E89: The Cost of Power: Leadership, Burnout & Survival in Game Dev with Melissa Phillips

Building Better Games

Building a game is hard. Leading the team to do it well without losing yourself along the way? That’s even harder.

In this episode, Ben sits down with Melissa Phillips, founder of Games Leadership and a former Head of Studio, to talk about the messy, emotional, and deeply human side of game leadership. From BAFTA boardrooms to indie trenches, Melissa brings a rare blend of psychological insight and real-world experience to one of the most overlooked conversations in game development: what happens when power, pressure, and people collide.

They dig into what founders get wrong, why doing “everything right” can still lead to failure, and how today’s leaders can navigate burnout, broken systems, and the crushing uncertainty of building something new.

You’ll hear:

• Why leadership in games is different and often lonely
• The hidden cost of scaling a team too fast
• How power changes you (whether you like it or not)
• What founders need before they build the next big thing
• Why we need to talk about failure and what it teaches us
• What it really means to lead with resilience in an industry built on chaos

If you’re a founder, leader, or future studio builder, this one’s for you.

Connect with Melissa & Games Leadership:

🌐 gamesleadership.com 🔗 LinkedIn – Melissa Phillips 🎓 Explore the Games Leadership Blueprint – 12-week leadership program

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