BEYOND GROWTH: WHAT DOES A HEALTHY GAMES INDUSTRY LOOK LIKE?


Women in Games CEO Dr Marie-Claire Isaaman explores why record growth should not stop the industry asking fundamental questions about the future


N


ewzoo’s latest market report delivered impressive news for the games industry. Global revenues


reached $201.6 billion in 2025, surpassing the $200 billion mark for the first time. PC delivered its strongest year of growth on record, mobile continued to outperform expectations and every major region expanded, albeit at different rates. The headline is clear: gaming is thriving. That growth is increasingly global in


nature. Established markets in North America, Europe and East Asia remain important, but growth is also being driven by expanding player communities across emerging markets. Through Women in Games’ global network, we see firsthand how gaming continues to create opportunities for connection, creativity and economic development around the world. By almost any traditional measure, the


industry is succeeding. While revenues continue to rise, many of


the pressures shaping the future of games remain unresolved. Research consistently shows that women and girls continue to face disproportionate levels of harassment, abuse and exclusion in online spaces. Across the industry, studios are also grappling with layoffs, evolving production models and uncertainty around the impact of AI on creative work. Viewed separately, these may seem like different challenges. Taken together, they


16 | MCV/DEVELOP July/August 2026


point to a broader question about the health and resilience of the ecosystem that sits behind the industry’s success. Games are no longer just products.


They are social spaces. For many people, the experience of gaming is shaped as much by the communities around it as the game itself. That raises an important question: how


do we define success? Revenue matters. Growth matters.


Innovation matters. But so do trust, safety and the quality of the environments we create around games. The industry has become exceptionally


good at measuring engagement, retention and monetisation. We know how long people play, what they buy and when they leave. We are often less effective at understanding the broader health of the ecosystem that surrounds them. This matters because cultural challenges


rarely remain cultural challenges forever. Over time, they become business challenges, reputation challenges and, increasingly, regulatory challenges. Around the world, governments are


paying closer attention to online harms, youth protection, platform accountability and digital wellbeing. Whether the focus is monetisation systems, age verification, online safety or social features, the direction of travel is clear: policymakers are becoming more willing to intervene


where they believe industries have not acted quickly enough themselves. Europe is likely to remain at the


forefront of many of these debates. And the question is not whether regulation is good or bad. The question is whether the games industry is doing enough to shape its own future before others begin shaping it on its behalf. The games industry has earned its


success through extraordinary creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The latest market figures show a sector that continues to grow, evolve and reach new audiences around the world. But growth and health are not always the


same thing. As games become increasingly


important social, cultural and economic spaces, the question is no longer whether the industry is successful. The question is what kind of industry that success is creating. Revenue tells us whether the market is


growing. It tells us far less about the health of the ecosystem that supports it – and the future it is creating.


Women in Games from Players to Power and Capital is available now from Women in Games.


For a copy of the report contact hello@womeningames.org


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