Top Executives from 2K, Riot, and Epic Fund New Marketing Network — Games Growth Guild

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What is the Games Growth Guild

  • The Games Growth Guild is a new global network and community for marketing and publishing professionals across the games industry. (Game Developer)
  • According to the founding announcement:
    • It brings together “experts from every discipline of marketing and publishing” (mobile, AAA, indie) to share best practices across launches, growth campaigns, live events and go‑to‑market strategies. (Game Developer)
    • Membership is free of charge (for industry marketing/publishing professionals) though verified to ensure a safe, collaborative space. (Game Developer)
    • It will host monthly talks, idea exchanges, free resources, tactical forums, and in‑person events (including a partnership at the GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 in March 2026). (Mobidictum)
  • The announcement emphasises the gap they are addressing:

    “Game developers have solved incredible technical challenges, but marketing and distribution remain the hardest problems.” — Eden Chen, Founding Advisory Board Member & CEO of FirstLook. (Game Developer)

Founding Involvement: Executives from major game companies

  • The press release lists advisory board members drawn from top‑tier companies including AAA publishers and mobile/publishing specialists. (Game Developer)
  • Notable names & roles:
  • While the headline mentions “Led by execs from 2K, Riot, Epic” these specific companies’ individual executives aren’t all named in the public list (at least not yet in the sources). The sources do state that leaders from 2K, Riot and Epic are founding members of or associated with the Guild. (Mobidictum)

Case Studies & Use‑Cases

Case Study A – Peer Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing

  • The Guild intends to run monthly talks & tactical exchanges where marketing professionals can share what’s working and what isn’t. Example: a recent campaign with publisher Playstack used a “Wheel of Attention” strategy (small streamers + methodical expansion + digital word‑of‑mouth) and is cited as part of community discussion. (Game Developer)
  • Impact: Smaller studios and indie publishers can gain access to practices that AAA publishers have refined, improving their launch and growth campaigns.

Case Study B – Bridging Mobile, AAA and Indie Marketing Worlds

  • The nature of the Guild’s membership spans mobile, AAA and indies. For example mobile specialists (Scopely, Twitch events) are in the advisory board alongside indie‑friendly folks (Innersloth). This cross‑pollination allows marketing teams to learn across segments.
  • Impact: Marketing teams can adopt tactics from other sectors (e.g., mobile live‑ops strategies applied to a PC/console release) and adapt them for their context.

Case Study C – Live Events & Real‑World Activation

  • The Guild plans in‑person events, including at GDC Festival of Gaming March 2026. This enables live networking, breakout sessions, and tactical workshops.
  • Impact: Marketing professionals often work in remote/virtual settings; this community adds a physical dimension to networking and skill‑sharing, improving collaboration and innovation.

Commentary & Implications

 Positive Aspects

  • Community & Shared Learning: Marketing in games has historically been fragmented; this network creates a centralised forum for sharing best practices, data, and lessons.
  • Access to Experts: With advisory board members from top companies, smaller marketing teams can access high‑level insight which may have been closed before.
  • Cross‑Industry Learning: Because the Guild spans major publishers, mobile, indie and live‑ops, members can adopt tactics outside their usual domain.
  • Cost‑Free Membership: By making the Guild free, they reduce entry barriers for marketing professionals from smaller studios — which aids industry‑wide uplift.
  • Better Marketing Outcomes: Ultimately, better marketing and distribution support helps games “find their players”, which has downstream benefits (higher ROI, better retention, more sustainable releases).

 Challenges & Things to Watch

  • Execution vs Hype: Many networks launch with strong promises; delivering real value (regular tacticals, useful data, actionable frameworks) will determine success.
  • Diverse Member Needs: Members range from AAA to indie to mobile — their needs differ widely. Balancing content relevance across segments will be key.
  • Data Confidentiality & Competition: Marketing teams may be reluctant to fully share sensitive campaign data or strategies due to competitive advantage concerns. The Guild must foster trust and safe‑sharing.
  • Sustaining Engagement: Free networks risk low commitment; membership will require active content, community moderation and strong events to maintain value and avoid becoming dormant.
  • Measuring Impact: How will the Guild measure its own success? Will it track improved marketing performance among members, case study outcomes, or member satisfaction?

 Strategic Implications for the Games Industry

  • Marketing is increasingly recognised as a core capability in game development and publishing — not just an afterthought. Networks like this reinforce that shift.
  • As game launches become more global, live‑ops driven, community‑intensive and data‑rich, marketing teams need new frameworks and peer support. The Guild addresses this.
  • Smaller studios face rising costs for acquisition and scaling; being part of a peer network may reduce learning curves and cost inefficiencies.
  • For larger publishers, this Guild offers a vantage point to spot trends (mobile growth tactics, influencer strategy, AI in marketing) and integrate them faster.
  • Over time, the Guild may become a talent‑pipeline as well: marketing professionals may use participation as credentialing, increasing their visibility and career mobility.

Final Take

The launch of Games Growth Guild is a significant development for game‑marketing professionals. By bringing together marketing leaders from 2K, Riot, Epic and beyond, the Guild has potential to raise the standard of marketing practice in the games industry—especially by bridging mobile, AAA, and indie perspectives.

For marketing teams looking to upskill, network, or gain tactical insights, joining the Guild seems a smart move. The key will be how active, relevant and action‑oriented the Guild becomes in practice.

Here are case studies and commentary around the founding of the Games Growth Guild (GGG) — the new marketing network backed by senior executives from companies like 2K, Riot Games and Epic Games — along with what this means for the games‑marketing industry.

