Kyle Brink

So sorry to hear about layoffs at Modern Wolf, with 6 staff members being affected. The news broke last night, with my former CA colleague George Willard posting the news, as well as providing information about those also laid off to support re-hiring as quickly as possible. You can find that here: https://lnkd.in/eEXWSgNQ To those impacted by these layoffs, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,900 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/etPj22BE 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🎮 Game Design: This resource lists around 480 jobs worldwide. https://lnkd.in/dCv_hQXv 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #modernwolf

28

1 Comment

Could this be streaming payola? For months, pop music fans have been puzzled by the repeated play of certain songs on Spotify. Users have noted that the #streaming service frequently adds tracks by artists like Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Billie Eilish to their autoplay queues, even when these tracks don’t match their previous listening choices. This pattern has sparked a wave of speculation and concern among listeners, who suspect that the music industry is manipulating what they hear through tactics reminiscent of #payola. Historically, payola involved record labels paying radio stations to play specific songs, ensuring certain artists received more airtime. Today, the concern is that similar practices are at play on streaming platforms. Spotify’s "discovery mode" allows artists to forgo a portion of their royalties in exchange for increased exposure in algorithm-driven areas like autoplay queues and smart shuffle. While this isn’t exactly payola, it feels similar to users, as it appears to prioritize certain artists over others without clear disclosure. The tension between what feels popular and what is statistically popular adds to this concern. Despite high media attention, some albums don't achieve top chart positions. Features like Spotify's "discovery mode" exacerbate this disconnect, as artists can pay for algorithmic boosts. This has led to a fundamental question about the fairness and transparency of music promotion in the streaming era. The #musicindustry’s lack of transparency and the centralized control of streaming platforms create barriers for many artists. The promise of the internet was to eliminate middlemen and allow direct artist-to-fan connections. However, the reality is a more complex system where major platforms and their #algorithms dictate much of what listeners hear. This centralization of control raises concerns about the equitable treatment of artists and the genuine discovery of new talent. Blockchain technology is a solution in my opinion. What do you think? https://lnkd.in/ec2Pip_e

1

Initial knee-jerk reactions upon hearing how Suno raised $125 million weren't necessarily positive (including mine). However, the radically optimistic take is that there is a strong growth market for music technology companies innovating music. Music is a fundamental of life, and therefore has profound intrinsic value. Music and technology will continue to shine new paths for humans to interact with sound. 2.5 years since I started Soundromeda, I've encountered three types of people: those who see the big vision I'm after and believe I can execute it, those that are too mystified by our innovation they need to see how others react to it first, and those that are so high-nosed in their gated circles they won't even give us a chance (lol at the last group). As a bootstrapped founder, the road is arduous and lonely, but we've built a great team along the way along with dozens of industry partners to persevere through the noise. Eventually, Soundromeda will have our day in the sun, and most of you will be blown away at how spot-on we are with our gameplay experiences, product design and strategy around the wild nature of music and IP while integrating the best of Web3 and our own AI. This is a true culmination of my life's path, and I wouldn't have it any other way. All will be revealed soon enough ;-) #music #gaming #web3 #ai

9

2 Comments

Lots of people changing jobs or on the hunt at the minute. Some useful tips to be mindful of from Amanda here. Even though you'll understandably be focused on landing the new role as smoothly as possible, these aren't unreasonable expectations at all and much easier to tackle up front than to deal with after the fact.

