This interview explains how gaming is shifting from $60-per-game sales to free-to-play platforms that make money from in-game cosmetic items. Guest Blake Robbins prefers investing in infrastructure (like game engines Unity and Unreal, and Roblox) rather than betting on hit games. Key holdings: Tencent (owns ~40% of Epic Games and all of Riot Games, maker of League of Legends); 100 Thieves (an esports brand whose apparel sells out in 10-15 minutes, backed by Drake); Valve (owns Steam and CS:GO, but its skin economy relies on gambling demand, posing regulatory risk).
This episode of Invest Like the Best features a conversation with Blake Robbins, a partner at Ludlow Ventures, who delves into investment opportunities in the gaming industry. The core argument: gaming is the fastest-growing sector in consumer attention, yet it remains in the early stages of mainstr
Guest: Blake Robbins, Partner at Ludlow Ventures, focused on early-stage investments in the gaming industry.
Main Theme: The gaming industry is transitioning from "selling boxes" (a $60 buy-to-play model) to free-to-play platformization, with investment opportunities in underlying engines, creator economy infrastructure, and emerging esports brands.
Key Judgment: Blake Robbins believes that games have shifted from a "hit-driven" business to platforms, and there are still ample opportunities to invest in the underlying technologies that support the gaming ecosystem, rather than just betting on individual blockbuster titles.
Blake Robbins argues that the biggest structural change in the gaming industry is the shift from a '60-dollar one-time purchase' model to a 'free-to-play plus in-app purchases' platform model. This shift is represented by Fortnite and League of Legends: they are completely free and have very low hardware requirements (Fortnite can even run on phones and Chromebooks). This significantly lowers the barrier to entry and transforms the business from "releasing a new title every few years" to a platform that is "continuously operated and constantly updated".
Implication: Blake believes that game platformization is a long-term trend, but the success of the 'free-to-play plus in-app purchases' model depends on players' strong demand for self-expression and community belonging. Signal: If players' willingness to purchase virtual items declines, or if regulation tightens (e.g., classifying loot boxes as gambling), revenue could be impacted.---
Blake Robbins 指出，游戏内经济已演变为复杂的“真实货币-虚拟物品”生态系统，且不同游戏的管理策略差异巨大。 他以《CS:GO》和《堡垒之夜》为例，拆解了两种模式：
推演：Blake 认为，游戏内经济管理的核心是“平衡消费与公平”。风险：若监管将开箱视为赌博（如《CS:GO》），可能重塑整个商业模式。信号：关注各国对“随机开箱”的立法动向。
Blake Robbins believes that esports can be divided into "open ecosystems" (e.g., CS:GO) and "closed ecosystems" (e.g., Overwatch), and that 100 Thieves' success lies in capturing the bargaining power of the "closed ecosystem." He breaks down the three models in detail:
| Game | Ecosystem Type | Core Mechanism | Key Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS:GO | Fully open | Independent tournament organizers, amateur teams compete freely, similar to golf; Valve does not participate in revenue sharing | Teams struggle to generate stable profits, rely on sponsorships |
| League of Legends | Regional leagues + World Championship | North America introduced "franchising" in 2018 (10 fixed slots); teams share league revenue | Game aging could lead to viewer attrition |
| Overwatch | Forcibly closed | A league was directly established in 2018, with franchise fees of $25–30 million | The game itself has declined in popularity, damaging team value |
100 Thieves Case: In 2020, Blake (via Ludlow Ventures) partnered with the Dan Gilbert (founder of Rocket Mortgage) team to convince former Call of Duty pro player "Nadeshot" to relaunch his brand "100 Thieves." They wrote a 90-page application and went through 5–6 rounds of interviews before securing a spot in the League of Legends North America league. Today, the brand has become "the Supreme of esports"—its apparel sells out within 10–15 minutes of each drop, and it has attracted investments from celebrities such as Drake and Scooter Braun.
Extrapolation: Blake argues that team values in open ecosystems (e.g., CS:GO) are highly volatile, while closed ecosystem slots are more scarce but depend on the game's popularity. He does not explicitly state 100 Thieves' valuation, but notes that its value is reflected as a multi-asset combination of "brand + community + apparel."
