April 18, 2025 by Rickard Linder

New Alinea Analytics hire - Rhys Elliott

We’re happy to announce that Rhys Elliott is joining Alinea Analytics as our Head of Market Analysis and a member of our management team. Rhys has a decade of experience covering strategy in games, with analysis regularly featured in the media (including IGN, Deconstuctor of Fun, VentureBeat and the BBC). He’s also a regular, on the games podcast circuit, at events, and has consulted with some of the biggest names in the games business. He’s been working with us over the past couple of months, and we’re excited to make things official!

Here’s our interview with Rhys:

Q: Rhys – we’re so excited to have you on board! Can you tell us a little about yourself?

A: Thanks! I’m really excited – or ‘‘chuffed’’ as we say in Wales – too! As I just gave away, I’m originally from a small village in Wales, but I’ve lived in the Netherlands for a decade now. I started my career in quantitative research, web development, and content, but I’ve been covering games for about 10 years now, with roles across Newzoo, Nielsen, and MIDiA Research.

As a consultant, I’ve written reports for tech giants including Google and ByteDance to help unpack market trends. And I’ve also done strategic consulting for Riot Games, Amazon, LEGO, and Activision Blizzard. I absolutely adore games, and always have. And not just playing them too: I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve been reading publishers’ financial reports since my early teens (OK – maybe I’m a little ashamed).

I still play an unreasonable number of games, but I tell my girlfriend it’s ‘desk research’. When I’m not working or gaming, you’ll find me at the gym, drumming (badly), reading (usually something games related), or spending time with my family and friends.

Q: You said you ‘‘absolutely adore games’’. Could you tell us about what drives this adoration?

There wasn’t a lot to do where I grew up, so games have always been an escape. Exploring wild, weird, and wonderful worlds, and peeking behind the curtain of some of the world’s most creative minds, really speaks to me. I have obsessively followed games – first via gaming magazines, then via the internet, and now via financial reports and chats with developers, publishers, and journalists. It’s still wild to me that I get to talk to some of my childhood heroes. They say ‘’never meet your heroes’’, but that’s not true in the games industry. I love it.

Q: Why did you decide to make the jump to Alinea?

Alinea’s data is the most accurate data in the business – bar none. When I first got chatting to Vic [Viktor Spindler, Alinea’s CTO], he gave me a login for the Alinea platform. I did a few spot checks against some publisher actuals and some of my clients’ data, and Alinea’s estimates were basically spot on. I’m going to be blunt: there is a lot of methodologically questionable games data out there. First-mover advantages are a reality, but good branding alone can only get you so far. The tides are changing, and publishers are looking for something new. It’s something I hear time and time again in my talks with devs and publishers.

In my experience, two huge pain points: finding a data provider that accurately reflects reality and a platform that actually works and doesn’t chug with every request. Alinea is that provider. It’s bewildering that Alinea – despite its small team– has managed to create a platform that is so responsive with data that is so accurate. Alinea legitimately has some of the best coders and data analysts in the business. I guess it’s true what they say: quality over quantity. So yes, the decision to come aboard was very easy.

Q: Tell us a little about your role at Alinea and what you’re most excited about in the role

As Alinea’s Head of Market Analysis, I’ll use my experience analysing the games market to shape the Alinea’s content and brand. I’ll be creating content and reports using Alinea’s best-in-class data – such as the recent Xbox games on PlayStation and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 deep dives. I’ll also be using my games market knowledge (AKA obsession) and Alinea data to give commentary to the press, which I’ve already done for Alinea via GamesIndustry.biz, IGN, and Giant Bomb. I’ll also be speaking at events and working on Alinea’s content strategy – all to help spread the word about the best games data in the business.

I’ll also be working directly with Alinea’s clients to give them tailored insights using Alinea’s data. I’m eager to provide this service and help Alinea’s clients with my games market knowledge. Talking with game devs and publishers is one of my favourite parts of the job. Of course, I’m also open to helping out non-clients – especially indies. My LinkedIn DMs and email inbox are always open to anyone in the games market who needs advice. Finally, I’ll also be part of Alinea’s management team and will get stuck in with strategic planning.

Basically, this job is my dream role and will leverage all the experience I’ve built up over the past decade or so. I’m over the moon. I honestly think the Alinea platform is the best in the business, and it works. People are catching on.

Q: Could you tell us a little more about that?

Sure! Incomplete data means less informed decisions. There is a lot of revenue data and MAU data out there that only covers a few markets and makes huge claims based on that. Huge markets like China should always be factored into the equation – as should more local ones. Alinea’s country coverage for estimates is huge. And another value proposition that impressed me was the copies sold data. MAUs can only get you so far, as so many games are on subscription services and are accessible via other means.

Almost every single publisher I’ve talked to who’s had a Alinea login or demo has said something along the lines of ‘‘Wow, this data is better than the current third-party stuff we’re looking at’’, so I believe it really is just a matter of time before everybody else catches on. Obviously, I can’t talk too much about the methodological secret sauce here, but what Alinea has been building over the past several years in stealth mode is nothing short of incredible, and the roadmap is even more exciting. Big waves coming, I reckon.

That’s why I think Alinea is the on to something great, why I think people are catching on, and one of the reasons I’m happy to call myself an Alinea employee.

Q: Thanks Rhys! We’re also happy to have you on board too. Last, but certainly not least: What’s your favourite game?

Wow – talk about saving the hardest question for last! Honestly, my favourite game changes on almost a monthly basis. Right now, it’s an indie game called Blue Prince. It’s a unique mix of non-linear storytelling, obscure puzzles, and one-more-go roguelite design has absolutely got me hooked. There’s nothing else like it, and I can’t stop thinking about it. I even dreamt about it last night… But one game I always keep coming back to is Chrono Trigger. I love JRPGs, and the two Chrono games were a huge part of my childhood. So that’s probably the real answer.

See why Rhys is so excited about our platform for yourself right here.