The Party Is Full: Inside the Games Industry

Shobek is a Classic World of Warcraft streamer best known for his immersive, anime-influenced roleplay and his deep love of WoW. He grew up gaming from the Sega Dreamcast era into Vanilla WoW, and after years of dreaming about it, he went all in on streaming in 2016, committing his entire twenties to the craft. The breakthrough took time, roughly seven years of living lean and refining his voice, but his distinctive blend of in character storytelling, humour, and genuine warmth eventually found its audience. Today he is one of the most original roleplay voices in the Classic community, the kind of creator who can turn a quiet road between two zones into a piece of theatre.What sets Shobek apart is how seriously he takes MMOs as living worlds rather than games to be optimised. He champions roleplay as something anyone can do, as simple as stopping to say hello to another player, and he is a passionate advocate for Hardcore and self found play, where every achievement carries real weight. He thinks hard about the friction that makes online worlds feel meaningful, the creep of efficiency and add ons that can hollow them out, and where the genre goes next through user generated content and player made worlds. Equal parts performer and student of the medium, he brings both heart and a strong point of view to the conversation about the future of WoW and MMOs.https://www.youtube.com/shobekhttps://www.twitch.tv/shobek

Shahar Sorek and Francisco “Sandi” Montaño represent two complementary sides of the modern gaming creator economy: the platform-builder and the breakout creator. Sorek is the Chief Marketing Officer at Overwolf, the Tel Aviv-based “guild for in-game creators” that helps developers, modders, and UGC creators build, distribute, and monetize in-game apps, mods, and player-made experiences. In his role, he leads marketing and growth while working across investor relations, fund activity, and partnerships with game studios and developers. His public work is closely tied to the belief that gaming is becoming a creator-led ecosystem, where passionate players can extend the life, value, and cultural relevance of game IP beyond the original studio pipeline.Montaño, known online as Sandi_00, is one of the clearest examples of that shift in practice. A self-taught mod creator and former marketer, he began making mods as a personal project for his daughter before turning that work into a full-time creator business inside the ARK: Survival Ascended ecosystem. His CurseForge catalogue now spans dozens of projects and more than 110 million downloads, with popular releases including Modern Structure Skins, Modern Furniture Skins, Modern Furniture V2 Skins, and Arcadian Structure Skins Premium. His work focuses on cosmetics, furniture, structure skins, and creative tools that help players make survival spaces feel more expressive, personal, and home-like.Together, Sorek and Sandi reflect the growing importance of UGC, modding, and community-led creation in games. Sorek brings the strategic, platform, and go-to-market perspective, shaped by a career across games, startups, entertainment, and storytelling, while Sandi brings the hands-on creator perspective of someone who has built a serious business by listening to players and turning community demand into high-performing content. Their combined story captures where gaming is heading: worlds that are not only built by studios, but continuously expanded by creators, players, brands, and communities.https://www.linkedin.com/in/%F0%9F%90%B0-shahar-sorek-%F0%9F%94%9Ccannes-lions-83ab299/https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandi-montano-a2444035a/

Hannes Seifert is a veteran game developer and executive whose career spans nearly four decades across some of the industry’s most influential studios and franchises. Starting with his first Commodore 64 game in 1987, Hannes went on to co-found neo Software, which later became Rockstar Vienna following its acquisition by Take-Two Interactive. Over the years, he has held leadership roles across Rockstar Games, Deep Silver, Square Enix, Riot Games, and now serves as Co-CEO at Crytek. His work has touched iconic franchises and titles including Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, Hitman, Dead Island, League of Legends, VALORANT, and Hunt: Showdown.Known for his deep understanding of both creative production and studio leadership, Hannes has helped shape games across nearly every major platform generation, from the Commodore 64 era to modern live service ecosystems. Throughout his career, he has focused on the intersection of storytelling, player experience, organizational leadership, and technological innovation. Beyond development, Hannes has become a respected voice on game production, live games, publishing, and the future of the industry, regularly speaking internationally on creativity, leadership, and how games continue to evolve as a cultural medium.https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannesseifert/https://www.crytek.com/

