Games industry predictions for 2025: Generative AI, games as ecosystems, and thrive in ’25

It’s the new year, so that means it’s the perfect time for our Mobile Mavens — a collection of games industry experts — to give their thoughts on the year ahead. We asked:

What are your predictions for the games industry in 2025?

Discover more about the hottest games industry trends of the year at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2025 on January 20th to 21st.

I think we’ve seen a lot of damage to the industry this year, but it’s time for a bounce-back. We’re seeing that strong indie titles can command significant attention in the games community, punching above their weight for reach — and if well targeted — profitability.

I don’t think we’ve quite seen the end of redundancies and job losses in the industry, sadly, but I do think we’ll start to see more new businesses forming with innovative games, smaller and more realistic business plans, and plenty of opportunities for success.

I don’t think 2025 is the year of AI, that feels further away as we all come to grips with how to best use this nascent technology. So while we will start to see a few more attempts at AI led gaming experiences I just don’t think they’ll compete. That can be a 2026 prediction.

Paula Ingvar

GM, Candy Crush Soda

at King

• In the coming year, game developers will hopefully prioritise accessibility and inclusive design, ensuring that gaming experiences are engaging and enjoyable for as many players as possible. This trend reflects a growing awareness of the importance of inclusivity in the industry, shaping the way for innovations that cater to diverse abilities and preferences in mobile and console games.
• The boundaries of gaming are continuing to expand, with developers creating richer out-of-game experiences. These include trading systems, community events, and an increase in merchandise. This trend highlights how games are becoming ecosystems, offering players more ways to interact with the game beyond traditional gameplay.
• One trend I personally hope to see more of is unexpected intellectual property (IP) crossovers. These collaborations often bring a fresh perspective to games, adding elements of surprise, humour, and quirkiness that resonate with players. They remind us of the creative potential in blending unique worlds and storytelling styles.

Teemu Haila

Co-founder and CPO

at Metaplay

I think we are going to see more very small indie teams create breakout viral hits in the premium game space that focus on systems and aesthetics. The dream of making your own game and having it seen by millions is going strong, even if a stable indie career really only fits very few people.

We will see a stronger cottage industry in picking out these new games with product/market fit to very quickly flip them on all the platforms and start developing IP sequels.

I’d wager this is the new default form of premium game publishers that have an increasingly hard time investing in completely new IPs. Subscription services like Netflix and Apple Arcade are getting pretty good at it as well, but the devil is in the deal structures you can secure.

Games-as-a-service will continue to dominate the big business of games and the upcoming titles will increasingly focus on content rather than systems to retain their audiences.

This puts an enormous pressure in the technical and operational complexity of the projects to be able to quickly develop new games than can then be scaled out massively (tech, team size, content size, systems complexity) if the game finds an audience.

This is of course the problem we are solving at Metaplay and I see our customers getting increasingly savvy about how they want to structure their studio hiring plans and technical implementations to make it possible to deliver potentially decades of fresh content into their games post-launch.

In fact, we’ve been talking to a lot of people about how to not just survive, but thrive in 2025. It feels as though the industry is taking the learnings from the last few years and applying them to a new thesis for building a vibrant and refreshing future. A game development renaissance, if you will.

More on that at Pocket Gamer Connects London 2025 where we’re looking to publish the findings!

Peter Fodor

Founder

at AppAgent

Here are my three industry predictions for 2025:

1. Google Play Store experiments with AI

As generative AI continues to advance and achieve greater consistency in art style, characters, and other IP elements, I predict that store conversion rate optimisation will be taken over by AI — natively, in the GP console.

Autonomous A/B testing and scalable asset creation in multiple languages will accelerate growth for studios that embrace this new reality.

2. Changes in gaming team structures

Technological transformation will enable teams to achieve higher fidelity earlier in game development, allowing them to present polished ideas to stakeholders (and players) or cut projects sooner if needed.

With lower barriers to entry and increased possibilities, even small teams, or young creators, will be able to produce games with ease, leading to fresh and unique experiences. This shift will dramatically alter cost structures, enabling companies to scale 10x with only a third of the workforce (yes, this also means job losses in current roles).

3. High-quality creatives as the norm for big games

While the industry continues to grapple with issues like false advertising, at AppAgent we see a clear shift toward creative communication focused on long-term gains.

Established studios now expect two things: first, insights from ads that shape game development, and second, creatives that build strong emotional connections to support the brand next to the obvious performance.

High-quality creatives that stay true to the game are increasingly becoming the standard among major players, which we’re excited to see and proud to deliver.

Dominic Ridley

While I don’t anticipate significant advancements in mobile hardware, I believe 2025 will deliver the best graphics we’ve seen yet. With triple-A franchises like Destiny and Rainbow Six Siege debuting on mobile, players will likely demand the high-quality graphics and facial animation these series are renowned for.

For now, maximum fidelity graphics remain constrained by mobile chipsets, making cloud gaming key for bringing triple-A experiences to a wider audience.

Joanne Lacey

COO

at AdInMo

In 2025 hybrid monetisation will continue to be a huge theme – in Q3/4 2024 our industry study reported that 72% of game developers will implement or advance their hybrid monetisation strategy in the next six months.

Better collaboration and crucial alignment between teams (product, marketing, monetisation) and revenue models will be a key driver in the next 12 months.

I am also intrigued to see how the success of publishers’ in-house brand sales teams will take off in 2025 and contribute to the overall growth of mobile games as a premium channel for brand advertisers.

Adam Smart

Director of Product – Gaming

at AppsFlyer

Hottest trend for 2025: Steam’s game-changing strategy to dominate the market

For me Steam is one of the most interesting things happening in gaming right now. They’re already the king of PC gaming, but 2025 will see them cement their dominance in the console space.

By opening up SteamOS for use on any hardware – much like Microsoft did with Windows – they’re not just a platform anymore; they’re becoming the backbone of gaming.

Reports of new hardware developments for console, handheld and VR only reinforce this bold strategy. Gamers want great experiences, flexibility and portability, Steam is delivering on all fronts. I truly believe they could corner the entire gaming market next year, giving Sony and Microsoft a run for their money.