The gaming industry is dominated by big, well-established studios. A quick glance at the top ten free-to-play games in any category reveals a stark reality: these companies have massive marketing budgets, streamlined user acquisition systems, and deep experience in keeping players engaged. However, what about the emerging studios that are struggling to make a name for themselves? What’s the real reason they’re not on that list? The answer lies not in the lack of access to user acquisition funding, but rather the lack of understanding around game economics and forecasting models. Emerging studios often struggle to manage the levers they do control, and it’s this lack of understanding that holds them back. In today’s gaming market, the edge comes from knowing how to extract insights from your data and use them to make decisions. Even seasoned teams often struggle with resource allocation simply because they lack a robust analytics platform. The mobile gaming economy is built on metrics and maximizing user lifetime. It’s a high-tech industry that runs on numbers, and every new stage of game development needs to be backed by A/B testing and data analysis. To strike the balance between customer acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (LTV), studios need good data, good analytics, and good live-ops tools. The mobile gaming economy is all about finding that balance. Without it, a budget is at serious risk of being wasted. Every decision becomes a guess if you lack data. You might as well be betting on zero at the roulette table. The successful experience of working with in-game audiences has become an unspoken industry standard. In 2025, any casual mobile game developer is expected to build forecasting models a year or more ahead when planning mass user acquisition – and to ensure that players stay in the game and enjoy spending time there. However, without end-to-end tracking, we can’t really know which in-game events and offers are driving retention, what’s converting players, or what’s actually moving the revenue needle. This is where analytics and live ops come in – they shouldn’t operate separately. A successful studio in 2025 isn’t just a content creator; it’s a systems operator. It’s a company that understands personalisation, hypothesis testing, monetisation strategy, and thoughtful live-ops planning. Games aren’t just entertainment any more – they’re embedded in players’ lives. To achieve this, studios need to use data to drive their decisions. But it’s not just about having the right tools – it’s also about understanding how to use them effectively. It’s possible to build your own BI system from scratch, but this takes serious expertise and time. Plus, the emerging trend of automating live ops with machine learning and AI demands an entirely new tech stack – and talent that smaller studios often don’t have. In fact, internal BI rarely contributes to a company’s valuation the way founders expect. In an acquisition, the acquirer will use its own BI system after the purchase, and the valuation of the acquired company’s internal solution, in which the team has invested a significant amount of time and money, will be excluded from the deal. Fortunately, there is now a mature software-as-a-service ecosystem, offering top-tier analytics, attribution, and live-ops tools. These tools can help emerging studios to break the mold and achieve success in the competitive gaming industry. The trend is clear: we’re moving towards long-term, data-driven product management. The north star is return on ad spend (ROAS). Getting cheap traffic is nice, but it’s meaningless without understanding its performance. That’s why data maturity directly impacts margins. For example, it’s common to see nearly identical-looking games on the app stores; yet some attract millions of new users each month, while others plateau at less than 100K installs. The key difference often lies in how well studios personalise the gameplay experience, and monetise through segmentation and remote configs. These are levers that can and should be controlled. They’re what make a game appealing to the broadest possible audience and enable direct engagement with the player. Successful studios use these tools to their advantage, and others miss the opportunity. In conclusion, emerging studios need to break the mold and adopt data-driven game development practices. By doing so, they can achieve success in the competitive gaming industry and stay ahead of the curve.
Key Takeaways
- Emerging studios need to understand game economics and forecasting models to manage the levers they do control.
- A robust analytics platform is essential for making informed decisions in the gaming industry.
- Data maturity directly impacts margins, and return on ad spend (ROAS) is the north star for data-driven product management.
- Emerging studios should focus on personalising the gameplay experience and monetising through segmentation and remote configs.
- A mature software-as-a-service ecosystem offers top-tier analytics, attribution, and live-ops tools to help emerging studios break the mold and achieve success.
What’s Next?
- Emerging studios should invest in data-driven game development practices to stay ahead of the curve.
- Studios should focus on building forecasting models a year or more ahead when planning mass user acquisition.
- Emerging studios should leverage the power of machine learning and AI to automate live ops and improve player engagement.
- Studios should prioritise data maturity and return on ad spend (ROAS) to drive their product management decisions.
Conclusion
The gaming industry is at a crossroads, and emerging studios are facing a critical challenge. By adopting data-driven game development practices, these studios can break the mold and achieve success in the competitive gaming industry. It’s time for emerging studios to invest in data-driven game development and focus on building forecasting models, leveraging machine learning and AI, and prioritising data maturity and return on ad spend (ROAS). By doing so, they can stay ahead of the curve and achieve long-term success in the gaming industry.