Case Study 1 — Founding Advisory Network & Scope

Background:
The Games Growth Guild officially launched in November 2025 as a free, verified‑industry network for marketing and publishing professionals across mobile, indie and AAA gaming. (Pocket Gamer)
The founders/advisory board include senior marketing and publishing leaders such as:

  • Eric Wood (SVP of Publishing at Scopely) (Pocket Gamer)
  • Krystal Herring (Head of Global Events at Twitch) (Pocket Gamer)
  • Nikki Lewis (Operating Partner, Marketing & Publishing at Haveli) (Pocket Gamer)
  • Leo Olebe (CEO at Olebe Media Group) (Pocket Gamer)
  • Eden Chen (CEO of FirstLook) who said: “Game developers have solved incredible technical challenges, but marketing and distribution remain the hardest problems.” (Game Developer)

Key Features & Launch Vision:

  • Monthly member talks, idea exchanges and tactical forums focused on growth campaigns, launches, live‑ops and marketing execution. (Game Developer)
  • Free membership, verified marketing professionals only to encourage safe sharing and peer collaboration. (Pocket Gamer)
  • Cross‑sector: indie, mobile, AAA publishers all included — aiming to enable sharing of best practices across segments. (Game Developer)

Case Insight:
This shows a recognition that while game development (engineering, design, live‑ops) often gets heavy coverage and tooling, marketing & distribution remain comparatively under‑served in terms of specialist peer networks. The Guild addresses that gap.

Lesson:
Creating a peer‑network around marketing allows professionals to accelerate learning, share failure/case‑studies, and reduce isolation especially for small studios or those without large in‑house marketing teams.

Case Study 2 — Strategic Benefits & Market Positioning

Background:
The Guild’s positioning emphasises growth and marketing as core to success in games:

“The gaming industry is exciting, complex and ever changing… To help navigate this incredible market and best prepare marketers for the future, it’s essential to bring people together to share knowledge and build community.” — Leo Olebe (Pocket Gamer)

Strategic Rationale:

  • Marketing teams face increasing pressure: acquisition costs rising, live‑ops complexity growing, retention harder, global launches more challenging.
  • By creating a network, the Guild aims to elevate marketing from “cost‑centre” to strategic function, improving outcomes for studios of all sizes.

Impact:

  • Smaller studios gain access to insights from multiple segments (AAA, mobile) which they might not otherwise have.
  • Larger publishers benefit by seeing emerging tactics (creator marketing, influencer, data‑driven growth) and can refine their own playbooks.
  • The Guild may become a talent pipeline for marketing professionals, giving visibility to high performers and peer credentials.

Lesson:
Networks that bridge experience levels and company sizes can accelerate industry learning curves and elevate overall standards.

Case Study 3 — Tactics & Practical Use‑Cases for Members

Background:
An example cited in the Guild’s launch coverage: publisher Playstack used a “Wheel of Attention” approach (small streamers → step‑increase → digital word‑of‑mouth) for a game launch and the Guild will dissect such campaigns to share the tactical breakdown. (Game Developer)

Use‑Case:

  • A mid‑sized publisher facing high acquisition cost and uncertain ROI attends a Guild session on “pre‑launch creator discovery” and adopts a “small‑niche influencer first” strategy adopted from the Guild’s shared case.
  • The result: lower spend, higher engagement, earlier user retention, and improved ROI compared to previous launches.

Lesson:
The value of sharing tactical story‑boards, not just high‑level strategy, allows marketers to apply and adapt to their own titles; peer networks make that feasible.

Commentary & Implications

 Positives

  • Elevates marketing profession in games: The Guild reflects the maturation of games as entertainment & service businesses — marketing is no longer an after‑thought.
  • Peer learning reduces duplication of error: Marketing campaigns are expensive; learning from peers can reduce costly mistakes and shorten time‑to‑success.
  • Cross‑segment insight: Mobile tactics (live‑ops, daus, monetization) may be adapted for AAA; indie studios may borrow enterprise marketing sophistication.
  • Free membership broadens accessibility: Lower barrier to entry means potential uplift for smaller studios & emerging talent.

 Things to watch

  • Actual value delivery: Networks promise best practices; success depends on consistent content, facilitation, measurable outcomes.
  • Depth vs breadth: With a wide membership (indie to AAA) the challenge is delivering content relevant to very different contexts.
  • Data & competitive risk: Studios may worry about sharing too much sensitive data or tactics — creating a safe sharing culture is important.
  • Sustainability: Free membership often means dependence on volunteers or sponsorship; sustaining engagement over time can be hard.
  • Measurement of impact: How will the Guild show its value? Member outcomes, improved metrics, case‑study success will matter.

Strategic Implications for the Industry

  • Marketing budgets may become more sophisticated: As peers share tactics, studios will likely increase investment into “growth” marketing rather than just “launch campaigns”.
  • Talent development & career paths: As marketing grows in importance, we may see more defined career paths for growth/marketing roles in games (similar to product/design/engineering).
  • Standardisation of some metrics/tactics: Over time the Guild may help standardise best practices, KPIs (e.g., cost per install, retention by cohort, influencer ROI) across studios.
  • Faster adoption of new channels: Influencer, creator, AI‑driven marketing are evolving fast; peer‑networks like this accelerate adoption and reduce lag.

Final Thoughts

The launch of the Games Growth Guild is a strong signal that game marketing is entering its next phase of maturity — moving from “creative campaign” to “growth engine.” By rallying senior marketing executives from major companies (2K, Riot, Epic) and opening up a peer network broadly, the Guild has the potential to raise game marketing standards and performance across the industry.

That said, the real test will be in how actionable and measurable the Guild’s offerings become: how many studios see improved launch metrics, how many marketers accelerate their skill‑set, and how many cross‑company collaborations result.

 

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