The Game Business
Games industry business news and analysis by Christopher Dring (ex-GamesIndustry.biz).
Documents
This Ubisoft Boss Believes Shorter, Story Games Can Counter the Industry’s Retention Obsession
Lisa Opie, Managing Director of Ubisoft’s Reflections studio, argues that the video game industry must pivot toward shorter, narrative-driven experiences to counter an over-reliance on player retention metrics.
- Ubisoft Reflections Managing Director Lisa Opie advocates for shorter, narrative-driven games as a strategic response to the industry's over-reliance on player retention metrics.
- The gaming industry must adapt to a shifting market where time-poor consumers, often occupied by alternative entertainment like streaming services, are less likely to purchase long-form titles.
- Research from The Workforce Institute indicates that 51% of Gen Z workers feel their university education failed to prepare them for the workplace, highlighting a critical need for industry-led soft skills training.
What's behind the success of Japan's big video game companies?
The global video game industry is currently undergoing a significant period of rationalization, shifting away from aggressive, broad-market expansion toward operational efficiency and disciplined resource allocation.
- Japanese industry leaders like Capcom and Konami are achieving record-high share prices and robust financial performance by prioritizing existing intellectual property over chasing fleeting industry trends.
- The global gaming industry is shifting from aggressive, broad-market expansion toward operational efficiency and disciplined resource allocation to combat market volatility.
- Success is increasingly driven by a strategy of scarcity and high-quality, fan-centric content rather than inflating production budgets or over-extending project scales.
The Answer to the Video Game Industry’s Woes: Just Make Some Hits
The global video game industry is currently navigating a period of significant stagnation, characterized by declining console and software sales and projected revenue growth of less than one percent for 2025.
- The video game industry is facing a significant downturn, with Ampere projecting less than 1% revenue growth for 2025, effectively marking another year of decline when adjusted for inflation.
- Console hardware and software sales are experiencing sharp declines, with some markets reporting drops of 10% or more in unit sales and a decrease in the total number of active players.
- Major AAA titles released in 2024, including Star Wars Outlaws, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, failed to meet performance expectations, highlighting the high-risk nature of current large-budget development.
Rebellion: “We don’t gamble wildly. We’ve a responsibility to our people”
The independent studio Rebellion prioritizes long-term stability and fiscal responsibility over the volatile, high-stakes development cycles that currently characterize much of the gaming industry.
- Rebellion maintains long-term workforce stability and avoids mass layoffs by prioritizing fiscal responsibility and eschewing speculative, high-stakes development cycles.
- The studio utilizes self-funding and proprietary technology to retain creative autonomy and mitigate the financial risks associated with external investment.
- Rebellion focuses on mid-tier titles that balance high production quality with controlled budgets to compete effectively in a saturated market.
Take-Two CEO: I’d Argue Rockstar Has Been Putting Out a New GTA a Couple of Times a Year
This interview with Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick explores the company’s long-term growth strategy, development philosophy, and market outlook following its fiscal 2025 financial results.
- Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick argues that Rockstar Games effectively releases new Grand Theft Auto content multiple times a year through ongoing updates to Grand Theft Auto Online, which has exceeded performance expectations.
- Zelnick contends that while upfront development costs for flagship titles have risen, the real-term cost per unit of content has decreased when amortized across the ongoing support and downloadable content provided for those titles.
- Take-Two has confirmed it is developing four titles for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, signaling a commitment to supporting the platform despite historical challenges for third-party developers.
Major media outlets will not have Nintendo Switch 2 reviews at launch
Nintendo is adopting a conservative strategy for the upcoming Switch 2 launch, targeting 15 million units in the first fiscal year.
- Nintendo is targeting 15 million units for the Switch 2 in its first fiscal year while withholding review units from major media outlets at launch to accommodate day-one software patches.
- The delay of major titles like Grand Theft Auto 6 is projected to cause a $2.7 billion loss in console-related revenue, negatively impacting PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series sales.
- Hardware spending in the gaming market dropped 32% in the first quarter, reflecting a broader industry downturn and a shift toward margin improvement over expansion.