16

2 Comments

Oh God, yet another cut, and this time once more for Singularity 6 - this is the third cut they had in the last 12 months, this time affecting 40%, or around 36 staff of those remaining. This is getting worse and worse, isn't it... To those impacted by these layoffs, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 9 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI This resource contains around 1,300 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 2,100 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eXgEEUAA 🕹 Quality Assurance This resource lists over 440 QA jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/dkiEy8da 📑 Game Production This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/d9qfQ5tg 📢 Marketing & Community This resource lists around 380 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/dc-PVb3h 🎶 Audio and Sound Design This resource lists around 180 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/dU8t6Esq 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev This resource lists around 300 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/dMdWv4xN ⚙ IT This resource lists around 100 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/df7d-KkR 🎮 Game Design This resource lists around 600 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/d2kKaw95 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #singularity6

181

10 Comments

Burns people out, no watercooler moments, no cultural staying power "What's the best way to experience the major water-cooler shows commonly considered to be "appointment viewing"? Is the binge model popularized by Netflix the way to approach things, in which viewers are able to spend a whole weekend devouring every episode of an entire season all in one go? Or is it better to exercise a little patience and release episodes one at a time in weekly installments, allowing word-of-mouth momentum to build while keeping the entire production at the center of the cultural conversation for much, much longer? (Or, perhaps, we can have the best of both worlds through "Hacks.")

8

5 Comments

Match3 is not the best game economy. I know some who would say it’s not even economy! Also, digital board games are just video games with terrible UX. Listen to the episode for more on these hot takes from me and the fellas.

3

Fun with LLM bias. Quick... what do the letters "P-Y-T-H-O-N" spell? Is it a large constricting snake, or an enormous mythological serpent slain by Apollo? Or if you are an LLM, maybe your first electro-centric assumption is that it's a programming language popular in AI circles. TRY THIS PROMPT A FEW TIMES: what's the most usual meaning and the correct capitalization of the letters "P-Y-T-H-O-N"

1

Life is about trade-offs. For example, when I think about what we do here for the community, that's a trade-off that I'm very open-eyed about. I would never trade off doing the work in this community for time and special moments with my family. Nor would I trade it off for not giving everything of myself at work. So, what gets traded off to make this community happen? Lots of things: portions of sleep, watching TV and movies, sports, cooking, and game time. Recreational activities that my kids and Jess want to do always come first after work. That's the trade-off for this community: my own free time and the evening hours of the day. We all need to think often about what we trade off in life. I never think about this as good or bad. It's just whether you can accept those trade-offs and those you love can accept them. Making peace with that is crucial. As a parent especially, I've learned there is no Majora's Mask Termina Clock to rewind time. There are only 24 hours in a day. I hope that one thing I do well is to squeeze as much efficiency out of each day as possible. With three kids, a full-time job, our community, and everything else, I have a good sense of how much one can get done in a day. But, as mentioned, there's a lot I give up too. I commit everything to my job but I chose to return to a senior individual contributor rather than managing 10+ people again or to go to a bank PE, or consulting firm. These are trade-offs I'm very happy with and totally at peace with in this moment. No work life harmony has to be forever. When I see someone who's a partner at a firm or SVP+ in a corporation, I know the big salaries they make. But I also know the sacrifices, stress, travel, and time those jobs require, sacrifices that are certainly greater than my current position. I respect people at all levels. My encouragement to you in life is to constantly think about your priorities and be very purposeful about your time and trade-offs. Don't look at others with bigger titles or more money and be jealous. They bear burdens you might not want. I don't wish I was in anybody else's position. It's just about prioritizing what's important to you without value judgment: for me, it's family first, work second, our community third, and some time for myself fourth. I prefer the term work-life harmony over work-life balance. If you think about these things, it will make it much easier to be at peace with where you are and what you're doing, rather than looking upwards. Companies often push you upwards if you have talent, but managing your happiness with your current level or slower upward progression requires maturity and self-awareness. Hit the title YOU want at your stage in life. Many employers might not understand how external pursuits coexist with a job. But they may not realize that sacrifices aren't about not excelling at your job but about reducing time elsewhere. Find your harmony. Don't compare yourself to others. Don't let others judge you.

