Spry Fox going independent highlights a real tradeoff. Funding buys focus, but distribution determines who can actually play together. For social games, reach and access shape everything that follows.

Player trust shows up in metrics before revenue does. Retention holds. Refunds stay low. Players return without being nudged. When trust is there, small flaws get patience. When it isn’t, everything feels heavier.

Feature creep rarely breaks games outright. It creates drag. Every added system increases build time, testing, and mental load. For small teams, that slows learning and shipping. Simple systems age better because iteration stays fast.

Pocket Gamer Connects hitting 3,000+ attendees shows where the industry really is. When things get harder, builders cluster closer. Context, shared lessons, and honest tradeoffs matter more than ever.

Pocketpair funding indie games while letting teams keep their IP sets a healthier tone. When developers retain upside and control, decisions improve, risk becomes manageable, and better games follow. Aligned incentives build stronger ecosystems.

Ubisoft betting on fewer, bigger franchises reflects rising costs and risk. It reduces uncertainty, but concentrates risk. For smaller teams, focus/faster learning cycles become the advantage.

Krafton talking about decision gates matters more than the 26-project count. Scale only works when teams are willing to say no early. Clear validation keeps momentum from turning into risk.

Meta winding down VR for work feels like a course correction. Immersive tech sticks where it fits existing habits. Social presence travels further than virtual meetings.

Interesting move from Towerborne. They rebuilt core systems to shift from free-to-play to premium after early access feedback. Monetization is a design choice. When it doesn’t fit the experience, changing it is hard, but sometimes necessary.

Nearly 150k people rang in the New Year together inside VRChat. That happens when a space supports shared rituals, feels familiar, and makes being together easy. The future of immersive tech belongs to places people already trust for meaningful moments.

Steam’s 2025 data is blunt. Price doesn’t drive success. Engagement does. $20 games only compete with $70 titles when players stick around, come back, and recommend them. Launch week matters less than session two.

We raised $5.4M in seed funding for Tesoro XP. We’re building a retail-funded rewards platform that lets real-world spend unlock in-game value, without adding pressure inside the game. Incentives aligned. Systems first. More soon.

Real-world game events only work when they extend the game’s core systems. Monopoly Go leaned into trading, lowered friction, and let players do more of what they already enjoy doing. A great example of how to earn engagement instead of just buying it.

Potential hot take: I think most AI debates miss the point. The question is not whether AI is good or bad. It's how it fits into your system. The challenge is determining where automation fits and where human judgment still matters.