Episode 57: IO Interactive CEO and Co-Owner Hakan Abrak

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor game director Stig Asmussen returns to IGN Unfiltered for another long-form conversation about building a AAA Star Wars game. He discusses what it takes to build a great sequel, the future of the Star Wars Jedi franchise, the potential use of Unreal Engine 5 in the future, what the success of Jedi Fallen Order did for his team, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to the horror series set in the universe of “The Callisto Protocol,” the hotly anticipated game from Striking Distance Studios.   Helix Station was once the jewel of the Jovian system, but it’s been a decaying ghost ship ever since its Carpenter drive went supercritical. When a dangerous escaped criminal seeks refuge there, officers of the Black Iron Prison force a pair of veteran skip tracers to help recover him. But once on Helix, they discover murderous alien life forms, as well as unspeakable horrors from their past. Starring Gwendoline Christie and Michael Ironside. IGN is publishing and distributing Helix Station in partnership with Striking Distance Studios, creator of the game The Callisto Protocol. The first two episodes of The Callisto Protocol: Helix Station are available now, with new episodes dropping every Thursday. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts.  Listen & Subscribe here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cliff Bleszinski, renowned designer of Gears of War, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Jazz Jackrabbit, and more, returns for his first IGN Unfiltered interview since 2016 to discuss his life and career as detailed in his new memoir, Control Freak. Cliff talks about the making of Gears of War, Epic's decision to sell Gears to Microsoft, his friendship with Hideo Kojima, his admiration for Shigeru Miyamoto, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justin Roiland reveals the origin of Rick & Morty's voices, the long road towards finally getting a hit show, and the longer road towards creating a successful video game studio – including lots of discussion Squanch's upcoming comedy-FPS, High on Life. WARNING: Explicit language throughout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this episode is Halo Infinite head of creative and longtime Bungie writer Joseph Staten. In this career-spanning interview, Staten discusses his unique path into the video game industry, the early days of Halo at Bungie, helping create Destiny, and how he's affected Halo Infinite since joining the team in 2020 just prior to the one-year delay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard – my first repeat guest! – returns to discuss Skyrim as The Elder Scrolls V celebrates its 10th anniversary this week. Of course, we don't just talk about this past. Todd also discusses his next big project, Starfield, and his next next project, The Elder Scrolls 6. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ZeniMax Online Studios boss Matt Firor discusses his long career in MMORPGs, bringing The Elder Scrolls online, what the studio is up to next after the Microsoft acquisition, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shadow Warrior 3 game director Kuba Opoń, who discusses his career in games – from his start as a programmer inspired by Quake 3 to becoming a game director on Shadow Warrior 3 to what makes good first-person shooter AI and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month's guest is games media investigative reporter Jason Schreier, who's written a new book called Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry. The former Kotaku and current Bloomberg reporter talks about the perils of the game industry in his experience reporting on it, from crunch to studio instability and more, as well as what might be done about it to make the industry a healthier, more sustainable place for its many thousands of talented developers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak talks very openly and honestly about running a AAA independent game studio in the modern era. In this 75-minute interview he discusses leaving Square Enix to go it alone and how the studio almost ran out of money at one point, how the studio landed the James Bond game deal and how the team is thinking about it, the future of Hitman, and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices