In this episode of the Here's Waldo Podcast, Lizzie Mintus chats with William Schmitt, the Head of Studio at Proof of Play, a company on a mission to shepherd games into Web3's on-chain universe through uncompromisingly fun games. With over 32 years in the gaming industry, William has held key leadership roles at Disney Interactive, Scopely, THQ, A…

Joe Schaeppi is the CEO and co-founder of Solsten and is on a mission to fundamentally change the way that humans connect. With a strong background in psychology, he leverages his expertise in human behavior and motivation—gained from leading UX strategy at McCann and his impactful work as an adventure-based psychotherapist—Joe is pioneering the us…

Garrett Young is a 25+ year game industry veteran who led development teams at major companies, including Microsoft, Activision, Disney, and Id Software, contributing to the creation of iconic franchises such as DOOM, Quake, and Rage. He also played a pivotal role in launching the Forza Motorsport and Project Gotham Racing franchises, along with de…

Heidi Vogel is a seasoned entrepreneur with over five companies under her belt, and today she shares her incredible journey from tech pioneer to gaming innovator. As a mother of four, she faced challenges managing her children's digital playground, which inspired her to develop GuardianGamer's monitoring solution. Her latest venture, GuardianGamer …

John Goodale was employee #60 at Unity in 2010, where he launched and rapidly expanded Unity Asia. Under his leadership, he transformed Unity into the preferred platform for game developers across the region, driving exceptional growth and establishing the company as a dominant force in the gaming industry. Having also held key positions at Sega an…

Chris Quaidoo is the Content Acquisition Lead at Carry1st, a leading African mobile games publisher backed by investors like Bitcraft and A16Z. He's also a Venture Partner at Griffin Gaming Partners and hosts Venture Games, a podcast where he interviews key players in gaming and venture capital. Tune in to this episode of the Here's Waldo Podcast t…

Sami Ramly, founder of Echo Chunk AI and creator of the viral game Echo Chess, takes us on a journey from his early days learning chess at just 3 years old to the development of Echo Chess—a viral puzzle game that combines chess mechanics with real-time AI-driven obstacles. Recently, he raised $1.4M pre-seed to take Echo Chess and his vision for th…

Neel Upadhye is an award-winning writer, director, and transmedia storyteller with over 15 years of experience in the video game industry. After starting as an assistant editor, he rose to become the marketing creative director at Electronic Arts (EA), where he played pivotal roles in marketing and narrative development. His contributions included …

We’re entering a new era where games can be prescribed as part of medical treatment or used to train doctors more effectively than traditional lectures. In this episode, join host Lizzie Mintus and guest Noah Falstein, who was among the first 10 employees at Lucasfilm Games (later known as LucasArts), and has also worked with 3DO and DreamWorks Int…

If you're a fan of Diablo I, Diablo II, and Battle.net, don't miss our latest episode featuring David Brevik, a 33-year gaming industry veteran behind these legendary titles and services. David takes us on a journey through his career, from co-founding Condor Inc., which later became Blizzard North, to the original Diablo pitch and its iconic seque…

Fun fact: Mark Subotnick, aka "Bot," began as an SF club promoter in the '80s-'90s before starting his game industry career in 1993 as a QA tester at SEGA of America, earning $9/hr. A longtime gaming and technology executive, Mark is renowned for his key roles at Intel, Microsoft, and SEGA, spanning multiple generations of technological innovation.…

Michael Fridley is the CEO and studio director of Squanch Games. He has contributed to many titles since he started in the industry 26 years ago, including The Elder Scrolls, Morrowind and Oblivion, Fallout 3, Reckoning, Call of Cthulhu, PGA Tour, NBA Live, Dragonvale, and most recently Squanch Games' hit game, High on Life- the largest third-party…

Sid Dhulipalla is the CEO and co-founder of Hathora, the server orchestration platform powering Frost Giant Studios' new game, Stormgate. In this episode, listeners get a glimpse of Sid's journey transitioning from engineering management roles at Databricks and Palantir Technologies to founding Hathora. He also shares insights into the interplay be…

Tim Morten is the CEO and Production Director of Frost Giant Studios. From his early days at Activision in 1994 to leading major teams at EA and Blizzard, Tim has seen it all. Now, he’s steering Frost Giant Studios as they launch their highly anticipated RTS game, Stormgate, which is now available for Early Access! Stormgate builds on the legacy of…

David Elton brings nearly three decades of expertise in the game industry, having worked with top studios like Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Zynga, and Capcom. He has held diverse roles from Vice President - Product to Creative Director, contributing to a wide array of titles from Microsoft's Solitaire to iconic franchises like Need For Speed and SSX…

Yonatan Raz-Fridman is the CEO and founder of Supersocial, Inc., a pioneering studio that builds boundary-pushing virtual worlds on immersive social platforms like Roblox. Roblox is the most engaging platform on the Internet, with its 72 million daily active users spending an average of 2.4 hours per day—three times more than TikTok and five times …

