The Gaming Playbook w/ Harry Phokou

What does a game studio brand really mean beyond a logo or color palette?
Today, I'm joined by Anastasia Zaiceva, Chief Communications Officer at ZiMAD, who shares how strong branding shapes the identity, strategy, and growth of a game studio.
We explore why branding is more than visual design and why it's the foundation that defines a studio’s values, culture, hiring strategy, player relationships, and long-term vision. From aligning internal teams to communicating clearly with players and partners, Anastasia explains how studios can build a brand that supports both creative direction and business success.
If you're building a game studio, working in game marketing, or trying to grow a recognizable brand in the gaming industry, this conversation is for you.
Connect with Anastasia:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasia-zaiceva/
ZiMAD's game portfolio: https://zimad.com/games
Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou
Join our industry events: https://hivemind.world/
Never run out of LinkedIn content ideas again: https://idea.phokou.com/c/system
Get exclusive podcast recaps & industry insights:
→ Subscribe to The Gaming Playbook Weekly at https://join.thegamingplaybook.com/
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:04 Why most studios misunderstand branding
04:07 Brand vs logo: the real definition of a brand
05:07 Should studios think about branding before building games?
07:35 Why vision is the foundation of a brand
10:22 The danger of chasing metrics instead of vision
12:48 How branding influences internal company culture
15:48 Founder influence on company culture and brand
19:45 Communication channels and mid-stage company branding
21:40 Content strategies that attract top talent
26:59 Human stories vs AI-generated content
29:20 My multi-brand strategy (Hivemind ecosystem)
33:57 AI, search engines, and brand visibility
36:15 Shared responsibilities in modern companies
40:43 What happens when studios don’t have a brand
43:50 How brand builds trust with partners and talent
47:34 Player experience and emotional outcomes of games
50:07 Turning brand strategy into real behaviors
52:10 Using content strategy to reinforce brand identity
57:13 Hiring people aligned with company vision
01:01:12 Final advice on building strong brands

In this episode, I join Jonny Rose to share how I built Hivemind into a leading go-to-market marketing agency for the games industry and why in-person networking events, upskilling, and paid learning communities have been the biggest multipliers in my journey.
We break down the real economics of conferences, why most people drift into careers they hate, how to escape analysis paralysis, and why confidence, not skill, is often the real bottleneck when starting a business.
If you’re stuck in a job, thinking about launching a service business, or trying to level up your marketing and sales skills, this episode gives you a practical blueprint to move from learning mode to action mode.
Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou
Connect with Jonny:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonnysrose/
Join our industry events: https://hivemind.world/
Never run out of LinkedIn content ideas again: https://idea.phokou.com/c/system
Get exclusive podcast recaps & industry insights:
→ Subscribe to The Gaming Playbook Weekly at https://join.thegamingplaybook.com/
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:18 Why In-Person Networking Still Works Best
01:14 How I Think About Creating Valuable Conversations
01:50 What Real-Life Interactions Give You That Online Can’t
03:06 How Conferences Actually Make Money
05:15 How to Get Started in Marketing and Sales
09:51 Moving From Hospitality Into a Better Career Path
10:46 Choosing Your Long-Term Mission Over Your Current Situation
11:01 The Risk of Drifting Through Life
13:24 Why Upskilling Helps You Avoid Career Stagnation
15:47 Learn First, Earn Later
16:56 Why I Invested in Mentors and Courses
17:35 How Learning Accelerated My Personal and Business Growth
22:51 Why Community Speeds Up Progress
23:11 Getting Out of the Learning Phase and Taking Action
23:32 Building Confidence by Showing Real Results
27:28 How My Personal Mission Grew Into a Bigger Vision
31:16 The Launch of Hivemind Academy

How do you revive and regrow a 10-year-old mobile game in one of the toughest markets in gaming?
Today, I'm joined by Johnny Mang, General Manager at Rovio, who breaks down how his team rebuilt Angry Birds 2 from the inside out, tackling technical debt, redesigning strategy, restructuring teams, and shifting culture to unlock sustainable growth.
We explore what it really takes to turn around a live-service game, how to balance innovation with fundamentals, and why “doing the right things right” became the mantra behind Angry Birds 2’s resurgence.
If you’re a game developer, product leader, mobile marketer, or founder scaling a live-service product, this episode is packed with actionable insights on strategy, execution, team alignment, and brand evolution.
Connect with Johannes:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-mang-166323/
Open positions at Rovio: https://www.rovio.com/open-positions/
Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou
Join our industry events: https://hivemind.world/
Never run out of LinkedIn content ideas again: https://idea.phokou.com/c/system
Get exclusive podcast recaps & industry insights:
→ Subscribe to The Gaming Playbook Weekly at https://join.thegamingplaybook.com/
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
03:14 The Rise, Peak & Reinvention of Angry Birds 2
04:54 The 3 Types of Debt Quietly Killing Live Service Games
07:20 What Actually Changed Since Johnny Joined
09:43 Why Turnarounds Usually Take Around 3 Years
13:50 Why Focus Matters More Than Doing More
18:17 Strategy vs Targets: What Leaders Often Confuse
22:00 How to Align 80+ People Around One Clear Direction
23:52 Profit, Incentives & What Really Motivates Teams
29:50 The 4-Part Plan Behind the Comeback
33:31 Why Fixing the Basics Changed Everything
36:30 Doubling Down on Tech Debt (The Hard Call That Paid Off)
39:30 How Product Improvements Made UA Profitable
41:10 The Weekly Meeting That Keeps the Business on Track
45:20 What Innovation Really Looks Like in Live Service
47:07 Why They Paused New Game Development
52:40 How to Make a 10-Year-Old Brand Relevant Again
57:07 The Untapped Opportunity in Social & Community
58:38 Who They’re Hiring & What Makes You Stand Out
1:02:17 Final Lessons on Leadership & Rebuilding

