The Force is with Mike DeLaet.
At GDC Festival of Gaming, the Ares Interactive president sat down with GamesBeat lead news writer Alexander Lee (that’s me) to record an episode of the BIG Show, GamesBeat’s podcast. We spent most of the episode discussing insights from Mike’s decades of experience across the gaming industry. But we dedicated the last five minutes to a discussion about our mutual appreciation for Star Wars — and DeLaet’s impressive collection of lightsabers.
DeLaet’s episode of the BIG Show perfectly encapsulates the purpose of GamesBeat’s podcast series. The BIG Show is meant to be a space for industry leaders to share anecdotes and opinions in a candid, after-hours environment, going beyond business insights to explore their personalities and genuine interests. DeLaet is a veteran industry operator with experience across almost all facets of gaming. He helped Ares Interactive secure a $70 million Series A funding round, and as senior vice president of strategic partnerships at Scopely, he successfully shepherded the company toward its successful $4.9 billion acquisition deal with Savvy Games Group, although he left the company before the acquisition. But our podcast episode went far deeper than the business wins.
During the 20-minute chat, DeLaet and I spent plenty of time discussing his approach to business leadership and his thoughts on the gaming industry’s trajectory in 2026 and beyond — but we also went deep into his personal backstory and nerded out over his present-day interests and passions as a gamer.
“I want to create amazing and engaging games that fans love, that they’ll cherish for decades. I grew up playing Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda — games like that, where they have fond memories of these things, 20, 30, 40 years later,” DeLaet said during the podcast interview. “We want to have games like that — that people will remember forever.”
To listen to the show, click on the Spotify player above — or you can click here to watch the full video if you’re a GB MAX member. Stay tuned for more episodes of the BIG Show recorded at GamesBeat Summit, GamesBeat Engage, and other industry events this summer and beyond.