of the past few years?

Expect perspective shaped by experience, a few (unexpected?) analogies, and the kind of side paths that make us rethink how stable the industry really is.

Oh yeah, also expect banter. Of course.

Follow Agostino on LinkedIn here as well as GSC Game World here