The Business of Games
The Business of Games: A podcast for developers, publishers, and executives navigating the ever-changing game industry.
From monetization models to player behavior, from platform shifts to emerging markets, The Business of Games is your guide to all the things transforming how games are built, marketed, and scaled.
Hosted by Chris Hewish and Lia Ballentine, each episode blends strategic insight, cinematic storytelling, and candid conversations with the people driving the business of play. You’ll hear from top executives inside studios and strategic partners across the ecosystem who are uncovering the ideas, tactics, and trends shaping tomorrow’s opportunities.
Whether you’re launching your first game or scaling a global studio, you’ll find practical strategies, future-forward thinking, and real-world examples you can act on right away.
The Business of Games is brought to you by Xsolla, your strategic partner behind the scenes. We bring together “All the Things” to help you simplify operations, unlock new revenue, reach more players, and launch fast.
Visit xsolla.com to learn more, connect with our team, and access all the things you need to level up your business of play. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast, where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends and colleagues who want to learn more about the business of games.
The Business of Games
Building the open garden: Web3 insights from Mythical Games’ Arron Goolsbey
Welcome to The Business of Games Podcast, brought to you by Xsolla.
In this Extended Cut, host Lia Ballentine talks with Arron Goolsbey, Chief Operating Officer at Mythical Games, about how the next generation of Web3 games is moving beyond labels to focus on fun, fairness, and lasting player value.
A 25-year veteran of the industry, Arron has led global publishing and technology efforts at Activision Blizzard, Meta, and Hasbro. Now at Mythical, he’s helping bridge traditional game development and blockchain innovation and creating ecosystems where players truly own and shape their digital worlds.
Arron shares how Mythical is blending proven free-to-play design with player ownership, why “Web3” should become invisible to players, and how openness and interoperability will define gaming’s next chapter.
Across the discussion, Arron and Lia explore:
- Why Web3 should be an invisible technology, not a marketing label
- How Mythical Games is blending studio development with an open digital-economy platform
- What an “open garden” model looks like: safe, curated, but free
- How early Web3 games confused speculation with participation
- Why rebuilding trust starts with fun and fairness
- The role of ownership and interoperability in long-term engagement
- How AI and new tools are collapsing the gap between players and creators
- What the “next version of the internet” means for developers big and small
Whether you’re a developer, publisher, or just curious about the evolution of digital ownership, this conversation unpacks how Web3 can move from buzzword to backbone and shape a more open, player-driven future for games.
For more insights and resources, visit xsolla.com/podcast. Want to join the conversation? Follow and comment on our LinkedIn page at The Business of Games Podcast. That’s where we’ll be sharing updates, highlights, and continuing the discussion. And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast with friends who want to learn more about the business of games.
