Well, $65 games are pretty much a dead end as it takes millions in research alone. (I used to work for Rockstar as an intern years ago), but just like in business, if you are 40 plus you should be able to head your own department. My brother’s pal used to work for EA and from what he told me, they pay sh*t (less than 12/hr on texture rendition as an example) and the only reason why dudes work for EA is the culture. After you hit 30, you are pretty much ostracized.
That’s what I meant by “more mature pursuits”. You can’t be a game developer at age 40. You need to be doing something boring like databases, industrial apps, or analysis long before then.
As for running your own department, you aren’t going to do that in today’s world if you are a white male.