Gaming market analyst interview

Collected the most pressing questions about the future of games - from mobile and F2P to premium releases, live-ops, subscriptions and esports. Our interlocutor is an analyst who advises studios, investors and platforms. Below are generalized answers (without reference to specific companies).

1) Where is the growth and margin now?

Question: What segments look the strongest in the horizon of 2-5 years?

Analyst: Three areas of budget attraction:

1. Live-ops F2P (mobile/PC/consoles) are long-lived service games with an event calendar and UGC layers.

2. Premium AA/AAA with "long tail" - release + seasons/add. content, soft cross-monetization.

3. Cross-platform and cross-progression - a single account, a cloud of saves, common battle passes.

Margin appears where the team knows how to keep the audience and manage the content economy, and not just "hype" the release.

2) UA and distribution: how to attract players after privacy changes

Q: What works in user engagement?

Analyst:

Creative as a product. Test narratives/mechanics in advertising prototypes, not just banners.
Creator marketing and community. Micro-influencers give stable CPI/CPV with proper brief and tracking.
Buildings/mini-applications/instant messengers. There is a lower entry threshold, but the moderation and retention filter are tougher.
Organic through UGC and mod support. Rare tools that scale the "free funnel."
The main thing is end-to-end attribution and experiments: without A/B and incremental tests, UA turns into a "fire of money."

3) Monetization 2025 +: what the player buys and what he leaves for

Q: Which models are more sustainable?

Analyst:

Battle passes and seasons with clear value and limited award inflation.
Cosmetics/customization (UGC-compatible) is better than pay-to-win.
Microtransactions "on the case" - access to new content/modes, not benefits.
Subscriptions (light QoL pluses, currency packages, skipping passes) - but carefully, so as not to "eat" premium sales.
The player leaves when he sees a dishonest economy: sharp pay-walls, "splitting" progress, aggressive timers.

4) Live-ops: how not to burn out

Q: Best practices for LTV growth through live-ops?

Analyst: Skeleton calendar for 6-12 months: major seasons, weekly milestones, 24-72-hour flashes. The rule is 60/30/10: 60% - repeatable content (sparingly), 30% - variations, 10% - experiment. Mandatory:

DAU/WAU/MAU metrics, D1/D7/D30, session frequency, event depth;
uplist experiments on offers;
cap-policy awards and inflation protection;
"soft brakes" (responsible design) so as not to burn out the Core.

5) AI tools: where is the real benefit, and where is the illusion

Question: Is it worth "transplanting" the pipeline to AI?

Analyst: Yes - in asset production, localization, QA, telemetry. Generative is an accelerator of drafts, but the art director holds the final "glue" and style. In game design, AI helps to prototype rather than "generate a game." In analytics - RAG bots for the knowledge base, predictives for churn/propensity, bandits for choosing events. The main thing is guardrails and content rights.

6) Regulators, storps and payments: the new normal

Question: What restrictions affect more?

Analyst: Age/advertising marking, loot-box-rules, privacy/attribution, requirements for responsible design (limits, pauses, transparency). In payments - the growth of the role of local methods and stable wires (where allowed), tougher chargeback/fraud control. Strategy - compliance-by-design and "Web2. 5 ": several distribution channels, cross-progress, box office with smart routing.

7) Cross-platform and "one account"

Question: Does it complicate or save the economy?

Analyst: Saves. Players demand progress everywhere: a mobile session in the morning, a console in the evening, a PC on weekends. This increases the multi-day and the share of paying. But technical debt is growing - we need a common profile, inventory, billing, anti-fraud on the connection graph and a test matrix of platforms.

8) Hit indicators: What to watch before and after release

Q: What metrics really predict success?

