The past couple of years have been a rollercoaster for the games industry, with significant layoffs and economic challenges dampening spirits. However, 2025 brings a sense of optimism. Many have managed to “survive to 25.” The industry is poised for recovery, with growth opportunities across emerging markets, cultural shifts, and technological advancements. Political uncertainty may persist, but we remain hopeful for a brighter future. Here are our predictions for 2025.

Cultural Expansion: The Rise of Chinese Game Makers

Chinese and Chinese diaspora game developers are becoming major players on the global stage. Titles like Black Myth Wukong showcased the appeal of Chinese culture and mythology, while Hoyoverse continued to captivate Western audiences with hits like Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail. Indie gems like Nine Sols have also gained traction.

Odin Prediction: Expect more games from Chinese studios and games inspired by Chinese culture to be announced and gain popularity among Western audiences.

VTubers and the Evolution of Digital Creators

VTubers are expanding their influence in the West, but growth comes with challenges. Japanese agencies face scrutiny for harsh contracts, while Western agencies and legacy talent firms compete to offer innovative and flexible agreements. Tools for VTubing are also evolving, creating new opportunities for aspiring creators.

Odin Prediction: The VTuber industry will see significant shakeups, with more lenient contracts from new agencies and innovative tools for creators driving growth.

TikTok

Despite uncertainty surrounding the future of TikTok in the United States, its popularity and influence remain strong. TikTok is often where indie games find traction.

Odin Prediction: TikTok US will be acquired by another social media or enterprise company, ByteDance will not share it’s “secret sauce”, platform engagement will suffer and ultimately it’s prominence will decline.

Brand Protection

AI tools have made it easier to mimic branded content, leading to increased misappropriation of intellectual property on platforms like TikTok Shop and Amazon.

Odin Prediction: Expect brands to ramp up IP protection strategies as counterfeit goods and unauthorized content proliferate online.

Privacy and AI Regulation

Privacy legislation will continue to evolve in the U.S. and globally, particularly concerning AI and children’s safety. State-level laws and international regulations may force businesses to adapt rapidly. Federal laws attempting to protect children or regulate content will be discussed.

Odin Prediction: Businesses will face increasing regulatory pressure, especially with age verification and AI compliance measures becoming more prominent. The Kids Online Safety Act will become buzzworthy as the title of the legislation and the number of co-sponsors may make it attractive to pin porkbarrel projects or unrelated amendments to.

Generative AI and Investment Trends

While investment in generative AI has been the hot thing through 2024, access to quality training data without violating copyright and privacy laws is a real issue for many. Gaming venture capital is currently cautious, with hopes for a rebound.

Odin Prediction: Generative AI investments will level off, with sustained interest in data ethics and compliance. Gaming VC could recover by late 2025.

A More Hopeful Future

Despite recent hardships, we see reasons for optimism. The resilience of creators, developers, and businesses in this space inspires confidence in a brighter future. From expanding cultural representation to innovations in digital creation and technology, 2025 holds immense potential.

What are your thoughts on our predictions for 2025? Share your insights—we’d love to hear from you!

Looking Back at 2024: What We Got Right (and Almost Right)

Each year, we take pride in reflecting on our predictions and how they unfolded. As we look back on 2024, it was a year of turbulence but also progress in many areas. Here’s how our forecasts fared:

• Artificial Intelligence Regulation: We anticipated regulatory action on AI, and while the EU AI Act did become law, the U.S. remained hesitant, with only piecemeal state-level progress. However, copyright battles between AI tools and creators gained momentum, making it clear that regulatory clarity is still needed.
• Business Models and Funding Challenges: Last year, we predicted startups would face continued funding hurdles and that shorter, AAA-quality games would gain traction. Both proved true. Funding in the gaming space slowed, but developers shifted toward shorter, more digestible experiences, and subscription models remained a key growth area.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): While we expected someone to be “made an example of” within UGC platforms, enforcement actions remained relatively quiet. However, the space continued to professionalize, with more tools emerging for amateur developers and creators to monetize their work.
• Privacy Regulations: As expected, 2024 saw a surge in state-level privacy laws, particularly regarding children’s privacy and online safety. Federal action, as we predicted, remained elusive due to political distractions during an election year.
• Esports and Content Creators: Esports contraction stabilized as we foresaw, with international markets outperforming domestic ones. Content creators continued to gain influence, with more brands embracing collaboration and new advertising models. Live shows and large-scale creator events grew steadily, reinforcing the trend we observed.
• The Metaverse: Our shrugging prediction (“¯\(ツ)/¯”) on the metaverse was, unfortunately, accurate. The space remains underdeveloped, with little to no major breakthroughs in 2024.