Harry Phokou – The Gaming Playbook
A fresh voice in game-industry insights
Harry Phokou is a game-industry insider turned podcast host and ghostwriter whose mission is to uncover the “playbooks” behind successful careers and studios. His show, The Gaming Playbook, features in-depth conversations with game developers, executives, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders — many of whom have never been interviewed before. Phokou –+2Podchaser+2
With over 200 interviews under his belt and a background in recruitment and business development, Phokou brings a top-down perspective on how the games sector really works — from breaking in, to scaling studios, to building sustainable creative businesses. globalgamesforum.com+1
What The Gaming Playbook delivers
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Behind the scenes of success: Each episode tries to demystify how game-studio founders, industry executives, and specialists built their careers or businesses. The idea is to extract actionable strategies rather than simply telling a linear story. Phokou –
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Weekly cadence: The podcast releases episodes regularly (every Tuesday) across major platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts and others. Apple Podcasts+1
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Wide range of topics: Episodes cover game development, leadership, marketing, monetisation, careers, studio growth and more. For example: episode with Marcus Holmström on how to scale a Roblox studio; or with Jon Hanson on indie game marketing with small budgets. Phokou –+1
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Practical take-aways: Phokou’s approach emphasises real-world “cheat codes” for game professionals. Whether you’re a developer, marketer, studio founder, or career-changer, the content is designed to be more than inspirational. Apple Podcasts
Why it stands out for the game-industry audience
For your Aero Astro Arts readers — game artists, programmers, business folks, indie studios — this podcast hits a sweet spot:
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Accessible insight: Instead of academic or overly technical breakdowns, the show gives readable, business-oriented interviews.
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Career-relevant: Many episodes explicitly address how to enter the games industry, move up, or build something bigger.
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Studio and indie value: The mix of guests means both small and large studios get represented — which is useful if you’re working in an indie/self-publishing context (like Aero Astro Arts).
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Actionable wisdom: The emphasis on “what they did differently” helps devs and founders avoid repeating common mistakes.
A few recommended episodes to check out
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#44 – Andrew Pappas: How empathy-driven marketing builds successful indie games — a focused discussion around marketing, player empathy and connecting deeply rather than just spending big. Spotify for Creators
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#43 – Marcus Holmström: How Roblox changed game development — explores scaling a UGC-focussed studio to 300+ staff without VC funding, and how the UGC boom is influencing established studios. Phokou –
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#42 – John Wright: From accountant to CEO – breaking into the gaming industry & scaling mobile games — perfect for those transitioning into games or moving from role to leadership. Apple Podcasts
What you should do next
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Tune in: Add the podcast to your listening queue. Pick one episode that aligns with your role or studio-goal and listen with a notebook.
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Reflect & implement: After listening, pick one actionable insight (e.g., “How they validated a game idea”, “How they built a remote-first team”, “How they connected community early”). Try to implement it in your own practice.
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Share with your team: If you’re part of a studio or an indie team, sharing relevant episodes can spark internal discussions or retrospective sessions.
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Consider guest value: If you fit the profile (studio founder, lead developer, interesting game project) you might apply as a guest on the show — that exposure could benefit branding.
Final thoughts
Harry Phokou’s The Gaming Playbook is a valuable resource for game-industry professionals who want more than surface-level commentary. It offers deep interviews, practical strategies and real-world paths that are especially relevant for those building games, teams or businesses today. Whether you’re an artist, programmer, business-person or indie founder, you’ll likely pick up something useful from an episode.
