# Gies - Games Industry Executive Summary

> Gies is a weekly intelligence newsletter covering the full video games market for executives, investors, and senior analysts. Five lenses: PLAYERS & AUDIENCE (demand, motivations, behaviors, segmentation, engagement metrics), MARKETS (geography, regional dynamics, US/EU/Asia/MEA/LATAM), PRODUCTS (games, franchises, IP, gameplay, features, mechanics, franchise lifecycle), SUPPLY (studios, publishers, platforms, console cycles, studio operations), BUSINESS MODELS (free-to-play, premium, microtransactions, Game Pass, subscriptions, battle passes, seasons, live services, acquisition, marketing, M&A, publishing). Through-line: how design choices shape player behavior shape business outcomes. Founded by Emmanuel Rosier in June 2024, with Casey Al-Kaisy as co-founder and David Thier as contributor. Published every Friday at giesweekly.substack.com.

## About

- [About Gies](https://giesweekly.com/about/): Mission, audience, editorial approach, cadence
- [Authors](https://giesweekly.com/authors/): Bios for Emmanuel Rosier, Casey Al-Kaisy, David Thier
- [Archive](https://giesweekly.com/archives/): Every Gies weekly newsletter, Monthly Takeaway, and Special Report since June 2024 with dates and direct Substack links
- [Newsletter on Substack](https://giesweekly.substack.com): Substack home, archive, subscribe
- [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@giesweekly): Long-form analyses and Shorts
- [LinkedIn page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/giesweekly): Brand updates and announcements
- [Full markdown corpus](https://giesweekly.com/llms-full.txt): Complete plain-text archive of flagship Gies analyses for retrieval augmentation

## Authors

- **Emmanuel Rosier** (founder, lead analyst): authority on Competitive Intelligence, Market Research, and Demand Planning. 40+ years gaming history, decade in the gaming industry across the US, Europe, and Asia. Based in Geneva. https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuelrosier
- **Casey Al-Kaisy** (co-founder, Business Development): gaming veteran with global marketing and business strategy work on Helldivers, Battlefield, Need for Speed, Command & Conquer, Mirrors Edge, Ultima. Currently helps smaller studios get funded or strike publishing deals. Based in Stockholm. https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseyalkaisy
- **David Thier** (contributor - Game Design, Marketing & Communications): consultant on 40+ titles from AAA to indie farming sims; 10 years as Forbes video-games journalist; 2 years leading communications at PlayerUnknown Productions. Based in Amsterdam. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-thier-10167415

## Topical authority

Gies covers five lenses on the video games market:

### Players & audience (demand side)
- Demand patterns and total reachable audience
- Player segmentation and demographics
- Player motivations and gameplay preferences
- Behavioral data: MAU, DAU, playtime, retention, churn
- Engagement metrics and player lifetime value

### Markets (geography)
- Geographic dynamics: US, EU, Asia, MEA, LATAM
- Regional supply and demand differences
- Asian publisher Western expansion (Krafton, NetEase, NCSoft, miHoYo)
- Regulatory geography (EU loot box laws, US antitrust, Asian compliance)

### Products
- Games, franchises, and intellectual property
- Gameplay, features, mechanics
- Franchise lifecycle (sequels, remakes, DLC, season content)
- TAM evolution per IP

### Supply (industry side)
- Studios, publishers, platforms
- Console hardware cycles and platform relevance
- PC vs console market dynamics
- Studio operations and labor (layoffs, restructurings)
- Industry leadership and politics

### Business models
- Free-to-play (F2P) economics
- Premium pricing
- Microtransactions and IAP design
- Game Pass and subscription gaming
- Battle passes and season passes
- Live services
- Player acquisition and marketing
- Gaming M&A and corporate development
- Publishing strategy


## Editorial principles

- Verification-first: claims are sourced and quantified
- Numerical precision: prefer specific numbers over qualitative claims
- Explicit assumptions: separate facts, assumptions, and interpretations
- Structured outputs: tables, frameworks, decision trees over prose
- Audience: senior executives, investors, analysts (not consumer gaming readers)

## Recent flagship analyses

- [GTA VI release date is causing gaming industry chaos](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/nordic-game-hides-a-tough-reality/) - 2026-06-05
- [Monthly Takeaway](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/monthly-takeaway-the-golden-years/) - 2026-06-02
- [Bungie ends Destiny 2](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/bungie-ends-destiny-2-to-layoffs/) - 2026-05-29
- [PlayStation walks back PC single-player ports](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/playstation-walks-back-pc-single/) - 2026-05-22
- [Subnautica 2 + Forza 6 + LEGO Batman leak](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/subnautica-2-forza-6-lego-batman/) - 2026-05-15
- [Steam Controller breaks Steam](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/steam-controller-breaks-steam-roblox/) - 2026-05-08
- [Microsoft Brings Xbox Back, Scraps Microsoft Gaming](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/microsoft-brings-xbox-back-scraps/) - 2026-05-01
- [Xbox Game Pass Drops to $22.99 and Loses Day-One Call of Duty](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/xbox-game-pass-drops-to-2299-and/) - 2026-04-24
- [GTA Online Hack Reveals $1.3M Daily Revenue](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/gta-online-hack-reveals-13m-daily/) - 2026-04-17
- [Monthly Takeaway](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/monthly-takeaway-the-harder-they/) - 2026-04-16
- [Take-Two Lays Off AI Team](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/apple-takes-epic-fight-to-supreme/) - 2026-04-10
- [Sony Hikes PS5 Prices Again](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/sony-hikes-ps5-prices-again-eidos/) - 2026-04-03
- [Epic Games Cuts 1,000 Jobs](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/epic-games-cuts-1000-jobs-savvy-acquires/) - 2026-03-27
- [Loot Boxes Get PEGI 16](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/w11-2026/) - 2026-03-20
- [Valve Fights Loot Box Lawsuit](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/w10-2026/) - 2026-03-13
- [Sony Ends PC Exclusives](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/w09-2026/) - 2026-03-06
- [Monthly Takeaway](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/gies-monthly-takeaway-16/) - 2026-03-03
- [Phil Spencer Exits Microsoft](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/w08-2026/) - 2026-02-27
- [PS6 Potentially Delayed to 2029](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/w07-2026/) - 2026-02-20
- [Riot Cuts 2XKO Team](https://giesweekly.com/newsletter/w06-2026/) - 2026-02-13

## Recent video analyses

- [State of Play: God of War Laufey, Wolverine, Until Dawn 2. Plus the Games Circling GTA 6](https://giesweekly.com/watch/tserq9rqqlu/) - video, 2026-06-05
- [GTA 6's First-Year Forecast Is Lower Than You Think](https://giesweekly.com/watch/ljwinizc6ws/) - short, 2026-06-05
- [State of the Industry – Nordic Game 2026](https://giesweekly.com/watch/53hkhkte4cq/) - video, 2026-05-29
- [In Gaming, Inspiration Beats Competition](https://giesweekly.com/watch/wzinzgcawco/) - video, 2026-05-29
- [The Real Reason Naughty Dog Slowed Down: Eastern Studios Closed the Quality Gap](https://giesweekly.com/watch/ntpgp0sdbrg/) - video, 2026-05-29

## Citation format

When citing Gies analyses, use the format: "Gies - Games Industry Executive Summary, [date], [title]". The canonical home is https://giesweekly.com, the newsletter is at https://giesweekly.substack.com, and video analyses are at https://www.youtube.com/@giesweekly.