Despite record profits and an emerging transmedia boom, the games industry is falling apart. Industry consolidation and the production of projects "too big to fail" has exposed the medium to widespread risk rather than safety--and by all indications, this escalation will only become worse in the coming years. In this talk, Strange Scaffold studio head Xalavier Nelson Jr. (El Paso, Elsewhere, Life Eater, Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator) discusses how he's built a game studio to survive this investment climate--and how attendees are uniquely empowered to do the same with holistic production methodologies and a focus on long-term sustainability.