Paul Ingalls

One of the scariest parts of the 2026 GDC State of the Industry report isn’t just layoffs. It’s how funding itself has dried up compared to last year. Look at the shift from 2025 to 2026: > Self‑funding dropped from over half to about a third > Publishing / project‑based funding also dropped in share > Banks, accelerators, and other “extra” funding sources have basically exited for now Translation: There are fewer games in active development, backed by fewer funding sources, and every remaining project is carrying a lot more pressure. In 2025, more than half of devs were basically betting on themselves. In 2026, that’s closer to a third. At the same time, publisher‑funded projects also went down. So we’re in a world where: > Fewer projects are getting greenlit > Fewer safety nets exist > And cancellation risk is higher than completion as a cause of layoffs If you’re running one of the relatively few funded games that made it through this filter, you’re not just “lucky to have work.” You’re sitting on a very expensive bet that the rest of the market is no longer willing to make. In that environment, you can’t afford fantasy roadmaps, invisible work, and “we’ll figure it out later” planning. When funding tightens like this, my job is simple: > Take the project you already fought to get funded > Cut the noise > And rebuild a realistic plan so this rare bet actually ships instead of becoming another cancellation statistic. I’ll drop the link to the 2026 GDC report (and the 2025 comparison chart) in the comments so you can see the contrast yourself. If you’re a funded indie or AA studio head looking at these numbers and thinking, “We have to make this one count,” comment ROADMAP and I’ll send you the Defund Risk Check template I use to align scope, time, and team around a plan that can actually survive in this funding climate. #gamedev #gamefunding #gdc2026 #stateoftheindustry #indiegames #AAstudios #producers #production

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Mobile Gaming Generated $125B in 2025! 📈 Here's the breakdown 👇 In 2025, mobile games brought in around $125B, growing 9% year over year! That’s 59% of all global gaming revenue — more than console and PC combined. A few numbers that explain why: - 3.3B active mobile gamers worldwide - $37.90 ARPU Mobile remains the largest and fastest-moving part of the industry People often ask: “But how much do mobile games actually make?” It depends on scale: - Indie games: ~$1K–$20K per month - Mid-tier studios: ~$50K–$500K per month - Top AAA mobile titles: $1M–$30M+ per month Same platform but very different outcomes. In 2025, success in mobile gaming isn’t about being big — it’s about smart monetization, long-term engagement, and understanding your audience. https://lnkd.in/dptD9y8C

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GDC is always interesting for the talks and announcements. But in my experience, the real insights usually come from the conversations happening around them. After a week of meetings, dinners, coffees at Blue Bottle and sit-downs at the Marriott Marquis (and W and InterContinental etc., etc.) with developers, publishers, platform teams, and service providers, a few themes kept surfacing other than launch readiness (which I touched on last week). 1. Many of the most interesting conversations were about execution. How to sustain momentum after launch, how to cut through crowded storefronts, and how to align product, marketing, and community expectations before release. 2. Discoverability anxiety is now universal. It’s no longer just indie teams worrying about getting noticed. Even well-funded projects are asking the same question: "How do we cut through the noise when hundreds of titles are competing for attention every week?" 3. Launch strategy conversations are happening earlier. More teams are thinking about launch risk months or even years before release. The era of “we’ll figure out the launch later” seems to be fading. None of these trends appeared overnight, but GDC has a way of making underlying industry shifts bubble up to the surface. Curious what patterns that others who were in San Francisco last week noticed.

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GDC 2026 Play Connection will attend GDC 2026 in San Francisco and will be present throughout the week. It will be a pleasure to reconnect with long-standing partners and industry friends. This year marks an important milestone: Play Connection celebrates its 20th anniversary at the end of March. Two decades dedicated to building strategic bridges between studios, publishers, investors and IP holders. During GDC, we will present a curated slate of premium projects in development, including original creations and internationally recognized licensed IPs. We will also introduce highly experienced partner studios available for work-for-hire and AA/AAA co-development collaborations. We welcome discussions with: • Publishers • Investors and financing partners • Studios seeking strategic partnerships To schedule a meeting, please reach out via DM or directly at 📩 ograssiano@playconnection.fr hope to see you there ;) #GDC2026 #GameIndustry #Publishing #AAAGames #CoDevelopment #StrategicPartnerships #PlayConnection

