wordle/.claude/skills/gds-domain-research/domain-steps/step-03-competitive-landscape.md

Game Domain Research Step 3: Competitive Landscape

MANDATORY EXECUTION RULES (READ FIRST):

• 🛑 NEVER generate content without web search verification

• 📖 CRITICAL: ALWAYS read the complete step file before taking any action - partial understanding leads to incomplete decisions

• 🔄 CRITICAL: When loading next step with 'C', ensure the entire file is read and understood before proceeding

• ✅ Search the web to verify and supplement your knowledge with current facts

• 📋 YOU ARE A GAME COMPETITIVE ANALYST, not content generator

• 💬 FOCUS on key studios, competing games, market share, and competitive dynamics

• 🔍 WEB SEARCH REQUIRED - verify current facts against live sources

• 📝 WRITE CONTENT IMMEDIATELY TO DOCUMENT

• ✅ YOU MUST ALWAYS SPEAK OUTPUT In your Agent communication style with the config {communication_language}

EXECUTION PROTOCOLS:

• 🎯 Show web search analysis before presenting findings
• ⚠️ Present [C] continue option after competitive analysis content generation
• 📝 WRITE COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS TO DOCUMENT IMMEDIATELY
• 💾 ONLY proceed when user chooses C (Continue)
• 📖 Update frontmatter stepsCompleted: [1, 2, 3] before loading next step
• 🚫 FORBIDDEN to load next step until C is selected

CONTEXT BOUNDARIES:

• Current document and frontmatter from previous steps are available
• Research topic = "{{research_topic}}" - established from initial discussion
• Research goals = "{{research_goals}}" - established from initial discussion
• Focus on key studios, competing titles, market share, and competitive dynamics
• Web search capabilities with source verification are enabled

YOUR TASK:

Conduct game competitive landscape analysis focusing on key studios, competing titles, market share, and competitive dynamics. Search the web to verify and supplement current facts.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS SEQUENCE:

1. Begin Game Competitive Landscape Analysis

UTILIZE SUBPROCESSES AND SUBAGENTS: Use research subagents, subprocesses or parallel processing if available to thoroughly analyze different competitive areas simultaneously and thoroughly.

Start with competitive research approach: "Now I'll conduct competitive landscape analysis for {{research_topic}} to understand the game competitive ecosystem.

Game Competitive Landscape Focus:

• Key studios and market leaders in this space
• Competing titles and their market positioning
• Monetization strategies and business models
• Community size and player engagement metrics
• Platform exclusivity deals and distribution strategies

Let me search for current competitive game insights."

2. Parallel Competitive Research Execution

Execute multiple web searches simultaneously:

Search the web: "{{research_topic}} top games studios market leaders" Search the web: "{{research_topic}} game market share competitive landscape" Search the web: "{{research_topic}} game monetization strategies differentiation" Search the web: "{{research_topic}} game entry barriers competitive dynamics"

Analysis approach:

• Look for recent game industry competitive intelligence reports and market analyses
• Search for studio websites, investor reports, and platform developer data
• Research player count, revenue, and review data for competing titles
• Analyze game monetization strategies and differentiation approaches
• Study platform distribution strategies and exclusivity dynamics

3. Analyze and Aggregate Results

Collect and analyze findings from all parallel searches:

"After executing comprehensive parallel web searches, let me analyze and aggregate game competitive findings:

Research Coverage:

• Key studios and competing titles analysis
• Market share and competitive positioning assessment
• Monetization strategies and differentiation mapping
• Entry barriers and competitive dynamics evaluation

Cross-Competitive Analysis: [Identify patterns connecting studios, titles, strategies, and market dynamics]

Quality Assessment: [Overall confidence levels and research gaps identified]"

4. Generate Competitive Landscape Content

WRITE IMMEDIATELY TO DOCUMENT

Prepare game competitive landscape analysis with web search citations:

Content Structure:

When saving to document, append these Level 2 and Level 3 sections:

## Competitive Landscape

### Key Studios and Market Leaders

[Key studios analysis with source citations]
_Market Leaders: [Dominant studios and their market positions]_
_Major Competing Titles: [Significant games and their market specialties]_
_Emerging Studios & Indie Players: [New entrants and innovative indie titles]_
_AAA vs Indie Dynamics: [How major studios and indie developers compete]_
_Source: [URL]_

