PGC Nordics Speakers Tell Studios to Do Less — and LA Turns Game Music Into Live Events

Four speakers at PGC Nordics landed on the same counterintuitive message: do less, not more. While much of the industry's default fix is to add events, features, channels and AI, speakers from Outfit7, Xsolla, Take-Two Interactive's former AI leadership and IP consultancy argued for subtraction and clarity.

Outfit7's Urška Leskovar delivered the live ops takeaway that stuck. Anyone who has opened a mature live game knows the pattern: five events running at once, three currencies, a red notification dot on everything. "Players don't need more to do," she said. "They need a reason to care." It sounds obvious. Yet when engagement dips, the default industry response is almost always another event.

What does the Epic v Apple ruling actually change for webshops?

Xsolla's Ola Dokun made the parallel case for direct-to-consumer. Since the Epic v Apple ruling opened the door to web payments in the US, it feels like every studio has launched a webshop. But volume is not strategy. "Having a webshop is not the same as having a D2C strategy," she said. Her advice for studios: "Build it around the ability to change paths when the economics change." In practice, that means flexible storefront architecture rather than a bolt-on shop locked to one payment route.

Luke Dicken, former head of AI at Take-Two Interactive, stayed sceptical on AI. "People that are chasing the productivity conversation are just running on a treadmill," he warned — a pointed remark for studios budgeting around AI-driven efficiency gains without a clear use case.

Katharina Schmidt's IP collaboration advice was the most immediately actionable: pin down length, territory and exactly how the licensed IP appears in the game. "Agree on IP usage rights and approvals early," she said. "Clarity is key."

Can game music fill arenas the way shows fill streaming queues?

Transmedia coverage usually means Netflix adaptations and blockbuster films. This week, Los Angeles is testing whether game music can carry the same brand-building weight, with three game IPs staging real-world concerts.

Kuro Games went first. On October 17th, Wuthering Waves fans gathered for live music from the game, photo opportunities with cosplayers, merchandise and pop-up rewards.

Cygames' Umamusume: Pretty Derby was expected to follow with two nights of music on October 22nd and 23rd, taking the game's idol-racing concept IRL. A last-minute cancellation derailed it. US visa issues stopped the voice cast from attending — and from singing on stage. It's a concrete reminder that transmedia plans built on talent appearances carry immigration risk no marketing calendar can hedge.

Pokemon closes the run on October 24th with Pokemon Night Out at the Intuit Dome, an EDM concert that, if the advertising is to be believed, leans into a nightlife-style scene. Pokemon Go players at the venue get special Timed Research, plus the chance to catch the musically themed Toxtricity — a neat loop tying the physical event back into the live game's monetization and engagement mechanics.

For studios, the week's through-line is discipline: fewer events with more meaning, webshops built to pivot, IP terms locked before production, and transmedia bets that account for operational risk. Watch whether more publishers follow Pokemon's model of tying concert attendance directly into live-game rewards.