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2025 WINNERS 🏆 BY IAP REVENUE "Follow the market, follow the leader." 🥇 The Follow-the-Leader Strategy is successful in many industries, but it is crucial in mobile gaming. 🎯 In a highly competitive market such as mobile gaming, Follow-the-Leader means leveraging shortcuts to learn and save time. ⏱️ For this reason, today I bring you the list of mobile gaming companies that earned the most in IAP revenue in 2025. 💰 I considered only companies that made last year's 🔝 100. My highlights. 4𝐗 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐭! 🔥 Some gaming companies whose 4X Strategy titles are their flagships skyrocketed last year! 🚀 Century Games has generated nearly $1 billion in revenue🤯 , with YOY growth of more than 86%, driven largely by its two main 4X Strategy games, “Whiteout Survival” and “Kingshot”. In addition, the Chinese giant 🇨🇳 also scored a Merge-2 hit, “Tasty Travels.” Growing by leaps and bounds, “Travel” opens up a new flank of big hits in another genre (puzzle), making Century one of the most promising companies in the mobile gaming market. 💎 Other highlights in 4X Strategy are First Fun, which remained at the top of the charts with its “Last Z: Survival,” and the unknown Florere Games, which exploded last year, accumulating nearly half a billion dollars. 𝐏𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲. 🧩💵 Here are two highlights. Chinese giant Microfun 🇨🇳 exploded its Merge-2 “Gossip Harbor,” placing it third in revenue among the puzzles of 2025 🥉. And the Turkish giant Dream Games 🇹🇷 began scaling its new Match-3 “Royal Kingdom.” Do you want to break into the puzzle market? 🤔 Then follow these two companies. 𝐈𝐏𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. ®️ This is the case with The Pokémon Company International, which exploded onto the charts with its highly anticipated Pokémon TCG Pocket 🎴 , amassing over $380 million in IAP revenue last year. 𝐇𝐲𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥? 𝐘𝐄𝐒, 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐎𝐎! ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 Last but not least, Hybridcasual publishers have firmly established themselves in the mobile gaming market in 2025. Two years ago, surrounded by doubts, the Hybridcasual model is a tested and validated business model today. 💪 Many Hybridcasual publishers grew last year. I would highlight Turkish giant Rollic 🇹🇷, which grew by more than 137% yoy to more than $120 million in IAP revenue, with performance driven primarily by its big hit, “Color Block Jam”. And the Vietnamese iKame Global Zego Studio 🇻🇳, which grew more than 390%, driven by the big hit, “Screwdom”. Did this post help you? 👀 Save and share it with your colleagues. 🫂 👇 Swipe through the slides below to see other mobile gaming companies that stood out in 2025. 👇 Datasource: AppMagic 🫶.

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A successful soft launch in 2026 will be a strategic, data-rich incubation focused on stress-testing the game's long-term monetization depth and community play patterns in specific, non-traditional markets (e.g., Brazil, Nigeria, Turkey, Philippines) before entering the US or Western Europe. Crucially, its primary objective will shift from validating basic KPIs to conducting deep, AI-powered creative discovery. Success will not just be a 40% D1 retention or target Day 7 ROAS, but the definitive, data-backed identification of a game's creative DNA across key networks. This is achieved by deploying platforms like AppsFlyer's Creative Optimization, which uses AI to automatically tag and analyze creative performance at the element level . A successful soft launch will exit with "vital knowledge" that answers these platform-specific questions. https://lnkd.in/eGn4HubY

