Games are cool. Economics is cool. Game Economics is just beginning.

Anti-Ai Artists Need Better Arguments; They’re Losing the AI Debate

Another wave of AI advances, another chorus of artists crying foul. Each wave has been unoccupied by serious argumentation; pro-Copyrightists need to advance something beyond an assumed conclusion if they want to win minds, not just hearts. Copyrightists routinely declare AI-generated art and “training” as copyright infringement and insist artists are owed royalties. This presumption is…

Digest or Die: Tripledot’s Big Gamble

Tripledot’s nearly $1B acquisition of Applovin’s studio collection appears to be a massive and leveraged gamble but reflects the shrinking pool of the hyper-to-hybrid publisher game of musical chairs. With the stroke of a pen, Tripledot’s revenue portfolio radically shifts from 1% IAP to being a majority. Meanwhile, Voodoo, Homa, and others undergo painful and…

AI In Gaming Has Flopped

Humanity may be on a colossal technology frontier, but gaming is being dragged along with AI. Instead of surfing atop the wave, it’s retreated to the wake. Gaming has historically been the first-best use case for new technology, so where did it all go so wrong? In the 26 months since ChatGPT launched, Web3 has…

The Game is Outside the Game

Matthew Ball’s 2024 gaming review paints an industry that had a good ride but is settling into stagflation. The Metaverse is nowhere to be found; instead, growth drivers like cloud streaming and GTA pricing replace it. If Stadia is the best we can do, we’re truly fucked. I wrote in agreement earlier this year with…