On today’s episode, Francisco Rius gives us an exclusive look into the data world of the ever-popular video game Minecraft. Francisco is the Head of Data Science and Data Engineering with a background in business economics and marketing. He and host Evan Wimpey discuss his journey to his current role at Minecraft and how data insights are used to improve each player’s experience. Francisco shares how a relationship-oriented approach that prioritizes social listening is crucial to the game’s long-term success. They discuss what it takes to have a strong data team in a creative field. Finally, Francisco wraps up by sharing his vision for the intersection of AI in video games. Tune in for an enlightening and inspiring conversation.

Key Takeaways:
⛏️ How data have provided insights to improve Minecraft over the past twelve years
⛏️ How Minecraft practices social listening to provide the best game experience possible for their players
⛏️ The different skills and expertise needed for a strong, creative data science team
⛏️ How AI opens new worlds of possibilities for the video game industry

Quotes:
💬 A lot of times the relationship aspect of working in big corporations is multiplied times 10 when you're working in creative industries as well. So that relationship aspect is really important...[a new hire’s] ability to make friends and the emotional intelligence aspect of working shoulder-to-shoulder with folks that see the world in a little bit of a different light.
— Francisco Rius

💬 I feel like data science and analytics teams are maturing to be subject matter experts alongside decision-makers. And we're seeing a little bit of a reduction in the number of layers of translation that happens between the data insight and the decision.
— Francisco Rius

💬 The strategy for Minecraft really is: Hey, we want to create a relationship with our players that will last for the next 10, 20, 50 years.
— Francisco Rius

Featured in this episode:
Evan Wimpey
Director of Analytics Strategy at Elder Research.
Company website: www.elderresearch.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-wimpey/

Francisco Rius
Head of Data Science and Data Engineering, Minecraft at Microsoft
Francisco leads the data science and data engineering efforts for one of the biggest video game franchises in the world.  He is passionate about the intersection of art and science, where video game makers can use data-driven insights to improve player experiences and outcomes.  Minecraft is one of the best-selling video games of all time, with over 120 million active players per month.  Before joining the Minecraft franchise at Microsoft, Francisco led the analytics group for Electronic Arts’ FIFA, NHL, and UFC franchises.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franciscorius/

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:03 Francisco’s background and how he got to his role at Minecraft
06:01 How data has provided insights over Minecraft’s lifetime
09:44 Social listening at Minecraft
12:54 Partnerships in academia and Microsoft
15:26 Art & Science: fostering relationships between creatives and data scientists
19:46 A well-rounded data science team: working in tandem with subject matter experts
24:35 Balancing short-term and long-term change
28:41 Francisco’s vision for the future: AI in video games

Find more show notes, transcripts, & more episodes at:
https://www.elderresearch.com/resource/podcasts/