Via slashdot, Microsoft has hired a really influential analyist Mathew Ball (who I had never head of personally*) to get their X-Box division out of its slump. They certainly need to do something, because the X-box is clearly getting its rear end handed to it on a plate by the PS5 and Switch 2. However, that's not what I found interesting enough to put up one of my rare posts.
The article links out to his slide presentation on the state of gaming in 2026. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet, it's absolutely fascinating. Among other things, it explains why layoffs are happening all over the US gaming development sector despite gaming revenue being at an all time high globally.
My major takehomes from it:
1. US developers are getting crippled by their myopia. Developing games only for peaple with the very highest end hardware in the Mobile and PC space, or that can afford a modern console, is really short sighted because it cuts you almost entirely out of the markets that are growing the fastest (hint, it aint here in the US). There are also entire popular genres of game (like the erotic dating sim/ shooter) doing really well I personally have never even heard of, and I am pretty sure are not being developed here.
2. Many peaple enjoy setting piles of money on fire. A lot of the money that peaple used to spend on games is now getting farted away in various kinds of gambling sites, such as prediction markets, sports betting and straight up internet gambling. I guess it's the same concept as gacha games, just with the game in the middle cut out . . .
3. Invest in Roblox!
Edit: But not right now!
https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/filing-national-pension-service-sells-791197-shares-of-roblox-corporation-rblx-2026-05-31/
Also, I promise I will be posting about MMOs again at some point :-)
*No actually, I had heard of him through Wilhem. For example, a recent post here. However, while I have looked at the slides he has posted from his 2025 presentation with interest, I never apparently even considered filing the name of the person that made the slides anywhere!
Gambling and gambling apps are sucking up a ton of money from people. They're also causing havoc with sports and athletes, to the point where it's a matter of when and not if some athlete will be shot and killed over gambling.
ReplyDeleteI think that chasing the top end of graphics and processing power has been an Achilles' heel of gaming for a long time now. That someone is pointing it out who is being put into a semi-kinda-sorta position of power at XBox might have something to do about it. As far as the erotic games thing is concerned, it doesn't shock me all that much. I mean, it wasn't just for the gameplay that people played Mass Effect.
Oops, didn't realize a comment had come in on this one. I have to manually approve comments that come in after a certain date.
ReplyDeleteAnd lol, yeah good point about Mass Effect :-)
No worries, I figured it got flagged for content. It happens from time to time.
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