Can the video games media survive?
The gaming media industry is currently undergoing a period of intense contraction and structural transformation, driven by a volatile attention economy and an over-reliance on Google search traffic.
- The gaming media industry is shifting away from traditional ad-supported editorial models toward utility-focused platforms that prioritize game discovery, wikis, and user-generated content.
- Reliance on Google search traffic and programmatic advertising has become an existential risk due to algorithmic volatility and the rise of AI-driven content generation.
- Large-scale media entities are consolidating and diversifying revenue through e-commerce and digital showcases, while mid-tier outlets face significant struggles to maintain financial viability.
Has Xbox’s Call of Duty Game Pass gamble paid off?
The gaming industry is currently navigating a period of structural transition defined by shifting distribution models and evolving consumer engagement strategies.
- Microsoft’s inclusion of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in Xbox Game Pass drove record subscriber growth, capturing 47% of the franchise’s console player base in late 2024.
- The initial surge in Game Pass subscribers following the Black Ops 6 launch has leveled off, forcing Microsoft to shift toward a multi-platform publishing strategy to sustain revenue.
- The console sector is currently experiencing stagnation, driven by the delay of major titles like Grand Theft Auto 6 and a reliance on legacy hardware that is underperforming compared to historical cycles.
CD Projekt Red: "Nintendo’s audience is different to what it used to be"
CD Projekt Red’s recent expansion into the Nintendo ecosystem, specifically with the launch of Cyberpunk 2077 on the Nintendo Switch 2, highlights a strategic shift in how major AAA developers view the platform.
- CD Projekt Red is targeting the Nintendo Switch 2 to reach a maturing demographic that values high-quality, open-world RPGs but lacks interest in high-end PC rigs or stationary consoles.
- The studio is prioritizing physical media on the Switch 2 by including the full game on the cartridge to eliminate the friction of large mandatory downloads.
- CD Projekt Red treats the Switch 2 as a primary, distinct platform rather than a secondary porting destination, leveraging its portability to fulfill specific player demand for flexible gaming.
GTA 6 Delay Is Good News for Nintendo and Bad News for Star Wars
The delay of Grand Theft Auto 6 from 2025 to May 26, 2026, represents a significant shift for the global console gaming industry, jeopardizing expectations for a return to growth in the current year.
- Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed from its original 2025 window to a new release date of May 26, 2026.
- The delay jeopardizes the console game industry's projected return to growth in 2025, as the title was expected to be a primary driver for hardware sales and industry revenue.
- Nintendo is positioned to benefit from the delay, as it creates a clearer market window to establish the Switch 2 during the 2025 holiday season, supported by a planned Pokémon release.
Expedition 33 publisher: “Oblivion didn’t seem to harm us at all”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has emerged as a significant success for Kepler Interactive and Sandfall Interactive, selling over one million units within its first three days and reaching 1.7 million players during its opening week.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 achieved 1.7 million players in its opening week, including over one million units sold within the first three days.
- Data indicates that 55 percent of Xbox players engaged with both Expedition 33 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion simultaneously, suggesting that subscription services like Game Pass foster audience sampling rather than direct title cannibalization.
- The success of Expedition 33 validates the double-A market segment, proving that focused, high-quality new intellectual properties can achieve significant reach through strategic platform support.
Xbox Raises Prices on Consoles, Games and Controllers Worldwide
Microsoft has implemented global price increases across its Xbox hardware ecosystem, including consoles and controllers, alongside plans to raise the price of select new software titles to $79.99 by the end of 2025.
- Microsoft has increased global pricing for Xbox consoles and controllers, with the Xbox Series X rising to $599.99 and the base Series S to $429.99 in the U.S.
- Starting this holiday season, select new Xbox games will see a price increase to $79.99, though this change will not affect upcoming titles like Doom: The Dark Ages.
- Hardware and software price hikes are driven by rising development costs—which have tripled over the last five years—alongside high inflation, fluctuating exchange rates, and U.S. global tariffs.