Voodoo’s former head of game development, Stanislas Marchand, said the studio once tested 3,000 new titles a year, only one or two reaching $10mn in annual revenue. The shift to generative AI cut design time from 14 to 10 days, but the creative core—what Marchand calls ‘game feeling’—remains human‑driven.

Meanwhile, ATTN Economy data shows 181,000 games hit the market in six months to May, up 118% on iOS and 73% on Android. The surge follows layoffs at Microsoft’s Xbox division and a 10% cut in its Stockholm‑based King studio, illustrating the paradox of growth amid workforce contraction.

Investors note that the top 1% of publishers command $75.6bn in 2025 revenue, while the rest generate $6.1bn. Even with ‘vibe‑coding’ lowering entry barriers, incumbents retain advantage through deep talent pools and data assets. The industry’s future hinges on balancing AI‑driven efficiency with the human touch that keeps players engaged.

For the few big players, AI is a productivity lever; for newcomers, the volume of releases drives competition but also saturates the market. As the industry consolidates, executives will need to guard against trust erosion while leveraging AI to keep their titles distinct. In practice, only the best‑built games will survive.