What happens inside a studio when a game explodes past every projection on launch day? Jeremy Fielding, Community Manager and Narrative Coordinator at Stunlock Studios, was there when V Rising hit 150,000 concurrent Steam players — and he walked us through all of it: the chaos, the 60-hour weeks, the improvised official servers, and the feedback systems they built on the fly.
Joined by Steve McLeod, founder of Feature Upvote, this conversation covers the full arc of community management at scale — from why every community manager is fundamentally a game developer, to how Stunlock built player trust through transparency, to why studio announcements largely don't work and what does instead.
If you work in community, player support, or live ops — this one is packed.
What We Cover:
- Why community managers are game developers (and why that framing matters)What it was actually like inside Stunlock during V Rising's early access launchHow to build feedback systems that scale before you think you need themThe case for private beta feedback boards — and the "Dracula pun" password strategyWhy AI bots in Discord often backfire — and what players actually want when they reach outHow transparency converts skeptical players into studio advocatesThe measurement problem: why community impact is real but hard to quantifyThe rise of the double-A studio and why mid-size teams have a community advantage
Guests:
- Jeremy Fielding (Jeremy Berson online) — Community Manager & Narrative Coordinator, Stunlock Studios | playvrising.comSteve McLeod — Founder, Feature Upvote | featureupvote.com | LinkedIn
Timestamps:
- 00:00 — Intro & warm-up02:00 — Are community managers game developers?05:30 — How game dev is really about solving problems you made yourself09:00 — Translating player feedback to dev teams — the middle seat13:00 — V Rising's early access launch: what 150K concurrent looks like from inside21:00 — AI in community support: when it helps, when it backfires27:00 — Why honesty builds the community that defends you30:00 — Feedback tools at scale: what to look for, what to avoid38:00 — Private beta feedback with Feature Upvote (and Dracula passwords)44:00 — Turning feedback into competitive advantage49:00 — Why studio trust is the new double-A advantage54:00 — Guest intros & where to find them
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