How to Win as a Mobile Game Entrepreneur, With Joakim Achrén

Playmakers - The Game Industry Podcast

In this episode:

Jordan interviews Joakim Achrén, a gaming entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience. Joakim shares his journey from co-founding two venture-backed gaming startups, including Next Games (which IPOed in 2017), to his current role at Elite Game Developers. Joakim helps aspiring game entrepreneurs launch their own studios and is also an angel investor in companies like Skunkworks Games, Lightheart Entertainment, and Savage Game Studios. He also provides deep insights into how mobile game entrepreneurs can navigate the challenges of game development, from early validation to scaling successful games.

Topics covered:

• How Joakim caught “the bug” for helping other founders
• What comes between the early validation phase and obtaining data from user behavior within a playable version of your game
• The most common trap mobile developers fall into
• The biggest takeaways you should be gaining from your metrics
• The key to building mobile games that make players want to come back
• The balance between “stealing like an artist” and innovating
• What the gaming industry can learn from Pixar’s creative process

For more game industry tips:

• Learn more about Jordan & Bright Black
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• Visit www.playmakerspodcast.com for the full blog post and more!

Episode Timestamps:

[03:31] Joakim's early career and his journey into game development

[06:52] Starting Next Games and working with AMC on The Walking Dead

[09:48] The "bug" that inspired Joakim to help game founders

[12:11] Biggest mistakes mobile game developers make

[14:56] Joakim's view on Game Pass and the evolution of free-to-play models on PC and console

[17:35] Understanding the gap between early validation and real user data

[22:06] The common pitfalls in mobile game concepting and iteration

[27:57] The balance between innovation and "stealing like an artist"

[31:45] Building an audience-first approach in game development

[36:15] Pixar’s "Brain Trust" model and how it applies to game studios

[40:36] The impact of COVID-19 on the game industry and the rise of social gaming

[44:20] Joakim’s thoughts on the future of mobile gaming and game development

Resources & media mentioned in this episode:

Connect with Joakim Achrén:

• Joakim on LinkedIn
• Joakim on Twitter
• Joakim’s Blog

Learn more about Elite Game Developers:

• Elite Game Developers Website

Books mentioned:

• Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull

Games mentioned:

• The Walking Dead (Next Games)
• Pokemon Go (Niantic)
• Jurassic World Alive (Ludia)
• Genshin Impact (Hoyoverse)