Earlier quoted context omitted.
Aren't games like CSGO, FIFA, and Overwatch almost exclusively run on gacha-profits?
Overwatch is not
Didn't they bring back loot boxes?
How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
21–30 of 127 posts
Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#22Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#23I wonder how long this can survive now that their priority is to fund AI users to use AI
AI tech has the spotlight right now for sure amongst VC’s. But I believe AI is also a huge tailwind for video games.
Namely, small, clever teams will be able to do big and entertaining things that were not possible before.
(But yes there will also be tons of slop.)
Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#24Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#25Y Combinator forged a long-term, high-trust ecosystem to the benefit of all tech founders. The video games industry needs to do the same.
YC works because B2B can survive early with a few paying customers Gaming is pure B2C: hit driven, capital intensive, and unforgiving
B2B isn't as hit driven as gaming but it's still hit driven. Most startups fail.
Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a YC founder turned gamedev, I can tell you that failure is the norm in both pursuits. As with YC, the question is: can we create more outsized outcomes when we succeed?
I don't think that's possible and frankly I'd much prefer capital not even try. To the best of my knowledge, the only games which generate the really outsized outcomes you'd need for a VC portfolio do really gross, anti-player shit (gacha, lootboxes, whale fishing, etc.) to get it. Or they become distribution monopolies like Valve, which is fine-ish when Valve is private but would be a ongoing catastrophe if it had b…
I appreciate this perspective.. but I think there might be a false dichotomy here. Some of the biggest gaming success stories didn't rely on exploitative mechanics - Minecraft, Among Us, even Fortnite's initial success was based on solid gameplay before the monetization kicked in. The question is whether you can build sustainable platforms that create genuine value rather than just extracting it. Steam takes 30% but provides real distribution value. Maybe the trick is focusing on companies that help other developers succeed rather than trying to create the next Genshin Impact
Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#27Y Combinator forged a long-term, high-trust ecosystem to the benefit of all tech founders. The video games industry needs to do the same.
YC works because B2B can survive early with a few paying customers Gaming is pure B2C: hit driven, capital intensive, and unforgiving
That doesn't sound right to me. A lot of b2b comes with high barrier to entry.
Also I know of many successful indie games, some of which were built by one person.
I can think of so many exceptions to your point on both sides that I question your thesis as a rule.
Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#28Its never smart to trust people who have a vested interest in lying to you.
Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#29Y Combinator forged a long-term, high-trust ecosystem to the benefit of all tech founders. The video games industry needs to do the same.
I feel like this is impossible given how many games flop each year.
I suspect games are like movies: for every 100 movies, around 20 of them make enough money to cover the losses of the other 80. But predicting which movies those will be is extremely difficult (Goldman's Law: Nobody knows nothin'). Any studio / label / distributor which can do better than the average is probably headed for greatness.
Re: How Y Combinator made it smart to trust founders
#30Y Combinator forged a long-term, high-trust ecosystem to the benefit of all tech founders. The video games industry needs to do the same.
I feel like this is impossible given how many games flop each year.
My thought too, the bar is higher and the rewards are so much smaller. People don't appreciate how incredibly difficult it is to make a mediocre game