How to Build a Successful AR/VR Game Studio in the Era of Mixed Reality | Ryan Canuel
ABOUT Ryan:
Ryan Canuel is the CEO and co-founder of Petricore, a game development studio specializing in augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, and emerging gaming technologies. Since launching the company in 2015, Ryan and his team have partnered with organizations including Meta, Google, Scholastic, Bose, and Burger King while creating award-winning immersive experiences and pioneering new forms of interactive entertainment.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
How Ryan founded Petricore immediately after graduating college
Why niching into AR, VR, and XR helped the studio stand out
Building a sustainable game studio instead of chasing trends
The importance of passion when choosing a creative niche
Lessons from developing games for emerging technologies
Why mixed reality offers opportunities traditional gaming doesn't
How Meta helps fund innovative VR and XR experiences
Balancing client work with developing original game IP
The biggest mistakes studios make when creating passion projects
How to pitch original games that actually get funded
Maintaining a healthy studio culture during long development cycles
Why commerce often has to come before artistic perfection
Emerging technologies that could shape the next generation of games
How AI is improving production workflows inside game studios
Leadership lessons for running a creative business over the long term
In This Episode…
Carl sits down with Ryan Canuel, CEO and co-founder of Petricore, an award-winning game studio building innovative experiences across augmented reality, virtual reality, and emerging gaming platforms. Since founding the studio in 2015, Ryan has helped Petricore create immersive experiences for partners including Meta, Google, Scholastic, Bose, and Burger King while developing original games like Mythic Realms that push the boundaries of mixed reality.
Together, Carl and Ryan dive deep into what it really takes to build a sustainable game studio in one of the fastest-changing areas of technology. They discuss why niching down beats chasing trends, balancing client work with original IP, how Meta supports mixed reality developers, the future of XR gaming, healthy studio culture, AI in game development, and why long-term success comes from building a business—not just making games.
Whether you're a game developer, studio founder, entrepreneur, XR enthusiast, creative leader, or someone curious about where immersive technology is headed, this episode is packed with practical advice and behind-the-scenes insights from a studio that's helping define the future of interactive entertainment.
Resources Mentioned in this episode:
🌐 Petricore Games: https://petricoregames.com
💼 Ryan Canuel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryancanuel
🎮 Learn more about Project Death Game and Petricore's latest VR projects on their website.
Sponsor for this episode...
This episode is brought to you by Epic Made.
Epic Made creates entertainment-quality animation, digital art, and graphic design to elevate brands and build fandom.
We are a collective of senior-level artists across multiple disciplines, producing trailers, key art, social campaigns, branded storytelling, and motion systems for entertainment, gaming, and pop culture brands. Our work has supported major networks and studios, including SYFY and Nickelodeon.
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