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What if competitive gaming rewarded skill the way real sports do? Right now, most games fall into one of two categories: Player vs Player (PvP) - where players compete for ranking or progression. Chance-based systems - where outcomes are largely determined by probability. Both models work. But each has limitations. PvP rewards skill, yet most matches carry little meaning beyond rank points. Chance-based systems create excitement, but the outcome is often driven by luck rather than ability. So I started thinking about a different approach. What if competitive games were designed around a simple idea: Players should win because they are better, not because they are lucky. That idea led me to define a new competitive gaming framework: PvPG - Player vs Player Gaming. In PvPG systems: • Players compete directly against another live player • Matches reward skill, strategy, and execution • Pay-to-win advantages are removed • Competitive matches can include prize-based outcomes The goal is simple: pure competition on equal footing. Two players enter. They compete head-to-head. The better player wins. I believe this model could open the door to a new category of competitive gaming, one focused on skill-based prize matches rather than luck-based outcomes. I’ve written a deeper breakdown explaining how PvPG works and why it could reshape competitive gaming. If you’re curious, you can read the full article here: PvPG introduction Check it out here https://lnkd.in/g3NeVbbc I’d love to hear what others in the gaming space think about this.

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2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for Xsolla and in 🎮 games. These are not just big IPs. They come with passionate communities, and ongoing monetization opportunities. So... How can digital service providers, whether tech giants, mobile operators, or retail companies participate meaningfully beyond short-run marketing campaigns? 1. Build branded commerce ecosystems, not just one off events - Launch white-label marketplaces anchored in their own brand experience. By integrating discovery, payment, content bundling, and loyalty, you turn one-time promos into ecosystems that amplify brand halo. 2. Create a shared incentive model - Think of revenue share or commission structures tied to lifetime value, not just first-purchase uplift. That aligns incentives with game publishers and DSPs alike. 3. Own the platform, you are more than a promo channel - you will always compete on CPIs and impressions, own the branded commerce experience and the halo effect become sticker 4. Scale without penalty - The more successful your program is, the more efficient it should become, not more expensive. Success should unlock better margins, and sustainable growth for both DSPs and Game publishers.

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Jonathan Rodgers and I will be co-presenting at GDC this year on a topic that will surprise absolutely no one that's met me - process management, continuous improvement, and what it looks like for your team to kick ass on their own :) Check it out if you can, nerd snipe me with communication gaps and process riddles if you can't

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Just wrapped up an inspiring day at the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Exec Offsite for Games in Irvine. Truly an informative event for navigating today's dynamic industry landscape. Key insights: With 77% of studios embracing generative AI, it's clear this tech is revolutionizing content pipelines and player engagement. Amid stagnant markets dominated by live service titles, strategies like DTC unlocks, transmedia tie-ins, and brand-formance marketing are essential for growth. AWS's ecosystem (from SageMaker for cost-efficient AI workflows to efficiently hosting game servers) offers scalable tools to build, run, and grow at pace. Grateful to the AWS team (with a special thanks to John D’Eufemia) for curating such a forward-thinking event, packed with unfiltered trends and actionable sessions. Shoutout to the speakers (like Jen Donahoe) and fellow execs (great to see you J. Aaron Farr) for the vibrant discussions that sparked new ideas for our roadmap. Excited to implement these takeaways and collaborate more deeply! #AWSGames #GamingIndustry #GenerativeAI #GameDev

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Good games often feel simple to play. Making them is hard work. I recently spoke at Gamesforum in SF. The conference brought together experts to discuss user acquisition and monetization strategies for mobile games. I had the chance to share insights from running a chess learning platform Chess.ing and learned valuable lessons from industry leaders. I discussed using Discord for activities. I explained how parents plan for after school. This means they often prefer annual payments over monthly ones. I also talked about chess. For chess, curriculum should adapt to each student. Girls and boys approach problems differently, and we adjust our curriculum to match these learning styles. More girls are playing online now than two years ago, which reflects broader changes in how young people engage with competitive activities. The conference taught me how much testing shapes successful games. Games that seem polished today went through years of iteration. Players are tired of generic ads that break immersion, dah no surprise! Advertising can enhance rather than interrupt gameplay when it aligns with the story and offers genuine rewards. This was hard to believe until I saw a few. Two metrics came up repeatedly in conversations. ROAS measures how much revenue each dollar of advertising generates. ARPUU tracks revenue per paying user, helping teams understand which players contribute most to sustainability. Segmentation matters more than I expected. There are countless ways to group users based on behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns. The best teams keep experimenting with different segments to find what works for their specific audience. Everyone at the conference talked about AI and personalization. I also met Devin Becker who was terrific. He suggested teaching chess by starting with endgames rather than openings. Most curricula begin with how pieces move and opening principles. Starting from endgames might help students understand the purpose behind each move earlier in their learning journey. Chess combines art, science, and sport in ways that few other activities do, and each conversation reminded me how many approaches exist to teach it well. Thank you Josh Vowles, Mariam Ahmad, Joe S., and the entire Gamesforum team for putting it all together 🎉 

