Antti Kananen

In the world of live games, progression and its heartbeats are everything. They are the scaffolding around which we build gameplay loops, economies, monetization, and long-term engagement. But while progression systems are widely understood and employed, what’s often underleveraged — especially outside mobile free-to-play — is the notion of progression vector scaling and contextualization. This article explores how progression vectors, when treated as system-driving parameters rather than passive meters, can become the backbone of scalable game experiences, personalized economies, and smart live operations. I’ll dive into examples across genres — from MMORPGs and extraction shooters to puzzle games and 4X strategy — and explore practical frameworks for designers, product persons, and live ops teams. What Is a Progression Vector? A progression vector is a directional, measurable representation of a player's growth — a time-evolving (or stage-evolving) metric or set of […]

Subscriptions have been bubbling under the surface of F2P economies for years. Quietly present. Occasionally praised. Sometimes dismissed. But always theorized by game economy designers who has sensed their untapped potential — not just as a perk, but as a foundational layer to more sustainable and engaging monetization ecosystems. And after years of observing, sometimes testing, and writing about economies, systems, and hybrid models — it's about time I give it a proper spin myself. Especially now, as it looks subscription models are over, and over, again being talked more openly about on multiple occasions, incl. events, LinkedIn conversations, 1-to-1s with other designers, etc. It’s fascinating how things always goes in cycles — and, for this one, I believe it’s time to give it a new spin. So, let’s talk about where subscription models have been, where they are now, […]

The interplay between macro and micro design is a fundamental but often underexplored lever in both game development and monetization strategy. From the snap decision of whether to fire your weapon in an extraction shooter, to guild-level economic coordination in a living MMORPG, games are layered experiences. The best ones embrace this dichotomy; micro moment-to-moment decisions nested within long-form macro systems and progression arcs. In this post, I’ll dive into the structural and philosophical design tensions between the micro and macro, and how these manifest across genres like extraction shooters, looter shooters, ARPGs, MMORPGs, and 4X games. I’ll also discuss how systems design, meta game structures, economies, monetization, and live ops can become more expressive and interconnected when both levels are acknowledged, not just for F2P but for premium games as well. 1. Meta Game: The Macro Brain Layer Macro-level […]

In a market increasingly saturated with live service titles and battle passes, there's a rising countercurrent: studios opting to craft premium-first or premium-only games. The challenge, however, is significant. How can you build a premium game that sustains itself for years, without the constant drip-feed of content updates or FOMO-inducing mechanics? The answer I’ve seen usually has been that studios opt-in for these approaches in order to build games that are fun to play, for the time they get played — and that’s kind of it. Some studios will do well with these, alone or through the partners they have; and it will be all good for them. But for most? I’d say they should take a more deeper approach, about which I’m discussing more on this article. Also, thinking about the challenges here — it’s quite exciting to provide […]

Fresh Design Frontier In the current era of incipient genre-blending, the walls separating campaign, mixed, and multiplayer experiences can be dissolved. The above images: 1) three vertical vectors, and 2) three interconnected loops — illustrate the Campaign, Mixed, and Multiplayer modes and their interlinking red arrows, symbolizing this systems design approach. This direction encourages player autonomy while enabling e.g., a continuous flow of character and gear progression across distinct yet connected gameplay experiences / sub-vectors. In this article, we explore how this tri-vector design can create a rich, player-driven experience where gameplay modes evolve organically, offering new frontiers for e.g., RPGs, MMORPGs, looter shooters, and beyond — in a way we’re talking about blending and cross-play innovation through certain gameplay mechanisms fitting for achieving this innovation depth. Note: Readers should acknowledge that there can be duo-vector approaches as well to […]

In game development, it once took a village to ship a feature. Today, it might only take a curious designer, a good AI assistant, and a couple of hours. Soon, that same developer might be getting advice from an AI-trained CPO or sparring with a virtual co-founder over product-market fit. As AI tools embed themselves into the workflows of game studios, we’re not just talking about productivity. We’re witnessing a deep, structural shift: how roles are defined, how people learn, how teams are formed, and how the games themselves evolve. This isn’t about replacing artists or designers — it’s about unlocking multidimensional creativity. Note: This post discusses strong foundational AI concepts and is written with a thought-provoking tone, intentionally. Why? Because, overall, I don’t think what’s happening on global level stops — and everyone needs to buckle up for what’s […]

In the world of modern game development — especially F2P and hybrid monetization models — matchmaking is often treated as a technical backend feature. Something you just plug in. But in truth, matchmaking is far more than an algorithmic necessity. It is the engine that governs balance, progression, tension, reward, and even how well a game monetizes. Across genres — from ARPGs and MMORPGs to extraction shooters and team-based PvP brawlers — the way you match players determines not just who wins, but who sticks around, who spends, who grows, and who churns. Matchmaking Is More Than Just ELO Let’s start with the obvious: ELO-style ranking systems, widely used to match players of similar win/loss performance, are limited (incl. limitations to your business and scale). They assume skill is binary and ignore the full human context of play. That’s like […]

In a time when many games lean heavily on established systems — battle passes, gacha mechanics, and copied meta loops — this post is about looking beyond. In this post, I’m exploring, and discussing, Manipulator Mechanics (more specifically, “modern” Manipulator Mechanics in a systemic form, as we’ve had some forms of manipulator mechanisms in games existing for ages, e.g., time manipulation tied to a core gameplay — so, just for clarity, every time I discuss about Manipulator Mechanics / systems in this article, it’s about these “modern” types of systems instead of simplified ones) — a system that lets players tweak and influence the very nature (/the core) of gameplay runs through meta layers; offering a new layer of agency, strategy, and excitement across genres. The aim of this post is to inspire developers to imagine beyond what's typical and […]