Best Western Devs Podcasts (2025)

1
The Cosmic Invasion of Marvel Games That Don't Suck - Beyond 924 1:10:58

20h ago1:10:58

1:10:58

This week Max and Brain look back on the recent crop of Marvel games that are suprisingly pretty good. From Spider-Man to Blade, theres a lot of cool stuff headed to consoles and PC if you're a Marvel fan (or just a fan of fun games). One could even say theres a cosmic invasion of superhero games that dont suck...speaking of cosmic invasions, Max a…

1
PUBG Creator Spills the Beans on His New Titles (ft. Brendan Greene) | Dev Heads 1:44:00

6d ago1:44:00

1:44:00

This week on Dev Heads, JM8, Tina, and Mikee are joined by Brendan Greene (PlayerUnknown) to chat about his new projects. Second Wind is fully independent, employee-owned and fan-funded. Consider supporting us on Patreon for as little as $1/month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/SecondWindGroup⁠

1
13 Awesome Games To Grab Cheap Black Friday - Beyond 923 1:04:17

9d ago1:04:17

1:04:17

With the holidays fast approaching and Black Friday just around the corner (or later this week if you're reading this when the episode releases) its finally that most wonderful time of the year where you can buy a bunch of games you didnt get a chance to play for dirt cheap. Brian and Max have compiled a list of recent PlayStation releases that are…

1
Valve Has Entered The Console Race, Should PlayStation Be Afraid? - Beyond 922 48:54

16d ago48:54

48:54

In a surprise move, Valve has announced plans for a Steam Machine console, taking PC gaming from desktops into living rooms in a big way. Sony’s had the market cornered this console generation, but does the introduction of a device that simplifies PC gaming for more casual players (while still allowing more tech-savvy ones to get under the hood) po…

1
Your validation passed. Your players hated it. Here’s why. | MAG #10 27:54

18d ago27:54

27:54

Most game studios either skip validation entirely or waste hundreds of thousands on academic testing that doesn't move the needle. Both approaches kill products. In this episode, we discuss why product validation is the difference between success and years of wasted development—and introduces two frameworks to fix your process. You'll discover: The…

1
Nightreign DLC, Marvel Tokon, New PlayStation Hardware | Sony State of Play Japan 2025 - Beyond 921 41:21

24d ago41:21

41:21

This week, Sony surprised us with a nice little State of Play presentation focusing on PlayStation games coming from Japanese and Asian studios, which included a tease of Elden Ring Nightreign’s first major DLC, The Forsaken Hollows as well as what’s in store for Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls’ upcoming closed beta test. We also got a look at some coo…

1
The Sad State of GTA-Like Games (That Aren't GTA) - Beyond 920 1:00:09

1M ago1:00:09

1:00:09

This week, we’ve heard Rockstar games co-founder Dan Houser talking about cancelled GTA 5 story DLC and Saints Row 1 design director Chris Stockman sharing his pitch for a Saints Row reboot, which has us lamenting the lack of open-world action games set in contemporary settings. Specifically, the kind where you can steal cars and cause mayhem - you…

1
Your Analytics Stack Is Killing Your Studio (The New Meta: PostHog FTW) 46:18

1M ago46:18

46:18

Most game studios waste weeks of runway on the wrong analytics decision—here's how to avoid that mistake. Traditional analytics SDK vendors like Amplitude, Mixpanel, and Braze promise plug-and-play simplicity but deliver silent failures, contract negotiations, and escalating costs that can destroy startup velocity. In this episode, we discuss why t…

1
The Horror Games That Defined Each PlayStation Console - Beyond 919 1:14:43

1M ago1:14:43

1:14:43

It’s almost Halloween, so what better excuse to geek out about horror games? Max and Brian take a look back at the horror franchises that dominated each generation of PlayStation console. From the birth of Resident Evil on the PS1 to Silent Hill and Fatal Frame’s numerous outings on the PlayStation 2, to the PS3/360 era that gave us Dead Space, Con…

1
Halo's Coming to PlayStation And PlayStation's Going to Magic: The Gathering - Beyond 918 59:01

1M ago59:01

59:01

In the video game equivalent of Hell freezing over or pigs flying, the original Halo is coming to PlayStation. Halo: Campaign Evolved is a full Unreal Engine 5 overhaul of the 2001 Xbox original, and in honor of the 25th anniversary, it’s going multi-platform sometime next year. Nick got a chance to play it, and shared his impressions about new fea…

1
Why Game Studio Failures Are Structure Problems, Not Talent Problems | Chris Casanova (Microsoft, Mojang, Relic, Hypixel) 55:21

1M ago55:21

55:21

Most game studios think they have a talent problem. They don't. They have a structure problem. Chris Casanova spent 15+ years as a producer across Microsoft Xbox, Mojang (Minecraft), Relic Entertainment, Offworld Industries, and Hypixel Studios. He's watched talented teams fail repeatedly—not from lack of skill, but from organizational friction. Tr…

