Sheppard, S. (2026). Enduring games: Patient capital, durable substrate, and the fix for an industry that eats itself. D. W. Sheppard.
The book examines the video game industry’s self-destructive cycles of crunch, mass layoffs, pump-and-dump investment schemes, and overnight server shutdowns that erase purchased games and player progress. Sheppard argues these problems stem from extractive, short-term capital models and fiat-money depreciation that prioritize rapid returns over lasting value. Drawing parallels to historical civilizations that embedded games as enduring cultural infrastructure rather than disposable entertainment, the author diagnoses the root causes and proposes a systemic fix built on three interlocking pillars: patient capital (long-term, sound-money investment), durable substrate (open, composable protocols and technical standards that outlive any single company), and cumulative craft (living notation systems that allow knowledge and assets to compound across projects and generations).
Sheppard details practical implementations he is developing, including the Enduring Games Standard protocols and a public zettelkasten for shared systems thinking. The 105-page work positions games not as ephemeral consumer products but as lasting societal infrastructure, offering producers and investors a roadmap to shift from boom-bust volatility toward stable, creative longevity. The analysis combines industry critique, historical analogy, and actionable design strategy to reframe game production as a craft capable of enduring beyond any individual studio or funding cycle.