Rob Fahey
Contributing Editor
Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.
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How long can Microsoft float on goodwill? | Opinion
As a pandemic-distorted market starts to return to normality, the need for Xbox to impress with game exclusives has become urgent
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The EU sets its sights on game regulation | Opinion
EU regulation of game business practices is getting underway in earnest – but the industry still has time to get its own house in order before rules are imposed
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The transition to live services continues | Opinion
Ubisoft’s latest growing pains show how hard it is to shift a company entirely towards live services – and whether consumers actually want this
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Looking back to look forward: 2023 is shaping up to look familiar | Opinion
The biggest stories of 2022 still lack any resolution
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Battle passes are everywhere – but few of them are good | Opinion
While a positive step away from loot boxes, many battle passes just replicate the surface of Fortnite’s model and miss the underlying ideas entirely
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What happens if Activision Blizzard stays independent? | Opinion
Competition authorities on both sides of the Atlantic seem poised to raise objections to Microsoft’s $68 billion acquisition; what happens if the deal is blocked?
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AI moderation will cause more harm than good | Opinion
The problem of in-game abuse can only be solved through a proper commitment of resources; magical thinking about AI solutions will only make things worse
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Industry attitudes to outsourcing and contracting need to change | Opinion
Two high-profile composers reveal the breakdown of their relationships with studios – a symptom of a broader problem in how creative outsourcing is used across the industry
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Beyond NFT fumblings, Square Enix is reinventing itself | Opinion
Much attention is focused on an ill-advised side project – but the company's increased focus on small creative projects and its deft mining of gaming history is much more interesting
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Can Microsoft find its next big thing in China? | Opinion
Stung by failure to sign Genshin Impact, Microsoft turns to China as it works to build out the Xbox software pipeline – but is it just chasing after the one that got away?
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Can Meta's 'verse grow past Zuckerberg's inchoate vision? | Opinion
Horizon Worlds becoming the subject of mainstream ridicule is only a speed bump for Meta's ambitions – but its failure highlights deeper problems that the company has yet to solve
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Is Game Pass’ dominance a hurdle to the Activision acquisition? | Opinion
The UK’s competition authority suggests that subscription services are legally a separate market from game consoles; if that idea holds water, it could spell trouble for Microsoft
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After Stadia, is the future still bright for cloud streaming? | Opinion
Proponents have insisted that cloud streaming will replace consoles and PCs – but with the shutdown of Stadia, this future feels less wanted and more distant than ever
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Overwatch 2 tries to balance acquisition against retention | Opinion
Blizzard’s sequel-cum-relaunch remains the year’s most interesting business experiment as it tries to thread the needle of retaining existing players while appealing to newcomers
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Leaks and hacks are not the same as investigative reporting | Opinion
Leaks of GTA 6 footage and the uncovering of NDA breaches stand to make life harder for developers and media alike – but beware false equivalences with investigative reporting
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Sony carves its own path for PSVR2 | Opinion
PSVR has become a distinct segment of the VR space in its own right – but can the next version crack open a mainstream market?
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To consumers, development crunch is increasingly a red flag | Opinion
Games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Fallout 76 have shifted public perceptions of crunch, now seen as a warning sign for bugs and low quality
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The PS5’s price hike is a sign of things to come | Opinion
Inflationary pressure across the supply chain, and low real-terms prices for games, are an unsustainable combination – price rises are in store for both hardware and software
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Unease over Unity’s future threatens an industry pillar | Opinion
Platforms like Unity and Unreal are the backbone of the industry – but some developers who have invested heavily in Unity are jittery over the company’s direction
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Overwatch 2 is less a sequel, more a business model relaunch | Opinion
Blizzard’s retooled online shooter is one of the biggest remaining launches of the year – and a very unusual attempt to overhaul the monetisation of a popular game in mid-flow
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Single-player games deserve more than lip service | Opinion
Companies focused on live service games find it hard to justify heavy investment in single-player titles; it may be high time for firms to pick a lane and stick with it
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Xbox revenues slide as 2022’s sparse release schedule bites | Opinion
With several major titles pushed to 2023 and Microsoft’s first-party investments yet to bear fruit, it's a weak year for new games – but that also creates opportunities
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Third-party NFTs in games are the latest unethical twist from Web3 | Opinion
Mojang joins many other firms in swearing off NFTs -- but more worryingly, it finds itself forced to police third-parties building NFT services on top of Minecraft
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Will the EU's new law change the digital landscape? | Opinion
As the Digital Markets Act passes the European Parliament, legislation has caught up with many of the demands made by critics of Apple and Google's platform dominance
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In praise of the second screen | Opinion
Gaming sessions are now routinely accompanied by the glow of a smart device to check hints and strategies online -- and many games are designed with this content ecosystem in mind