> The average engine coder writing high performance code in C++ isn't a "passionate teen". They are experienced software engineers who want to stick as close to the metal as they feasibly can.

Statistically the median age in the games industry is 25 and always has been. It's a perpetually young industry not known for retaining experienced talent. I know that statistically the median doesn't tell you a lot about how long of a tail there is of senior talent, you need the standard deviation for that, but given what I've seen as mostly an outside observer with a strong interest the burn out rate in the industry remains as high as ever and senior developers with decades of experience are most likely to be an anomaly and an exception that proves the rule than a reality. In terms of anecdata all of the senior software developers I've ever followed the careers of on blogs and/or LinkedIn are all in management positions or entirely different industries after 30. I realize my sample size is biased by the people I chose to follow (for whichever reason) and anecdata is not data, but statistically it's really hard for me to square "experienced software engineers" with "in practice, it looks like no one over 30".