Blake Robbins' core investment logic is to invest in the "infrastructure layer" that underpins the creator economy, rather than directly betting on individual creators. He draws an analogy with companies like Stripe (payments), Twilio (communications), and Plaid (financial data) — platforms that allow other entrepreneurs to "pay to use rather than build from scratch," thereby lowering the barrier to entry. Key insight: These infrastructure companies "grow as their customers grow" and are "not the customer's core competency, making them difficult to replace."
Extrapolation: Blake believes that every industry will eventually have its own "verticalized Plaid" — for example, a "data transfer layer" for health insurance, home rentals, and so on. Core investment opportunity: build API layers around "non-core functions" that other companies pay to use. He specifically notes: The "infrastructure layer" of the creator economy is still in its early stages, such as "game creation tools" and "white-label content platforms."
| Target | Guest Attitude | Key Data |
|---|---|---|
| Tencent | Bullish | Holds about 40% of Epic, fully acquired Riot Games (League of Legends) |
| Epic Games | Bullish (indirectly via 100 Thieves) | Fortnite player base covers mobile phones, Chromebooks, etc. |
| Activision Blizzard | Risk Warning | Still relies on the $60 buy-to-play model, annual new release pattern |
| Electronic Arts | Risk Warning | Same as above |
| Sea Limited | Neutral | Emphasizes its mobile games rising in Asia |
| Valve | Bullish | Owns Steam platform (third-party game distribution), CS:GO open skin economy |
| Riot Games | Bullish (acquired by Tencent) | League of Legends introduced franchising in North America in 2018 |
| 100 Thieves | Bullish (direct investment) | Apparel sells out in 10–15 minutes; wrote a 90-page application to secure a slot |
| Unity | Bullish | Game development engine, infrastructure layer |
| Unreal | Bullish | Same as above, under Epic, latest demo approaching live-action movie quality |
| Roblox | Bullish | Economy where teenagers create games and items |
| Vudu | Neutral | Paris mobile game studio, 10–20 games consistently in the iOS top 100 |
1. “Gaming is the fastest-growing area of consumer attention, and it’s still early” — Blake Robbins
Support: Gaming has shifted from a “hit-driven” business to a platform, becoming a “third place” for consumers (e.g., Fortnite replacing Facebook/Twitter as a place for friends to gather).
2. “In-game cosmetic items are about self-expression, not pay-to-win” — Blake Robbins
Support: Free skins = “newcomers,” rare skins = “veterans”; CS:GO skins had real value due to gambling demand, but that value was cut in half after gambling was banned.
3. “The open vs. closed ecosystem in esports is the key to the future” — Blake Robbins
Support: In open ecosystems (e.g., CS:GO), team values are highly volatile; in closed ecosystems (e.g., Overwatch), teams depend on the game’s popularity but the slots themselves have scarcity value.
4. “Creator economy infrastructure is an investment opportunity” — Blake Robbins
Support: Analogous to Stripe, Twilio, Plaid; game engines (Unity/Unreal) and Roblox are the “infrastructure layer” that lets creators build without starting from scratch.
5. “100 Thieves is a successful case study in brand building” — Blake Robbins
Support: Apparel sells out in 10–15 minutes; investments from Drake, Scooter Braun; brand value comes from the “esports + streetwear + media” triangle.
6. “Investing in the underlying platform of gaming is more viable than investing in individual games” — Blake Robbins
Support: Game studios carry extremely high risk (e.g., betting on just 1–2 titles); investing in tool chains (e.g., Unity, Roblox) or the “platform publisher” model (e.g., Vudu) is more sustainable.
7. “The modern lemonade stand: a new form of creator economy” — Blake Robbins
Support: Young people are more likely to become YouTubers/Twitch streamers; in the future, “white-label product” platforms will emerge, allowing creators to directly sell coffee, clothing, etc., rather than relying solely on advertising.
8. “PC Picker is an example of a ‘niche community’ becoming a big business” — Blake Robbins
Support: A PC parts compatibility website, initially a “niche tool,” later became a core community; he emphasizes that he is “always looking for overlooked subcultures” to anticipate trends.