Derek Chang

Derek Chang combines his passion for gaming with investment analysis, having spent years as a game designer at Electronic Arts before transitioning to covering gaming stocks. He earned his degree in Computer Science from UC Berkeley and worked on several AAA titles before pursuing an MBA from Wharton. Derek's development experience gives him insight into game production economics—budgets, timelines, hit rates—that most analysts lack. He understands what makes games succeed or flop, from gameplay mechanics to monetization models to marketing strategies. Derek excels at analyzing publishers' release pipelines, franchise strength, and platform dynamics across console, PC, and mobile. He tracks free-to-play monetization, live service games, and how gaming shifted from $60 purchases to ongoing engagement models. Derek was early on mobile gaming's growth in Asia and prescient about cloud gaming's slower-than-expected adoption. His analysis covers publishers like Activision and Take-Two, platform holders like Sony and Microsoft, and the game engine providers powering the industry. He also tracks esports' evolution and the metaverse's potential. Based in Los Angeles, Derek maintains connections across the gaming industry while helping investors understand this $180 billion entertainment medium.