When I was studying Technology & Innovation Strategy at the Asian Institute of Management, I didn’t expect that my coursework would become the foundation for my career in gaming. But looking back, the connections are clear.
Strategic Frameworks for Game Features
Consumer Behavior → Player Psychology
My consumer behavior class taught me to think in segments, personas, and motivational drivers. In gaming, this translates directly:
- Achievers want progression and mastery
- Explorers want discovery and novelty
- Socializers want community and connection
- Competitors want challenges and recognition
Understanding these player types helps prioritize features and design experiences that resonate with each segment.
Strategic Negotiations → Stakeholder Management
Game development is all about negotiation:
- Engineering wants clean code and technical debt reduction
- Art wants stunning visuals
- Business wants monetization
- Players want fun
The negotiation skills I learned—finding win-win solutions, understanding underlying interests, building consensus—are essential every single day.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Business school drilled into me the importance of testing assumptions and measuring outcomes. In gaming, this manifests as:
- A/B testing features before full rollout
- Setting clear KPIs for every major update
- Building feedback loops into the product
- Making data-informed (not data-driven) decisions
The Unexpected Connections
Innovation Strategy taught me how to evaluate emerging trends and technologies. This helps me spot opportunities in Web3 gaming, AI-driven content, and new platforms before they become mainstream.
Social Marketing gave me frameworks for understanding viral mechanics and network effects—critical for games with social features.
Operations Management helps me think about live operations, update schedules, and service reliability.
What Business School Doesn’t Teach
That said, there’s plenty you can’t learn in a classroom:
- How to prioritize when everything is urgent
- How to ship when nothing feels ready
- How to balance player desires with business needs
- How to stay creative under pressure
These skills come from experience, mentorship, and lots of shipped features.
Advice for Aspiring Gaming PMs
If you’re coming from a business background and want to break into gaming:
- Play Games Critically: Don’t just play—analyze systems, progression, monetization
- Learn the Language: Understand GDD, retention curves, ARPDAU, K-factor
- Build Something: Even a small game mod shows you understand the medium
- Find Your Niche: Gaming is huge—find where your unique background adds value
The Bottom Line
My MBA gave me frameworks, analytical tools, and strategic thinking. Gaming taught me creativity, rapid iteration, and player empathy. The combination is powerful.
The best product managers in gaming aren’t just business people or just gamers—they’re both.
What’s your background? How has it shaped your approach to product management?