Manda and Mike came to this industry independently, both through game journalism and criticism. They both got their starts at indie game outlets before transitioning to more mainstream editorial with a business twist at GameInformer (Mike) and GameDaily (Manda). The dynamic duo have been working together since 2018, nearly two years in the newsroom that Manda ran at GameDaily, before founding F-Squared in March 2020.
Amanda (Manda) Farough (She/Her)
Manda has been in and around the game industry since 2009 as a journalist, business analyst, critic, and speaker.
Since 2020, Manda has worked with many developers and publishers, both indie and AAA. Her work with these studios ensured that their games were the best that they could be for release. Throughout her time with their titles, Manda has provided feedback (both for consumer mocks and client-facing reports with SWOT analysis), pitch review, go/no-go feedback, and market research.
Manda started her gaming career in 2009 as, well, a blogger. She’s since worked as a gaming editor at Mic and Editor-in-Chief of both GameDaily and SuperParent, in addition to a number of freelancing bylines with The Washington Post, the ESRB, Teen Vogue, and GamesBeat.
She is the co-author of the Digital Playgrounds book series.
Where to Find Manda Elsewhere
Michael (Mike) Futter (He/Him)
Mike has spent more than a decade in the video game industry as a business analyst, critic, and journalist.
Since co-founding F-Squared in 2020, Mike has worked with dozens of independent developers and AAA publishers to help get their games ready for release through all phases of the development process, including market research, pitch review, go/no-go feedback, pre-alpha project review, trade show and media prep, and mock previews and reviews.
Prior to co-founding F-Squared, Mike was news editor at Game Informer and a freelance writer for Polygon, Variety, GameDaily, and GamesBeat. He is also the author of The GameDev Business Handbook and The GameDev Budgeting Handbook, designed to help demystify foundational business concepts for those starting their own studios.