Eric Brown

This week in Montréal the industry marked two serious milestones: the launch of Montreal Games Week and the return of MIGS 25. This is not just about one conference anymore. It is about a full week of games, business, culture and collaboration. For anyone in devs, publishing or services: - Week-long events equal more chances to engage, learn and network beyond the standard format. - Multiple formats (indie showcases plus B2B plus services) signal that external development and partnerships are front of mind. - Montréal continues to hold global relevance as a place for serious industry conversation and deals. Think about how you show up in this broader industry week, not just the big call event. #GameDev #Publishing #MIGS #MontrealGames #GamingIndustry

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I sat in on a great panel yesterday during the 1st day of the Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS): “Visions of the Future for the Canadian Video Game Business”, hosted by John Nguyen and featuring Joshua Nilson, Christopher Chancey, and Lysane Perreault. It was an insightful and grounded conversation which gave a clear snapshot of where the Canadian industry stands today. Some of my key takeaways from the talk were the following: - After a tough 18 months or so, the market seems to be stabilizing with new projects and studios emerging, but the tone is more measured. - There’s a shift towards a stronger focus on productivity, profitability, and marketing. While the creative drive is still there, it's now more often being paired with business discipline. - Funding and publishing are shifting as risk tolerance is down, but that also means developers who prove traction (like strong wishlists or engaged audiences) enter those conversations with larger leverage. - Smaller, focused teams are becoming the new normal with a return to building steadily, rather than scaling recklessly. What stood out most to me was the emphasis on treating games as both creative and commercial ventures. I've written about this a few times already. That balance has always been a challenge for our industry but it’s exactly where long-term sustainability lives. A big thanks to the panelists for a candid and forward-looking discussion! I for one very much enjoyed it.

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The game industry is going through a reckoning. In the wake of ongoing layoffs, I’ve been reflecting on some hard truths — and I don’t think I’m alone: 🎮 Not everyone will have a seat at the table over the next 3–5 years. Incredible talent will be sidelined, not due to performance, but due to circumstances. 🔁 Reinvention is no longer optional. Evolving your skills, adapting your role, and rethinking your trajectory will be essential — and that won’t be feasible for everyone. 📉 Player behavior is changing fast. What once worked — franchises, genres, monetization models — may not survive the shift in engagement and motivation. 🤝 We all played a part. Executive greed. Skyrocketing salaries during the boom. Over-reliance on “if you build it, they will come” without investing in community from day one. Lots more to discuss here, all boiling down to widespread industry complacency and irresponsibility. 🌍 And then there's what we can’t control. Tariffs. Interest rates. Platform ecosystems commanded so much player attention. Shook investors. Short-sighted financial decision. Acquisitions without strategy. There’s no easy answer here — but if we want this industry to thrive again, we’ll need new ideas, more humility, and a real commitment to change. For me, the only way forward is to keep learning, keep evolving, and keep reinventing. That’s why I’m building a company that reflects not just where the industry has been, but where I believe the biggest opportunities in gaming are headed next. The challenges are real — but so is the potential. Love y'all and wishing everyone the very best as they navigate what this all means for them. Hugs.

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A good game isn’t good enough anymore. The challenge isn’t just quality. Good games are failing today. Well-reviewed titles, crafted with passion, are launching into silence. It’s not just about quality – it’s about visibility. A big part of my work is making content visible and that’s where our industry keeps slipping. Why? Because the bar for discoverability has changed and many of us haven’t adjusted. We often blame marketing missteps or product features; that’s fair. But zooming out, the broader trend is undeniable: oversaturation + limited attention = discoverability collapse. 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆... 𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘. In 2024, nearly 19,000 games launched on Steam. On paper, it looks like a golden age. But here’s the twist: 2/3 of all PC playtime went to just FIVE titles. And most aren’t new – they’re SIX+ years old. • For developers: it’s oversaturation. • For players: it’s discoverability hell. 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. In 2021, money was everywhere. Studios raised millions with slides alone. By Q4 2024, funding dropped 47% – the lowest in five years. That pushes pitches toward sequels and spin-offs, while bold new games get shelved. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟰-𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁. Players don’t just choose between games. They’re splitting hours with Netflix, TikTok, YouTube, podcasts. Even sleep is a competitor… and sleep is free. On average, they’ve got 3 hours a day for screen time. We’re all fighting for the same slice. These problems won’t fade. AI, UGC platforms, and cheaper tools will only accelerate supply. The flood isn’t slowing. 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘀 𝗱𝗼? Extraordinary effort now goes into differentiation and marketing. Even then, discoverability is harder and less predictable than ever. For indies, it feels like the deck is stacked… and honestly, it is. That’s why discoverability isn’t a side problem. It is the number one problem in games. Solving it will decide who survives the next decade. The biggest underutilized dev team? ↳ YOUR PLAYERS. The biggest underutilized marketing team? ↳ YOUR PLAYERS. In 2024, creators earned $1B+. That’s GDP, not UGC. And with 10.7% of global playtime happening inside player-made content, the shift is real. There are 2 big trends: №1: Game-as-a-Platform. Build tools, templates, and incentives. №2: Players in the Dev Room. Not just feedback forms but real authority, through sandbox tests, player councils and revenue share. Platforms like PlayMakers, Overwolf, or Mod(.)io are showing the way: giving players the tools, turning them into creators, rewarding them for creativity. So here’s the real question for the future: Are you still asking how to make more content? Or are you building a system where players make it for you – better, faster, at scale? Thoughts?

