Welcome to Player Driven, the hub where gaming insights and community collide.
We believe that behind every great game is a thriving community and an unforgettable player experience. Whether it’s building inclusive environments, exploring the latest tech, or diving into the art of storytelling, our mission is simple: to empower the creators, communities, and players that make the gaming world extraordinary.
What We’re About:
🎮 Insightful Conversations – Through our podcast and community clubhouse, we bring industry leaders, creators, and innovators together to explore the cutting-edge of gaming.
🌍 Player-Centric Focus – From accessibility to trust and safety, we champion the initiatives that keep players at the heart of the industry.
📈 Data Meets Creativity – With a knack for combining KPIs with compelling narratives, we highlight strategies that don’t just work but resonate.
🤝 Community Building – We celebrate what makes the gaming community special: its people. From indie developers to AAA veterans, every voice matters here.
Join us as we explore what drives games, empowers communities, and defines success in the ever-evolving gaming landscape.
Your Game. Your Story. Your Community.
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Welcome to Player Driven, the hub where gaming insights and community collide.
We believe that behind every great game is a thriving community and an unforgettable player experience. Whether it’s building inclusive environments, exploring the latest tech, or diving into the art of storytelling, our mission is simple: to empower the creators, communities, and players that make the gaming world extraordinary.
What We’re About:
🎮 Insightful Conversations – Through our podcast and community clubhouse, we bring industry leaders, creators, and innovators together to explore the cutting-edge of gaming.
🌍 Player-Centric Focus – From accessibility to trust and safety, we champion the initiatives that keep players at the heart of the industry.
📈 Data Meets Creativity – With a knack for combining KPIs with compelling narratives, we highlight strategies that don’t just work but resonate.
🤝 Community Building – We celebrate what makes the gaming community special: its people. From indie developers to AAA veterans, every voice matters here.
Join us as we explore what drives games, empowers communities, and defines success in the ever-evolving gaming landscape.
Your Game. Your Story. Your Community.
ENCORE: Managing LiveOps at Scale: Inside Respawn's Build & Release Team with Julie Banta
Player Driven
51 minutes
1 month ago
ENCORE: Managing LiveOps at Scale: Inside Respawn's Build & Release Team with Julie Banta
📄 Episode Summary
In this episode, Greg sits down with Julie Banta, Director of Engineering for Build & Release at Respawn, to break down what it actually takes to keep a massive live game like Apex Legends running day after day.
Julie pulls back the curtain on the real machinery behind live service games: shipping updates across six platforms, reacting to hotfixes in real time, balancing player satisfaction with business realities, and what happens when millions of players discover a bug before telemetry even catches it.
Whether you're building an indie title, supporting a AAA LiveOps team, or just curious how Apex stays online season after season—this is a masterclass.
🔑 Key Topics Covered
1. What Build & Release Really Does at Respawn
* How content actually gets from dev environment to players
* What happens during season launch week
* Why shipping across PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC is pure chaos
2. Fast Feedback Loops & Storm Response
* How Respawn monitors crashes, spikes, and player reports
* When Reddit finds the bug before telemetry does
* The internal "bat signal" that triggers Build & Release into action
3. Balancing Technical Debt With Season Cadence
* Why live service code turns into "six years of hacks"
* The tension between cleaning tech debt and keeping seasons on schedule
* The brutal truth about maintaining legacy systems while shipping new content
4. Leadership, Culture & Mental Health Inside LiveOps
* How Respawn avoids burnout during crisis moments
* Why great teams protect each other's off-hours
* What good management looks like in a 24/7 operational environment
5. What Great LiveOps Looks Like
* The KPIs that actually matter
* What a "quiet weekend" is for Build & Release
* Why listening to players beats every dashboard
6. Julie's Career Path & Advice for Getting Into Games
* From USAA → EA IT → Respawn
* How to "connect your dots" when shifting industries
* Her perspective on diversity and belonging in modern game development
📣 Call to Action
If you enjoyed this breakdown of Apex's LiveOps brain, follow Player Driven for more conversations with the people shaping the future of gaming.
Player Driven
Welcome to Player Driven, the hub where gaming insights and community collide.
We believe that behind every great game is a thriving community and an unforgettable player experience. Whether it’s building inclusive environments, exploring the latest tech, or diving into the art of storytelling, our mission is simple: to empower the creators, communities, and players that make the gaming world extraordinary.
What We’re About:
🎮 Insightful Conversations – Through our podcast and community clubhouse, we bring industry leaders, creators, and innovators together to explore the cutting-edge of gaming.
🌍 Player-Centric Focus – From accessibility to trust and safety, we champion the initiatives that keep players at the heart of the industry.
📈 Data Meets Creativity – With a knack for combining KPIs with compelling narratives, we highlight strategies that don’t just work but resonate.
🤝 Community Building – We celebrate what makes the gaming community special: its people. From indie developers to AAA veterans, every voice matters here.
Join us as we explore what drives games, empowers communities, and defines success in the ever-evolving gaming landscape.
Your Game. Your Story. Your Community.