Scott Hartsman is a veteran game developer and executive whose career spans nearly four decades of online worlds and MMORPGs. Beginning in the era of text-based MUDs in the 1980s, Scott went on to hold key leadership roles on landmark online games including EverQuest, EverQuest II, RIFT, Trove, and ArcheAge. He served as Technical Director on EverQuest and EverQuest II before becoming Executive Producer and later CEO at Trion Worlds, where he helped lead the launch and live operation of some of the most ambitious MMOs of the modern era. Beyond shipping large-scale online games, Scott has become one of the industry’s most respected voices on live service development, studio leadership, and the future of online worlds. Over the years he has advised and invested in multiple game studios and platforms, including Sony Interactive Entertainment, NCSOFT West, Playable Worlds, and a range of emerging MMO and live game startups. Known for his deep understanding of player communities, live operations, and MMO design philosophy, Scott continues to shape conversations around the evolution of massively multiplayer games and the future of virtual worlds.https://www.linkedin.com/in/hartsman/

In this TPIF roundtable, three experienced leaders break down how the role has evolved beyond “just communication.” Evan Berman (Bungie, Destiny), Linda Carlson (Everquest, Trion Worlds), and Stephen Reid (BioWare, SWTOR, PlayStation, 2K) bring decades of experience running MMO and live service communities at scale.Together, they explore why community management today looks more like governance than messaging, shaping player behaviour, expectations, and the culture of entire game worlds. The conversation covers the shift from forums to Discord and streaming, the rise of creators as “super users,” and the challenge of balancing player sentiment with real data.They also dive into how communities are evolving, from the loss of in-game Game Masters to the rise of player-driven events, mods, and emergent gameplay. It’s a candid look at the realities, pressures, and decisions behind managing modern game communities—and why the role is more critical than ever.https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanberman/https://www.linkedin.com/in/brasse/https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenreid/

Colan Neese is a gaming industry insights and strategy leader who has spent his career helping companies understand how games are discovered, played, and sustained. He currently works across Screen Engine and mindGAME Data, where he leads commercial and strategic efforts to turn complex market and audience data into clear, actionable insight for game studios of all sizes. Previously, Colan held senior roles at Twitch, Nielsen, Alida, and Spiketrap, working closely with publishers, platforms, and creators to make sense of player behavior, engagement, and cultural trends shaping the games business.What sets Colan apart is his ability to bridge data, storytelling, and career perspective. His path into games was not linear, and that experience informs how he thinks about education, networking, and adaptability in a rapidly changing industry. In conversations about gaming, Colan brings a big-picture lens, touching on the rise of indie games, the challenges of discovery, the influence of cinema and streaming culture, and how user-generated content and new platforms are reshaping how games are made and found. He is especially passionate about making industry knowledge accessible to the next generation looking to build meaningful careers in games.https://www.linkedin.com/in/colanneesehttps://substack.com/@patchnotesgaminghttps://www.mindgamedata.comhttps://www.screenengineasi.com

Demo Akuro is a game trailer and cinematic director specializing in high-impact, in-engine storytelling for games. With a background in both creative direction and hands-on production, he has built a reputation for blending gameplay and cinematic techniques into cohesive, emotionally engaging trailers. His work spans capture, editing, sound design, and real-time cinematics, often created within engines like Unreal Engine and Unity. Currently working freelance through Grimwolf Studio and previously serving as Creative Director at LIV, he has led projects end-to-end, shaping everything from initial concept through to final delivery while collaborating closely with developers and audio specialists.His creative approach is defined by a strong focus on immersion and authenticity, particularly through the use of real-time, in-engine cinematics. After deliberately investing time into mastering 3D workflows, he began integrating custom animations and modded scenes directly into gameplay environments, pushing beyond traditional trailer formats. This evolution is reflected in projects like his Tactical Assault VR short film work and experimental pieces inspired by titles such as Helldivers and Blade & Sorcery. Through this, Demo explores the intersection of marketing and craft, treating trailers not just as promotional tools, but as cinematic experiences that capture the tone, systems, and emotional core of a game.Chapters:00:18 - Defining Virtual Reality00:35 - VR as a Game Design Medium01:47 - Cinematic Storytelling in VR03:14 - Post-Production in VR06:06 - Balancing Immersion & Motion Sickness09:09 - Designing VR Experiences20:55 - Action & Choreography in VR28:24 - Multiplayer in VR32:10 - VR Hardware Limitations32:26 - VR Esports & Competition38:00 - VR in Filmmaking45:12 - The Future of VR & Technology51:54 - VR in Education1:01:39 - Advice for Aspiring VR Creatorshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/demoakuro/https://demoakuro.com/