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Hey, if it ain't broken... Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 studio doesn’t plan on expanding its scale of development. “We’re just the right size for a full-price turn-based RPG” Expand as needed. Don't expand for expansion sake Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 became one of 2025’s most acclaimed games, with many praising its development approach. Despite its success, Sandfall Interactive isn’t planning to scale up. “For now, I’d prefer working as a small team… when it comes to making a full-priced turn-based RPG, I believe that the team we have now is just the right size,” - Tom Guillermin. Creative director Guillaume Broche emphasized that although QA, localization, and marketing were outsourced, the core team was small: “We had five people working on environments, two on the story… music was done by four people.” Guillermin noted that some members were fresh graduates, which allowed them to adapt easily to the studio’s unique workflow. I’ve been in gaming long enough to watch studios grow chasing the next spectacle, only to collapse under their own weight. There’s something powerful about a studio that knows its limits and embraces them. Instead of scaling up just because they found success, Sandfall is doubling down on what worked: a tight, artistically driven team making exactly the kind of game they believe in. In E33, they were able to focus on what matters most and do a small amount of things really well rather than do a ton of things that are just alright. We’ve been conditioned to equate size with value. But Expedition 33 proves that restraint can actually enhance quality. While I would have welcomed a longer runtime, I was grateful to play something polished, beautiful, and complete. Games like this remind me that focused titles aren’t just viable, they might be what the industry needs most.

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In the past 3 years, several teams in our games industry have unionized First, and I am sharing my personal opinion only, I offer all my support and credit to these teams. Unionizing takes courage and a willingness to build trust, coordinate, and challenge the status quo. These teams clearly felt unionizing was essential to protect their rights and working conditions and whatever your view, that conviction deserves respect. I’m always pro-labor because being pro-labor is being pro-human. People often ask why I’m so measured on this topic, though. It’s because unions are widely misunderstood. They’re not a cure-all, and I think it’s important to be clear about what they do and don’t protect. So, what does a union actually do and what doesn’t it? Here’s my understanding (and feel free to correct me): ✅ What a union can do: 🟢 Negotiate better wages, benefits, and working hours Collective bargaining is at the heart of unionization. It allows workers to secure legally binding agreements around pay, healthcare, PTO, and more. 🟢 Provide a structured grievance process Unions ensure that employee concerns are heard without fear of retaliation and offer a path for disputes to be addressed formally. 🟢 Offer legal support and protection in layoffs or disputes While unions can’t prevent all layoffs, they can negotiate the terms, such as severance, notice periods, recall rights, and provide legal assistance. 🟢 Push for more transparency and accountability from leadership Unions can advocate for visibility into business decisions that impact workers, giving teams more voice in the process. ⚠️ What a union can’t do: 🔴 Stop layoffs, project cancellations, or studio closures outright A union can influence how these happen, but not whether they happen. Market realities still rule. 🔴 Guarantee job security in a volatile, hit-driven industry If a game underperforms or a strategic pivot occurs, jobs can still be lost, even in unionized environments. 🔴 Prevent performance-related terminations Unions ensure due process, but “just cause” policies mean consistent underperformance or misconduct can still lead to dismissal. 🔴 Override management’s business or creative decisions A union can advocate, but it can’t dictate what games get made or how a franchise evolves. 🔴 Block global labor shifts or outsourcing trends I think about this the most. In an industry where wages in North America can be more than 3x higher than in other regions, companies may move roles abroad to manage costs. A union cannot stop these structural shifts. It can only negotiate for its local bargaining unit. Unions aren’t magic, but they’re a powerful tool, especially when you feel unheard. In my personal capacity, as Amir the human, I encourage you to learn more and to decide for yourself if unionizing makes sense. I care deeply about people in this industry, but I stay clear-eyed about what we can protect ourselves from and what we can’t.

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