80

5 Comments

Dear Stretch Network Partners, Please allow me to inform you about additional changes that will take place in the global network on July 8. 🍀 All Heads-up tables will be removed 🍀 Badugi cash tables will be removed 🍀 Sonic cash tables will become 6-max 🍀 The minimum buy-in for Sonic Omaha cash tables will be 20 BB 🍀 Sonic Omaha 7 card cash tables will be added These changes apply only to cash tables and only to our Global Network. In your local networks, you decide your product strategy, but we would be happy to assist you in managing your local networks as well. If you need our help, please contact us. The above-mentioned changes are part of the new strategy for the Stretch Network Global Network, which prioritizes the comfort of novice players and casual traffic to maintain the proper balance of our ecosystem between amateurs and professionals. Caring for the ecosystem of the Global Network is our priority. The changes we are implementing now and will continue to implement will significantly improve the user experience for your players, extend their LTV, ARPU, and, of course, Revenue.

9

This is a really fantastic interview that shows clearly the value of folks who not only rise out of the creative side, but keep themselves actively involved in it even if they take on leadership roles. Leading is best done by example, and that requires being involved in doing the actual work each and every day. Sam's sense of the deep long term value of staying clean of debt, plus smart slow growth and making what you know - over hype chasing and growth addicted investment schemes - sets the standard for how any new media company could survive the next decade. https://lnkd.in/g4BSRcZA

3

1 Comment

Our latest jobs update 👇

9

1 Comment

Happy Wednesday all, or at least it would be if not for yesterday's news. Let's get into the round-up, then. 1. Microsoft shutdown four studios, including BAFTA-award winning Tango Gameworks who recently released "Hi-Fi Rush" and Arkane Austin. The loss of these studios is huge, make no mistake. I've not written on it yet as it was my news partner-in-crime who grabbed it for PSU but I've plenty of thoughts brewing, and you might see something from me soon. https://lnkd.in/gGy7MzyG 2. I covered a couple of the events regarding the Helldivers 2 PSN account linking controversy, but then I thought it would be worth putting everything together in one, clear explainer piece of what happened and what's still going on - so I did! https://lnkd.in/gMdJcfT8 3. More news regarding poor decisions made by games industry executives, Activision reportedly rejected a pitch from Vicarious Visions prior to merging the team entirely into Blizzard for a Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3+4 Remake. Activision instead wanted VV to focus efforts on supporting Call Of Duty & Diablo, which I don't think I can find to be anything less than depressing. Not because I'm a huge THPS fan, but because I find it so short-sighted to go from publishing a diverse string of games to only publishing a few behemoths that have shown they have chips in their 'forever-game' armour. Perhaps I've got more to say on this as well. https://lnkd.in/gYGPFiWH 4. This one's for me, because I've put 1000+ hours into Apex Legends, and the now current season is once again changing the game forever. I've had peaks and valleys with Apex over my time with it, and I'm glad that Respawn is continually trying to keep things fresh with these last two seasons of large, sweeping changes and new modes. https://lnkd.in/g9w5xBhj 5. Lastly, Ubisoft's guitar-learning game turned subscription service Rocksmith+ will arrive on PS5 and Steam in June. I was a big Guitar Hero/Rock Band-head back in the day, and Rocksmith played a key role in my journey to start playing guitar. I'm not sure I'll jump in right away, but I'm glad to see it finally make a console debut, I think tools like Rocksmith+ are great and easy ways to get people into playing and making music. https://lnkd.in/geUTveUd That's all for now, though I do want to leave you with a question to DM me about or answer in the comments: who do you think won the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake? I see a clear winner, and I want to know if LinkedIn is on the ball when it comes to these big issues. Until next time!

