Strategy Gaming in 2026: What the Media Gets Wrong. Critical Moves Year in Review (Ep.62) — Critical Moves - Strategy Gaming

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The Critical Moves team reviews our first full year covering strategy gaming and explains why "the gaming industry is dying" headlines miss the point completely.

We interviewed developers from Luke Hughes (Burden of Command) to Brandon Castile (Tempest Rising) to Thomas Vandenberg (Kingdom series). Covered games from solo developers and Xbox Game Studios teams. Went from zero listeners to half a million YouTube views in 14 months without spending money on advertising.

The discussion covers why AAA layoffs do not equal industry collapse. How 100,000 copies sold can sustain an indie strategy studio. Why we rejected review codes for poor games instead of lying to our audience. What makes strategy gaming coverage different when you answer to listeners instead of publishers.

Strategy gamers, indie developers, and anyone tired of gaming journalism that inflates scores and avoids criticism will find this conversation relevant.

We turned down opportunities to compromise. We will continue doing that in 2026.