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2025-05-19
A New Era in Interactive Gaming Discovery Begins
After spearheading one of the largest deals in gaming history—the \$70 billion sale of Activision Blizzard to Microsoft—Rob Schonfeld made a surprising career pivot. Instead of staying with a tech giant or moving into a predictable executive role, he’s joined forces with an early-stage Israeli startup called Ludeo. This unexpected move is turning heads across the gaming industry, especially considering Schonfeld’s track record with global powerhouses like Disney, BCG, and Activision Blizzard.
So what made this seasoned executive take a gamble on a small company halfway across the world? Ludeo isn’t your average startup. It’s revolutionizing how gamers engage with content by turning gameplay videos into interactive experiences. Unlike traditional game trailers or Twitch streams, Ludeo’s format allows users to play video highlights—instantly and without owning the game.
Schonfeld says he was drawn in by the team’s vision and the potential to transform how games are discovered, monetized, and played. With major backing from investors like Playtika, Samsung, and LG Ventures, and already raising \$40 million, Ludeo is quickly gaining traction. As the Chief Business Officer, Schonfeld is now on the frontlines of reshaping the future of gaming engagement.
The Story Behind the Move (Digest-style Summary – 30 lines)
Rob Schonfeld, the former CRO of Activision Blizzard, made headlines when he accepted the position of Chief Business Officer at Ludeo, a young Israeli gaming startup founded in 2022. After overseeing Activision’s \$70 billion acquisition by Microsoft and leading the company through its integration phase, Schonfeld seemed poised for retirement or a traditional high-level role in an established tech company. Instead, a meeting with Ludeo CEO Asaf Gazit in Las Vegas changed his trajectory.
Schonfeld described his initial reaction as skeptical, questioning whether joining a startup at this stage in his career made sense. But after meeting the team, he was impressed by their passion, clarity, and ambition. Ludeo’s innovation lies in a unique format: recorded gameplay highlights called “Ludeos” that are interactive, allowing users to engage with games even if they don’t own them.
This model changes the dynamics of how people discover games. Rather than watching passively, users can experience gameplay firsthand, which significantly boosts conversion rates. Traditional videos lead to about 1% conversion, but Ludeo’s technology raises that to 15%.
Ludeo is supported by strong investors and is expanding fast, targeting over a million usage hours per week. Schonfeld, now off the corporate safety net, is re-energized by this challenge. He believes that Ludeo is poised to become a discovery engine for games, turning passive content into active engagement tools. During his time at Activision, Schonfeld helped scale the company from a \$7 billion valuation in 2012 to a \$70 billion sale. His knowledge of global markets, monetization, and digital innovation makes him an invaluable asset to Ludeo.
As the gaming industry recalibrates post-COVID, with many companies reassessing their strategies after overestimating growth, Ludeo’s approach is seen as timely. Meanwhile, Schonfeld believes AI will play a big role in creating and curating future gaming experiences, but it’s Ludeo’s human-driven innovation that captured his imagination—and his commitment.
What Undercode Say: (Analytical Section – 40 lines)
Schonfeld’s move from Activision to Ludeo isn’t just a career twist—it’s a signal of changing tides in the gaming landscape. The gaming industry, once defined by hardware dominance and boxed releases, has fully transitioned into a digital-first economy. Ludeo fits perfectly into this new age, where discovery and engagement are paramount.
Traditional gaming marketing has relied heavily on streamers, trailers, and influencers. But the effectiveness of these tactics is waning, especially with younger audiences that value interactivity over passive content. Ludeo’s model—offering bite-sized, playable clips—caters exactly to this preference. It’s not just a technological gimmick; it’s a fundamental shift in how players sample games.
Schonfeld’s arrival lends massive credibility to Ludeo. His background in scaling revenues and understanding global market dynamics could turn Ludeo into more than just a niche product. This is especially important because the biggest hurdle for startups is often gaining trust and attention from large publishers. With Schonfeld onboard, Ludeo bypasses this barrier.
His insight into the post-COVID gaming economy is also sharp. During the pandemic, gaming saw explosive, unsustainable growth. As the world normalized, many studios found themselves overextended. Now, there’s a hunger for innovation that is both scalable and cost-effective. Ludeo’s plug-and-play model provides a low-barrier entry point for consumers, which publishers find attractive.
Another key point is the platform’s appeal to investors. Backers like Playtika, Samsung, and LG Ventures are not just throwing money—they’re strategic partners. Samsung and LG, in particular, offer hardware channels for Ludeo integration, potentially placing playable content directly onto smart TVs or mobile devices.
From a business perspective, Ludeo turns every clip into a potential sales funnel. Instead of hoping that a viewer will watch a YouTube trailer, search for a game, and then buy it, Ludeo collapses that journey into a single action—press play. This immediacy is what modern consumers demand, and it aligns perfectly with the short attention spans of digital audiences.
It’s also worth noting that this isn’t Schonfeld’s first time betting on digital transformation. He was instrumental in making Activision’s digital distribution seamless, moving from a world where game downloads took four days to one where pre-release revenue could be captured.
His comment about \$100,000 deals is telling. In large corporations, deals of that size are a drop in the bucket. At startups, they’re lifeblood. Schonfeld isn’t chasing a paycheck—he’s chasing impact. And for someone used to the corporate machine, that’s a refreshing pivot.
Ultimately, Ludeo’s success will depend on execution. The idea is strong, the team is passionate, and the support is solid. With a seasoned leader like Schonfeld guiding business strategy, Ludeo stands a real chance to become the Netflix of interactive game previews.
Fact Checker Results ✅
🎯 Schonfeld did lead the Activision–Microsoft deal and stayed through the integration
📈 Ludeo has raised \$40M and its core product is interactive video clips called “Ludeos”
📊 The startup claims to boost viewer-to-player conversion from 1% to 15%
Prediction 🔮
Ludeo is on track to disrupt the gaming discovery ecosystem within the next 18 months. If adoption continues and publisher partnerships deepen, the platform could become a standard in how new titles are marketed and experienced. With Schonfeld at the helm of business strategy, a mid-tier acquisition or major funding round seems highly likely before the end of 2026.
References:
Reported By: calcalistechcom_6566d87430f0570d765a2364
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