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.
Gaming
The industry's core assumption — that players pay, studios profit — is cracking from every direction at once.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gaming
Gamers Lose the Chip Fight
AI buyers outbid gamers for every chip. NVIDIA cut gaming card output 40%, memory is up 172%, the PlayStation 5 jumped $100 — a $9.4bn yearly hit to gaming hardware that won't fix itself.
Gaming
Regulators Move to Kill Game Gambling
New York is suing Valve, eight states are suing Roblox, and regulators already fined a prize-box maker. The billions games earn from random loot and item-betting just stopped being safe money.
Gaming
AI Voices Replace Game Actors
AI voices cost over ninety percent less, and ninety percent of studios already use AI. About $1.8 billion in yearly game voice and motion-capture pay is draining away — and the cheapest work goes first.