James Brooksby is a veteran game studio founder and CEO with over 25 years of experience building, scaling, and leading development teams across the UK games industry. He played a pivotal role in the early growth of Kuju Entertainment, helping it scale to around 350 staff, before going on to found and lead multiple studios including doublesix, Born Ready Games, and Edge Case Games. Across premium, digital, and free-to-play models, James has overseen the development and publishing of titles such as Strike Suit Zero, Fractured Space, and Classified: France ’44, navigating everything from angel investment and VC funding to acquisition by Wargaming.Today, as CEO of Absolutely Games, James focuses on building sustainable strategy game franchises grounded in long-term thinking, strong studio culture, and disciplined decision-making. Drawing on decades of leadership experience, he champions values-based studio building, community collaboration, and long-tail game development — with a clear emphasis on creating games, and teams, that are built to last.https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-brooksby-87a496/https://www.absolutelygames.net/

Mark Chen is a games and media scholar, UX researcher, and Teaching Assistant Professor in Media, Technology, and Learning Design at Appalachian State University. His work explores gaming culture, interaction design, qualitative research, and internet studies, with a particular focus on how people learn, collaborate, and form meaning inside online worlds. Mark is the author of Leet Noobs, an ethnography of a World of Warcraft guild that examines how players developed expertise through game mods and social dynamics, and how those same systems ultimately contributed to the guild’s collapse.Beyond academia, Mark is a long time game designer and former museum technologist, having designed educational games at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. He also runs Esoteric Gaming, a publication dedicated to celebrating diverse and often overlooked gaming practices. Across research, design, and teaching, Mark’s work sits at the intersection of play, learning, community, and the ethical use of technology in shaping how we connect and make meaning in digital spaces.https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdangerchen/https://markdangerchen.net/https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13159692-leet-noobs

What does game design actually mean in 2026. This TPIF roundtable brings together three experienced design leaders who have built and shipped games across multiple eras of the industry. Hal Sandbach is a veteran design director and former Head of Design at d3t, with a career spanning from Psygnosis and Codemasters through to Sony and Evolution Studios. Nigel Kershaw is Director at Wushu Studios with over thirty years of hands on development experience, known for championing creativity and fun even as teams scale. Will Maiden is a gameplay and systems designer at Chief Rebel, currently leading core product work on Fellowship, with deep experience in prototyping, pitching, and building modern multiplayer systems.Together, they unpack how the role of the designer has evolved across modern studios, game engines, and genres. From creative problem solving and player psychology to procedural generation and AI driven systems, this episode explores how games are really made today and why the designer often acts as the glue between code, art, production, and player experience.The conversation moves between big picture philosophy and the realities of day to day development. There is debate around innovation and risk, the pressure to ship, the usefulness and limits of data, and how vision changes once a team starts building. It is an honest look at the trade offs, tensions, and messy decisions behind modern game design, from prototype to release.https://www.linkedin.com/in/hal-sandbach/https://www.linkedin.com/in/willmaiden/https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigel-kershaw-266b94/

Somer Esat is a senior engineering leader with over 12 years of experience building and scaling high performing engineering organizations in the games industry. He spent a decade at Blizzard Entertainment as Senior Engineering Manager on Overwatch and Overwatch 2, where he helped grow the engineering organization from roughly 35 to over 65 engineers while supporting a globally loved live service franchise shipping on a consistent six week cadence. Known for his calm leadership style and deep care for people, Somer has built teams grounded in ownership craftsmanship and psychological safety while delivering complex systems at scale.Across his career, Somer has partnered closely with executives and cross functional leaders to translate long term vision into execution, develop strong leadership benches, and create durable engineering cultures that scale. His work spans engineering strategy talent development leveling frameworks live service operations and leadership coaching, with a particular focus on helping engineers grow from individual contributors into confident effective leaders. Somer is passionate about building organizations where empowered teams do their best work and where sustainable processes lead to world class player experiences.https://www.linkedin.com/in/someresat/

