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🎮 Game IPs as Forever Platforms: Learning from Python, Not Disney

Every AAA game today is a de facto platform.

Even the non–live service ones. Yes, even the ones that never call themselves “platforms.”

Let’s list the signs:

And yet: every few years, these platforms are deliberately abandoned. The next iteration rolls out. The old one goes dark. It’s like opening a new restaurant by burning the old one down.

Why?

Because the games industry—especially its biggest publishers—still operates like Disney:

But what if we took a different path?

What if we treated game IPs like Python, the open-source programming language, instead of like disposable movie franchises?

🐍 Python’s Quiet Revolution

Let’s talk about Python. For those who don’t know: Python is one of the world’s most widely used programming languages. In 2008, the Python community released version 3.x, which broke compatibility with Python 2.7x in important ways.

They had every reason to ditch the old version.

But they didn’t.

Instead, Python 2.7x remained supported—and widely used—for over a decade. In fact, in many systems today, both versions still coexist. Why? Because thousands of applications, systems, and institutions relied on Python 2.7x. It wasn’t just legacy code. It was living infrastructure.

Rather than force an upgrade, the Python community did something radical: they kept the old platform alive while growing the new one.

No burn-it-down mentality. No forced obsolescence.

Instead: patient evolution, long-term interoperability, and deep respect for what came before.

🐉 A Monster Hunter Hypothetical: How Everyone Wins

Now, imagine if a game publisher applied this philosophy to a major series—say, Monster Hunter.

Scene: It’s 2025. Capcom is launching Monster Hunter: Wilds.

The trailers are glorious. The new biome system is all the rage. Steam is featuring it on the front page. Preorders are flying.

But instead of quietly abandoning the previous games, Capcom embraces them.

They turn Monster Hunter into a multi-generational platform.

Here’s how it plays out:

Result?

Wilds crushes sales records.

World hits its highest concurrent player count since 2020.

Rise trends again on the Switch eShop.

And Capcom doesn’t just sell one game—they revive an ecosystem.

Players don’t feel like they’re leaving behind a beloved game. They feel like they’re being welcomed deeper into the same ongoing world.

That’s not churn. That’s continuity. That’s forever.

🧬 From Modding to Commons: Valve Already Gets It

Let’s not pretend this idea is new. Valve has been halfway there for years.

Valve’s platform—the real one—is Steam itself, and its Workshop is a proto-commons: a space where players can co-create, remix, sell, and iterate.

Some mods are so good, they’re spun out as standalone products. That’s not decay. That’s platform maturity.

If a game’s modding community produces products that eventually compete with the base game, that’s not a threat. That’s growth without waste.

🌱 Forever Products: The Post-Growth Gaming Model

A Forever Platform isn't just good for nostalgia—it’s better business in the long run:

It’s the FLOSS model applied to entertainment: not just free software, but free ecosystems. Moddable, remixable, expandable. Not replaceable.

Yes, the industry can still make money. Maybe more money—just across a longer curve.

We don’t need every game to be a forever platform. But when you strike gold—like Elden Ring, BotW, Monster Hunter—you don’t pave over the mine. You build the village on top of it.

🦣 Find me on Mastodon: @thilosch@mastodon.social