Xsolla Releases New Industry Report on Future of Video Game Development

The Xsolla Report Reveals Strategies for Unlocking Revenue, Reaching Global Audiences, and Building Competitive Advantages

Mar. 11, 2026 at 9:29pm

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Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, has released the latest edition of The Xsolla Report, providing insights from working with thousands of studios on the biggest opportunities emerging in the video game industry. The report highlights how studios that are adapting their commercial strategies, embracing direct-to-player commerce, expanding into high-growth global markets, and leveraging AI are pulling ahead and building businesses designed to thrive for years to come.

Why it matters

The gaming industry is undergoing significant shifts, with budgets expanding, player acquisition costs surging, and traditional publishing models facing increasing strain. The Xsolla Report provides a roadmap for game studios to navigate these changes and capture disproportionate advantage by prioritizing modularity, owned audience infrastructure, and compliance as a competitive advantage.

The details

Key findings from the report include: leading game companies generating 15-45% of total revenue through direct-to-consumer web shops, high-growth markets like Turkey, India, and Southeast Asia representing exciting expansion opportunities, AI delivering 20% faster development timelines and 40% reduced support costs, and the April 2025 U.S. court ruling allowing in-app linking to external offers opening new pathways for developers to engage players across channels.

  • The Xsolla Report was released on March 11, 2026.
  • The report's findings are based on Xsolla's work with thousands of studios over an unspecified period of time.

The players

Xsolla

A leading global video game commerce company that provides tools and services to help developers fund, distribute, market, and monetize their games.

Chris Hewish

The President of Xsolla, who states that the economics of game development have shifted and that leaders who recognize this early will capture disproportionate advantage.

Berkley Egenes

The Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla, who says that the conversation around direct-to-consumer in gaming has fundamentally changed and that it has evolved into a strategic imperative for studios to grow and thrive.

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What they’re saying

“The economics of game development have and will continue to shift and evolve into the future. Budgets have expanded, player acquisition costs have surged, and traditional publishing models are under increasing strain. We have reached a tipping point where old assumptions no longer hold, and leaders who recognize this shift early will capture disproportionate advantage.”

— Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla

“The conversation around direct-to-consumer in gaming has fundamentally changed coming out of multiple regulatory changes. What began as a tactical revenue diversification play has evolved into a strategic imperative for studios to grow and thrive into the future of live-service games.”

— Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla

The takeaway

The Xsolla Report provides a clear roadmap for game studios to navigate the evolving video game industry, highlighting the importance of building for modularity and faster development cycles, investing in owned audience infrastructure, and turning compliance into a competitive advantage as global markets open up. Studios that adapt their commercial strategies, embrace direct-to-player commerce, and leverage emerging technologies like AI are poised to pull ahead and build businesses designed to thrive for years to come.