Justin Sacks has worn many hats in his 15+ years in the game industry—from competitive gamer to content creator to leading business development for a global multimedia game company. Today, he serves as the CEO of Nexus, a platform specializing in building and managing creator programs for the world's top live service games. Nexus provides a compreh…

Ethan Evans is a career development expert dedicated to helping professionals overcome career blockages and advance to the next level. After retiring as VP from Amazon, where he built Prime Gaming, managed Amazon's first game studio, and contributed to Twitch, he shifted his focus to paying forward his good fortune by assisting clients from top US …

Shawn Foust is the Co-founder and COO of Fortis Games, a global game studio with a mission to create worlds that matter – that challenge minds, build connections, and inspire communities. Before founding Fortis, Shawn was VP of Central Operations at WB Games after its acquisition of PlexChat, which he co-founded and led as CEO. Prior to that, he se…

Chelsea Blasko, co-CEO and Partner of Iron Galaxy Studios, started as the company's 13th employee and quickly became the catalyst behind the studio’s incredible expansion across multiple locations. She has been instrumental in guiding the studio’s leaders through product development and collaboration. She also established Iron Galaxy’s career coach…

🎮 Ever wondered how video games made it to the Smithsonian? What does it mean to be a Game Evangelist? How do you figure out what gamers really want? In this episode of the Here's Waldo Podcast, Chris Melissinos, the Principal Evangelist for Video Games at AWS, shares his profound passion, rooted in the belief that video games are among the most si…

Join us as we dive into the secrets of driving business growth with Mike Wallen, Chief Commercial Officer at Keywords Studios. With over 29 years of experience, Mike's career has been a fascinating journey from recruiter and agent to VP at Lakshya Digital, and now Global Business Development Director at Keywords. His key insight? Understanding the …

Jordan Weisman is a 40-year industry legend with four entrepreneurial company exits to Disney, Microsoft, Topps, and Paradox Interactive. His achievements include winning over 100 awards, becoming a New York Times bestselling author, and co-creating iconic tabletop games such as BattleTech, Shadowrun, MechWarrior, and Earthdawn. Today, he is the CE…

Alyssa Walles is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in entertainment, gaming, tech, and publishing. Known for catalyzing innovation and driving revenue growth, she has played a key role in launching the Walt Disney gift catalog, Sony PlayStation, and negotiating National Sports League agreements for the video game franchise Backy…

Wondering what it takes to build successful game franchises or start your own game studio? 🎮 🎮 Join host Lizzie Mintus on the latest episode as she chats with Bill Roper, a gaming industry veteran behind iconic franchises like Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo. Starting as employee #17 at Blizzard Entertainment, Bill's journey took him from voice act…

In this episode of the Here's Waldo Podcast, host Lizzie Mintus sits down with Sarah Anderson, Head of Global Marketing and Partnerships at Amazon Games. With over 30 years of experience in the gaming industry, Sarah has held strategic roles at Sega, Canopy, 2K Games, and now Amazon Games, where she leads growth initiatives and fosters community fo…

Join host Lizzie Mintus in this episode of the Here's Waldo Podcast as she sits down with Perrin Kaplan, a global strategic marketing and communications C-level executive known for her award-winning work in tech, entertainment, consumer products, gaming, mixed reality, AI, and more. Noted in several books, documentaries, and publications, Perrin co…

Join host Lizzie Mintus as she interviews inventor and entrepreneur Jeri Ellsworth, co-founder of Tilt Five, the world's first augmented reality tabletop gaming system. 🏁 From building race cars and owning a computer store chain to creating toys for millions, her early achievements set the stage for a groundbreaking career. She then moved on to cre…

Join host Lizzie Mintus as she sits down with Charles 'Chuck' Tolman, a seasoned CTO/CIO with a rich history in the video game industry. Chuck's career began at Atari in 1993, and he has since made significant contributions to over 30 games, including major franchises such as titles like Spider-Man, Call of Duty, and The Walking Dead. In this episo…

Jen Donahoe is a publishing, marketing, and growth leader with over 20 years of experience in the game, toy, and entertainment industries. She started her career in the toy industry at Hasbro, Disney, and Mattel before moving to the game industry, where she led marketing and growth teams at EA, Zynga, Scopely, and Riot. Today, she is a strategic ma…

Join host Lizzie Mintus, and guest Scott Hartsman, as they dive deep into the secrets to creating successful live games, streamlining hiring processes, and making tough decisions as a leader. Scott's extensive track record speaks for itself, with a portfolio of successes dating back to the early days of online gaming. From EverQuest 1 and 2 to Rift…

🎮💡 Unpopular Opinion: #DEI isn't just one person's job! Hiring a DEI specialist or expecting marginalized employees to carry the burden of change isn't going to magically transform your culture. So how can we truly promote positive DEI change? Join us as we sit down with Trinidad Hermida-Black, the Executive Director of Black in Gaming Foundation a…

Join us as we sit down with Russell Ovans, Board Member at East Side Games (ESG). Russell is a free-to-play games executive with a Ph.D. in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence). His diverse career includes founding Backstage Technologies, teaching college, holding executive roles in a tech incubator, and owning a brewery. In 2018, he returned…

