To close out 2025, here are the top newsletters from the year:

Player behavior is drifting away from the all-you-can-play model, with gamers sinking more time into a few live-service and free-to-play titles instead of constantly sampling new releases. This shift undermines the promise of variety that gaming subscriptions are built on, forcing platforms to rethink value through exclusivity, deeper perks, or non-gaming benefits.

Takeaway: Platforms must shift from breadth of content to deeper, differentiated value.

Legalization unlocked a multi-billion-dollar online sports betting market in the U.S., but it also opened the door for new formats like sweepstakes and prediction markets that sit at the regulatory edges. These alternatives challenge traditional sportsbooks on fees, flexibility, and product design, and could become attractive acquisition targets once the rules fully settle.

Takeaway: Edge-case products could out-innovate traditional sportsbooks and become prime acquisition targets.

Venture capital has pulled back from consumer startups, but the scale and cultural relevance of gaming are setting the stage for a new wave of consumer investing. Large gaming exits in the next few years could reset sentiment, proving that incumbents are vulnerable and that consumer outcomes can justify renewed risk-taking.

Takeaway: Big gaming exits could reopen the door for bold, consumer-focused venture bets.

Game engines like Unreal and Unity are evolving from tools for entertainment into powerful generators of synthetic data for AI training. By enabling realistic, controllable simulations at scale, they help overcome real-world data limits while creating a flywheel that improves both the engines and the AI systems built on top of them.

Takeaway: The same tools that power games will quietly underwrite the next generation of AI models.

Amazon’s big bet on the House of David series signals a renewed push into faith-based entertainment, targeting a large Christian audience that has historically been underserved by mainstream platforms. Rising interest in spirituality among younger adults and demand for content addressing mental health make religion a timely, high-upside theme across film, streaming, and eventually games.

Takeaway: Religion is becoming a strategic content vertical with spillover potential into games and interactive media.

From early industrial conglomerates to modern private equity, holding company structures have been used to manage risk, optimize tax and debt, and orchestrate complex portfolios. Today’s three-tier models (Topco, Midco, Bidco) offer flexibility and control but also introduce fragility, making holding companies a powerful yet double-edged tool for scaling businesses.

Takeaway: Structure is a powerful advantage—until complexity turns into hidden fragility.

Merry Christmas and have a happy holiday season!

Josh