Gaming
Laws Force Games to Stay Playable
Europe and California are moving to force game makers to keep titles playable after servers close — or refund buyers. Our estimate: $1.8 billion a year. The market still prices it as a lobbying fight.
Gavin Bridge
Former Amazon Studios FAST exec, former Variety VIP+ senior analyst.
Gaming
Steam's 30% Cut Under Siege
Valve keeps up to 30 cents of every dollar spent on Steam — over $3bn in 2024. A class-action lawsuit, European rules, and a Google courtroom loss are now all pressing on that cut at once.
Gaming
Loot Boxes Ruled Illegal Gambling
Belgium called paid loot boxes illegal gambling. Now Europe and America are following. FASTMaster puts $6.3bn a year in game revenue at risk if the ruling spreads.
Blindside
Blindside Weekly
5 structural threats the market isn't pricing — and where each one sits on the scale.
Gaming
China's Cheap Blockbusters Take Premium Games
China can now build $1 billion blockbuster games for $70 million. Black Myth proved it. FASTMaster sees $4.9 billion of Western game revenue a year now open to Chinese rivals — and the market hasn't priced it.
Gaming
Big Games Lose Their Young Players
The biggest online games are graying. League of Legends lost 55 million monthly players; Fortnite's US-teen reach fell to 37 percent. The original fans are aging out, and new ones cost 30 percent more to win.
Creator Economy
Creator-as-Asset: How to Value an Influencer Like a Security
MrBeast 75, Hawk Tuah 3. A four-component composite valuation index for creator-economy brands — built from hype, risk, backlog, mobility.
Gaming
Roblox's Broken Pay Promise
Half of Roblox's developers earned $1,575 last year. The top ten averaged $33.9 million. The platform keeps 70% of every dollar — and builders now have somewhere else to go.
Gaming
Game Pass Hides Its Losses
Microsoft says Game Pass earns $5 billion a year, but has never shown a standalone profit — and the costs it leaves out could be enormous. Our model puts $668 million a year at risk if the real numbers surface.
Gaming
Blockbuster Games Cost More Than They Earn
Top games now cost $300M-plus to build while the price stays at $70. Only five franchises can earn that back, leaving $7.7bn of yearly revenue at risk. The market calls it a dip — our index says it's permanent.
Blindside
Blindside Weekly
5 structural threats the market isn't pricing — and where each one sits on the scale.
Gaming
Big Studios Bleed Cash Chasing Online Games
Big publishers are destroying an estimated $4.7 billion a year launching online games that mostly flop — a money pit the market still mistakes for a run of bad luck.