Show Notes
Recorded live on-site at GDC, host Peggy Anne Salz sits down with Justin Graysmark, founder of Eplay Studios, to unpack the unlikely path from teaching English in Poland to building a portfolio of 25 competitive games and driving 2 million installs on the Skillz platform.
Justin didn’t come into games through the usual route. He started with a love of competitive trivia, a serious winning streak on the leaderboard and the conviction that real rewards could make skill-based games even more compelling. In 2016, that spark became Eplay Studios.
What followed was not overnight success. It was persistence, testing, missed shots, hard lessons and a lot of getting back up.
As Justin puts it, game development has plenty in common with martial arts: you get your butt kicked, you learn, you try again. That mindset helped him move from early misses to games players actually wanted to play.
In this episode, Peggy and Justin get into: How Justin turned a competitive trivia habit into a full-time indie studio Why fairness, balance and trust are make-or-break in real-money competitive games What 25 games and 2 million installs taught him about working backward from the player How Skillz helped Eplay focus on gameplay while handling matchmaking, payments and competitive infrastructure Why the Skillz and Beamable combination gives small studios more tools to build, test and iterate faster Why Justin started sharing his journey on YouTube to show other developers that success is possible
The big takeaway: competitive games are not won by one great idea. They are built through persistence, player feedback and the willingness to keep testing what flies and what fails.
If you are building your first game, your tenth or your next shot at something bigger, Justin’s story is a reminder not to give up too early. In his words: “When you stick with it long enough, that’s where the magic happens.”
Chapters 00:00 – Martial Arts Discipline 00:38 – An Unconventional Path 02:54 – Starting Eplay Studios 04:17 – Milestone: 2 Million Installs 05:27 – The Importance of Fairness 06:31 – Infrastructure for Small Studios 08:02 – The Skillz/Beamable Bundle 09:21 – Documenting the Journey 11:07 – Future of Competitive VR 12:45 – Advice: Don't Stop Early
Let's Connect 👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pocketgamer-biz/?originalSubdomain=uk 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz
Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event
More from PocketGamer.biz Podcast
PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and deputy editor Paige Cook talk through the latest games industry news on the 105th episode of the Week in Mobile Games Podcast. On the show this week: Europe's CPC targets King, Supercell, Mojang and others over virtual currencies. Mark Pincus reveals Zynga nearly acquired Supercell for $400m in 2012. Daily log-in bonuses and activity streaks under threat in EU Kids Act. The future of cloud gaming. And Craig rants about the insane AI PR machine and why cloud gaming will never work.
PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple, features and data editor Aaron Astle, deputy editor Aaron Astle and editorial director for events Mariam Ahmad talk through the latest games industry news on the 104th episode of the Week in Mobile Games Podcast. On the show we discuss: The newly announced Apple foldable phone, the iPhone Duo. The backlash against Apple's new EU terms and the European Commission's "apparent endorsement" of them. The top mobile games from August 2026's revenue and download charts. The change in leadership at UK studio Trailmix, developer of Love & Pies. The secret karaoke video.
PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple and features and data editor Aaron Astle talk through the latest games industry news on the 103rd episode of the Week in Mobile Games Podcast. On the show we discuss: Our Gamescom 2026 insights. Sony Music's acquisition of a 23.29% stake in Puzzle & Dragons developer GungHo. The exit of CEO Brian Ward from Savvy Games Group. W4 Games' $18m investment, the rise of Godot and a very short history of game engines. How Monster Hunter Outlanders is bringing the classic experience to mobile. The newly announced animated movie Pokémon: Wild Card. 00:00 Introductions 05:41 Gamescom 2026 insights 14:36 Monster Hunter Outlanders 17:50 Sony Music's GungHo investment 20:28 Brian Ward exits Savvy Games Group 24:02 Pokémon: Wild Card movie 31:02 The rise of Godot 35:42 Conclusions ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/pocketgamer-biz/?originalSubdomain=uk 👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz 👉🏻 Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event 👉🏻 Read our games industry region reports on the UK, China, Nordics, Iberia and more here: https://www.pocketgamer.biz/reports/
The PocketGamer.biz Podcast welcomes Xsolla president Chris Hewish in a new episode that dives into the world of direct-to-consumer and the company's key new announcements.Xsolla is rolling out six new solutions right now in the build-up to Gamescom, including Web Shop Ecosystem, a complete D2C offering built specifically for mobile games. There’s also 15 new local payment methods; the Xsolla AI Toolkit and its new CLI, an AI-assisted path from a new publisher account to a working web shop; an expanded creator platform; and a backend partnership with AccelByte.Sponsored by Xsolla and hosted by Peggy Anne Salz, this episode delves into: The state of the D2C space following legal and regulatory movements. Why the suite of tools announced by Xsolla aren’t just about payments. How the company is embracing AI to empower D2C. Developers can build a working storefront in a single session - but should they? How the Xsolla Partner Network works and the relevancy of creator campaigns for mobile publishers. The partnership with AccelByte and what it means for developers and Xsolla’s tool suite. ** Let's Connect **👉🏻 X - https://x.com/pgbiz 👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/poc... 👉🏻 Facebook - / pgbiz 👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event
PocketGamer.biz head of content Craig Chapple, features and data editor Aaron Astle, editorial director for events Mariam Ahmad and our special guest, AppsFlyer global director of product for gaming Adam Smart, talk through the latest games industry news on the 101st episode of the Week in Mobile Games Podcast. On the show we discuss: The upcoming big expo that is Gamescom - and what impact a discless console future could have on fandom. If cloud gaming really has an audience. Türkiye's fast-moving games hub and why it's so successful. Pokémon Go's stellar July for revenue and more chart toppers for the month. MTG's rebranding of its midcore division to Playamp and what it means for AI and D2C.