The costliest mistakes in studio leadership don't arrive all at once. They build in the gaps between what teams say and what leaders actually hear...or what they ignore.

In this episode of Gaming Decoded, recorded on location at GamesBeat Summit 2026, host Andrea Rene and Vivrato founder Adam Boyes sit down with Jen Maclean, co-founder and CEO of Dragon Snacks Games. Drawing on leadership roles at Xbox, AWS, and the IGDA, Jen shares the frameworks she uses to build teams that know why they show up, communicate before things go wrong, and hold the line on the values that matter most.

This episode covers:

• Why the first thing Dragon Snacks did as co-founders was to write a values and principles document
• What drift looks like on a team of eight and how to catch it early
• Why sharing your pitch deck with your whole team might be the most underrated communication tool you have
• Approaching difficult conversations as if you are 51% wrong
• Why knowing what you will not tolerate is the truest test of your company values

Connect with Jen:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenmaclean1/

Learn about Dragon Snacks Games: https://www.dragonsnacksgames.com/

Learn more about Vivrato: http://www.vivrato.com

Connect with Gaming Decoded: podcast@vivrato.com

Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/teamvivrato

Connect with Andrea Rene: http://www.andrearene.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/andrearene_

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrearene

X: http://www.x.com/andrearene

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andrearene.bsky.social

At GamesBeat Summit 2026, host Andrea Rene sat down with Amir Satvat, Founder of Always Supporting the Games Community job board, and Adam Boyes, CEO & Founder of Vivrato, to examine the current state of the games industry job market through community-driven data and firsthand experience.

Amir shares insights from the ASGC community, including:

• Why 30% of laid-off developers have been out of work for over a year

• How the average job search peaked at nine months before improving slightly

• Why only 10–15% of listed game industry roles are even opened by applicants

• The importance of networking and long-term relationship building in today’s hiring environment

• Concerns around “brain drain” and the estimated 120,000 years of experience leaving the industry

The conversation also explores career transitions, executive engagement, benefits and stability in the evolving workforce, and how the ACC community has grown into one of the largest career support networks in games.

What should we decode next? Let us know in the comments!

Connect with Amir:

http://www.asgc.gg

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirsatvat/

Learn more about Vivrato: http://www.vivrato.com

Connect with Gaming Decoded: podcast@vivrato.com

Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/teamvivrato

Connect with Andrea Rene: http://www.andrearene.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/andrearene_

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrearene

X: http://www.x.com/andrearene

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andrearene.bsky.social

Most studio leaders don't realize they need help until it's already too late to act on it.

In this episode of Gaming Decoded, Andrea Rene sits down with CEO and Founder of Syndicate of Play, veteran executive Mark Stanley. Drawing on 25-plus years across companies like Sega, PlayStation, GameStop, and Xbox, he explains why studios keep making the same avoidable mistakes at the worst possible time.

Mark covers why power in the games business is concentrated in so few hands, how the shift from physical to digital changed developer leverage for good, and what trust-based publisher-developer relationships actually look like in practice versus the old top-down model.

The conversation gets candid about the moments when outside perspective matters most -- and why so many studios wait until the train has already left the station before asking for it. In this episode:

-Why developer-publisher trust is at a historic low and what rebuilding it looks like

-How too many decision-makers pull a product apart before it ever reaches players

-When to bring in outside strategic help, and how to find the right people

-How indie founders can build an advisory network from day one

-Why accessibility is a launch requirement, not a nice-to-have

Glossary Decoded: Accessibility

What should we decode next? Let us know in the comments!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:56 - Mark's Background: Sega, PlayStation, Xbox and Beyond

00:02:46 - Locked by the Big Few: How Publisher Power Has Shifted

00:05:43 - The Trust Deficit Between Developers and Publishers

00:08:25 - Bringing Players Into the Process

00:10:22 - Too Many Cooks: Managing Feedback Without Losing Your Vision

00:12:00 - Why Large Studios Struggle to Pivot in Time

00:15:59 - When Should a Studio Bring in Outside Help?

00:16:41 - Building Your Network and Advisory Board Early

00:18:26 - The IGDA Indie Collective: Help When It Mattered Most

00:22:43 - Ask the Question: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

00:27:35 - Games 4 Change and Oceanic Society

00:30:49 - Balancing Social Impact With Commercial Reality

00:33:15 - Glossary Decoded: Accessibility

Connect with Mark: http://www.syndicateofplay.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markstanleyglobal/

Learn more about Vivrato: http://www.vivrato.com

Connect with Gaming Decoded: podcast@vivrato.com

Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/teamvivrato

Connect with Andrea Rene: http://www.andrearene.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/andrearene_

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrearene