Funding, Friction, and the Future of Gaming: Hard Truths from Justin Berenbaum, VP Strategic Planning at Xsolla & GM Xsolla Funding Club

Is the gaming industry broken—or just evolving?

In this wide-ranging episode, Max Albert sits down with Justin Berenbaum, VP Strategic Planning at Xsolla & GM Xsolla Funding Club, to unpack the massive shifts happening across game development, funding, publishing, and player behavior.

Whether you’re building your first indie game, fundraising for your studio, or just trying to make sense of this weird post-pandemic gaming economy—this episode is your founder’s field guide.

Justin has nearly 30 years of strategic development experience in the video game industry. As part of his role at Xsolla, Justin travels the globe, speaking at events on topics such as funding, investment, strategic partnerships, and the broader video game industry. Justin has worked with thousands of developers and publishers across the globe, and brings an unfiltered perspective of someone who’s actually read the pitch decks, fielded the builds, and seen what works (and what definitely doesn’t).

🎯 We dive deep into:

• Why you should build your game like you’ll never get funded
• What publishers actually want to see before they take a meeting
• How indie devs are failing to think like businesses
• The truth about market oversaturation and content fatigue
• Why wishlists ≠ players (and what matters more)
• The rise (and risks) of UGC and platform-driven development
• Why “games with purpose” are attracting smart money
• The biggest mistake devs make when copying breakout hits
• How to pitch like your survival depends on it—because it might

From Steam oversupply to building community before building hype—this conversation is the realest talk on game development and publishing you’ll hear all year.

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