We sit down with the creative minds behind Last Flag, the brand new 5v5 capture-the-flag shooter from Night Street. Hear directly from the team—and voice actor Eli Harris—about what makes this retro-inspired, game show-style shooter stand out. Plus, we dig into how Imagine Dragons made the leap from chart-topping musicians to launching a full-fledged game studio.Learn how this bold new project mixes music, mayhem, and multiplayer magic to bring something truly different to the CTF genre.

In this episode of Spawn On Me, I sit down with Ben Kvalo, CEO of Midwest Games, to dive into what makes this new publishing label stand out in an ever-evolving industry. We explore the role of publishers in today’s market, the challenges indie developers face, and whether the gaming industry is oversaturated with too many titles.

Ben shares his thoughts on building sustainable careers for the next generation of developers, and the value of player feedback, and we discuss how platforms like Xbox Game Pass are impacting discoverability. If you’ve ever wondered how publishers make decisions, support studios, or think about the long game in gaming—this one’s for you.

Topics We Cover:

• What makes Midwest Games different from traditional publishers

• The growing difficulty of standing out in a crowded market

• How publishers can better support marginalized and new devs

• Are players giving developers helpful feedback?

• The real benefits and challenges of Game Pass for studios

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share the show with your crew on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In Episode 550 of Spawn on Me, host Kahlief Adams and guest host Cam Hawkins dive into the massive Xbox layoffs and the fallout from Summer Game Fest coverage we missed.Xbox Layoffs Recap: Dissecting Microsoft’s July 2nd cuts of approximately 9,000 jobs across Xbox and gaming studios including Rare, Initiative, Turn 10, ZeniMax, and King Barcelona. We also discuss the cancellation of major projects like Everwild and Perfect Dark.Industry Reaction: We analyze Phil Spencer’s internal memo and the controversial suggestion for impacted staff to leverage AI tools like Copilot for job hunting.Studio-by-Studio Breakdown: Who’s affected? Rare, Turn 10, Initiative, ZeniMax, King Barcelona, and others. What does this mean for the future of Xbox exclusives?SGF Missed Gems: A quick roundup of standout announcements from Summer Game Fest that slipped under the radar in our previous coverage.Stay tuned and subscribe for more gaming breakdowns with a focus on people of color in the industry.