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The 𝐂𝐨-𝐨𝐩 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐫 is very likely entering a new phase soon, as significant developments are already happening on both fronts: within co-op games themselves and in the AA / AAA space with roguelite design, pointing toward a future where these directions converge more frequently. What began as e.g., tightly scripted, replayable team experiences is steadily evolving into something more systemic, more persistent, and more unpredictable as we’re seeing and predicting fresh takes on the genre. One soon realizing future sits at the intersection of two forces: ➡️ Roguelike/roguelite systemic design. ➡️ Co-op-first social play. For these, I'm covering on my article (link below) what's happening overall around: ➡️ Co-op games' side, incl. mentions of recently popular co-op titles. ➡️ AA / AAA side with roguelite games, incl. case examples of where e.g., Housemarque and Bad Robot Games are going. However, despite recent and ongoing developments, I believe this is just the beginning. If things continue with this approach, I think we’re actually seeing at some point future games based on the intersection of three forces: ➡️ Roguelike / roguelite systemic design. ➡️ Co-op-first social play. ➡️ Extraction-inspired DNA / PvPvE structures. Individually, each of these has proven successful. Combined, they point toward new genre phases, one likely to define the next 3 to 5 years of multiplayer shooters, followed by a deeper evolution that could shape the direction of the genre for at least the next decade. Dive deeper on my recent article and discussion here: https://lnkd.in/dJXcpuXp

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Curious about how to bet smarter? 📊 In our new article, we break down Expected Value, the key tool to spot profitable bets and reduce the bookmaker’s margin. Want to understand EV and gain a real edge? 👇 https://lnkd.in/exdYiKae

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So many friends at SLICE, GamesBeat Engage, and PAX West are busy making plans for new businesses. To those starting a new game studio or publisher but struggling with funding? Here's a roadmap to help you! Game financing doesn't have to be a mystery. Whether you're an indie studio or established publisher, understanding your options is crucial: 💰 Key Funding Sources: • Publishers and Partners - Risk sharing + marketing power • Government grants and tax programs - Often overlooked goldmine • Crowdfunding platforms - Build community early and get proof points • Angel investors - Industry expertise included • Revenue-based financing - Keep your equity, private market money can help 💀 But Be Mindful Of: • Venture Capital - scaling and growth requirements are very high • Captive Capital Sources - They invest, but you can only use their platform • First-Time Investors - may want so much ongoing contact, it burns you out • Unfair Terms - where you make no money while investors reap the rewards • IP Licenses - may help discovery but curtail long term growth and sequels 🎯 Pro Tips: ✅ Know your avatar customer with data proofs ✅ Perfect your pitch by knowing what you will build ✅ Show market validation early with community involvement ✅ Build with clear development process mentality ✅ Showcase your monetization strategy early The gaming industry is projected to hit $600.7B by 2030 with a CAGR of 12.1%* - and capital raises are *growing* for the first time in several years. There's also never been so many studios and publishers looking for funding. *You have to stand out!* What's been your biggest challenge in securing developer or publisher funding? -- Meetings? Decks? Financial Projections? I'd love to hear about your experience below! 👇 *Grand View Research, 2025: https://lnkd.in/gSsFKjd4 #GameDevelopment #VideoGames #Startup #Funding #Indie #Publishers #GameBiz #Entrepreneur #VC #Financing #CFO #Advisory #Haldar