### Market Share and Competitive Positioning

[Market share analysis with source citations]
_Market Share by Title: [Revenue and player share breakdown by game]_
_Genre Positioning: [How competing games position within the genre]_
_Platform Distribution: [Competing titles' platform and storefront presence]_
_Player Base Segments: [Different player audiences served by competitors]_
_Source: [URL]_

### Monetization Strategies and Differentiation

[Monetization strategies analysis with source citations]
_Free-to-Play Models: [F2P studios competing on live service and microtransactions]_
_Premium Pricing Strategies: [One-time purchase games and their value propositions]_
_Hybrid Models: [Games combining premium and live service elements]_
_DLC and Expansion Approaches: [Post-launch content and monetization]_
_Source: [URL]_

### Business Models and Value Propositions

[Business models analysis with source citations]
_Primary Business Models: [How competing studios generate revenue]_
_Live Service Economics: [Live service game revenue and retention models]_
_Platform Partnership Models: [Exclusive deals, Game Pass, PS Plus dynamics]_
_Community and Esports Models: [How studios build competitive communities]_
_Source: [URL]_

### Competitive Dynamics and Entry Barriers

[Competitive dynamics analysis with source citations]
_Barriers to Entry: [Development cost, engine expertise, marketing budget hurdles]_
_Competitive Intensity: [Level of rivalry and player acquisition competition]_
_Market Consolidation Trends: [Studio acquisitions and publisher consolidation]_
_Player Switching Costs: [Engagement, progression, and community lock-in factors]_
_Source: [URL]_

### Ecosystem and Distribution Analysis

[Ecosystem analysis with source citations]
_Storefront Relationships: [Steam, Epic, console store dynamics and revenue shares]_
_Publisher Relationships: [How studios work with or without publishers]_
_Technology Partnerships: [Engine licensing, middleware, and tech alliances]_
_Community and Influencer Ecosystems: [Streaming, content creator, and community dynamics]_
_Source: [URL]_

5. Present Analysis and Continue Option

Show analysis and present continue option:

"I've completed game competitive landscape analysis for {{research_topic}}.

Key Competitive Findings:

• Key studios and competing titles thoroughly identified
• Market share and competitive positioning clearly mapped
• Monetization strategies and differentiation analyzed
• Business models and value propositions documented
• Competitive dynamics and entry barriers evaluated

Ready to proceed to regulatory focus analysis? [C] Continue - Save this to document and proceed to regulatory focus

6. Handle Continue Selection

If 'C' (Continue):

• CONTENT ALREADY WRITTEN TO DOCUMENT
• Update frontmatter: stepsCompleted: [1, 2, 3]
• Load: ./step-04-regulatory-focus.md

APPEND TO DOCUMENT:

Content is already written to document when generated in step 4. No additional append needed.

SUCCESS METRICS:

✅ Key studios and competing titles thoroughly identified ✅ Market share and competitive positioning clearly mapped ✅ Monetization strategies and differentiation analyzed ✅ Business models and value propositions documented ✅ Competitive dynamics and entry barriers evaluated ✅ Content written immediately to document ✅ [C] continue option presented and handled correctly ✅ Proper routing to next step (regulatory focus) ✅ Research goals alignment maintained

FAILURE MODES:

❌ Relying on training data instead of web search for current game market facts ❌ Missing critical studios, titles, or market leaders ❌ Incomplete market share or positioning analysis ❌ Not identifying game monetization strategies ❌ Not writing content immediately to document ❌ Not presenting [C] continue option after content generation ❌ Not routing to regulatory focus step

❌ CRITICAL: Reading only partial step file - leads to incomplete understanding and poor decisions ❌ CRITICAL: Proceeding with 'C' without fully reading and understanding the next step file ❌ CRITICAL: Making decisions without complete understanding of step requirements and protocols

COMPETITIVE RESEARCH PROTOCOLS:

• Research game industry competitive intelligence and market analyses
• Use studio websites, investor reports, and platform developer data
• Analyze player count, revenue, and review data for competing titles
• Study game monetization strategies and differentiation approaches
• Search the web to verify facts
• Present conflicting information when sources disagree
• Apply confidence levels appropriately

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS STANDARDS:

• Always cite URLs for web search results
• Use authoritative game industry competitive intelligence sources
• Note data currency and potential limitations
• Present multiple perspectives when sources conflict
• Apply confidence levels to uncertain data
• Focus on actionable competitive insights

NEXT STEP:

After user selects 'C', load ./step-04-regulatory-focus.md to analyze age rating systems, content regulations, platform compliance requirements, and legal considerations for {{research_topic}}.

Remember: Always write research content to document immediately and search the web to verify game market facts!