Duamentes Gaming Report 2025 highlights the urgent need for change: player retention is broken, and most studios fail to understand what players actually want — and by the time they find out in beta, it’s too late to save the game or the business behind it.
The GameDev industry has stopped growing. Despite strong top-line numbers — mobile ($96.2B), console ($52.4B), and PC ($40.4B) — studios are being stretched by rising production costs, gameplay fatigue, and shifting user expectations.
“Studios keep building games players don’t want, delay testing, misread player behavior, and try to fix retention too late. We’re seeing the same mistakes repeated across platforms,” said Maria Amirkhanyan, Head of Gaming Division at Duamentes.
Duamentes Report states 70% of players drop off within the first few sessions and 40% of games entering new regions fail due to cultural mismatches in UX, tone, or monetisation.
The report points to a growing industry divide between those who adapt and those who don’t. As outlined, many studios still rely on practices that no longer serve them.
“In turbulent times, playtesting and user research are more important than ever for releasing games that players, critics, and investors love,” stated Steve Bromley, Games User Research Consultant, author of How To Be A Games User Researcher.
While many AAA studios struggle to innovate under mounting costs and conservative pipelines, indie studios are emerging as the creative engine of the industry. With players increasingly seeking smaller, emotionally resonant, and more affordable experiences, indies are filling a crucial gap.
“Indie games will claim an all-time high share of top Metacritic titles, putting indie studios at the forefront of innovation,” said Amir Satvat, Game Industry Strategist & Founder of Amir Satvat’s Games Community.
As a strategic and product consulting firm operating across 40 countries and 20 industries for nearly a decade, Duamentes has been closely tracking market dynamics. While the industry tightens, the demand for deep, actionable expertise continues to grow.
“We already have that expertise, with a cross-industrial approach and extensive insight database, and now we’re strengthening it further by launching a dedicated Gaming Division, which we’re announcing at the AI & Games User Research conference,” said Maria Amirkhanyan.
About the Study
Duamentes Gaming Report 2025 provides global statistics, behavioral insights, and strategic frameworks for game studios, publishers, and investors.
The study combines desk research and behavioral insight mapping with over 100 in-depth interviews conducted with industry experts, studio leaders, developers, and designers. These findings are correlated with field-tested experience from Duamentes work across 40 countries and 20 industries.
Get Full Report: www.duamentes.com/gaming
Contact: [email protected]
Also published on Medium.
