Michail Katkoff and Rhys Elliott break down the widening gap between legacy studios bogged down by process and fresh teams building with urgency.
From the slow death of bloated AAA games to the shaky economics of Game Pass, they explore why shorter, more creative games are winning hearts—and why team quality now matters more than genre. Plus: why subscription models are struggling, and how devices like Switch 2 and Steam Deck might reshape portable play.
Rhys Elliotwww.linkedin.com/in/rhyselliott/Alinea Analyticswww.alineaanalytics.com
00:00 Introduction and Background
04:52 Fat Cats vs. Hungry Cats
22:05 Evaluating Game Development Teams
24:36 Investment Principles in Startup Life
26:31 The Shift from AAA to AA Games
33:25 The Demand for Shorter Games
39:45 The Challenges of Subscription Gaming
49:04 The Future of Game Pass and Subscription Models
53:35 The State of Subscription Services
55:50 Live Services vs. Premium Games
66:20 The Future of Portable Gaming