The games industry is changing fast and not everyone is keeping up.
Today, I sit down with Charlotte Cook (former Team17, Sega, Skybound, angel investor, and fractional CCO) to break down what’s really happening behind the scenes of the games industry right now.
We cover why publishers are obsessed with safe bets, how greenlight decisions actually work, why most developers misunderstand publishing deals, and what it really takes to get a game signed in today’s market. Charlotte also shares hard-won lessons from transitioning into fractional and consultancy work post-COVID, navigating burnout, AI’s impact on teams, and why people, not tools, remain the biggest multiplier in games.
If you’re a game developer, publisher, founder, consultant, or anyone trying to survive (and thrive) in the modern games industry, this episode will challenge a lot of assumptions.
Connect with Charlotte:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itscharlottecook/
E-mail: [email protected]
Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou
Join our industry events: https://hivemind.world/
Never run out of LinkedIn content ideas again: https://idea.phokou.com/c/system
Get exclusive podcast recaps & industry insights:
→ Subscribe to The Gaming Playbook Weekly at https://join.thegamingplaybook.com/
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:15 Why the games industry feels stagnant right now
03:52 Inside publisher pressure, incentives, and safe bets
05:50 Leaving Team17 & starting a consultancy (twice)
08:46 Navigating conferences without a big title
12:00 How pitches really get judged at events
14:06 Publishing myths developers still believe
15:15 What publishers now expect before signing a game
18:32 Financial reality vs creative ambition
20:59 Why some games succeed years after launch
23:09 Greenlight decisions: what actually matters
26:27 Pricing strategy & why devs get it wrong
28:09 IP, minimum guarantees & access problems
30:21 Democratizing IP for indie developers
33:23 Why people are the real multiplier in games
36:01 AI, efficiency, and fear inside studios
41:32 Fractional work: pros, cons & survival tips
43:56 Burnout, energy cycles & working for yourself
48:58 Building community as an independent operator
52:04 Consultants, stigma & industry perception
56:55 Risk, creativity & the future of games
57:21 What Charlotte does as Fractional CCO day-to-day

Why do 90% of games fail, even when the game itself is good?
Today, I sit down with Robbie Ferguson, Co-Founder at Immutable, to break down the real data-backed reasons most games never make their money back, and what the top-performing studios do differently.
Robbie shares insights from 690+ funded game launches, explains why Steam wishlists are often misleading, and reveals how pre-launch audience warming, cohort quality, and lifecycle marketing determine whether a game succeeds or dies quietly.
If you’re a game founder, marketer, indie dev, publisher, or investor, this is a must-watch breakdown of modern game economics and launch strategy.
Connect with Robbie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbieferguson/
Website: https://www.immutable.com/free-demo-campaign
Connect with Harry:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hphokou/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hphokou
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hphokou
Join our industry events: https://hivemind.world/
Never run out of LinkedIn content ideas again: https://idea.phokou.com/c/system
Get exclusive podcast recaps & industry insights:
→ Subscribe to The Gaming Playbook Weekly at https://join.thegamingplaybook.com/
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:40 What Immutable actually does (beyond “Web3”)
02:59 690+ funded game launches & why most fail
03:38 Why Robbie is still obsessed with fixing game launches
05:24 Why marketing efficiency matters more than game quality
09:48 Why sending traffic straight to Steam is a mistake
13:01 Predicting player spend before launch
16:12 Doubling wishlists AND conversion rates
17:37 The #1 pre-launch mistake devs make
19:24 What an optimal modern marketing team looks like
21:25 Personalisation, AI, and player archetypes
23:19 What a “whale” actually looks like (surprising answer)
25:23 AI, oversupply, and the future of game distribution
27:10 Apple tax, margins, and why economics are changing
29:00 Why “Web3 games” is the wrong framing
32:14 Why AAA studios are shifting to influencer marketing
36:20 East vs West: how Asia builds and tests games differently
39:55 Using launch data to raise funding
44:09 Robbie’s hardest lessons building Immutable
47:20 Identifying and solving business constraints
52:36 Should founders spend time pitching publishers?
54:28 Robbie’s real motivation & long-term vision