Deconstructor of Fun TWIG #360 The Story of Two Steam Games, Where Winds Meet & The 4X Shake-Up
Dec 4, 2025
This week, the hosts dive into the state of gaming investments, discussing Dream Games' budget woes and ByteDance's mobile strategy. They examine the intriguing new title, Where Winds Meet, and its implications for China's gaming ambitions. The tough landscape for indie studios comes under scrutiny, revealing their survival challenges. The conversation also explores the evolving 4X strategy genre, highlighting the rise of female gamers and new contenders like Tile Survive, pushing boundaries with fresh designs.
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Fortnite Is An Anti-Platform
- Fortnite acts like an "anti-platform" that aggregates massive IPs rather than enabling third-party creators to thrive.
- Epic's licensing empire drives spikes in CCU but hasn't fully translated into sustained UGC platform growth.
ByteDance Is Reshuffling Mobile Bets
- ByteDance appears to be divesting mobile assets like Moonton amid overall business decline.
- Their portfolio shows multiple UA-driven hits and failures, reflecting mobile market volatility.
Twin‑Stick Shooters Struggle On Mobile
- AceCraft's Cuphead-inspired mobile twin-stick shooter peaked then collapsed, showing genre-to-mobile conversions often fail.
- Real-time control genres struggle to translate to mobile UA/monetization playbooks.