Analyst:

Before release/soft lunch: CPI/CR, tutorial completion, D1> 35% (mobile )/D1> 55% (PC/onboarding console), FTUE errors <3%, time to core fan <5-7 minutes.
Post-release: D7/D30, payer conversion, ARPPU, median session length, DAU/MAU (stickiness), UGC/social interaction share, complaints and NPS.
Health of the economy: inflation of awards, retention without promo, sensitivity to discounts, LTV/CAC> 3-5 × to the month 6-9.

9) Studio and publisher errors

Question: Top mistakes 2024-2025?

Analyst:

1. "Copy someone else's meta-economy" without caps and balance.

2. Lack of incremental tests - conclusions on core metrics instead of uplift.

3. Revaluation of subscriptions: "a new tax on the loyal" without fresh content.

4. A late focus on the crossplatform is the crutch migrations of saves.

5. Underestimation of safety and antifraud (bot farms, reselling equipment).

6. "Seasons for Seasons" is a burnout of the team and community.

7. Ignoring responsible patterns - toxic involvement, fines, shaming in social networks.

10) Investments: what interests the capital market

Q: What are investors/publishers looking at?

Analyst: Team and delivery cycle (speed, predictability), cross-platform vector, community/UGC core, LTV model with proven retention, copy protection (setting, mechanics, tools), compliance risks. Bonus - access to the creator-network and "smart cash register."

11) Cybersecurity and integrity

Question: Minimum security for 2025?

Analyst: WAF/CDN, device fingerprint, behavioral biometrics, SOC alerts on ATO/carding/selling accounts, graph analytics of connections (account-device-payment), key rotation, logs and post-incident. For PvP/live - transparent telemetry of honesty and replay of controversial points.

12) Regions and localization

Question: Where to look for new growth?

Analyst: Local "packages" - language, payments, prime time, cultural skins/events, sometimes - separate versions of tutorials. Reliance on social channels of the region (instant messengers, local video platforms), live schedules for the weekend. Growth is carried by LatAm, MENA, Southeast Asia in a mobile format; Europe/North America - in premium and cross-platform.

13) Future 2026-2030: What's almost inevitable

Question: Your "almost sure" forecasts?

Analyst:

Genre fusion and service layer over premium.
AI assistants within the client (building path assistance, tutorials, UGC moderation).
UGC economies with copyright showcases and royalties.
More compliance on engagement and privacy.
Cross-platform passes as standard.
Third-party mini-apps and "light customers" for fast-growing markets.

14) Practice: What to do studios in the next 90 days

90 Day Plan:

Weeks 1-3: FTUE/Corey Loop Audit; remove unnecessary clicks; time-to-fan metric.
Weeks 4-6: start a live-ops calendar, enter reward caps, test 2-3 flashes.
Weeks 7-9: Onboarding A/B, first uplist monetization test, include UGC showcase (if relevant).
Weeks 10-12: cross-platform progress, box office orchestrator, RG patterns (pauses/limits/reality checks), SOC alerts.

15) Checklists

Product checklist:

Time to core fan ≤ 5-7 min.
Tutorial ≤ 3-5 screens, clear rules.
Metrics D1/D7/D30 above the genre median.
Live calendar (seasons/flashes), caps of awards.
UGC/social mechanics: groups, exchanges, storefronts.
Cross platform and single inventory.
RG patterns and transparent housekeeping rules.

Analytics and monetization checklist:

End-to-end attribution, incremental tests.
LTV/CAC model by cohort.
BP/Cosmetics Value Showcase, no P2W corners.
Antifraud on payments and inventory.
A/B discipline, uplift reports.

Checklist of safety and security:

WAF/CDN, rate limits, KMS/secret management.
Graph-analytics of connections, device-fingerprint.
Logs, retention, post-incident, RTO/RPO.
Platform test matrix, canary releases.

The market is maturing: those who know how to make a service, not just a release, win. Success is a mixture of honest economics, predictable live-ops, cross-platform, experimental discipline and responsible design. Add practical AI tools, strong security and localization - and your game has a chance not just to "shoot," but to live a long, profitable life.