When a 25-year studio closes, it’s worth paying attention
The Perception announcement
This week, Perception decided to close its doors. I feel for Jeremy and Danny and the entire team.
Seeing this announcement — closing after almost 25 years — landed heavy. Not because it’s a failure story. Quite the opposite. Perception built an awesome body of work, real partnerships, and a lasting legacy. That matters.
(Let's not ask "What went wrong?" but rather "For 25 years, what did they do RIGHT?")
Moments like this tend to trigger something deeper across our industry. When we see headlines like this, our nervous systems jump straight to:
“Is this a downturn?”
“Is the industry shrinking?”
“Is this what’s coming for all of us?”
I don’t think that’s what’s really happening.
What I’m seeing — again and again — is not collapse, but reconfiguration.
The ground is moving. Old assumptions are breaking. Long-standing models are being stress-tested. And yes, that can feel destabilizing if you’re running a studio or prodco inside it.
But there is also wild opportunity everywhere — if you’re willing to look honestly at how you’re positioned, what you’re saying yes to, and the deeper source of your expertise and leverage.
This is exactly why we are all leaning so heavily into community right now. Not for hacks. Not for predictions. But to listen.
To compare notes with other founders who are inside the same uncertainty — making real decisions, in real time, with real consequences.
Today I’m hosting an open roundtable with a small group of amazing leaders — Barton Damer at ALREADY BEEN CHEWED, Catharine Pitt at FORM PLAY, Dustin Devlin at VAGRANTS, Ryan Summers at SAROFSKY — for a candid conversation about what they’re changing, what they’re doubling down on, and what they’re intentionally walking away from as they look toward 2026.
No posturing. No theory. Just leaders talking shop with other leaders.
Whether you join us live or simply take a moment to reflect on where you are rethinking your model, my hope is the same:
That we respond to disruption not with fear — but with clarity.
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