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Niklas Süle on moving from pro football into iGaming with Games & Leaves
Footballer Niklas Süle explains how dressing-room leadership and fan engagement lessons shape his gaming studio Games & Leaves and its shift into iGaming.
Episode from iGaming Daily. Summarised by the AffHouse newsroom from the full episode. How we work →
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Athletes often lend their names to gaming brands, but few run the studio. Recorded on the floor in Lisbon, this iGaming Daily episode features Niklas Süle, the former Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim defender who retired at 30 and now co-runs Games & Leaves with a business partner. He explains why the product has to come before the celebrity.
In this episode
Süle says he started the gaming company about five years ago, during his football career, as he looked for something to do after it (4:37, 4:52).
The team is about 15 people spread across places such as Poland, Spain and Romania, and he hopes to soft launch a second game in October (6:08, 17:38).
He argues the product comes first: a famous face gives "a little kick" in marketing, but if the product is bad nobody plays again (11:07, 11:15).
On Michael Jordan, he says a big name helps, but players will switch to a rival that keeps developing its product (12:40, 12:56).
He is wary of ruling things out: he would not have planned an iGaming game two years ago, but is proud of the step (16:09, 16:24).
He wants honest, direct team culture and says football increasingly treats players as products (18:05, 18:30).
Episode from iGaming Daily by SBC Media, published on YouTube.
