Redaction errors reveal the economics of exclusivity | Opinion

Player retention in gaming is everything. Despite this, publishers optimize for company profit at the cost of player value and well-being. They are able to do this due to their end-to-end ownership and control over the development, distribution, and management of games.

Gaming is a hits-driven business, where the biggest productions cost hundreds of millions of dollars and need to find a way to recoup their sizable investments. As a result, the companies behind these massive games look for as many ways as possible to mitigate risk, either by copying popular trends (like the battle royale craze of the late 2010s) o... See more

Games have evolved beyond Hollywood-style releases to become live services that can thrive for years. These “games-as-a-service” are continually reshaped by user feedback, dramatically extending player lifetimes.

Fortnite had a number of rare attributes. It was the first mainstream AAA game that could be played on any nearly major gaming device globally, including two generations of PlayStations and Xboxes, the Nintendo Switch, Mac, PC, iPhone, and Android. The title was also free, which meant players didn’t have to buy multiple copies to be able to play on... See more