PLAYING THE MARKET


, CEO at Oxylabs, looks at how public web data can power smarter game industry strategies


T


he global video game market is large and growing. According to a recent


analysis, the industry generated nearly US$299 billion in 2024 and is projected to surpass US$600 billion by 2030. Yet scale alone does not guarantee success. A flood of new titles, combined with rising development costs and shifting player expectations, makes the market fiercely competitive. This is why data strategies must


evolve to incorporate public web data. Studies show that organisations that use advanced competitive intelligence, including structured public web data collection, tend to outperform peers in profitability and strategic agility.


COMPETITIVE PRICING AND GLOBAL PRICING STRATEGY Large publishers like EA and Ubisoft, which typically launch in multiple regions, have much to consider when deciding how best to price their games, including purchasing power, currency differences, and competitive pressures. By gathering pricing data across multiple storefronts and platforms, they can identify market opportunities and plan regional discounts. They can also find their pricing sweet spots, a process that is far


from straightforward. For indie darling Team Cherry, for example, the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong was priced at just $19.99, with some fans begging for a higher price. For years, scraping price data has been the key to overcoming


pricing challenges in e-commerce, giving businesses real-time visibility into market dynamics. The game industry stands to benefit greatly from increased use of these strategies.


COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS AND RELEASE-TIMING STRATEGY Tracking competitor release schedules and announcement calendars can provide early warnings on market saturation, genre overlap, or potential clashes. For instance, if several high-profile titles in the same genre are scheduled close together, a mid-sized studio might shift its


46 | MCV/DEVELOP February/March 2026


launch date or adjust its marketing efforts. Web store “coming soon” pages,


publisher announcements, and public calendars are all available for industry players to use. A free, equally available resource with great economic power. Aggregated public data collected


over time can reveal deeper insights. Such data includes price history, discount frequency, genre performance trends, and shifts in player sentiment. It can provide


insights as to which genres are trending upward. Likewise, understanding how seasonal sales patterns affect visibility


should also inform long-term release planning. Such insights can be a valuable support for long-term strategy, from content planning to picking the right platform(s) for different games. One of the most powerful aspects of public web data is its


accessibility. Both major publishers and indie teams can benefit in equally meaningful, albeit different, ways. Global publishers must juggle a complex set of variables: regional


pricing, seasonal competition, platform-specific trends, and more. Public web data helps them shape their regional pricing strategies. It can also support the optimization of launch windows to avoid competition and enable monitoring of genres and market shifts. Finally, it gives large studios a real-time understanding of community sentiment. Because smaller teams often lack access to expensive analytics tools,


public web data is invaluable. Indie developers can use it to validate concepts before committing development time, benchmark pricing against similar titles, and position their games more effectively on a budget. It can also help them identify underserved niches.


AN INDUSTRY TO RECKON WITH Despite its size and importance for billions of people around the world, as a field for business and investment, gaming remains underappreciated. Perhaps, web intelligence is the final boost video gaming needs to become a model of quality and sound business strategy to rival any of the traditional industries.


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