Naavik Digest: Why China’s Gaming Giants Are Pivoting to Lifestyle-Sims

Premium: Driving Back Catalogue, DLC, and the Long Tail

Most premium games are treated like opening-weekend businesses: if they do not spike, studios cut losses and move on. This episode challenges that instinct. Alexandra Takei [https://www.linkedin.com/in/takeit-eazy/], VP of Platform Revenue at Medal [https://medal.tv/], sits down with Ian Fielding [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ifielding/], CEO of Super Evil Megacorp [https://superevilmegacorp.com/], to discuss how studios can build durable premium games, manage back catalogs, and survive as independent AA companies in a market that increasingly punishes the middle. The conversation traces SEMC’s evolution from Vainglory and Catalyst Black to its current cross-platform, IP-driven chapter with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate and Bloodline. Ian explains why SEMC moved away from large-scale PvP free-to-play, how it operates a fully remote mid-size studio across multiple live titles, and why proprietary tech still gives the company an edge. The core case study is TMNT: Splintered Fate, which has grown years after launch through disciplined platform expansion, meaningful DLC, free updates, cross-play, bundles, and smart use of licensed IP. The episode ultimately explores a harder question: what does it take for an independent, multi-project studio to keep games alive, grow audience over time, and avoid betting the company on one giant moonshot? We’d like to thank Overwolf for making this episode possible! Whether you're a gamer, creator, or game studio, Overwolf is the ultimate destination for integrating UGC in games! You can check out all Overwolf has to offer at https://www.overwolf.com/ [https://www.overwolf.com/]. If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co.   Watch the episode: YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Eoa7bNooD2w2FNQpVqog] For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/].

Naavik Digest: Inside Saudi Arabia's $38 Billion Gaming Empire

This is the audio version of the Naavik Digest newsletter published on May 10th, 2026. This week, we dive deep into Savvy Games Group, exploring what the Saudi Arabian gaming holding company now owns, how it’s performed, and its endgame. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/ [https://naavik.co/digest/2023-genre-analysis/]inside-saudi-arabias-gaming-empire [https://www.naavik.co/digest/inside-saudi-arabias-gaming-empire] Meet with Naavik at the Nordic Game 2026: https://naavik.typeform.com/to/Jc5cl7eY [https://naavik.typeform.com/to/Jc5cl7eY]  Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co [podcast@naavik.co]. Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Eoa7bNooD2w2FNQpVqog] For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/].

Building for the Fandoms Gaming Forgot: Inside Dorian's No-Code UGC Platform

In this episode, host Kalie Moore [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/] sits down with Julia Palatovska, Co-Founder and CEO of Dorian, to explore one of the most underappreciated shifts in entertainment: the convergence of user-generated content, interactive storytelling, and female-first fandoms. As microdrama consumption explodes globally, Julia argues that the real opportunity isn’t just in passive viewing but in turning audiences into creators and stories into interactive, monetizable experiences. She breaks down how Dorian is building a no-code platform that enables creators from cosplayers to webcomic artists, to launch games, iterate in real time, and generate meaningful income through free-to-play mechanics typically reserved for professional studios. They also dive into why most UGC platforms fail to translate creation into commercial success, how Dorian shifted from volume to unit economics, and what it takes to build a true creator marketplace from scratch. Along the way, Julia challenges long-standing assumptions in gaming from the industry’s blind spot around women players to the over-indexing on mechanics over narrative and shares why human-made content still outperforms AI in creator-driven ecosystems. The conversation ultimately paints a picture of a new kind of platform: one where the next billion-dollar IP for Gen Z women might not come from a studio, but from a solo creator with a laptop and a deeply engaged fandom. We’d also like to thank Medal.tv [http://medal.tv] for making this episode possible. If you're a PC gamer and want to clip your moments or a studio, publisher, or marketer looking to reach a high-quality gaming audience and get your game in front of the right players, check out all Medal has to offer at https://grow.medal.tv [https://grow.medal.tv]. If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co [podcast@naavik.co]. Who’s On: Guest - Julia Palatovska: https://www.linkedin.com/in/palatovska/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/palatovska/] Host - Kalie Moore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/]  Watch the episode: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/].

Naavik Digest: Why China’s Gaming Giants Are Pivoting to Lifestyle-Sims

This is the audio version of the Naavik Digest newsletter published on May 3rd, 2026. This week, we examine what direction China’s gaming giants are taking following the decline of the traditional Anime-Gacha ARPG model. You can read the newsletter (with even more sections and visual detail) here: https://www.naavik.co/digest/ [https://naavik.co/digest/2023-genre-analysis/]beyond-gacha-why-chinas-gaming-giants-are-pivoting-to-lifestyle-sims [https://www.naavik.co/digest/beyond-gacha-why-chinas-gaming-giants-are-pivoting-to-lifestyle-sims]  Meet with Naavik at the Nordic Game 2026: https://naavik.typeform.com/to/Jc5cl7eY [https://naavik.typeform.com/to/Jc5cl7eY]  Our most recent AI x Gaming newsletter: https://naavik.substack.com/p/kraftons-radical-ai-transformation [https://naavik.substack.com/p/kraftons-radical-ai-transformation]  Let us know what you think by sending us a note at podcast@naavik.co [podcast@naavik.co]. Watch our episodes: YouTube Channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_Eoa7bNooD2w2FNQpVqog] For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/].

Fandoms, Writing Moats, and the Future of Interactive Fiction

In this episode, host Kalie Moore [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/] sits down with Terry Lee, CEO of Fusebox Games, to unpack one of the most overlooked but powerful business models in mobile gaming: interactive fiction built on licensed IP. While much of the industry chases scale through mechanics or ads, Fusebox has quietly built a $30M+ business by turning hit TV shows like Love Island into living, evolving games with some of the highest payer conversion rates in mobile. Terry shares how the studio transformed from a one-season-per-year content cycle into a high-frequency content machine, why writing (not tech), is their true competitive moat, and how they’ve engineered a system where narrative, data, and monetization continuously inform each other in real time. They also explore what makes fandoms move seamlessly between TV and games, how Fusebox approaches community (including its complicated relationship with Reddit), and why the team is expanding beyond romance-driven gameplay into broader storytelling formats with IP like Big Brother and The Traitors. Along the way, Terry offers candid insights on leadership, scaling under pressure, and navigating the role of AI in creative industries - arguing that the real advantage won’t come from replacing talent, but from amplifying it. We’d also like to thank modl.ai for making this episode possible! Using a combination of computer vision, reasoning models, and feedback loops, modl:QA+ autonomously explores builds, detects bugs, and generates actionable reports that sync directly with your existing workflows. To learn more, visit modl.ai. If you like the episode, please help others find us by leaving a 5-star rating or review! And if you have any comments, requests, or feedback shoot us a note at podcast@naavik.co [podcast@naavik.co]. Who’s On: Guest - Terry Lee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-lee-296a089/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-lee-296a089/] Host - Kalie Moore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaliemoore/]  Watch the episode: YouTube Channel For more episodes and details: Podcast Website [https://naavik.co/podcast] Free newsletter: Naavik Digest [https://naavik.co/digest] Follow us: Twitter [https://twitter.com/naavik_co] | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/naavik-co/] | Website [https://naavik.co/] Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe [http://www.gavinsound.net/]. Links Mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/CEO-Sixteen-Lessons-Career-Level/dp/B0G49VV3R8 [https://www.amazon.com/CEO-Sixteen-Lessons-Career-Level/dp/B0G49VV3R8]