6

Horrible news today about layoffs at Traega Entertainment, with 19 employees being laid off. Game Director Tony Mann shared their details here, if you are in the market for some amazing talent: https://lnkd.in/eJDgas_5 To those affected, please find a comprehensive list of resources, below: 🥇First, Discipline Games Jobs Resources: Over the past weeks I have created 8 (at time of writing) Games Jobs Resources to find jobs in a wide range of disciplines: 🎨 Art, Animation, VFX and UI: This resource contains around 1,200 jobs worldwide across all links. Link: https://lnkd.in/eu2bjadW ⚙ Engineering and Programming This resource lists just over 1,800 jobs worldwide across all links. It also talks about interview tips and questions to practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/eYdxANFM 🕹 Quality Assurance: This resource lists over 450 QA jobs worldwide. This post also talks about the craft of QA and contains tips and interview practice. Link: https://lnkd.in/dwwVjZuc 📑 Game Production: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also contains info about game production as a whole and GDC talks. Link: https://lnkd.in/gxDvFM-Z 📢 Marketing & Community: This resource lists around 400 jobs worldwide. It also gives an intro into game marketing and community management. Link: https://lnkd.in/e5MuViug 🎶 Audio and Sound Design: This resource lists around 190 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/eSkPSsWf 📠 Studio Support, HR, Recruitment and BizDev: This resource lists around 290 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/ePG57_7v ⚙ IT, Helpdesk and DevOps: This resource lists around 140 jobs worldwide. Link: https://lnkd.in/e8ZsuiZh 🥈 Second, the Ultimate list of Video Games Career Resources: This should be your one-stop shop for all information. My dear friend Amir Satvat maintains these documents, he is a legend for doing this - please check them out: https://amirsatvat.com/ 🥉 Third, If you have worked in publishing, please message me. I am looking for quite a few roles right now! ⬅ 🎖 Finally, do not give up. Ever. No matter how dark things may look right now, I KNOW you will get through this, you have got this! 👊 Remember you are not alone. If you need help, advice, or even an ear to listen, we're here for you. Always! ➡ A request to my community, please can I ask you to repost this post to your colleagues and friends, so that we can get as many into jobs as possible! And please comment if you or your studio are currently hiring - let's help each other! Much love ❤️ #layoffs #gamesindustry #jobsingames #traega

29

1 Comment

💡 ERROR LOG #13: Feedback is essential - part 1 out of 2. I focus here on the creative side of it and the next one will be focused around performance. I believe all of you can agree with this statement, right? It also sounds simple as hell. I’m sure you’ve read tons of articles about it and heard so many stories regarding it. Cool, so here is my take on it :D. Fun fact is that it sounded obvious to me 20 years ago and today I believe it’s exactly opposite. Giving or getting feedback is complex and it is an art. It’s very tough and it requires a lot of courage to be able to deal with it sometimes. Long story short 20 years ago I thought I knew and I was wrong. I failed so many times by not being mature enough to get feedback that you have no idea. Of course there is a second side of this coin, sometimes I was getting feedback in a very unprofessional way. What is really important is to have a common understanding in a team that feedback is essential, it’s a crucial part of the process, not an extra tool, it’s a foundation in healthy teams. The more trust you have in your team the better it is to take it, but it’s worth remembering that feedback is one of the tools to build trust, so it requires an open mind to take it and skill to provide it. The most common mistake is that people give feedback in a very judgemental way which sounds pretty negative and believe me, in the current world it’s really easy to have an opinion on every subject. If you criticise what you see and on top of that you can’t build up your statement properly your feedback most probably won’t work. It can by it won’t be taken fully with a proper understanding and engagement and you don’t want that, trust me. If you give feedback starting from your need and feeling it is a completely different story from the get go. What do I mean by that? We deliver experiences in games, movies but also softwares. We build expectations with almost every action. It means that anything you do in collaborative work has a common denominator, always. Let’s use an example from the game industry. You have a team that builds a feature, all disciplines are involved you can imagine. There is always a context (at least should be) behind each feature. Ask yourself these questions: ❓ What is the fantasy behind it? ❓ What do you want a Player to feel? ❓ How do you want to motivate a Player to use it? These questions are not only referring to the core of it, these questions are common for all disciplines and everyone can ask them, starting from peers and ending on director level. This is a natural way for aligning people between all disciplines and ranks and as you see, these are questions and not judgemental statements. This difference is a key. 📘 "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott is a really great book I recommend regarding the art of giving/getting feedback. Don't hesitate to comment and share your thoughts please. Stay tuned for more ⚔ 🐻

