The Untold Story of Brawl Stars

Since its global launch in 2018, Brawl Stars is now hailed as Supercell’s 4th franchise to exceed $1B in revenue. But did you know the game was nearly axed during production? We sat down with Frank Keienburg, @BrawlStars Game Lead and former@supercell Player Experience leader to discuss embracing Community, his role as Game Lead, and building a culture of small yet powerful teams. 00:00 - Intro 05:08 - Early Career (WoW & Blizzard) 09:51 - Becoming a Leader & Managing Teams 14:30 - What is a Game Lead at Supercell? 21:52 - Supercell’s “Cell“ Structure 27:02 - Culture at Supercell 38:38 - THE Brawl Stars Story 52:49 - Community-first Game Development 59:30 - Brawl on YouTube 1:07:09 - Managing Burnout while Growing the Team 1:20:49 - Supercell’s Influence on Mobile Gaming 1:27:43 - Brawl Stars’ Innovation and Taking Risks 1:39:59 - Final Words Brawl Stars: - Frank on Twitter: - Lester on Twitter: - Doug on Twitter: Stay Updated: - Find us on Twitter: - Find us on LinkedIn: Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see