Game Industry Faces Harsh Reality: Spending Slump and Rising Costs Collide
The video game industry is facing a challenging year. Various experts, including the former Sony Studios boss Shawn Layden, see significant signs that consumers return their expenses for games.
Users busy with free offers
According to a current study by the market research company Circana, around 25 percent of gamers are planning to spend less money on games in the future. The main reasons are increasing cost of living, economic uncertainty and fear of recession. It is therefore expected for 2025 with a decline in sales of around 4.7 percent, but warns of high prognosis uncertainty.
This is an unusual phenoman for the industry. In the past, games were considered “recession -safe”. But with the growing importance of free-to-play offers and cheap abom models such as Xbox Game Pass, the location has changed. “Game fun may be a crisis-proof, but the business model is not necessarily,” Circana market researcher Mat Piscatella told the industry magazine Games Industry.Biz. For many users, the free offer is enough today to deal for months.
Another problem is the increasing development costs in the AAA segment. Productions beyond the $ 200 million mark forcing publisher to avoid risk avoidance-innovation suffers, new brands are rare. At the same time, manufacturers try to generate more sales over price increases to up to $ 80 per premium game and expensive deluxe editions. However, this causes resentment among players who are increasingly used to free alternatives. In addition, a large part of the expenditure on a few blockbusters such as Fortnite, Roblox or Call of Duty is no longer necessary. Smaller titles are falling behind because more and more games compete for stagnating consumption expenditure.
ABOS lower the value
Industry experts also see the growing role of Abodiensten. Shawn Layden warns that the “Netflix for Games” model can drastically reduce the value of games in the perception of consumers – similar to music. Unlike musicians, however, developers have no additional sources of income such as concerts. AAA studios in particular lose the potential to achieve high profits through strong sales.
The industry is at a turning point: Between price pressure, changed consumption habits and exploding costs, new ways have to be found in order to make games profitable and at the same time attractive for players. It remains to be seen whether this is possible through more expensive premium titles, more service models or innovative content – it is only certain that 2025 will be a test stone for the future of the market.
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