Xaryu "Josh Lujan" is a veteran World of Warcraft creator, PvP competitor, and streamer best known for his mastery of Mage gameplay and deep understanding of MMO systems. He began playing during the original Classic era and rose to prominence through high level Arena competition, earning multiple Rank One titles. During the early growth of Twitch, Xaryu built a following by streaming competitive PvP, innovating high skill challenges, and establishing himself as one of the most consistent and technically skilled Mage players in the game.In recent years, Xaryu has become a leading voice around World of Warcraft Classic, Hardcore WoW, and the future of MMORPGs. He is a strong advocate for preserving the core vision of Classic WoW, emphasizing player identity, meaningful friction, and social interdependence over convenience driven design. Through Hardcore runs, community challenges, and streamer driven projects like OnlyFangs, he has helped shape Classic WoW into a space for emergent storytelling and high stakes social play. Today, he is widely respected not just as a top tier player, but as a thoughtful and influential voice on what makes online worlds enduring and meaningful.Chapters:00:00 Intro and meeting Xaryu03:45 Discovering WoW and why early MMOs felt magical09:30 Addiction, balance, and building healthier gaming habits13:00 Treating real life like MMO dailies17:35 Going viral and surviving WoW’s ups and downs21:30 What makes WoW Classic special24:45 Retail WoW, QoL changes, and unintended consequences27:30 Classic Plus, game design leadership, and community vision35:50 Expansion fatigue and lessons from chess and Counter-Strike41:40 Progression models and long term content value46:00 Class identity, imbalance, and why uniqueness matters54:00 Why Arena does not belong in Classic Plus59:30 Dueling, social PvP, and in-world competition01:01:05 Server-wide events and living worlds01:04:00 Mystery, Easter eggs, and rediscovery01:13:30 Hardcore WoW and why it changed everything01:19:00 Preparation, consequence, and meaningful gameplay01:23:30 Ultra Hardcore, immersion, and mortality01:32:00 Hardcore as reality TV and emergent storytelling01:36:00 Payo PvP moment and viral chaos01:39:00 OnlyFangs, streamer guilds, and social experiments01:41:30 What players truly want from online worlds01:44:45 Advice for aspiring creators and streamershttps://www.youtube.com/@Xaryuhttps://www.twitch.tv/xaryuhttps://www.instagram.com/joshlujan/?hl=enhttps://xaryu.tv/collections/all

Raphael Stange is the CEO of Nitrado, one of the world’s leading providers of multiplayer server infrastructure for game studios and players. A lifelong gamer, Raphael’s perspective is shaped by thousands of hours spent in online worlds like EVE Online, giving him a player first understanding of what makes multiplayer games thrive. At Nitrado, he works closely with developers to help them launch, scale, and sustain online games, supporting everything from early access builds to global live service titles, with a strong emphasis on performance, flexibility, and community driven experiences.Under Raphael’s leadership, Nitrado has become a trusted infrastructure partner for major studios and platforms, including collaborations with Rockstar Games through its FiveM ecosystem. He is a strong advocate for modding as a core pillar of modern multiplayer games, believing that player creativity and community servers are essential to long term engagement and game longevity. Through Nitrado and its GameFabric platform, Raphael focuses on building infrastructure that empowers studios and creators alike, enabling custom servers, modded experiences, and scalable online worlds that put players at the center.Chapters:00:00 - Introduction and Unconventional Paths into Games03:06 - A Lifelong Fascination with MMORPGs06:01 - Where Marketing Meets Game Development08:53 - Navigating the Complexity of the Games Industry11:56 - How Marketing in Games Has Evolved15:00 - The Changing Role of AI in Marketing17:44 - What Agentic AI Means for Digital Marketing20:56 - Understanding Multiplayer Server Infrastructure23:47 - Nitrado and the Realities of Game Server Management27:00 - Why Modding and Community Matter40:55 - How Modding Shapes Long Term Game Success45:52 - The Future of Modding and Player Created Content51:20 - Roblox and the Rise of Platform Games55:58 - Building Infrastructure for the Next Generation of Online Games01:03:14 - Advice for Aspiring Game Developers01:09:54 - Leadership Lessons from Building and Scaling Companieshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelstange/https://server.nitrado.net/