1
The Battlefield 6 Redemption, What UCLA Football Teaches About Leadership, & Structuring Teams to Win | MAG #7 59:16

2M ago59:16

59:16

Western AAA development is not dead. Battlefield 6's 7 million unit launch proves it. This episode deconstructs how EA and Vince Zampella reversed the "disaster" of Battlefield 2042 by focusing on leadership, community feedback , and a smarter studio structure. Then, we explore why leadership is the ultimate "alpha". Joseph Kim breaks down the stun…

1
Is Pokemon Stagnating? | Dev Heads 2:10:04

2M ago2:10:04

2:10:04

This week on Dev Heads, JM8, Tina, and Mikee dig deep into the current state of the Pokemon franchise. Second Wind is fully independent, employee-owned and fan-funded. Consider supporting us on Patreon for as little as $1/month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/SecondWindGroup⁠

1
Ghost of Yotei Devs Discuss That Ending, Story Changes, Easter Eggs & More | Spoilercast! - Beyond 917 50:16

2M ago50:16

50:16

SPOILER ALERT! This week, we’re talking Ghost of Yotei yet again, but delving deep into late game content, including the ending. Joining us to unpack all that, and answer some more questions about how the open-world samurai epic came together are creative director Jason Connel and lead writer Ian Ryan from Sucker Punch Productions. We discuss story…

1
Inside the $55B EA-Saudi Deal: Why It's Not a Typical LBO (with Chris Petrovic & Matthew Kanterman) 59:56

2M ago59:56

59:56

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund just closed the largest gaming acquisition in history—$55 billion for Electronic Arts. But this isn't the typical private equity playbook. In this episode, host Joseph Kim sits down with two M&A experts who break down what's really happening:- Chris Petrovic - Board Chairman & CBO at FunPlus, former President o…

1
The Ad Monetization Playbook: Fixing Leaky Revenue, Boosting CPMs, and Scaling Your Team with Kelly Kang 1:08:48

2M ago1:08:48

1:08:48

Why is your ad revenue flat even when your game's traffic is growing? Margins are getting squeezed by hidden fees, and old strategies of yelling at partners no longer move the needle. In this episode, we sit down with veteran ad monetization consultant Kelly Kang to get her modern playbook for building a resilient and profitable ad strategy from th…

1
Digesting the Spaghetti Western Vibes of Yotei - Beyond 916 1:05:22

2M ago1:05:22

1:05:22

This week on Beyond Jada Griffin is hosting yet again! Joined by Michael Higham, and Nick Maillet to talk more about Ghost of Yotei. We dive into how the Japanese community is embracing Yotei for how it quintessentially feels like Hokkaido, a few of the smaller touches of things we liked such as the various minigames in Yotei, and a couple of plati…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Western Devs Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Western Devs :: Panel discussions on .NET, software practices, and smoked meat

Western Devs

4
Dev Heads

Second Wind

1
GameMakers

Joseph Kim

1
Beyond

IGN & Geek Media

1
CG BOSS Games 🗝️ Boss Key

CG BOSS Media

1
The Cosmic Invasion of Marvel Games That Don't Suck - Beyond 924 1:10:58

1
PUBG Creator Spills the Beans on His New Titles (ft. Brendan Greene) | Dev Heads 1:44:00

1
13 Awesome Games To Grab Cheap Black Friday - Beyond 923 1:04:17

1
Valve Has Entered The Console Race, Should PlayStation Be Afraid? - Beyond 922 48:54

1
Your validation passed. Your players hated it. Here’s why. | MAG #10 27:54

1
Nightreign DLC, Marvel Tokon, New PlayStation Hardware | Sony State of Play Japan 2025 - Beyond 921 41:21

1
The Sad State of GTA-Like Games (That Aren't GTA) - Beyond 920 1:00:09

1
Your Analytics Stack Is Killing Your Studio (The New Meta: PostHog FTW) 46:18

1
The Horror Games That Defined Each PlayStation Console - Beyond 919 1:14:43

1
Halo's Coming to PlayStation And PlayStation's Going to Magic: The Gathering - Beyond 918 59:01

1
Why Game Studio Failures Are Structure Problems, Not Talent Problems | Chris Casanova (Microsoft, Mojang, Relic, Hypixel) 55:21

1
The Battlefield 6 Redemption, What UCLA Football Teaches About Leadership, & Structuring Teams to Win | MAG #7 59:16

1
Is Pokemon Stagnating? | Dev Heads 2:10:04

1
Ghost of Yotei Devs Discuss That Ending, Story Changes, Easter Eggs & More | Spoilercast! - Beyond 917 50:16

1
Inside the $55B EA-Saudi Deal: Why It's Not a Typical LBO (with Chris Petrovic & Matthew Kanterman) 59:56

1
The Ad Monetization Playbook: Fixing Leaky Revenue, Boosting CPMs, and Scaling Your Team with Kelly Kang 1:08:48

1
Digesting the Spaghetti Western Vibes of Yotei - Beyond 916 1:05:22

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