Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, powered by Xsolla.
Over the past few months, hosts Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine have been testing a single idea against the real world: that direct-to-consumer isn't a channel or a tactic — it's a commitment to building a business around the player relationship.
In this season finale, Chris and Lia come back to where it all started — five pillars, five guests, three episodes — and ask the question: did the framework hold up?
You'll hear how the marketing episode reframed what it means to own a player relationship, why channels don't equal connection, and how going direct changes the weight of every message a studio sends. How the infrastructure episode revealed that the stack underneath the strategy is more complex than most teams realize, and why the order of decisions matters enormously. And how the monetization episode made the case that the best direct-to-consumer model isn't the most aggressive one. It's the most earned.
If you've been following along all season, this one's for you. And if you're just tuning in, consider this your invitation to go back to the beginning.
Let's get into it.
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