The Future of Game Publishing Is Player Ownership

The Future of Game Publishing Is Player Ownership

Published: October 28, 2025

Duration: 1:02:53

In this episode, host Alexandra Takei, Director at Ruckus Games, sits down with Robert van Hoesel, co-founder and CEO of First Look, now part of Pragma, to explore how studios can own and scale their player relationships. Robert’s journey from founding a SaaS company to building First Look began with one simple insight: game studios are some of the most passionate users a software builder could serve, and the games industry desperately needs the dream stack for connected distribution, player communications, and analytics. 

First Look acts as a CRM for games, helping studios streamline playtesting, gather pla...