Discover the best writing in gaming.

China's Gacha Paradox

Recognizing Patterns-August 9, 2026

Why A Decade Of Extraction Made Chinese Players The Most Premium-Friendly Audience On Steam

Recognizing Patterns Slay the Spire 2 Megabonk 33 Immortals Valve Steam

The Roguelite Cull Hasn’t Happened Yet. The Data Already Decided It.

Recognizing Patterns-July 19, 2026

Slay the Spire 2, Megabonk, and 33 Immortals aren’t survivors of a graveyard that doesn’t exist yet. They’re proof the mechanism is already running. A structural read on what mid-2026 data already con

AI & Gaming

Use AI to Build Your Game. Just Keep It Out of the Part Players Feel.

Recognizing Patterns-July 12, 2026

Iron Nest shipped with zero AI, Dragon Snacks put its AI in the build pipeline, and Valve’s own policy already explains why both of them won

Steam Next Fest June 2026: Communities Won It, AI Disclosure Lost It

Recognizing Patterns-July 5, 2026

The largest Next Fest ever ran 8,682 games. A quarter of the field disclosed AI use; one cracked the top ten. The winners entered with communities already built. The October clock is running.

Harrison Polites Valve Steam

AI & Gaming

If gamers weren’t already angry with AI, the Steam Machine’s $1609 price tag sealed the deal

Infinite Lives by Harrison Polites-June 25, 2026

It was meant to bridge the device between PC and consoles. Instead, it will fan rage.

James James | Barbaric Throne Valve Steam

Steam Machine And The Future of Valve Hardware

Barbaric Throne by James, James-June 25, 2026

Valve finally announced Steam Machine prices this week and they’re facing backlash from the gaming community.

How China Turned 90-Second Soap Operas Into a Billion-Dollar Game Genre

Recognizing Patterns-June 21, 2026

You Weren't Watching Microdrama. The Audience Deciding Your Steam Launch Was.

Your Steam Page Is Your Most-Visited Marketing Asset. Treat It That Way.

Spawn Point Marketing-June 1, 2026

Ready Check #6: The Launch Readiness Series

Valve Steam

Congratulations, You Ignored the Chinese Games Market. Here's What You Lost.

Recognizing Patterns-May 31, 2026

The China Multiplier, and the studios already winning while Western publishers monitor the market

Time on Steam Isn’t the Same as Marketing on Steam

Spawn Point Marketing by Jay Rooney-May 11, 2026

Ready Check #3: The Launch Readiness Series

Jay Rooney Valve Steam

Culture

I Told Investors, Publishers (and Pretty Much Everyone Else) That This Game Would Print Money

Recognizing Patterns-April 25, 2026

Dead as Disco’s zero-budget playbook, the Next Fest studios that took it further, and the three questions every indie founder needs to answer before launch day.

Sebastian Cardoso Valve Steam Indie Games

How to price your indie game

Game Studio Unlocked by Sebastian Cardoso-April 15, 2026

A step-by-step framework

What Steam Spring Sale 2026 Actually Proved

Recognizing Patterns-March 29, 2026

$92M before the discounts started, one third of sales from China, and four AI controversies that couldn’t stop $500M. Here's what the numbers actually prove.