Ahead of the game: Conversations with gaming industry leaders

While there are many definitions of what a successful game is, the truest is probably this: it is a game that players love and stick with. To get there, it’s necessary to understand what players really want — what they are searching for and what keeps them engaged. As part of our research, we asked four leading game developers, Rovio, NetEase Games, Niantic and Nexon, to share tips on aspects of game development they’ve excelled in, from reimagining game environments to successfully monetizing and launching games globally.