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IS GAMING HEADED FOR A DEAD END OR ON THE BRINK OF ITS GREATEST LEAP?


THIS YEAR’S GAMESCOM takes place against a backdrop of existential uncertainty that has gripped the gaming industry. For all the growth, global visibility, and sheer volume of content being produced, one uncomfortable question lingers: Is gaming running out of road?


By Adam Smart,  Gaming, Appsflyer


Over the past decade, the business has been defined by performance metrics, monetisation models, and subscription platforms. But the very mechanisms that once


propelled the industry forward now seem to be holding it back. From mass layoffs and conservative greenlighting in the West to bloated “just ship more” pipelines driven by Game Pass-like services, the industry is chasing scale, often at the expense of creativity.


SEARCHING FOR MOMENTUM It’s natural to search for momentum elsewhere. In China, gaming still  risk-tolerant audience engages deeply with experimental formats and monetisation models that prioritise progression over polish. Pay-per-play might jar with Western sensibilities, but in those markets, it resonates. Meanwhile in the West, indie studios are punching above their weight, with smaller teams creating bold, visionary titles that break through the noise, where many AAA titles vanish on impact. But here’s the catch: neither path points to a repeatable, industry- wide model. China’s success is rooted in cultural context. Indie hits remain inspiring, but exceptional. Even Nintendo, gaming’s most iconic innovator, seems  more like an iteration than a revolution. And with $70 price tags on flagship titles, it’s hard not to feel like they’re playing into Steam’s hands. Right now, we’re clinging to the last models that worked instead of inventing what’s next.


52 | MCV/DEVELOP August/September 2025


THE SHORT-TERM SHIFT In the background, hardware is shifting. Consoles are quietly losing  ASUS ROG Ally, handheld hybrids, cloud gaming, and above all, the iPad. Services like Nvidia’s GeForce Now are removing the final friction, making high-performance PC games playable on handhelds or, remarkably, even iPads. Gen Alpha and beyond aren’t waiting for the next console  realities.


Even hardware manufacturers who once swore by exclusivity are pivoting toward platform-agnosticism. Why? Because it’s not about where games are played, it’s about how many people are playing them. And to compete with mobile’s reach, PC and console must embrace reach over restriction. It’s not idealism. It’s survival. Still, subscription models like Game Pass come at a cost: more games,  drops. Quality suffers. And long-term value gets harder to defend.


THE LONG-TERM LEAP What comes next won’t be defined by better monetisation. It will be defined by reinvention. It’s a natural phase in the creative cycle. Spatial computing, generative AI, and immersive systems converging to reshape how we play, what we play, and even why we play. Play is no longer just a product. It’s becoming an economic, creative, social layer woven into our lives.


  Yes, VC funding has pulled back. But as we can see at gamescom, player engagement is growing. Revenues are up. Governments in Canada, Spain,  there. So is the momentum. What we need now is support for the builders, and the courage to build better.


When it comes to the advertising industry surrounding gaming, I believe the future will be shaped by how well we listen, learn, and adapt – across platforms, audiences, and modes of play. From install to in-game engagement, from context to lifetime value, we must measure what truly matters and build from there – with solutions like AppsFlyer for games helping marketers make sense of it all.


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