The OnThaSticks Podcast EP. 4

THE ONTHASTICKS PODCAST • EP. 4

EP. 4 — Is the Gaming Industry Cooked?

A grounded conversation about burnout, live service fatigue, Anthem’s shutdown, and the pressure cooker AAA development has become — without the doomposting.

Burnout Live service AAA pressure Anthem Perspective

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What this episode is

• Why so many players feel tired even when the games are “good”
• How live service pressure changes design priorities
• What Anthem’s shutdown represents (and what it doesn’t)
• AAA pressure, timelines, and why bigger doesn’t always mean better
• A calmer way to talk about the industry without constant doom

Chapters

• 00:00 — When games feel like work before they feel fun
• 00:53 — What this podcast actually exists to talk about
• 01:30 — What I’ve been playing lately (and why Anthem matters)
• 02:54 — This isn’t just personal burnout
• 03:02 — Layoffs, pressure, and why this feels structural
• 05:40 — When big games still land (Battlefield 6)
• 07:18 — Players aren’t rejecting big games — they’re rejecting exhausting ones
• 08:17 — When finishing a game actually meant something
• 08:45 — Dailies, FOMO, and the slow creep of obligation
• 11:45 — The real economics behind modern burnout
• 12:53 — Why games take so long now
• 15:08 — Chasing “safe” ideas that aren’t safe anymore
• 17:11 — When players don’t get mad — they just stop logging in
• 18:00 — Why Battlefield 6 feels intentional
• 18:27 — Anthem, preservation, and losing games forever
• 22:01 — When live-service games die, they vanish
• 24:50 — Industry shifts we’ve seen before
• 26:18 — Why constant progression killed completion
• 27:12 — Why Nintendo still feels different
• 28:51 — Gaming isn’t dying — it’s relearning what matters
• 29:04 — Are games too big now?
• 29:53 — A game for everyone is a game for no one
• 32:03 — The old AAA playbook is cracking
• 32:39 — This conversation isn’t over

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