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Keeping up with industry trends is key to staying ahead in the games industry and ensuring you don’t fall behind.
At Pocket Gamer Connects, we regularly run our ‘Global Trends’ track, providing an expansive view of the sector’s latest ttrends, facts, figures and insights from around the world.
In this new regular series, we’ve reached out top industry leaders to share their insights and expectations on the state of play and how they see the next few years shaping up.
We spoke to FunPlus chief business officer Chris Petrovic about IP partnerships and the developer sees AI and cross-platform as growth opportunities.
PocketGamer.biz: Could you tell us a bit about FunPlus and what you’re currently working on?
Chris Petrovic: FunPlus is one of the biggest independent game developers and publishers in the world, headquartered in Switzerland. With nearly 15 years of innovation under our belt, we initially made our mark in the strategy gaming space with hit mobile-first titles like State of Survival and Sea of Conquest, that are still captivating players around the globe.
Today, we’re on a mission to create unforgettable interactive entertainment experiences, blending cross-platform game development with IP creation.
Most recently we revealed IP partnerships with the DC: Dark Legion and Foundation: Galactic Frontier games. Plus, we’ve just launched a brand new studio in Lisbon, Studio Ellipsis, led by industry veteran Alex Amancio. Ellipsis will be crafting original IPs and taking them across multiple platforms.
How have the last 12 months been for FunPlus?
It’s been a bit of a mixed bag for us to be honest – and likely for many of the same reasons that others in the industry have experienced.
“Cross-platform has accelerated in its importance for more and more gaming companies.”
Chris Petrovic
We’ve been fortunate enough to launch and scale two strategy games post IDFA, Stormshot and Sea of Conquest, and continue to invest in our north stars of innovation and IP development with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Not only do we have a handful of games coming out in the next six to nine months – including the IP partnerships with Foundation and DC that I mentioned – but along with the announcement of Studio Ellipsis we’re definitely not standing still.
What do you think the biggest trends in the industry have been over the last 12 months?
Consolidation, AI and cross-platform – all of which are by-products of the current business landscape (both on the positive and negative side). Consolidation has been an outcome of headwinds in the gaming market where there is less investment flowing into the ecosystem and disproportionately impacting sub-scale companies.
While less money is flowing into games, money needs to still be deployed – and AI is the current shiny new object for investors. While the jury is still out on the near term material benefit/impact of the technology in our industry, it can’t be denied that it will be a hugely enabling technology that will change the way our industry runs.
“We are definitely leaning into AI and cross-platform as growth opportunities for our business.”
Chris Petrovic
Finally, cross-platform (including connecting directly with consumers via alternative payments) has accelerated in its importance for more and more gaming companies, particularly mobile, in response to the challenges that have been created for the ecosystem by Apple (and presumably Google as they roll out their privacy sandbox).
What do you think are the key trends, challenges and opportunities for the next year, and how will you be taking them on?
We are definitely leaning into AI and cross-platform as growth opportunities for our business, and we hope to continue scaling our business to the point that we can be a top consolidator.
What do you think is most important to a mobile game’s success in 2024?
Delivering on customer expectations – whether it’s through established IP or innovative new types of gameplay that can stand out in an ever-increasingly crowded market.
Have you moved onto platforms outside of mobile? And if so, why? If not, is it something you’re considering?
We have long been investing in reaching consumers directly through all available means (direct to consumer, PC versions of games, etc.) and those efforts now represent a significant portion of our revenues. We are also requiring cross-platform to be an integral part of new projects going forward.