Join us as we sit down with Don McGowan, former General Counsel at Bungie. If you're in the game industry, you've likely heard about Bungie's groundbreaking lawsuit protecting employees from online threats, aka the "Pizza Attack." Don orchestrated the whole process and is here to share the behind-the-scenes details in full. Don's career in the ente…

Join us as we sit down with Mitch Gitelman, a 30-year veteran of the game industry and former CEO of Harebrained Schemes, known for hits like the Shadowrun Returns and Battletech. He also played key roles as a founding member and studio head for Microsoft Games, leading the Xbox Live Arcade business during its heyday. In this episode, Mitch shares …

Jon Radoff is the co-founder and CEO of Beamable, an extensible server platform that enables developers to create online games and virtual worlds in minutes. His journey began at NovaLink, where he developed Legends of Future Past, one of the first MMORPGs. Jon went on to found Eprise Corporation, GamerDNA, and Disruptor Beam, reaching over 20 mill…

Joshua Howard is the COO of OtherSide Entertainment, a company focused on providing players with innovative gameplay, immersive worlds, and engaging narrative. His focus extends beyond creating great games; he fosters positive team cultures, cultivates future leaders, and prioritizes employee well-being as the foundation for exceptional player expe…

Valerie Massey is a gaming veteran and community management expert. With more than two decades developing and fostering multiplayer online games, Valerie Massey has worked extensively in public relations, community building, and customer care. She has experience with businesses such as Consortium9, ArtCraft Entertainment, CCP Games, and Leap Motion…

Moritz Baier-Lentz, is a Partner and Head of Gaming at Lightspeed Gaming, a company that partners with extraordinary founders in the gaming sector. In this position, Moritz has spearheaded investments in groundbreaking ventures, including Fortnite and League of Legends creators. With extensive experience at BITKRAFT and Goldman Sachs, he has advise…

Dawn Pinkney is a Career and Executive Coach and the Founder of Marjorie Dawn Coaching, where she provides life coaching services to professionals, empowering them to perform at their best. With over 25 years of experience in the games industry, Dawn has worked extensively in production with renowned teams, contributing to the creation and publicat…

Dean Takahashi is the Lead Writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat, a technology news website that provides news, analysis, features, interviews, and videos. He boasts over 28 years of experience as a tech journalist, with a dedicated focus on gaming. Joining VentureBeat in 2008, Dean previously contributed to esteemed publications such as The Mercury …

Renee Gittins is the Creative Director and CEO of Stumbling Cat, an indie studio based in Seattle. With a diverse skill set encompassing business operations, software engineering, and creative direction, Renee leads her team with a unique blend of expertise. Before her role at Stumbling Cat, she served as the General Manager of Phoenix Labs in Vanc…

Eric Marcoullier is a Fractional Co-founder and Early-Stage Startup Coach at BPM140 Consulting, where he guides first and second-time founders in the pursuit of finding a successful product-market fit. His journey in the tech industry began with the co-founding of IGN in 1996, where he led product and engineering until its sale three years later. F…

Laura Taranto is the Senior Director of Product Management at Big Fish Games, a developer and distributor of casual games for computers and mobile devices. With 14 years of experience, Laura has traversed various phases of game development, with a particular emphasis on nurturing and growing live titles. In June of 2021, she joined Big Fish Games, …

Jon Wolheim is the Volunteer Vice President of People and Culture at Games For Love, a nonprofit providing video games in children's hospitals and helping medical professionals to meaningfully integrate games into therapies. Jon's education runs through Stanford, USC, and MIT, where he got his start in core Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learn…

Anthony Castoro is the Owner of Protagonist Games, an independent games and technology company specializing in multiplayer and online games. He is also the Founder and CEO of Simulation Theory, a proprietary technologies platform yielding incredible high-performance results for video games, AR/VR, real-time AI applications, and industrial simulatio…

Štěpán Kaiser is the Co-founder and CEO of Remāngu, a cutting-edge platform designed to bridge the gap between remote individuals and prominent gaming studios. With a background in software engineering and a passion for innovation, Štěpán has spearheaded Remāngu's development of intuitive feedback management solutions tailored to meet the evolving …

David Kaye is a General Partner at F4 Fund, a pioneering venture capital firm specializing in funding early-stage technology startups. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for disruptive ideas, David leads F4 Fund in identifying and investing in high-potential ventures poised to impact their respective industries significantly. Leveraging h…

Chris Zimmerman is the Co-founder of Sucker Punch Productions, a video game developer best known for creating action games for PlayStation consoles. A renowned figure in the video game industry, Chris has been instrumental in producing iconic titles such as Sly Cooper, inFAMOUS, and the critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima. Before his venture int…

Alina Matson is the Co-founder and CEO of Glossbird, an innovative game studio creating lifestyle-improving games for untapped player markets. She is an award-winning designer, engineer, inventor, and startup consultant with a diverse portfolio ranging from flying cars to the latest VR headset at Metis. In her roles at Glossbird, Alina leads a team…