Joe’s Take
The video game industry is approaching $200B in global revenues and so nearly any business plan is worth funding!!” At least, that was the sentiment a few years ago. With the deflation in investor enthusiasm tied to failed returns from this euphoria, spending on new projects has dropped dramatically. Even so, pitch materials still often reference the entirety of interactive to entice funders. In addition, many pundits looking for compelling angles commonly use statements like “Roblox has grown 30% since last year and dwarfs the concurrent player base of Battlefield 6 – traditional game developers had better transition if they want to remain in business!” This is false equivalency.
What do mobile F2P, PC/Console premium, online, Roblox/UEFN, VR, casino and web games have in common? They are interactive experiences and require similar development roles to create them. Because of this, they have been placed under a single entertainment umbrella, but in reality they target vastly different markets. A typical mobile slots player was not lured away from League of Legends. Someone might enjoy each of these, but this is no different than liking to both watch baseball and to play Clash of Clans. Certain interactive segments even have more in common with other media, such as strategy games and tabletop games, than with other video games. It is the 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘺 of entertainment that is zero sum, so UEFN player growth may well be a much larger problem for social media apps, TV and recreational sports leagues than for PC gaming. As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings indicated back in 2019, “We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO”.
The consequences of mistaking ourselves as one homogenous industry are hindering forward progress. We are still clearing the terrible wreckage from oh-so-many new IP $100M+ PC games that have been scrapped one after another. When an investor is looking at a pitch for a premium PC/Console game, what should matter is the size, stability and growth of the PC/Console premium game industry. At DDM, we have seen so many game pitches untethered to this market reality. As an industry we are all navigating the consequences of funder hubris and outsize project expectations.
It is certainly true that there is a struggle to find an audience given the tsunami of entertainment content, yet marketing difficulties have been a consistent complaint since the first game disks & cartridges were sold. Throughout 2025, we have seen one PC game success after another on a regular cadence, many from smaller companies, who have sized their projects correctly and created community.
It is vital to remember that we are many industries! It is incumbent on all of us to scale appropriately and take risks accordingly in order to weave sustainability into interactive. With this, investor and publisher confidence will continue to return in measured ways, strengthening industry stability and generating a lot more positive news.