Gaming is the fastest growing sector of the entertainment industry. Rapid expansion and a plethora of choices in the manner and scope of gaming experiences are wresting power from the hands of studios, who once had unlimited control over which games to produce, build, and distribute, and placing this power in the hands of gamers.

Now, the world is our playground. Gamers have the tools, time, and network access to play, experience, watch, and even build games their way. Streaming platforms have become global hubs of community, uniting—and activating—legions of audiences. Gamers are pushing the boundary of user generated content which blurs the line between fan and creator. Studios are fighting this accessibility and democratization, creating confusion and division that drives away their consumer base. We think this is a mistake: gaming’s future lies in gamer empowerment.

This is what drives us at Popularium. In collaboration with our friends at The Lydion Magazine, our team at Popularium has published The World is a Playground, a multi-part magazine edition that features stories and articles from our team at Popularium on what drives us to build the games we do.