38

13 Comments

🕰️This was Breshna’s MVP 3 years ago Clunky, bare bones & not very pretty 😅 I almost cancelled our MVP launch 6 hours prior because I was too scared, too embarrassed, too skeptical! (thanks to Rizwan Nusrat’s 3am pep talk, we stayed on track)! Since then we’ve: ✅Completely revamped the user interface ✅Added 21 new game templates & 3k+ game assets ✅Integrated RTL script ✅Enabled custom uploads ✅Enhanced data analytics ✅Introduced co-creation of games ✅Implemented mobile optimization ✅Developed foundations for security & scalability ✅Procured a patent for our tech stack ✅Built an AI powered text to game engine & 3d metaverse Today Breshna is delightful to use, is now a beast of an ecosystem with 180k game makers & 2m game plays and is only getting started! The thing about momentum is, it needs building blocks! You gotta start somewhere, so start today, start with the bare minimum, start with something you’re not fully sure of in it’s current state but it’s potential is crystal clear, let the present be uncertain so you can cement your future vision! *************** If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late. – Reid Hoffman ***************

31

3 Comments

I’ve hired 150+ people. I’ve also wasted $1M+ on the wrong team members. After 7 years of experimenting, I’ve perfected our hiring process at Genflow… We use it to avoid common hiring mistakes and secure the right team members that want to win with us. In 60 seconds, I’ll teach you everything we’ve learned. Steal our process to ensure the candidates you hire are the right ones ⬇️ → Step 1: Attract - Attract the right candidates with a JD that sells the role and company, be specific about your expectations… - Not about the obvious written and communication skills, but the real expectations to succeed in the role. - It should make those that aren’t the right fit think ‘this isn’t for me’, not just ‘I’ll give it a go and see if I get an interview’. Don’t waste your time or theirs. - Create an application system that feeds you the information you need about the candidate, not just an 'apply' button that gives you their name and CV. - Create a form (I use typeform), asking candidates to complete before you shortlist. - This allows you to understand salary expectations, notice periods, years of experience as well as asking 1-2 relevant questions to gauge their answers/approach before you shortlist. → Step 2: Test - Share a short task to those shortlisted that will demonstrate their ability to do the role. - Make the task specific to the job at hand, that allows you to really see their skills and expertise. - Shortlist those who successfully complete the task and interview them where you ask questions that deep dive into their experience and expertise, relevant to the role. - Ensure this reflects and backs up the experience they say they have on paper. Shortlist again for final interview, where you join as CEO/COO, and focus on culture fit. - Give scenarios that may actually occur day to day to see if they can think on their feet. - Ask them how they'd handle these and ask a couple of challenging follow-ups, don’t be afraid to probe their logic and reasoning. → Step 3: Secure - Really sell the role to the candidate towards the end of the final interview, once you know they’re the right person for it! - Sell the opportunity they will get in terms of progression and development. - But most importantly: the journey they will go on with you and your agency as you grow… - You want candidates who will really help you grow and want to be part of something bigger, a winning company… not just secure a 9-5. - Follow up with a written offer, 24-48 hours post interview. - Share contract + get it signed! Follow this process to ensure you don’t waste time sifting through 100’s of unsuitable CVs or worse… Hiring those people whose mindset can kill your agency’s growth. Follow Sarah Brougham for more content on scaling your agency to 8 figures… And if you want us to teach you how to do just that, go to agency8x.com

17

7 Comments

My view is that the Xbox Mobile App Store could emerge as a strong competitor to both Play Store and App Store, leveraging Xbox's gaming ecosystem, exclusive content, and cloud gaming capabilities. Its success hinges on developer adoption, user base expansion, and seamless cross-platform integration. By offering competitive policies and unique offerings, it might drive innovation and consumer choice in the app market. However, it faces challenges like regulatory scrutiny and the need to avoid issues that have plagued other major app stores.

10