Welcome To The Community Lounge
Your hub for community management resources, guides, and conversations. Whether you're just getting started or have years of experience, you'll find something valuable here.
The Community Lounge Podcast
Conversations with Community Managers from the video game industry.
We raised $50K for charity with a video game
with Greg Cummins
We chat about managing communities across time zones with a team of moderators, how Far From Home turned negative reviews into a comeback story by listening to their players, and their inspiring charity work that's raised over $50,000 for Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Greg shares practical advice on building trust with your community, managing your time effectively, and why negative reviews from engaged players are actually valuable feedback.
Introducing the Community Lounge Guides for Community Managers (solo episode)
with Steve McLeod
I'm launching the brand new Community Lounge Guides: A series of practical resources designed specifically for Community Managers: The first one is now available: "Becoming a Community Manager: Real Life Stories"
The industry is smaller than you think
with Vicki Fieldhouse
We chat about how Vicki landed her first games job by streaming Fighting Fantasy books on YouTube, why being genuinely passionate about the games you work on matters, and the challenges of taking a lead management role that led her back to hands-on community work. Vicki also shares insights about the differences between working for developers versus publishers, the importance of honesty when you can't fix a bug, and her work on Cozy Quest: Secret Mode's annual celebration of cozy games featuring nearly 300 developers.
Guides for Community Managers
Practical, step-by-step advice to help you manage, thrive and grow.
Internal communication for community managers: How to talk to your team
This guide dives into the often-overlooked internal side of community management. Here’s what you’ll learn: Most guides about community management focus on the outward-facing side. How to post, how to moderate, how to respond to angry players. But it’s also only half the job. The other half happens inside the studio: convincing a developer that […]
Your first week as a community manager: What actually matters
Starting a community management role feels like being handed the keys to someone else’s house while they’re on vacation. You know there’s a system, but nobody left instructions. The good news: every community manager before you felt the same disorientation. The better news: there are concrete things you can do in week one that will […]
Burnout: How community manager veterans are dealing with it
Burnout in community management isn’t theoretical. It’s the 3am Discord notification you can’t ignore. It’s the death threat over a balance patch. It’s the slow erosion of loving your job into dreading your inbox. I’ve interviewed dozens of community managers for The Community Lounge podcast. Here’s what they’ve actually said about burning out, fighting it, […]
Industry news & trends
Stay up to date with what's happening in the gaming industry.
Video game industry podcasts
I’m a big fan of podcasts. They’ve been around for a long time, but there’s still plenty of life in them. Here are some active podcasts from the video game industry podcasts (yes, including my own): The Community Lounge This is my podcast. It features interviews with people in community roles in the video game […]
How to get player feedback
I strongly believe that listening to player feedback will make your game better. But what if you're not yet getting any player feedback? I have three tips for getting players to give you feedback.
23 top tips to smash your game early access goals
Don’t fail your early access launch. This guides covers everything from feedback to community, retention, promotion, and a lot more.