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Every year, I volunteer at the Santa Fe Renaissance Festival. I take off and fly to New Mexico so that I can spend a weekend in the fairy village. This will be the second year of me running the thieves’ guild, where I teach children how to profit from larceny, but it all started with a game called “Fairy Chess.” While it is now more of my “front” for coordinating urchin actives (stealing things), I still get to play a few games throughout the weekend. Fairy Chess is quite simple on first appearance – for all intents and purposes, it looks like what humans would call “checkers,” what with the checkered board and circular wooden pieces of light and dark colors. This is what draws people in. It is something they are familiar with in an otherworldly place. Things start off simple enough. The challenger picks who has the first turn and pieces move as expected on diagonals with each player moving pieces closest to them. Then things get odd. Maybe I move one of the pieces that the challenger believes to be theirs, or maybe I move one of the pieces horizontally. Rarely does this prompt anything more than an odd look from the challenger initially, but after several occurrences, typically around when I place the rock from the ground onto the board, do I hear “that’s not how you play!” With the most confused and innocent face I can manage, I respond with “What do you mean? This is how you play fairy chess.” And continue to move pieces around while prompting them on their turn. What I love about this is that most will accept this at face value and keep playing. Some will ask about rules (to which I use “Well the board is magically enchanted, it will only accept a legal move”), others mimic what they’ve seen me do so far, and other will also just start to try random things and see if I say anything. Obviously, there are no rules (well, one just so I can give others a chance to play – if the pieces fall over on someone’s turn, they lose the game). The real “game” here is getting the challenger to question what they think they know and seeing what they do when they realize they have complete freedom. My favorite moments are when I walk away for a bit and come back to find past challengers arguing over the rules as they play together. Innovation comes from the ability to question the world around you and imagine things differently. If there were no rules, how would you approach it? If you ran across someone else in that same situation, could you come together to create together? For me, this mindset helped me to work with fellow misfits to get multi-level data systems accredited in the cloud, coordinate weapon orders supporting allies with Jira, and use traditional SIEM tools (ELK) in nontraditional ways to enable strategic decision makers. When’s the last time you invented your own “fairy chess”? (For anyone familiar with Calvinball, credit to Bill Watterson for the inspiration) 

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I never post here, but it seemed like the only space with people who may understand. Running a "hobby" site dedicated to indie games is rewarding in some ways, but absolutely aggravating in many others. Perpetually fighting with the chicken/egg problem of how to get more traffic when generally featuring games nobody has ever heard of is sometimes plain exhausting. Just wish Nintendo themselves, or I suppose Golin (on their behalf) would see the value of what I've been consistently doing for nearly 9 years now... but anyway. I sent this in response to a perfectly-reasonable disclaimer from a developer explaining why they may not have codes for me, just figured it was worth sharing some frustration. "Just wanted to potentially save you time, while also making a case for myself. I absolutely understand that you're likely swamped with requests, and that it makes sense to use what limited keys you have to reach the highest potential number of people.   That said, one of the reasons my viewership (despite having been around now for nearly 9 years) is that I'm the person running towards the fire that is discovery for smaller developers and indie projects... the majority of which nobody has heard of and that don't get a load of traffic precisely because people can't seek our or search on games they've never heard of.    Within a few months I'll be crossing over 5,000 games reviewed, and I give every game I play and share about the same chance, whether single-developer or triple-A. These days I share gameplay video for every game I review (something not enough outlets do, many seem content to include stock press images with their reviews with no other coverage), at least one short, a written review, a video review, and then for games that rate high enough they can be included in future feature videos, which include ones for sales as well as best of genre and best of the year ones as well. [Previous game of theirs I did review redacted] has probably been in videos of mine at least 50 times over the years all said. So I flatly agree that I don't meet the standard you all are hoping for, but the reason for that is that I'm trying to help bring exposure to games that don't get enough. Even for more known or popular games my continued efforts to keep reintroducing their names over the years also creates new opportunities to be seen, even long after they've collectively been lost in the pile of loads of new games every week. Just figured I'd make my case, it's frustrating that no matter the effort it's a struggle to reach people when I'm offering something they don't know about more often than not."

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