Inside Gaming’s Crossroads: Record Revenue, Mass Layoffs, and High-Stakes Bets

The industry is shifting fast. Who will dominate, and who will fall?

Gaming in 2025 is at a crossroads—record revenue, mass layoffs, and shifting business models. Who will thrive, and who risks collapse? Read the full analysis.

For an industry that just recorded $187.7 billion in global revenue, gaming in 2025 is at a crossroads. On one side, the sector is booming, with mobile games alone generating $92.5 billion last year.

On the other, over 14,600 jobs disappeared, as studios shuttered and once-thriving companies struggled to keep pace with changing market forces.

What’s happening? And more importantly—where is this all going?

The biggest players in gaming—Supercell, Ubisoft, Tencent, and Epic Games—are adapting in very different ways.

Some, like Supercell, are reviving old hits while experimenting with new titles that don’t always scale.

Others, like Ubisoft, are banking on a single blockbuster (Assassin’s Creed Shadows) to reverse declining revenues.

Meanwhile, Tencent, the world’s most powerful gaming empire, is navigating a complex geopolitical maze, while Epic Games fights to challenge Steam’s dominance with its own distribution platform.

But behind these stories is a deeper question: Has the gaming industry hit an inflection point? Are we seeing the end of the old ways—of oversized budgets, delayed launches, and risky bets on massive franchises?

Or is this just another cycle of boom and bust?

Over the past weeks, I’ve been tracking the most critical shifts shaping the industry—from the rise of blockchain gaming to the fall of ad-tech giants like AppLovin, to why game discovery in 2025 is fundamentally broken.

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If you’re a developer, investor, or publisher trying to make sense of what’s next, you’ll want to pay attention.

Gaming in 2025: Adapt or Collapse? The Stories Defining the Industry’s Future

In an industry where $3.2 billion launches (GTA 6’s projected first-year revenue) can dominate headlines, the deeper reality of gaming in 2025 is more complex.

Growth is slowing for traditional platforms, layoffs are rising, and studios are under immense pressure to keep delivering bigger, better, and longer-lasting games.

For gaming giants, 2025 isn’t just about making the next big hit—it’s about survival.

Supercell: The Exception to the Rule?

Supercell’s record €2.8 billion revenue in 2024 is proof that even a decade-old studio can still surprise the industry.

The Finnish developer, famous for its ‘small teams, big ideas’ philosophy, defied the odds with the unexpected resurgence of Brawl Stars, a game that somehow grew six years after launch—a rarity in mobile gaming.

Meanwhile, its new game, Squad Busters, saw early success, hitting $100 million in revenue within seven months, but struggled to break into the company’s ultra-elite tier of evergreen hits.

Now, with its Spark Program, Supercell is making a bet: Can internal innovation keep the company ahead, or is mobile gaming now too dependent on aggressive marketing and pay-to-win mechanics?

Ubisoft’s Gamble: Can Assassin’s Creed Shadows Save It?

Not every studio is thriving. Ubisoft’s Q3 revenue collapsed by 51.8%, and while its back-catalog (old games that still generate sales) is keeping it afloat, the company is increasingly dependent on its biggest IP: Assassin’s Creed.

With Assassin’s Creed Shadows set for release on March 20, 2025, Ubisoft is hoping it can stop the bleeding. If Shadows succeeds, Ubisoft might regain stability.

If it fails, we could see deeper restructuring, more studio closures, and a potential shift away from expensive, single-player blockbusters.

Tencent: Still the Biggest, But For How Long?

Then there’s Tencent—arguably the most powerful force in gaming today. Tencent owns or invests in Riot Games, Epic Games, Supercell, Ubisoft, and countless mobile studios, making it the backbone of the global gaming ecosystem.

But the Chinese tech giant is facing unprecedented challenges.

Between China’s regulatory crackdowns, U.S. blacklisting, and rising competition from companies like NetEase, Tencent’s once-unbreakable empire is being tested.

The company isn’t standing still—it’s diversifying into AI, cloud gaming, and expanding outside China—but can it maintain its dominance as global politics increasingly turn against it?

Game Discovery is Broken: Can Playable Ads Fix It?

While the industry focuses on blockbuster launches, another fundamental issue is being ignored: Game discovery in 2025 is fundamentally broken.

Players today have more options than ever, yet finding a game worth playing feels harder than ever.

With storefronts overloaded, ads that blend into the noise, and recommendation algorithms that feel increasingly ineffective, studios are struggling to reach the right audience.

This is where platforms like GameDive are stepping in, pushing for "Playable Discovery"—a model where players can instantly try games within seconds before committing to a download or purchase.

It’s an idea that could redefine how we find games in the coming years, moving beyond outdated ranking systems and paid promotions.

The End of AppLovin’s Gaming Bet?

And then there’s AppLovin, a company that once tried to conquer mobile gaming through aggressive advertising, but now seems to be stepping away.

Its $900 million deal to shift focus suggests something bigger: Is mobile gaming as we know it about to change?

For years, mobile games thrived on cheap user acquisition and ad-driven monetization, but that era is ending. Privacy laws, changes to Apple’s tracking policies, and growing player frustration with endless ads have made traditional mobile gaming business models harder to sustain.

Now, AppLovin—one of the biggest ad-tech companies in gaming—is pivoting, raising the question: What comes next for mobile game monetization?

Immutable Holdings: Web3’s Next Giant or a Risky Bet?

Immutable Holdings has positioned itself as a leader in blockchain gaming, with big bets on NFTs, digital assets, and Web3 infrastructure.

But with crypto market volatility and regulatory uncertainty casting shadows over the sector, its future is far from guaranteed.

Will Immutable redefine gaming, or is it another speculative play in an industry still searching for stability?

The Bigger Picture: Is Gaming at an Inflection Point?

Across all these stories, one theme keeps emerging: The rules of the industry are shifting.

We’re seeing:

• Record revenue, but mass layoffs
• More reliance on old hits, while new games struggle to scale
• The rise of AI and cloud-based discovery, but also growing risks
• Massive companies like Ubisoft and Tencent fighting to stay relevant

Gaming isn’t dying—it’s evolving. And those who adapt will come out stronger, while those who don’t might not make it past this cycle.

For anyone in the industry—whether you’re a developer, publisher, investor, or just deeply interested in where games are going—these shifts matter.

To stay ahead, you need to understand what’s really happening behind the headlines.

That’s why I created a reading list covering these key shifts—so you can stay informed and get the insights that actually matter.

Check out my latest deep dives here: ?? Reinout te Brake’s Reading List

Stay Connected: Gaming Trends, Insights, and Your Take

Thank you for reading. Every day I look at the gaming industry, read up on things, and talk to industry people. In my daily blogs, I try to give my readers and 1.5K followers a solid sense of trends, analysis, investments, and more in gaming. If you found this interesting, I’d appreciate it if you shared the article — but even more, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments! If you like to connect on Linkedin, feel free to send me an invite! And don’t forget to Subscribe Today! Get exclusive gaming industry insights from Reinout te Brake — a veteran with real data, deep expertise, & game-changing perspectives. Also, check my reading list of articles on gaming!